Chapter 677 Experimenting with a local tyrant’s aircraft carrier

   Integrated electric propulsion system? What's this? Everyone's eyes widened.

"We know that in previous warships, the engines directly drove the propellers forward, and at the same time, there were special generators to supply power to the warships. In the case of radar, there is no problem, but now, there are more and more electrical equipment on warships. Various radars, various missiles, and computer systems all need to consume a lot of power. Then, there is a problem.”

Qin Tao explained to everyone: "For example, if a warship wants to sail at high speed, the power of the engine needs to be high enough. At this time, the warship only needs to run an air-to-sea search radar. Therefore, at this time, power generation The power of the engine is surplus. Wouldn’t it be better if the surplus generating power could be used to drive the ship? For another example, when the warship needs to cruise on the battlefield, the speed will decrease at this time, and the power of the engine will be redundant. However, After various devices are turned on, the required power will increase significantly, even if all the generators are turned on at the same time, it may not be enough."

This principle is very simple, and everyone can understand it: if you need high-speed navigation, you need to give energy to the propeller; if you need various equipment to start up, you need to give energy to electronic equipment; Difficult, so, a brand new technical route came out: all the power on the warship is used to generate electricity, and then redistribute the electric energy!

  For aircraft carriers, this method is even more important. Both electromagnetic ejection and electromagnetic interception require a lot of energy. If you don’t build an integrated power system, it will either be wasted or not enough.

   "You still have this kind of system?" Everyone present was shocked.

   "Of course." Qin Tao said: "Now, our Aegis warships already use this system, and we also plan to use this system for the new warships with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons developed by ourselves."

  The progress of the construction of the aircraft carrier is very fast. Now, the first segment has been welded. From this, it can be clearly seen that although the Orientals will not tell the outside world, the Saudis can still guess something in their hearts.

   This kind of system is not difficult without the integrated drive. The 002 aircraft carrier must be installed, but it is difficult to add the drive.

   After all, the power required to drive an aircraft carrier is too great.

Still take the Queen-class aircraft carrier as an example. After all, this product is the first to use an integrated electric propulsion system. For this reason, it uses two 36-megawatt MT-30 gas turbines, plus two single-machine power 9-megawatt watts Ceylon 12V38B diesel generator set. In this way, the maximum output power of the main power system is 108 megawatts, of which 80 megawatts are used to drive four advanced induction motors of the French Corfud Electromechanical Company with a stand-alone power of 20 megawatts, with a total propulsion power of 108,000 horsepower, allowing this 6.5 The 10,000-ton aircraft carrier reaches a top speed of 26 knots.

  Currently, the largest marine propulsion motor in China is of course the 095 nuclear submarine. The permanent magnet propulsion motor used on it is 20 megawatts, which is already the strongest in this era.

Using it to propel the 80,000-ton 002 aircraft carrier may require more than eight units, which is absolutely impossible. Now, it is no problem to use it to propel the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier. Four units are enough to propel this aircraft carrier By 30 knots, big dogs have high requirements, and aircraft carriers at 25 and 6 knots must not be looked down upon.

"The biggest advantage of adopting this integrated electric propulsion system is that the transmission shaft and the gearbox for speed reduction are omitted. These things not only take up a lot of space, but also generate noise during operation." Qin Tao continued to fool: "So, our advanced warships have abandoned this backward method, and the entire warship uses electric propulsion, which is the most suitable solution."

  Now, these people are left to listen, for them, this is the Arabian Nights.

"We currently plan to use four boilers to drive two steam turbines as the main engines, with a power of about 120,000 horsepower. At the same time, we will also provide two generator sets with a single power of 8 megawatts. In this way, the power of the entire warship will exceed 100. megawatts, in addition to driving the four drive motors, there is enough power left for other electrical equipment." Qin Tao continued to introduce.

   "Boiler?"

  Hearing what Qin Tao said, dissatisfied expressions appeared on the faces of the local tyrants present.

   "Yes, everyone. At present, gas turbines are the best choice for warships with tens of thousands of tons." Qin Tao introduced: "After all, everyone should know that the power of gas turbines is not that big."

The most mature domestic gas turbine is the GT15000 gas turbine, with a power of only 20 megawatts. If you want to achieve a power of 100 megawatts, you must use at least five gas turbines. The chimneys are larger than the boilers, and the two-ship island may not be enough at that time.

