Chapter 768: The King of the Blue Sky (Second update, please subscribe)
“… Hundreds of ejection tests have been conducted in succession, and each time the F1 fighter jet can be accelerated to take-off speed. After coordination with the shipyard , "Gatsugi" will be equipped with two steam catapults. "
While Zou Tongjie introduced the progress of the modification of the "Gatsugi" aircraft carrier, Li Yian looked at the report.
When seeing the naval F1C fighter, Li Yian took a closer look. This fighter is the carrier-based version of the F1 fighter. Nanyang Aviation Industries has modified its aerodynamic shape - enlarging the The wing area was increased to compensate for the increased total weight; the fuselage structure was strengthened to cope with the high overload during takeoff and landing, and the "Evon" engine with more powerful thrust was replaced. Although the weight increased, the maneuverability was not reduced, and even after the engine was replaced, the Its combat effectiveness has been further improved. With the help of steam catapults, F1C combat machinery can take off from small aircraft carriers like the Katsuragi class.
To some extent, this is definitely a big improvement.
"Its bomb load is still too low. For the navy, the bomb load capacity of carrier-based aircraft is still very important."
Looking at the 2,200 kilogram bomb load, Li Yian inevitably felt a little regretful. But when I think about its weight, I feel relieved.
“Yes, Your Excellency,”
Zou Tongjie agreed.
“We are currently planning to research a carrier-based attack aircraft, and its bomb load will be further increased by then. After all, the F1 is just a fighter jet. This foundation restricts its further development, so it is necessary to develop a new type of ship-based attack aircraft. attack aircraft.”
There is certainly no problem in developing carrier-based attack aircraft. At least in this era, fighter jets and carrier-based aircraft are clearly distinguished. They each have their own strengths. Let alone now, even during the Gulf War, the US military's Nimi There are also dedicated attack aircraft on the aircraft carrier.
"Developing carrier-based attack aircraft...well, this seems to be no problem, but if we are a large aircraft carrier, it is definitely necessary,"
Putting the report together, Li Yian continued.
“But our aircraft carrier has a limited tonnage, with a total of 42 aircraft carriers. If additional attack aircraft are installed, the number of carrier aircraft will definitely be further reduced. Considering the increase in aircraft size, there may only be three aircraft carriers by then. There are more than a dozen aircraft, of which a dozen are attack aircraft that are only good at sea-to-ground attacks. This will undoubtedly weaken the air defense capabilities of the fleet. Moreover, we do not have many aircraft carriers and only build a dozen or dozens of carrier-based attack aircraft. It will undoubtedly increase the cost of the aircraft.”
In another world, France is a typical example. In order to meet the navy’s needs for sea attacks, they specially developed a super-military flagship attack aircraft, but because France only has two ships. Aircraft carriers have resulted in limited demand for aircraft, causing their prices to remain high.
To a certain extent, Nanyang's future naval development is similar to France. For example, last year, the Naval Staff proposed a plan to acquire 2-4 30,000-ton fleet aircraft carriers in two phases, taking into account Nanyang's economic situation. , this year this goal has been reduced to 2-3 aircraft carriers.
To some extent, the Naval Ship Administration Department is developing an enhanced version of the "Essex" class aircraft carrier designed in the 1950s. Although it cannot be compared with the U.S. Navy's Midway-class aircraft carrier and the upcoming Forrest-class aircraft carrier, such a product is already a considerable improvement compared to the Navy's less than 20,000-ton "Katsuragi" light aircraft carrier. .
However, the aircraft carrier in Nanyang is still in the design stage, and there are still many technical problems that need to be solved.
“The cost of military equipment must also be taken into consideration. Nanyang is not a big country like the United States, the Soviet Union, and Russia. It is impossible for us to produce large and comprehensive equipment. Well, it should be said that we must focus on the key points and have key equipment. The secondary ones can be bought or outsourced. Of course, they are mainly self-made. As for the carrier-based aircraft..."
Looking at the aircraft in the photo, Li Yian thought for a while and said.
"As far as carrier-based aircraft are concerned, my personal opinion is that they are universal for both sea and air, as well as land and sea. After all, as fighter jets become larger and more complex, single-purpose aircraft will lead to a surge in development costs. Therefore, multi-purpose aircraft The general-purpose fighter is bound to be the future development direction. "
In fact, this concept is roughly the concept of later generations of fighter jets. Almost since the 1980s, multi-purpose fighter jets have begun to become the mainstream of the air forces of various countries. The reason is because of cost.
“So, what we need to develop is a new type of supersonic fighter. It is not only a fighter, it should also be a multi-purpose fighter that can meet day and night air combat under various conditions and can also be implemented. Attack on the sea and the ground."
