Chapter 874 Gas Turbine Driven, Burning Boiler and Catapult Aircraft

   Rafale is the pride of Dassault, it is a twin-engine medium-sized aircraft.

   Whether it has two engines or a heavy fighter, it depends on the size of the aircraft, take-off weight, etc., and considers various factors. The Rafale fighter uses two M88 engines, with an afterburner thrust of 75 kN, and the two together are only 150 kN, which is similar to the thrust of the single-engine J-31A. With an empty weight of ten tons, it is an out-and-out medium-sized machine.

In the past, the Navy and Air Force fighters developed by Dassault were separate. For example, the Air Force used the Mirage 2000, and the Navy used the Super Flag. When it came to the Rafale, it was finally unified. The Navy used a special Rafale M. Compared with the Air Force model, Due to the strengthening of the landing gear and the fuselage, the empty weight has increased by more than half a ton.

There are many benefits to being able to unify the models, so on the route of developing the Rafale fighter, the French think that they have done nothing wrong. Of course, the price is that the Mirage 4000 is completely abandoned. Of course, with France's land area and combat In terms of demand, there seems to be no need for heavy machines.

   Now, looking at the Rafale fighter jet in front of him, the people behind Qin Tao were very interested and formed a circle spontaneously, some looking at the nose, some looking at the fuselage, and some looking at the landing gear.

   Rafale fighter jets have a canard layout and can go on an aircraft carrier. Then the domestic J-20 is also a canard layout, so they should still be able to go on an aircraft carrier! The carrier-based version of the J-20 is under development, and they are full of expectations.

  In the eyes of the French, they thought that the Orientals were interested in this fighter, and they were very proud for a while.

"Actually, for aircraft carriers, medium-sized aircraft have the best cost-effectiveness ratio. They can carry a large number of aircraft, have strong combat capabilities, and have excellent multi-mission capabilities. Your 001 aircraft carrier is equipped with heavy-duty J-15s, which can only carry twenty or thirty If it is equipped with a medium-sized Rafale fighter, it can carry more than 50 aircraft." Kadina said.

"Yes, for a medium-sized country, it is enough to carry a medium-sized aircraft carrier, but for a big country, it still has to carry a heavy fighter. In terms of the number and weight of weapons carried, heavy fighters have inherent advantages, such as anti-ship, A heavy-duty fighter jet can carry two supersonic anti-ship missiles weighing two to three tons, but medium-sized fighter jets probably don’t have this capability, right?”

  Heavy supersonic anti-ship missile? The French don't think about it, because they don't have any at all. They only have flying fish, which can be mounted whether it is a super flag or a gust, so there is no need to worry about it.

  However, the Orientals are different. They have a variety of anti-ship missiles on hand, and they don't like small aircraft at all.

  The French are a little embarrassed.

   "Is your Rafale fighter for sale?" Qin Tao asked with concern.

   "Yes, our fighters are not only for our own use, but can also be sold. Do you need them?"

Qin Tao shook his head: "Our aircraft carrier has the heavy-duty J-15 and the medium-sized J-31A. There is no need to buy fighters. Looking around the world, there are not many countries that need fighters like yours. However, Ah San is one, have you considered it?"

  President Qin actually helped his side with ideas? Philip felt a little grateful in his heart. He thought Mr. Qin would only find fault here, but now he is helping them find a way.

   "That's right, we are planning to export fighter jets to Ah San, but Ah San has already purchased a batch of MiG-29K, and they have no need for carrier-based aircraft for the time being."

   Ah San’s MiG-29K was paired with the Chaoriwang, which was scrapped later and was just used on the aircraft carrier they built themselves, so there was no need to purchase a brand new fighter.

   "The MiG-29K is too backward. If you sell the Rafale fighter, they will definitely consider it." Qin Tao said: "In this way, you can also make a fortune. By the way, have you ever sold an aircraft carrier to them?"

   "Mr. Qin, are you saying that we can still sell aircraft carriers to Ah San?"

"That's right, look at it. Asan's aircraft carrier project has not been going well. Their Chaoriwang was damaged. It is said that they have encountered many problems in launching their own aircraft carrier. Now they are in a dilemma. It is best to buy it out." Appropriate, in fact, our Mingzhou Group is their best choice, but due to various reasons, they will not come to our Mingzhou Group to purchase aircraft carriers, so this business has to fall into the hands of others. It's better in your hands than in the English hands."

  Dikaina was excited: "Boss Qin, you are right, but we have also contacted before, Ah San did not approve of our design, and they insisted on self-development."