If the British MT30 gas turbine is developed, a single 36 megawatts, and two are possible. Since the 60,000-ton Queen-class can be pushed to a speed of 26 knots, the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier can reach 30 knots. no problem.

However, this kind of gas turbine has not been seen yet. Even if there is, it cannot be used, because this thing does not consider the needs of the tropics. You have to lie down.

  So, Qin Tao doesn't like gas turbines at all.

   At this time, everyone fell silent after hearing Qin Tao's words.

  The power of the gas turbine is indeed not that big. If the gas turbine is not used, there is no other choice but to burn the boiler!

   "Unless you want nuclear power." Qin Tao said: "If you install two nuclear reactors and two gas turbines, it will be almost enough."

  At present, domestic mature nuclear reactors, which are used on nuclear submarines, although the thermal power of a single reactor has reached 150 megawatts, but it is not bad to have 30 megawatts left when it falls on the generator.

  Two nuclear reactors, 60 megawatts, are enough for normal cruising. If power is needed, turn on two gas turbines, just enough to make up 100 megawatts.

  Salman shook his head: "No, it may be difficult for our region to accept nuclear-powered aircraft carriers."

  Talk about nuclear discoloration. Back then, Silly Damu built a nuclear power plant, which was directly blown up by the Israelis in a long-range raid. If they drove a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier back, the balance of the entire region would be completely broken.

   "So, besides burning the boiler, do you have any other options?" Qin Tao asked.

   "There is indeed no other choice, so let's burn the boiler." Salman agreed!

   Boiler power, all-electric propulsion, probably the only one in the world! Qin Tao was also very emotional in his heart. Sure enough, the money of a big dog is easy to make!

  The deck has been discussed, the motivation has been discussed, and the rest will be easy to talk about.

"The hangar below can hold about twenty-five carrier-based aircraft. Adding the number of decks, the total number of carrier-based aircraft can carry 55 aircraft. However, considering the actual situation, you only need to carry about forty aircraft when going to sea normally. It is enough to carry an aircraft, and this kind of strength is enough to dominate the entire region." Qin Tao said.

   "No, we will purchase 60 planes and get some backup machines," Salman said.

  Money is not a problem, the confidence of local tyrants is enough!

  The people present were shocked. It was their first time dealing with Saudi Arabia. They did not expect them to be so arrogant!

   "In order to ensure more efficient operation, you have to operate a batch of shipborne helicopters, including anti-submarine, sea rescue, air early warning and other tasks." Qin Tao said: "I recommend you to purchase our Z-8."

"Aerial early warning?" Salman became curious. Last time, Qin Tao brought up the issue of air early warning aircraft to command stealth aircraft. He knew that the Easterners had professional airborne early warning aircraft, and he also expected the Easterners to refit them with a few C- 130 as an early warning aircraft, but he did not expect that the Orientals still have an early warning aircraft on a helicopter platform.

   "Yes, our current 001 aircraft carrier cannot operate fixed-wing early warning aircraft, but our aircraft carrier also has early air early warning requirements, so we modified the air early warning aircraft on the helicopter platform."

   "Is it the same way as the British Sea King helicopter?" Someone asked.

   On the ground or on ships, the radar is affected by the curvature of the earth. When detecting ultra-low-altitude aircraft, the distance will not exceed 40 kilometers.

During the Falklands naval battle that year, Argentina relied on the cover of the curvature of the earth to quietly approach the British aircraft carrier formation with the super flag, and then launched the flying fish missiles that flew across the sea. The results were outstanding. If they had a few more flying fish Missiles, the pattern of the world might really be rewritten.

  The road is one foot high and the devil is ten feet high. With the tactics of ultra-low-altitude penetration, there is also a way to counterattack, and the air early warning aircraft has become more and more important.

  After the radar is moved into the sky, those ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming aircraft will be clearly seen without hiding.

  If you want to have a long enough detection time and a long enough detection effect, you must have a professional fixed-wing early warning aircraft. However, for general warships, it is too difficult to operate a fixed-wing early warning aircraft, and the helicopter platform is convenient for take-off and landing, and has become a better tool.

   However, the helicopter body is small, how to detect it is a big problem.

  The British put the radar on the side of the fuselage by placing it on the side, and added a radome outside to form a big ball. When taking off and landing, turn it to the horizontal direction to retract it, and turn it to the bottom when it is in use.

  Due to the close relationship with the West, the first thing they thought of was the sea king helicopter modification plan.