"Multi-purpose fighter?"
Zou Tongjie couldn't help but wonder.
"Can the current technical level meet this requirement?"
Because he knows a lot about aircraft, Zou Tongjie knows very well that an aircraft that can both air combat and ground attack seems to be perfect, but In fact, it is impossible to have both. So he reminded me tactfully.
"Your Excellency, if you want an aircraft that can handle both air combat and ground attack, the technical requirements are very high."
Faced with Zou Tongjie's reminder, Li Yi'an smiled. "Don't worry, there is a saying that "as long as the engine is powerful enough, bricks can fly." Don't forget that we have WP100. Now the engine with a thrust of 17,500 pounds has been finalized, and BMW is developing a model with more powerful thrust. It is expected that The thrust can reach 23,000 pounds. With such a powerful engine, there is no problem in developing a new aircraft.”
It has to be said that the "Conway" engine is definitely a miracle of the times. Because it is considered to be used at the wing root of the Comet passenger aircraft, it requires the engine to have a smaller cross-section. Although this limits the performance of the engine, it does to minimize overall diameter. Its diameter is only 1100 mm, which is 10 mm more than the famous Spey engine.
Although it weighs 2061 kg, as the thrust of the new model increases, its thrust-to-weight ratio will even reach 5.
(WP100 Engine)
Not only that, the Conway engine is the first commercial aviation engine to operate for up to 10,000 hours between overhauls.
Li Yian is full of expectations for this engine. Although it may not be used in fighter jets, with this extremely outstanding aero engine, Nanyang has opened the door to turbofan engines. Next, all that is required is to follow the path.
"Of course, it is not necessarily suitable for fighter jets. We can develop a new turbofan engine. With the new engine, we can naturally further improve the overall performance of the aircraft."
What is the new engine? engine?
It can be a turbofan engine similar to the "Spey" engine, which can be used not only for military purposes, but also for civilian passenger aircraft. Of course, its thrust can be more powerful.
In this way, in the next few years, thanks to the excellent performance of the engine, Nanyang can be far ahead in the second-generation fighter jets.
At least on the engine!
After all, turbofan engines are the future.
And it is not limited to aviation, it can also be applied to warships. You must know that in another world, even aircraft carriers use naval gas turbines, and naval gas turbines are based on turbines. Improved fan engine.
So, for Nanyang, the focus in the future is to firmly seize the leading advantage in turbofan engines and fully develop this technology before countries realize that it is the real future. field, thus ensuring Nanyang’s leading edge in aero-engine technology.
This leading advantage will definitely help the development of Nanyang’s aviation industry.
“Use a turbofan engine? Its thrust-to-weight ratio doesn’t seem very friendly.”
Zou Tongjie reminded.
This is a fact. Now the weight of WP100 is less than 4, while the turbojet engine can do 6-7. Now the turbojet engine is the focus of development in various countries. As for the development of turbofan engine, it is completely Because of its relatively low fuel consumption, private airlines in various countries gave priority to it as the power source for passenger aircraft. It was stimulated by private demand that turbofan engine technology was further developed, and this is why it was not until the 1970s that turbofan engines The reason for its application on fighter jets.
Essentially, the performance is not good enough. Just like Nanyang developed the WP100 turbofan engine based on the "Conway engine" under the technical authorization of Rolls-Royce, but in the process of improving the F1 fighter, It is still necessary to introduce technology from Rolls-Royce to replace Nien with the "Avon engine". The reason is that the performance of the turbojet engine is now better and more suitable for fighter jets.
But the future is turbofan engines!
“Develop slowly, don’t be in a hurry.”
In fact, Li Yian is not too anxious about the development of military equipment, because... he is very clear about the future development direction. It is almost impossible for a hot war between major powers to break out in the future. In this case, the development of military equipment only needs to be based on the long term. That’s it.
Besides, it is only 1952, and the post-war second-generation fighter jets represented by the MiG-21 and F4 have not yet appeared! It is entirely possible to develop a turbofan engine suitable for fighter jets in the next few years, even if it is a little later. After all, many countries do not yet have jet fighters.
Nanyang’s second-generation aircraft does not necessarily have to compete with MiG-21 and F4 for launch time. Compared with time, the performance of the aircraft is more important. Just like the F1 fighter, its performance is not inferior to Even surpassing the F86, it is definitely the No. 1 among the first-generation jet fighters. In the future, Nanyang’s second-generation fighter jets will also be the king of the blue sky!
Thinking of this, Li Yian couldn't help but feel a little upset - now the MiG-15 has already hit the famous "MiG Corridor".
The whole world knows that the era of jet fighters has arrived, but Nanyang’s F1 fighters have not yet welcomed their overseas buyers!
(End of this chapter)