Chapter 163 Let the J-8C try it out
In the hangar, an aircraft with a radome painted green has completed electrical testing and begun to hang bombs.
The J-8D was officially put into service at the beginning of this year.
Compared with the old model, the biggest improvement is the increased ability to receive fuel in the air. In other aspects, especially the electronic equipment, not many updates have been made.
A new continuous wave irradiator was replaced just to adapt to the domestic Pili 11 missile.
The pilot responsible for this target practice is Feng Lin, who has participated in almost all test missions since the introduction of the A-bomb. At this time, he was reporting on the pre-flight preparations to Yang Fenghata and Guo Liqiang.
“I still want to thank you comrades in the aerospace system for finally satisfying Lao Feng’s thoughts over the years.”
A captain officer at the trial training base next to him was quite emotional. said.
“Huh?”
Chang Haonan looked at the other party in confusion.
There's something about this that makes it sound like someone else is going to die.
"Old Feng will be grounded in two months. He has told us several years ago that he hopes to personally shoot a radar bomb produced by our country before the grounding."
As he spoke, the young captain took out a cigarette, put it under his nose and smelled it:
“As a result, every year after hearing about the existence of such a thing, there was no trace of it. , we all thought he couldn't catch up, but... Hey, you guys came at the right time."
Before Chang Haonan could say anything more to this guy who was obviously from Jinmen, the loudspeaker sounded. There was the sound of the target shooting experiment getting ready to start.
"Plane No. 19 is about to start taxiing. Please evacuate the irrelevant personnel from the runway area."
Flight safety is no small matter. Regardless of the designers of aircraft or missiles, those who arrive at the airport are considered irrelevant personnel.
So he followed the others and retreated to the command center of the tower.
For Chang Haonan, it was not the first time to watch a fighter jet take off from this position with the best view. The novelty at the beginning had long since disappeared, so his attention was quickly focused on The huge CRT display screen of this era attracted people.
What is displayed above should be what the ground radar detects.
"Unit No. 19 has entered the test airspace, and the radar is activated normally!"
In the radio, Feng Lin's voice was unusually calm.
The tower commander was also reporting the situation to the test pilots in real time.
"The target drone has taken off and is expected to enter the target area in two minutes..."
"It is expected to enter the target area in one minute..."
"The drone has entered the target area and can start searching for the target!"
This time, the radio was silent for a moment before Feng Lin's answer came:
"The radar failed to intercept the target. Please reconfirm the target location."
This sentence made everyone in the tower feel excited.
The 霹雳11 is a semi-active radar guidance. If the radar cannot even intercept the target, there will be no need to conduct any weapons tests.
"The target is located at 12 o'clock directly in front of you, 17km away."
The commander's voice also contained some nervousness.
Chang Haonan frowned slightly.
He probably already remembered what the problem was.
Logically speaking, after all, it is a target test of a new missile. According to the conventional process, a mature model should be used as the carrier aircraft.
After the missile is finalized, new aircraft can be used to attack it.
But the situation of J-8B/D is quite special.
The ancient 208A fire control radar is still stuffed in their seemingly huge noses, and its detection capability is not much farther than the visual distance of the pilot on a clear day.
This is not the end. Although the power of this radar is very low and the detection range is long, its power consumption is very high. The generator power of the old model turbojet 13 is only pitiful. 6kw is not even enough to provide enough power to the radar and the improved continuous wave illuminator at the same time... In short, based on past or future experience, the ultimate working distance of this combination after it goes into space is just over 10 kilometers.
Although it has barely reached the threshold of "beyond visual range", the actual combat significance is really not great.
The ultimate range of the Thunderbolt 8 is 15 kilometers...
In short, it is a complete waste of the effective range of the Thunderbolt 11, which is about 40 kilometers. It is difficult to pass even from an exam perspective. .
Because it takes several seconds from the radar interception of the target to the launch of the missile. If the interception distance is only a little more than 10 kilometers, there is a high probability that the missile will not meet the minimum shot in the assessment project by the time it is launched. Distance requires...
At this time, Feng Lin’s report also verified Chang Haonan’s guess:
"12km, the radar captured the target!"
Obviously, it was not that the radar was malfunctioning, but simply that its performance was too poor.
A few seconds later, Feng Lin’s voice sounded again:
“Missiles are ready!”
But at this time, the target distance displayed on the big screen was already only There are 9km left.
The tower commander had no choice but to order:
"The launch distance does not meet the test requirements, abort the launch procedure!"
The missile target test is not a one-time deal, as long as the missile carrier aircraft and target drone are As long as there is sufficient fuel, the test can be repeated multiple times.
However, until the target aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed, Feng Lin's No. 19 aircraft failed to lock on the target 15km away three times in a row.
……
Ten minutes later.
Plank No. 19 carrying two PL-11 missiles landed on the runway of Dingxin Airport and was towed back to the hangar by a tractor.
The staff of the 601 Institute and the Second Electrical and Mechanical Bureau came here again, but the atmosphere at the scene became much more depressing than about an hour ago.
When Feng Lin climbed out of the cabin, even Chang Haonan standing far away could feel the regret in the old pilot's mood.
Under normal circumstances, it takes several months from the time a target test fails to when the problem is identified, solved, and then the next target test is conducted.
At that time, Feng Lin, who had reached his age, obviously no longer had the opportunity to participate in the experiment.
"Mr. Yang."
Chang Haonan squeezed through the crowd and came to Yang Fenghata, who was about to communicate with the pilot:
"The failure of this target test is obviously The problem with the aircraft is that the output power of the continuous wave irradiator is not enough, which makes it impossible to intercept the target at a long enough distance. "
"In this case, why not just let our J-8C prototype shoot this bomb? ”
Feng Lin, who looked gloomy, naturally brightened up. If he just changed the plane and re-tested, it should not take a few days before he would have a chance to realize his wish.
Yang Fenghata just lowered his head and thought silently.
The people on both sides of the Mechanical and Electrical No. 2 and No. 607 offices looked nervous. After all, the problem was on their side.
“But if the new aircraft is equipped with new ammunition...”
The leader of the trial training base next to it was a little hesitant. The last time they equipped the new aircraft with new ammunition, they used the J-8B to test-fire the Aspad. , and as a result, all three shots missed the target, which has left a psychological shadow...
Chang Haonan also knew that his proposal seemed a bit out of tune, so he had to find a small blackboard from the side and repeated the analysis just now while writing.
Finally, he specially concluded:
“The J-8C is not only equipped with the 1471G radar with better performance, but more importantly, the turbojet 14 after our improvement can drive a The power of the two generators is up to 18kw, with a total power supply capacity of 36kw, which is three times that of the current J-8D!” The main reason!”
These two sentences became the last two straws that affected the decision.
After Yang Fenghao thought for a moment, he nodded slowly:
"Even if the worst case scenario occurs, it will just be another remaining bullet period. There is nothing to worry about!"
"Remaining bomb section" is the optimistic statement made by the trial training base regarding the result of the aircraft landing with bombs due to failure to complete the test.
“Let the J-8C give it a try.”
(End of this chapter)