  Qin Tao shook his head: "Of course not, that kind of radar is too backward. We are using the most advanced technology in the world now. Wait until tomorrow, and I will take you to the flight test academy to have a look."

   "We can see your most advanced early warning aircraft?" Salman also became excited.

   "Yes, our most advanced early warning aircraft. However, due to confidentiality and other reasons, we need to communicate with our superiors first, and then we can confirm it. Now, let's move on to the following project, the electronic equipment on the island."

  The Saudis couldn’t sit still anymore. They were excited when they thought of visiting the early warning aircraft. Anyway, the aircraft carrier technology of the East has matured, and any electronic equipment needed can be installed.

   After talking about various detailed issues for a full one or two hours, the day's itinerary was over, and the next thing was the banquet and celebration. The next day, everyone took a special plane to the test flight academy.

  All countries that can develop fighter jets need special flight test institutions. Whether it is testing or finalization, professional flight test institutes can better deal with various problems.

  Old Maozi’s Zhukovsky Test Flight Institute is well-known all over the world, and there are similar institutions in China.

  When the plane landed on the runway, the first thing Salman and others saw was the most dazzling plane with the big plate on it.

Air Police 2000 has completed the test mission and delivered it to the troops. It is still being tested in the flight test institute. It is two early warning aircraft modified from the Yun-8 airframe. One is a large plate and the other is a balance beam. Because of this The body platform will not be restricted, and the price of the body can be reduced at the same time, so this early warning opportunity becomes the backbone.

  As for the carrier-based early warning aircraft, it is still being installed and debugged in the factory, and it has not yet reached the stage of test flight.

   "Your early warning aircraft looks a bit small." Salah asked.

They also have early warning aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The early warning aircraft purchased from the United States is their most proud world-leading equipment. The early warning aircraft modified from the airframe platform of an airliner is of a strategic level and is very large. very small.

"Yes, these are tactical early warning aircraft." Qin Tao said, "It was modified using our Yun-8 as the platform. If you plan to use the C-130 as the airframe platform to modify it for us, it will also be of this size. .”

   "That's right, we have an idea to use C-130 to modify, Qin, can we go up and have a look?" Salman is already eager to try.

   "We can't be in a hurry. We didn't make an appointment in advance and we need to apply to the relevant department. Everyone, we can go and see the early warning aircraft converted from the helicopter first."

   Everyone followed the direction Qin Tao pointed and saw the helicopter parked on the other side.

  There is no big ball on the side of the helicopter, and it looks no different from an ordinary helicopter.

   "Super Hornet helicopter?" Salah recognized the model of the aircraft at a glance.

This is a helicopter developed by France in the 1960s. With a take-off weight of 13 tons, it is already a large helicopter, but because the engine performance was limited at that time, it used three engines extravagantly. At that time, many world records were set.

  However, its performance quickly became obsolete. Therefore, after entering the 1980s, France stopped producing this kind of aircraft, but in the East, this kind of aircraft is constantly being produced.

Among the imported projects in the 1970s and 1980s, the Super Hornet helicopter was one of the main domestic projects. In the years of production, its localization has been continuously improved. Later, after major changes, it was re-numbered as Zhi-18. , has been in service until the twenty-first century.

  Compared to the small four-ton Z-9, one Z-8 is better than three. At the same time, due to its heavy take-off weight, it can carry more equipment. It is also the most suitable for refitting an air early warning aircraft.

  So, after the start of the 001 aircraft carrier project, China has been developing this kind of early warning aircraft, but after all, it has never been touched before, so it still encountered many difficulties in research and development, and it is still testing at the flight test institute.

"That's right, this is a carrier-based helicopter produced by us after we introduced the Super Hornet technology." Qin Tao said: "This kind of helicopter has a huge body and is most suitable for modifying early warning helicopters. It can not only be equipped with aircraft carriers, but also warships of the 10,000-ton class It can also be carried."

At present, the main carrier-based helicopter in China is the Z-9. The 052 with a small body of 4,000 to 5,000 tons can carry two helicopters. Only warships can carry it.

  After arriving, with the 055, you can carry the Z-8 normally. Even if there is no aircraft carrier nearby, you can also undertake the task of early warning in the air and **** the formation. Therefore, this kind of helicopter early warning aircraft also has a great effect.

   While speaking, everyone had already arrived in front of the plane, and Zhang Feng, the person in charge who had been waiting here, came up to meet him. (I didn’t find this designer, so I made up one randomly. Looking at the photos, this early warning aircraft was columnar in the early stage, and it was flat in the later stage. Let’s use the flat panel to introduce it.)