"That's because the plan you gave them didn't impress them." Now that he has come, Qin Tao simply continued to start the deceptive mode: "Think about it, if the aircraft carrier you promote uses gas turbines and has a catapult, will they not Will they be tempted? As long as they approve of your plan, they will definitely have to purchase Rafale fighter jets from you as carrier-based aircraft. In this way, it will be a big order of at least five billion dollars, or even tens of billions of dollars!"

  Gas turbine with catapult?

  The topic returned to the time when we first met. Di Keina said: "Mr. Qin, is the plan of using a steam catapult to burn the boiler alone that you mentioned mature?"

"Of course it's mature. Think about it. Whether it's nuclear power or conventional power, the boiler needs to be fed not only to the steam turbine, but also to the catapult. After a wave of ejection, the speed of the ship will drop. Do you have to work hard to continue? Next ejection?"

This is the disadvantage of steam ejection. Before ejection, the aircraft carrier will accelerate to 30 knots. With the ejection, a large amount of steam will be consumed, the pressure of the boiler will drop, and the speed will gradually decrease. When it reaches more than ten knots, the ejection will not continue. , have to wait for the boiler to continue heating hot water.

  As for electromagnetic ejection, the same is true. The power consumed by electromagnetic ejection is drawn from the power system. To eject, the speed must also drop.

   It's better to do their own thing and specialize in burning boilers with catapults.

   "However, if this boiler only has a catapult, isn't it a waste?"

"How can it be called a waste? When it is useless, you can also bring a steam turbine. A steam turbine component is specially added to drive the generator and supply power to the whole ship." Qin Tao said seriously: "When necessary, switch to the catapult. , Doesn’t any of our warships have a dedicated generator part? This should be regarded as a backup generator, and when it needs to be ejected, the diesel generator will be turned on to take over.”

  In this way, the complexity of the power system is greatly increased, but anyway, Qin Tao has to talk nonsense.

   "Next, let's take a look at the power cabin of the Charles de Gaulle, and study how to change it if it is a conventional power." Qin Tao said: "Mr. Cadina, please lead the way."

This is also the purpose of everyone coming here. Until now, no one in the East has seen the power cabin of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Don’t even think about the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the United States. Take a look on the Charles de Gaulle, and it can also be used for your own development in the future. Do bedding.

  Power pod? That is a place with a very high level of secrecy on the Charles de Gaulle. Do you want these people in front of you to go in and see it?

  Kadina hesitated.

"I heard that you only used two nuclear reactors, occupying five cabins, so even if you want to put more nuclear reactors, there is not enough space." Qin Tao continued: "If this is the case, then our Mingzhou Group We can help provide more advanced nuclear reactors, even if customers want nuclear power, we can also satisfy."

In fact, the French are not weak in the research and development of nuclear reactors. Their Triumph-class nuclear submarine uses a nuclear reactor with a thermal power of 150 megawatts. It is said that it is not small. After all, the East did not use this level of nuclear reactor until 095. .

However, after all, this is used by nuclear submarines, and it would be too small to be placed on an aircraft carrier. The insufficient power caused the speed of the Charles de Gaulle to be low. , otherwise the construction cost of the Charles de Gaulle would have to soar.

   "Of course not, the nuclear reactor used on our Charles de Gaulle is also very advanced." Duquesne said: "Those are all slanders, well, let's go down and have a look."

  The most important thing on an aircraft carrier is the ship island, where there are many secrets. The requirement of the French Navy is not to go to the ship island, and there is no absolute ban on going to the power cabin.

So, a large group of people went to the power cabin, and they could see the aircraft carrier along the way. After all, they are now in the middle of the deck, and the power cabin is at the tail of the aircraft carrier. All decks have to go through, and there are many things to see .

  Everyone walked and watched all the way, and it was very enjoyable. When they came to the power cabin, Kadina said: "Everyone, the area in the power cabin is not big, so it can't accommodate too many people. Only five people can go in with me."

   "In that case, then I won't go in." After Qin Tao finished speaking, he looked at the people behind him and asked them to follow in by name.

   "You are all the best technicians of our Mingzhou Group. You can see if this place is suitable for conversion into gas turbines. After all, this is related to France's second aircraft carrier and subsequent export-oriented aircraft carrier." Qin Tao said.

   Several people nodded and walked in with Kadina.

Philip also went in, and the person in charge who stayed outside was Old Henry. He had received Qin Tao before, and this time he was with the reception staff again. Chatting with Qin Tao.

   "Mr. Qin, your side is developing really fast. At the beginning, your side was just an ordinary local shipyard, but now it has become a multinational enterprise." Old Henry was very emotional.

