Chapter 656: Has the technology of early warning aircraft regressed?

Mr. Lin immediately guessed the meaning of these numbers at first. They were just to compare with X-32 and X-35. They were disgusting to Americans. However, Wu Shengli obviously didn't think about it so much. He just thought about it briefly. He nodded: "Then let's annihilate the thirty-two. We have to follow the order."

As a result, this carrier-based aircraft was officially designated as the J-32. From now on, it will dominate the world and give those with bad intentions a headache.

The production of the J-32 was officially started after Qin Tao left. Zhao Dangsheng continued to be in charge here. The research and development and continued improvement and upgrading of several other models were still in charge of Pleshakov, with Wu Shengli taking the lead. Qin Tao went to No. 603 Institute and No. 172 Factory without stopping.

These are of course preparations for the next aircraft carrier. Next, the Navy will officially start construction of the second aircraft carrier. All kinds of preparations related to the aircraft carrier must be prepared by the Mingzhou Group.

As for the bidding of Bincheng Shipyard, everyone just needs to see through it without saying anything. Qin Tao is obviously here to accompany him. If only one factory of Mingzhou Group bids, it will not be justified.

 Bincheng Shipyard was once the largest warship manufacturer in the country. It produced many warships and also bid for destroyers. Now it continues to bid for aircraft carriers. This seems fair and reasonable. The navy chooses the best.

 On the warships, other projects are almost done, but now we just need an early warning aircraft.

The project of shipborne early warning aircraft has been arranged for a long time, and the 603 Research Institute is also working tirelessly, and the progress is very good. This time, Wu Shengli just wants to take Qin Tao to see it.

Qin Tao has been running around here and there, and has not paid much attention to the early warning aircraft project in the past year.

When everyone arrived at House 603, Mr. Chen, who had received the news, was already waiting at the door.

“Mr. Chen, you are moving very fast.” After seeing Mr. Chen, Qin Tao said with a smile: “I heard that the prototype has been built?”

"Yes, the airframe has been built, and the early warning radar equipment is now being installed in the workshop." Mr. Chen said: "Now, the R&D team of the early warning aircraft is also there to help. Leader Wu, Mr. Qin, are you here to listen first? Listen to our report, or go directly to the workshop?"

“Of course it’s the workshop, what’s the use of listening to the report?” Qin Tao said immediately.

So, a group of people went to the specialized early warning aircraft assembly workshop.

Zhao Ling looked through the window and looked outside. Since becoming Qin Tao's assistant, her life has been completely different from before. She traveled around, met all kinds of people, and came into contact with all kinds of R&D secrets. A new life filled her with freshness and a new kind of happiness.

 Brother Tao is so awesome, he can do anything! No matter who he was, he seemed to be familiar with him, and the look he gave him was one of respect and even admiration.

 She felt proud of Qin Tao.

In the workshop, a group of people were busy. After Mr. Chen entered, he shouted: "Xiao Duan, Xiao Duan, stop working, Leader Wu and Mr. Qin are here."

Duan Yi climbed down from the scaffolding, walked over quickly, and looked at the people who came.

"Leader Wu, Mr. Qin, hello, our early warning aircraft has a very tight construction schedule, so don't be surprised if I didn't go to greet you. Welcome to come and inspect the site." Duan Yi said, stretching out his hand, intending to shake hands with the leader. However, his hands were full of dirt and he planned to retract them and wipe them on his clothes.

Wu Shengli had already held his hand: "Mr. Duan, thank you for your hard work. Our navy's fixed-wing early warning aircraft depends on you!"

Qin Tao had a smile on his face. The person in front of him looked like he was only thirty or forty years old. He had already become the chief designer of this early warning aircraft. The research team was getting younger! Only in this way can the development team be full of vitality and vitality.

“Mr. Duan, have you been responsible for this project?” Qin Tao asked.

"Yes, Mr. Qin, you left everything to us at the 603 Institute. Mr. Chen couldn't get away from studying the J-H-7, so I volunteered and stumbled up to now. I hope the test flight will go smoothly. Don't let you down. expectations.”

“Well, tell me about the aircraft first.” Qin Tao looked at the early warning aircraft in front of him and felt very satisfied.

If you look at the shape, it is very similar to the E-2. There is nothing to say about it. After all, the Yak-44 early warning aircraft is called the Hawkeye Sky. Our own carrier-based early warning aircraft is the product of the Yak-44 and Yun-12. Improved on the basis.

 The straight wings, four vertical tails, and a large plate on the back are all similar, but there are also different details.

For example, the propeller rotates coaxially, and the propeller blades look like a machete, which looks very powerful and domineering. The nose is also slightly shorter.