   "Everyone, welcome to inspect our shipborne early warning helicopter." Zhang Feng stretched out his hand: "Everyone can observe it on the spot today. If you want to know any technical data, I can also tell you."

  Salman shook hands with each other: "We are curious, where is the radar of this helicopter?"

   "At the back, everyone, please follow me." Zhang Feng said, leading everyone to the back.

  Looking at the long flat plate in the groove at the tail of the plane, everyone was a little curious: "Is this thing a radar?"

   "Yes, this is our most advanced active phased array antenna array."

   "How does it achieve 360-degree monitoring?"

   "When it takes off, it can rotate along the mechanism below and flip to the bottom of the body, so that it can rotate to search the surrounding airspace and realize the monitoring capability of 360 degrees." Qin Tao said.

   "I see, it sounds similar to the plan of the Ka-31 early warning aircraft." Salah nodded.

  They are not familiar with Lao Maozi’s equipment. They said they would come to visit the early warning helicopter last night, so they did some research on the network of the guest house, and learned a lot of knowledge. They also knew that Lao Maozi has this unique helicopter.

However, Lao Maozi's flat-panel antenna is different from this one. Lao Maozi's is put away under the belly and unfolded when in use. And if you look at the area, Lao Maozi's is obviously larger, several times larger than this radar panel. .

"No, it's much worse." Zhang Feng shook his head immediately: "Lao Maozi's plan still uses a waveguide antenna, and its performance is very backward. Meters, one meter wide, and 200 kilograms in weight. Our radar is less than two meters long, half a meter wide, and only 50 kilograms in weight. Do you know what this means?"

  Everyone shook their heads. Even if there were pilots present, they were fighter pilots, and they were not familiar with helicopter technology.

"This means that the aerodynamic resistance brought by our radar is smaller. When the helicopter is flying in the air, the flat panel antenna below will seriously affect the flight. The old Maozi's early warning aircraft is difficult to control in flight. If the wind speed exceeds a certain Conditions, even if it cannot take off, we will be much less affected." Zhang Feng said.

   When the Ka-31 is working, it will wobble, like walking a tightrope. The impact of that plate is too great, and the small plate of our side has no additional impact on the aircraft.

   "So, what about performance?"

  The board is small, does it mean that the performance is poor?

"Performance? We use an active phased array radar. Despite the small size of this antenna, there are 800 T/R modules on it. Each module has a peak power of 10W and an average power of 2W. You can calculate it Its actual performance. We can compare it with the Ka-31 radar. Its plane has 4 rows, each row has 24 transceiver units, and the total number of each is less than a hundred."

   "Its detection range for low-altitude sea-skimming anti-ship missiles will also exceed 150 kilometers, and for warships on the sea, the longest detection distance can exceed 300 kilometers?" Salah simply calculated.

"That's right, it's this kind of data." Zhang Feng said: "During the search mission, if our helicopter searches at a place 200 kilometers away from the mother ship, it can obtain the sea surface conditions 500 kilometers away. Even if flying over the mothership, you can also have a clear view of the situation 300 kilometers away. Moreover, our phased array radar can not only rotate, but also be fixed in that direction when it needs to detect special targets, so that It can achieve the purpose of detection at a longer distance."

   "This data sounds very good!" Salman also nodded.

"Yes, as long as the early warning aircraft has enough power, the detection distance can be guaranteed, but if it is only searching for targets, the strength of the early warning aircraft is too weak, just like the American E-2 early warning aircraft, which is said by many people to be It is a flying Yagi antenna. If you want to be a qualified early warning aircraft, you must not only have the ability to spot targets, but also have the ability to command operations." Zhang Feng said: "Everyone can go to our cabin to have a look. The command and combat capability of our aircraft is stronger than that of the E-2."

Generally speaking, early warning helicopters play an early warning role. The various target data searched still need to be transmitted to the mothership through the data link, and the mothership will command it. However, this method is impossible to adapt to the ever-changing modern times. of the battlefield situation.

   It would be much more convenient if he could directly command the battle.

  Zhiba has a large body space, but the rear space is occupied by electronic equipment. Behind the front cockpit, there is an operator room for four people.

  On each console, there is a flat-panel LCD monitor. Although it is only 17 inches, it is considered relatively large in this era.

  (end of this chapter)