Chapter 862: I cant wait any longer, so lets fly to the sky!
"We in Great Britain need to maintain world peace, and we want to send the most powerful naval formation to cruise the Gulf of Siam!" Another clown came out.
They seemed to have forgotten that when they went for a cruise in Anxi Bay with great interest, they did not dare to go in at all when they got to the door. They waited for the escort of the American warship before they dared to go in. In just a few months, they had already forgotten about this matter.
Everything was clean, and now they seemed to have returned to the era of the most powerful empire on which the sun never set.
Faced with this kind of statement, even Rakul didn't take it seriously and just laughed it off: "Huh, what do they have in the navy? They only have the old Sea Harrier carrier-based aircraft. If they dare to come over, our stealth opportunities will be lost.
They knew the win in 8 years was just a coincidence!"
The blatant threat did not receive any response. This was definitely an insult to the empire on which the sun never set. So, one day later, they made harsh words again: "Our Invincible aircraft carrier will be on the road again!"
Still no one is paying attention, there are too many clowns in this world!
However, Zhang Zhong became interested. Recently, in order to keep a low profile, he could not report the Kra Canal project extensively. Now that the British have jumped out this time, he might as well make a fuss about this aspect.
So, the new episode of Zhang Zhongshuo's program began.
"Dear viewers in front of the TV, our program this time is called Zhang Zhong: The Sun Never Sets on the Aircraft Carrier Formation. We once again invited Mr. George to introduce to us the combat effectiveness of the British Navy's main aircraft carrier formation."
George was very excited. The extra money was here again. All he had to do was memorize the content of the speech. If he couldn't memorize the speech, he could do it a few more times. If he performed well on the spot, there would be extra rewards.
"Hello everyone, as a former aircraft carrier designer, I would like to introduce to you the design experience of the Invincible class. In that special era, Congress was eager to eliminate the British Navy, and the Navy's aircraft carriers were decommissioned one after another.
, the Invincible class can be built under the banner of anti-submarine warfare. In essence, it is no different from the Kiev-class aircraft carrier. They are both anti-submarine aircraft carriers. The Sea Harrier fighters carried on it are simply unable to undertake the mission of fighting for air supremacy.
The Sea King early warning helicopter also has very little air control capabilities. Overall, the strength of the British Navy's aircraft carrier formation is not higher than that of Siam."
"Really? This makes me very curious. After all, Siam only has one aircraft carrier with a displacement of 10,000 tons, while Britain has three aircraft carriers with a displacement of 20,000 tons. In terms of combat power, Siam does not have an advantage."
"Because the performance of the Invincible class is too backward, the British Navy is constantly making improvements to improve its performance. For example, in 1989, the Invincible underwent a seven-month modernization modification. The elevation angle of the ski jump runway reached 1 degree.
The number of fighter jets increased to one. In 1998, the Seadart missile launcher on the bow open deck was removed, increasing the deck area by 7% to support the latest Sea Harrier GR7 fighter jet.
Invincible has just recently completed its refit, and Ark Royal and Excellence are still in the dock. Therefore, if the British Navy wants to dispatch now, only one Invincible can be used."
If a country wants to have uninterrupted aircraft carrier combat capabilities, only one aircraft carrier is definitely not enough, because the aircraft carrier may need to go into the dock for maintenance, the crew returns from sea to rest, etc. Only three or more aircraft carriers can guarantee uninterrupted operations.
Combat capabilities: one ship is in the dock, one ship's crew rests, and the other ship maintains the ability to dispatch at any time.
Now, the British are aggressively claiming that they will send out all aircraft carriers. However, this news has revealed the British's underwear in front of the whole world: they do not have such capabilities at all!
"If there is only one aircraft carrier, it would be really confusing. After all, the fighter jets carried on the Invincible aircraft carrier are too backward."
"Yes, they are now using the most advanced Sea Harrier gr7, which uses the advanced Blue Vixen radar. This is the most advanced pulse Doppler radar currently available in the UK, so that the Sea Harrier no longer uses Sidewinder.
As the main weapon, it can also guide the aim-10 active radar air-to-air missile and the Seahawk air-to-ground/air-to-ship missile, giving the Sea Harrier real beyond visual range and ground attack capabilities. At the same time, it is equipped with a high-thrust engine, which increases the
It can be said that the wing pylon has finally matured when it developed to the Sea Harrier gr7. However, no matter how it develops, it is still a subsonic fighter, and there is a huge generation gap between it and the J-31A
.”
A comparison of two aircraft appeared on the screen, one was the Sea Harrier and the other was the J-31A. The Sea Harrier looked like a clown no matter how it looked, and it was really incomparable with the J-31-A.