"Mr. Qin, let me first introduce you to the overall parameters of the aircraft. The length of this aircraft is 18 meters and the wingspan is 25 meters. Of course, the wings can be folded for easy access to the hangar. After the radar and electronic equipment are installed, The weight can be kept around twenty-five tons.”

 The empty weight is equivalent to the total weight of the E-2. There is nothing we can do about it. After all, there is still a gap between our own technology and the United States. However, compared with the weight of the Yak-44, it is much lighter.

“After being filled with fuel and personnel, its total weight can be kept at about thirty tons. This can be regarded as a satisfactory completion of the design indicators without any overweight.”

 When we first planned it, we aimed at a total weight of thirty tons, and now it has been successfully completed.

"At the same time, we use the D227 engine you provided for its engine. Under normal circumstances, we only need to use about 8,000 horsepower. If an engine suddenly stalls unexpectedly during takeoff, then , the other engine will quickly reach the maximum power of 14,000 horsepower, which can ensure continued successful takeoff and then go-around landing."

  The power of the engine is a bit too large, which is a disadvantage but also an advantage. After all, taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier is very dangerous, and various accidents can happen at any time. People in the early warning aircraft cannot eject like fighter jets.

“Has the engine mapping and imitation started?” Qin Tao asked.

He originally got ten of them, eight of which were used to equip four early warning aircraft, and the remaining two were intended for surveying and mapping. If the navy wanted to build one, it would still need a lot of them in the future. In addition to early warning aircraft, there must also be transport aircraft. Anti-submarine aircraft, etc. At the same time, this engine is powerful and can also be used to replace other land-based transport aircraft.

"Mr. Qin, there are currently two voices in the country, one is direct mapping and imitation, and the other is designed by oneself and improved with modern technology, which can be more powerful than this engine." Mr. Chen spoke.

"There is no shame in direct mapping and imitation. If you can imitate it, you can improve it." Qin Tao said: "We don't have so much time to do self-research and design. Can we build it in ten years? By then, our domestic aircraft carriers will have started construction for two or three years. We have a ship, but we don’t have an engine, so what should we do if we can’t produce an early warning aircraft?”

Qin Tao is a firm believer in imitating surveying and mapping, because he knows how much time will be wasted if he does his own research.

He simply doesn’t have the time to wait, and the army doesn’t have the time to wait either. Let’s do the mapping and imitation first! Improvements come later.

Just like the turbofan 15, copy it first and then improve it. Solve the problem of whether or not first and then talk about improvement!

"Mr. Qin is right, let's imitate it first." Wu Shengli also nodded: "We can talk about other things after we imitate it. Just like our turbofan Fifteen, it is now usable, and the Turbofan Ten is still Experimenting."

Comparing the two, we can see that Qin Tao was wise at the time and directly bought a full set of Turbofan 15 technology. Now it has become the most reliable power for the J-32. Looking at the Turbofan 10, the relationship between this engine and As for the localization of the J-10 and J-11 fighters, however, they have not been finalized for a long time. Although they have been equipped on the dual-engine J-11 for test flights, it is said that there are too many problems to count.

 So, imitation is necessary.

"Yes, Leader Wu, President Qin, I will pass on your opinions." Duan Yi said: "Right now, this aircraft is being installed, and I can't invite you to see it inside. Otherwise, I will give it to you here. Continue to introduce?"

“Has the mushroom plate been installed?” Qin Tao asked, pointing to the large disk on top of the early warning aircraft.

“Yes, the mushroom tray was installed three days ago. Now, we are mainly doing the finishing work of the mushroom tray and the installation of internal equipment.”

At this moment, another person jumped out. He wiped his sweat, and then looked at Qin Tao and others with a smile.

“Mr. Wang?” Qin Tao looked at the people who came down in surprise: “Are you here too?”

"I have just been here a few days ago. During the test at sea a few days ago, I was also on the AWACS. Your J-31A performed very well. Our AWACS..." Mr. Wang said here He stopped, glanced around, and then said: "Let's talk about our early warning aircraft. Due to the limitations of the aircraft, its performance is definitely not as good as our Air Police 2000."

"That's for sure. Our navy has no intention of expecting its performance to be better than the strategic early warning aircraft." Qin Tao said: "Its main mission is to search for low-altitude flying targets and help the navy better respond to sneak attacks."

Mr. Wang nodded: "Yes, so when we designed it, we deliberately strengthened its low-altitude search capabilities. Of course, since it was installed later, we used the more advanced Godson-2, with the main frequency It is taller, has more advanced manufacturing processes, and generates lower heat. Although its equipment compartment has a small capacity, its processing power has reached one-half that of the Air Police 2000!"