"Yeah, we didn't expect to develop so fast. This is the result of the hard work of every employee in our shipyard. So this time, I brought them here to let them know how we started. Keep working hard."

  The people he brought were not idle at the moment, they walked around to have a look.

Although the construction of this aircraft carrier is difficult and the displacement is not large, after all, France has decades of operating experience, and many of the layouts are the accumulation of experience. It is not easy to board a western aircraft carrier. They only feel that their eyes are not enough. .

   "I heard that the British are also planning to develop an aircraft carrier. Why didn't you join forces? In Europe, it should be very common to reduce costs through joint methods?"

"Well, we want to join forces and are working on this." Old Henry said: "However, you also know that we have suffered setbacks in many projects, and we agreed to joint research and development, but in the end we parted ways. "

The last shipbuilding plan was the European frigate. More than a dozen countries joined in and wanted to share the cost of research and development. The countries jointly built their frigates.

   In terms of fighter jets, it was the Eurofighter. Dassault was finally excluded. They were very annoyed that these countries did not listen to themselves!

   Now, if they want to build an aircraft carrier, even if they want to jointly develop it, they have to consider it. Can this be done?

"Aircraft carriers are different from other ones." Qin Tao said: "Only if you two countries unite, the needs are easy to unify. Moreover, the British plan to purchase F32 is unreliable. After all, this aircraft is still under development. Your Rafale fighters are real, if you sell another batch of Rafale fighters at that time, wouldn’t it be better?"

Old Henry nodded: "That's right, Mr. Qin, we also have this kind of plan. However, if we join forces with the British, then the displacement of our aircraft carrier will have to be expanded to 60,000 to 70,000 tons. In this way, our Brest shipbuilding The factory will not be able to manufacture."

"If you can't make it, then expand the dock. Things are dead, but people are alive." Qin Tao said: "You will definitely need an aircraft carrier with a larger displacement in the future. Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to upgrade your shipyard? ?”

Anyway, he was idle and bored, so Qin Tao continued to fool the other party. The second Richelieu had never appeared in his time and space. Now that the French were stimulated, they would not know whether they would come out and play tricks. They do.

  If the French and the British cooperate, it will definitely delay time, and delay the time of both of them.

The British want to purchase American fighter jets, the French want to sell the Rafale, the British want to land vertically, and the French want to use arresting cables. In terms of displacement, the two sides will argue endlessly. In the end, they will part ways. Ten years is no problem.

  Especially the United Kingdom, which has already started to build the Queen-class aircraft carrier. At this time, France sent a sincere invitation to temporarily suspend the construction of the Queen-class aircraft carrier. That was what Qin Tao wanted to see most.

   "Expand the dock?"

   "That's right, you are a state-owned shipyard, and the navy's orders must fall on you!" Qin Tao said, "Taking advantage of this opportunity, your shipyard can also usher in a new development opportunity."

   At this time, the people who went to the nuclear power cabin had already come out, and Kadina led them to take a look around, and came out after a circle, and they would not reveal too many secrets.

   "What do you think? Mr. Yang, can our gas turbines be installed here?" Qin Tao asked Yang Dawei.

  Yang Dawei nodded: "It should be no problem, even the boiler can be put down, as long as a suitable flue is set up on it."

   Flue?

  Kadina suddenly realized, no, it’s useless!

The reason just mentioned is simple transformation, turning Charles de Gaulle into conventional power, both for personal use and export, but now, if nuclear power is to be converted into conventional power, it is not enough to install the engine, and there must be intake and exhaust, Charles de Gaulle The ship island of USS aircraft carrier is at the front. If the flue is installed, the ship island has to be moved to the back. This is a big project!

  After all, the ship island is not independent, it needs various pipes and connections below, and it will also affect the dispatching of carrier-based aircraft and the layout of elevators. Once these things change, there will be a lot of work to be done.

   "Boss Qin, you just saw that our ship island is in the front. If it is changed to the back, it may be inconvenient." Kaidina said.

"Then the two-ship island." Qin Tao's answer was also very simple: "The front island is equipped with a conventional nautical bridge, and the rear island is equipped with chimneys, and then the aviation bridge is transplanted. Observing the take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft, the model of two-ship islands is also the mainstream, and the layout of your aircraft carrier will be more scientific and efficient."

  Two-ship island?

   This is really a solution to the problem. In recent years, the layout of the two-ship island is really popular. Designers from all over the world want to give it a try, so do you want to transform it in this way?

"Mr. Yang has come to a conclusion that your aircraft carrier can be equipped with our gas turbines and boilers." Qin Tao said: "We also welcome you to purchase our equipment. Please rest assured that we will definitely quote you the lowest price. , only half of the UK offer."