"If the aircraft carrier formations of both sides meet in the Gulf of Siam, the Siamese Navy only needs five J-31A to destroy their entire formation. And they have not even discovered the Siamese Navy's fighter planes, let alone the Siamese Navy.
The Luo Kingdom’s land base also has a number of fighter jets, with a total of twenty fighter jets. These fighter jets are enough to meet a US Nimitz aircraft carrier formation, and the British ones are simply not qualified.”
Watching the analysis on the TV, Benjamin's face turned dark.
"Humph, this George is so disgusting, he actually humiliated us like this!" Benjamin said angrily: "The Invincible class is just a transition. Now, our Queen class has started construction, and we have advanced aircraft carriers to use!"
After a lot of wrangling, the Queen class finally started construction. After all, they couldn't wait any longer. Looking at Dongfang's aircraft carrier being launched, could they delay it any longer?
But now, they have just started construction and are still far away from being put into service. This also includes their Type 4 destroyers. If they have all these warships, why can't they even deal with Siam?
"Siam still relies on the power of stealth machines. If they don't have stealth machines, they are not our opponent at all." Boyce said: "The most important thing for us at the moment is to have stealth machines."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Yes, we are going to have a stealth machine. Haven't we already reached an agreement with the United States?"
Dongfang has used the global joint fighter method and successfully raised enough funds to complete the research and development of stealth aircraft. The United States is also the same. It has united a large number of allies on the JF project. The United Kingdom is their die-hard ally, so on this project
Occupying an important proportion, this kind of aircraft will be the first to be equipped in the future.
"Yes, we have reached an agreement with the United States, but the United States has acted too slowly. So far, it is still hesitant on two projects and has not made a final decision." Boyce said: "The distance is still far away.
It is still far away from being put into service, and it has also encountered many problems in many subsystems of the aircraft carrier, such as the electromagnetic catapult."
"What happened to the electromagnetic catapult?"
"According to U.S. research, they have encountered a large number of problems with electromagnetic catapults, and it will take a long time to solve these problems."
"how long?"
"Five to ten years."
"so long?"
"Yes, we must be prepared. If we wait until our aircraft carrier is launched and outfitted, and finally find that there is no electromagnetic catapult, what should we do?"
"Can I replace the steam catapult?"
"Of course not. Our aircraft carrier uses a gas turbine. There is no boiler for burning steam, no corresponding pipelines are laid, and no space is left for the steam catapult."
"Then what do we do?"
"While the construction of the sections has just begun and the upper deck has not yet been built, we can change the bow of the ship to a jump deck. When the electromagnetic catapult matures in the future, it will not be too late for us to change it."
When the two of them talked about this, the TV set also talked about this exactly.
"In other words, the existing Invincible class cannot support any actions of the British at all, unless the new Queen class is put into service, paired with the Type 4 destroyer?"
"Yes, that's true." George nodded: "But we found that the British aircraft carrier encountered many problems."
"For example?"
"They have set this aircraft carrier up for catapult takeoff and arrested landing, but currently, they do not have the strength to research this technology and can only purchase it from the United States. The latest news we have received is that the United States is developing this kind of equipment.
An accident occurred during the war. It is difficult to complete the research and development of this kind of equipment in a short time. It is expected to take five to ten years. By this time, the Queen Class has already been built."
"In other words, even if they are built, they will not be able to use it because they don't have a catapult?"
"That's right, aircraft carriers with direct access to the deck cannot be used without catapults. They still use crappy gas turbines and cannot be converted to steam catapults. Therefore, they can either directly use vertical take-off and landing fighter jets to take off vertically and land vertically, or they can
Install a jump deck on the bow of the ship and make do with it temporarily. I think the latter should be their best choice."
"Damn, they got everything right!" Benjamin was very annoyed: "They said we would use the jump deck, but we didn't! We have to organize a research and development unit domestically to develop relevant catapult technology! Orientals can develop it
Come out, we can do it too!"
Boyce frowned, can we do it? Even if we can, do we have the money?
However, Easterners are indeed disgusting. If they say everything correctly, it would be really a shameful thing.
The Invincible-class aircraft carriers are worthless, and the Queen-class aircraft carriers must continue on the wrong path resolutely, so that they will not be able to serve in ten or twenty years!
Across the ocean, the Boeing factory in St. Louis.
"What you are seeing now is our -3B in the 373 configuration. Compared with the previous aircraft, the biggest feature is that the wings have been significantly modified, from a tailless delta wing to a normal structure. We know
, the Navy is not keen on the tailless delta wing structure, so our modification will definitely satisfy the Navy."
The biggest problem now is that the Air Force is already satisfied with -3, but the Navy has concerns, so they must modify it to meet the needs of the Navy. As long as the Navy is also satisfied, they will be sure of victory.
Although their -3 took the lead at the beginning, Lockheed is now making rapid progress, and they have an increasingly urgent feeling. If they cannot satisfy the Navy quickly, they may lose the bid.