In the past few years, Mr. Ni and the others have been working tirelessly. There is still a certain gap between the world's advanced level of Godson No. 1 and they rely on quantity. By the time Godson No. 2 has reached world synchronization, by Godson No. 2, it has reached world synchronization. On the 3rd, it’s time to achieve transcendence!

At present, Godson-2 has not yet entered the market in large quantities. However, many scientific research institutions and military products have begun to use this most advanced processor. Therefore, despite the small size of the early warning aircraft in front of you, its operational performance Not weak!

“Mr. Duan, there is something wrong with our rotating shaft!” At this moment, a technician above shouted.

Zhao Ling was taken aback by these words: "Isn't the radome of our Air Police 2000 fixed? Why does it actually rotate when it's on our carrier-based aircraft? This method has long been outdated, right?"

This sentence was just blurted out. After finishing it, Zhao Ling felt a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I just..."

"Our AWACS aircraft cannot be compared with land-based aircraft when it comes to the ship." Qin Tao explained to Zhao Ling: "Our land-based AWACS aircraft does not need to consider issues such as weight and power consumption, so it can It doesn’t matter how much money is spent to install a three-sided phased array. However, if our carrier-based early warning aircraft is also equipped with a three-sided phased array, there will be a lot of things packed into the radome, and the weight will also increase and consume more power. It’s even more astonishing, we made the choice after making a lot of trade-offs.”

"Mr. Qin, how did you know?" Mr. Wang was very curious. He remembered clearly that after Qin Tao handed over the affairs of this stall to the relevant person in charge, he just took over as the shopkeeper and had never seen it before.

 “I analyzed it.” Qin Tao simply replied.

"Yes." Mr. Wang nodded: "Mr. Qin's analysis is so right. The radar used by our carrier-based early warning aircraft really makes things difficult for us. We originally planned to design a three-sided phased array radar, but calculations We gave up after the weight was exceeded. Although the search effect of the three-sided fixed radar was better, and the design of the airframe also provided us with sufficient margin, we were also afraid that if it landed, the landing hook would hook. What if the blocking rope was blocked and the big plate on top flew off?"

If the large plate is too heavy, something like this may happen, even if they have calculated it well. If they continue to reinforce it, they will pay more structural weight.

“So you changed the three-sided phased array into a single-sided one?” Zhao Ling asked.

"Yes, the three-sided phased array used to be three sectors, each responsible for a 120-degree airspace. Now the single-sided phased array is in the center, like a shoulder pole. In this way, even if it is a radome If the diameter is small, the distance between the two ends of its array is not small, so a far enough detection distance can be obtained," Mr. Wang said.

(Regarding the method of this single-sided phased array radar, some say it is on one side of the disk, and some say it is on the diameter of the center of the disk. Personally, I feel that it is unlikely to be on one side. It will be unbalanced when rotating, or Let’s introduce it based on the diameter in the center. The three sides are too heavy and consume too much electricity, so they are definitely inappropriate.)

"Fortunately, what we have on the 052B is a single-sided phased array radar rotation method, so it can be used on many software, which greatly improves our development speed." Mr. Wang said: "Horizontal mechanical scanning, vertical Electrical scanning is also a project plan approved by the Navy. Of course, if necessary, our large plate can also be fixed to conduct comprehensive detection in a certain direction."

 The rotation method slows down the data refresh speed. If you find a special target appears in a certain direction and need to strengthen the detection, then stop the big plate, which is similar to the balance beam.

"If compared with the American E-2 early warning aircraft, our early warning aircraft has an overall advantage." Mr. Wang said proudly. This kind of ship-based early warning aircraft cannot be compared with the land-based strategic early warning aircraft. It is better than just Compared with the same carrier-based early warning aircraft, currently, there is only one type used in the world: the American E-2C. This early warning aircraft is not only equipped with the U.S. Navy, but also equipped with other countries and regions. David People are using it, and the French have to use it on the Charles de Gaulle, even on the opposite side.

 Hence, the early warning information in front of you is important to compare with the one on the opposite side.

"First of all, the American early warning aircraft uses purely mechanical scanning, while we use horizontal mechanical scanning and vertical electronic scanning. Secondly, the American early warning aircraft use pulse Doppler processing technology, and we use STAP space-time adaptive processing. , which has greatly improved signal processing technology and capabilities; also, we have replaced all electronic tube devices such as the klystron transmitter on the radar machine with solid-state devices, achieving full solid-state, full digitalization, and reduced power consumption. Performance improvements.”

 When this early warning aircraft is put into service, it will become the most advanced ship-based early warning aircraft in the world!

"Although we are late in research and development, we will definitely surpass our opponents in terms of technology." Qin Tao said: "Just like the Navy's Aegis battleship, the active phased array we use is one generation ahead of our opponents. We To lead this era.”