There is really nothing secret about naval gas turbines. Any customer can sell them if they want to buy them. Anyway, they sell them just for use. It is impossible for them to disassemble the surveying and mapping research and development. This will also make Dongfang more face: see? ? Our strength is so strong! Even the French man-made aircraft carrier has to purchase our engines!

"Your current Charles de Gaulle only has a power output of 76,200 horsepower, which is 56 megawatts in conversion, and our two gas turbines can provide a power output of 80 megawatts, which will soon catch up with the Clemenceau class and push the aircraft carrier to reach A speed of thirty knots is possible." Qin Tao continued.

The Clemenceau class burns a boiler with a power output of 126,000 horsepower, which is about 92 megawatts in conversion. However, part of the power is used to drive the catapult, and the real output to the propeller is about 80 megawatts. , Now provide them with two gas turbines to obtain a power output of 80 megawatts, and the aircraft carrier should be able to reach 30 knots, and it will definitely not be laughed at.

   "Boss Qin, can you provide us with a prototype?" Kadina asked.

"Sorry, we don't have a prototype. If you want to see it, you can go to the East. Our 075 under construction uses this kind of gas turbine. It also has a displacement of 40,000 tons, which is similar to yours. In terms of marine power, we It has reached the most advanced level in the world."

   This is not a lie. After all, the LM2500 in the United States is less than 30 MW, and the 40 MW gas turbine in the UK is still under development. At present, only Eastern products have been put into use in the world.

"good."

   After watching the power system, it was already dark outside. This day's investigation has come to a successful conclusion.

  Brest City, in a certain hotel, a banquet was held amidst the excitement.

"Mr. Qin, we are very interested in your proposal to jointly build an aircraft carrier with the United Kingdom." Kedina held a glass of wine and discussed with Qin Tao: "You said, how likely is it that the British will suspend the current construction? , and cooperate with us?"

   "As long as you work hard, it will be 100%."

  Hearing Qin Tao's words, Dikena opened his eyes wide: "100%?"

"Yes, 100%. We know that the British have been working on accumulated vertical take-off and landing aircraft carriers. There is no way for a 20,000-ton Invincible-class aircraft carrier, but it is obviously stupid to do this with a 60,000-ton aircraft carrier." Qin Tao said: "Even if you continue to use the ski jump to take off, you have to block the landing. This can save a lot of structural weight of the aircraft, and there will be more types of aircraft to choose from. As long as you persuade them to use the blocking landing, you can sell them the Rafale .”

  Vertical landing requires a special aircraft. Even if the F-32 uses the Sea Harrier method, it must have rotating nozzles and airflow control with wings, which will increase the weight of the structure, which is incomparable with conventional aircraft.

   "That's right, they have to use a conventional landing method!" Kadina nodded: "Our Rafale is their best choice!"

"Don't mention gusts, just introduce the advantages and disadvantages of various take-off and landing methods. Anyway, you only need to modify the deck. Even if the British started construction on the aircraft carrier, they haven't built the deck yet. There is still time for modification. As long as they modify it , Naturally, they would not choose the F-32, because this type of fighter is still far away from entering service, and at that time, they can only purchase your Rafale for emergency, and they cannot continue to use the backward Sea Harrier."

  Kadina nodded again and again, asking Mr. Qin to come over, it really is beneficial!

  Actually, there was a lot of opposition to their action this time. Some people looked at the East with colored glasses, thinking that the strength of the East would pose a threat to them, and they actually invited people from the East to visit the aircraft carrier? Isn't this admitting cowardice?

However, if they want to build a second conventional aircraft carrier, they need to find experience from the East. After all, over the years, only the East has been building aircraft carriers one after another, and the construction cost is still very low. They want to see if they can help to myself.

Sure enough, the arrival of the Orientals has brought them many benefits. They have found the direction to improve the No. 2 ship, and they can also benefit from the British. Even if it is only a stumbling block for the British, it is worth it .

  Who made the British aircraft carrier bigger than the French, of course their hearts are not balanced!

"Your No. 2 ship can be an improved version of the current Charles de Gaulle's conventional power, or it can expand its displacement to 70,000 tons, which is a bit larger than the British Queen's class." Qin Tao followed suit and continued: "But you also Without experience in designing large aircraft carriers, it is best to seek experience from the British. You can get in touch with their aircraft carrier technology under the pretext of modifying their aircraft carrier. Although you don’t care, but since you have this opportunity, of course you must seize it. .”

  (end of this chapter)