“Yes, the technology of our radar is very advanced. We have also added special key sector extended-range search and high-mobility target tracking capabilities.” Speaking of the performance of this early warning aircraft, Mr. Wang is very proud.

"Extended range search is to increase the detection distance and probability of some targets that are far away, have strong stealth performance and are difficult to be discovered. That is to say, increase the search beam in this direction. High-mobility target tracking is to once the radar When a suspicious target is found in a certain area during a regular search, the area will be focused on. In the past, the radar would scan the area once every ten seconds, but now it scans the area in two seconds or even one second. Scan once, on the console, we call it focus mode, and the most important thing is that these are all fully automatic, and we can do this with our Godson No. 2 processor."

Zhao Ling's eyes were completely opened. At the same time, Zhao Ling also understood the significance of Qin Tao's involvement in various industries over the years. If Qin Tao had not been involved in the chip industry, then the military would not have such advanced chips to improve electronic warfare. ability!

“Excuse me, will there be problems such as electromagnetic interference when using these civilian chips?” Zhao Ling suddenly thought of something and asked.

She makes missiles. During the manufacturing process, she pays special attention to the issue of electromagnetic interference. The circuits used are specially designed. Now, is it possible to directly use civilian chips? Zhao Ling was a little worried.

"Although it is a civilian chip, we use a special shielding box outside. Ordinary electromagnetic interference is ineffective against it. If an electromagnetic pulse bomb is encountered on the battlefield, no chip will be able to withstand it, unless it is like the old one. Mao Zi uses the tube like that." Mr. Wang continued to explain.

“Lao Maozi has been preparing for a nuclear war. Lao Maozi really wants to fight, but the West really doesn’t want to fight.” Qin Tao said with emotion.

Lao Maozi’s military industry has always been preparing for war, even nuclear war. However, the West is not the same. The sophisticated electronic equipment in the West can be easily destroyed in a nuclear war.

 Who is right and who is wrong? There is no conclusion at all. In short, we must develop advanced electronic technology, and we cannot rely solely on electron tubes.

Moreover, electromagnetic pulse bombs generally do not appear on the battlefield. Otherwise, it would open a Pandora's box, just like the poison gas war in World War I. Both the enemy and ourselves would use it, and in the end it would be the big guys together. Finished.

"Mr. Qin, what you said is really insightful. Now, the West is claiming that if someone uses electromagnetic pulse bombs in a war, it is equivalent to using nuclear bombs, and they will use nuclear bombs to launch a counterattack." Mr. Wang said.

Just like the way our own ballistic missiles attack aircraft carriers, some people are afraid, so they will claim that using such weapons is equivalent to using nuclear bombs.

Qin Tao smiled: "Mr. Wang, thank you for your praise. By the way, I also have an idea that can improve the technology of our early warning aircraft, but I don't think it can be realized now. We have to wait until later."

"what idea?"

“Attach the T/R components of our phased array radar directly to the sides, front and rear of the fuselage, which will cause minimal damage to our aerodynamic layout and greatly improve flight stability.”

"Mr. Qin, you are talking about conformal antennas." Mr. Wang immediately concluded: "This technology requires further development of the performance of our processing system. After all, the position of each component is different. To process their signals, the amount of calculation required will further increase, estimated to be more than ten times that of the current one."

Conformal antennas, or smart skin patches, can stick T/R components on the required parts of the aircraft. There are many benefits. However, the position of each one is different, and the time of transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves is different. How to deal with it? It's very troublesome.

“It still depends on our chips.” Qin Tao said: “Don’t worry, we have the magic weapon of Moore’s Law. Within ten years, or even within five years, our chip processing speed should be able to meet this requirement.”

“In this case, the appearance of our early warning aircraft will be the same as that of a transport aircraft, with better concealment.” Wu Shengli said.

Speaking of transport aircraft, Qin Tao also thought of something: "How is the research and development of our transport aircraft going?"

"Yunwen is next door, and a prototype has been built." Wang Lao said: "Old Tang has been in charge there."

"Prototype? Isn't it a paperless operation? I remember that they have purchased a large number of computers. Do they still need to make wooden prototypes?" Qin Tao was a little surprised.

“It’s not a wooden prototype, it’s a physical prototype, which can also be called an all-metal prototype. After all, this is the first time they have made such a big thing.” Mr. Wang said.

The 603 Institute was the first unit to use paperless design. This is how the JH-7A was built. Assembly and the like were all done on computers. However, Yun-Ten is a big guy after all. They wanted to be on the safe side. , or decided to make a prototype first.

 (End of this chapter)