"Yeah, we've never liked tailless deltas," Swift said, puffing on a cigar.
The recent events in the East made Swift very upset. They were scared to move by several stealth aircraft. Swift was very annoyed. He heard that there was a test flight here, so he came back to take a look. He urgently hoped that the Navy would replace the aircraft as soon as possible.
Install this advanced fourth-generation stealth machine, so you don't have to worry about the suppression of generation differences.
At this time, looking at the plane in front of him, he was really satisfied.
They used to pursue advancement and then were embarrassed. Now, they prefer to be by the rules.
The previous -3 only had one large delta wing and two inclined vertical tails. Is this control method feasible? No one knows. Now, it has finally changed back to the conventional layout, adding horizontal tails and flat wings.
It's normal and they are very satisfied.
Of course, the big mouth on the nose of the plane still leaves people speechless. It's so ugly.
The shadow of flying toads all over the deck appeared in Swift's mind. He shook his head and put this imagination to the back of his mind.
"Our Model 373 is not in its final form. We will launch an improved Model 374 in the future. For now, please enjoy the wonderful performance of our aircraft," said Hudson.
The flying toad's huge jaw began to move slowly, which made Swift curious again: "What is this for?"
"The retractable shroud, due to our engine layout problems, cannot use the inlet duct to block the engine fan blades, so we use this movable retractable shroud to protect the engine fan blades and reduce radar emissions under normal circumstances.
The reflective area is opened during vertical takeoff and landing, which can increase the air intake, thus increasing the takeoff thrust, and also prevents hot air from entering the engine and causing a decrease in thrust."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This flying toad is ugly enough, but with this retractable cover, it is even worse, as if the toad's jaw has fallen off.
However, good looks are secondary, and practicality is first.
"We know that Lockheed uses a lift engine. The biggest disadvantage of that method is that it increases the dead weight of the structure. They need a special lift fan, a special drive shaft, and a lot of control devices.
Our design only requires an extra vector nozzle from the belly of the aircraft. The Marine Corps operates a large number of Sea Harriers, which is also very suitable for this kind of aircraft."
It is true that the dead weight of the structure is true. After all, there are a lot of extra things. However, the mid-engine solution of -3 is actually not very good. It needs to place the engine in the center, and the huge space at the rear is wasted.
, causing it to be bulky and look bloated.
The jet nozzle in the middle of the fuselage was also slowly opened, and with the roar of the engine, the test began again.
In front of everyone's eyes, the plane picked up green onions and gently left the ground. It was more stable than before. It continued to rise to a height of twenty meters, hovered, then changed its flight state, flew forward and level, and flew over the airport.
After a few laps, it finally switched to the hovering state again and slowly landed.
"Yes, very good!" Swift nodded: "The performance of your aircraft has been a complete success. Vertical take-off and landing is the most difficult. The rest of the conventional layout will be easier, right?"
"Of course, we have to do the most difficult thing. Lockheed is still researching lift fans. Their vertical take-off and landing model will take a long time to appear."
"Our -3 is not only technologically advanced, but also has very reliable logistics and maintenance capabilities. Our aircraft have been designed using various methods to reduce maintenance costs. We have also implemented a specialized JDI joint information distribution system and
A variety of commercial software and hardware can not only significantly reduce maintenance costs, but also save manpower and time. Relying on the experience accumulated in the civil aviation system, we can provide parts to anywhere in the United States within 4 hours, and parts within 48 hours.
Yunda seeks perfection in every corner.”
What is the war fought for? It is fought for logistics. Without logistics capabilities, once the aircraft is damaged, it will completely lose its combat effectiveness.
"Can this kind of aircraft adapt to the ejection and landing of our aircraft carrier?" Swift was concerned about other issues.
After all, vertical takeoff and landing is a function that the Marine Corps wants. What they want is carrier-based. Their request is to reduce the landing speed, so Boeing changed the tailless delta wing to a normal structure. Now, they have
I have concerns about the landing gear.
After all, under the nose of the -3's inlet, the front main landing gear is just under the mouth of this inlet. The way the air is intake into the belly of the aircraft is considered unsuitable for ejection take-off. This is the reason why Dongfang's J-10
There is no possibility of boarding the ship.
-3 It’s not just a problem with the nose landing gear. The main landing gear at the back does not form a small splayed landing gear on the belly, but is on the wing. Since it is an upper monoplane structure, the movement of this landing gear
The barrel is very long, longer than that of the J-7 and J-8.
This certainly makes it difficult for the pilot to hold the big top when landing, but is the slender landing gear strong enough?
"Of course there is no problem. We have completed the strength test long ago during the design. When our 374 configuration comes out, we can take it to the Navy's training base for testing," said Hudson.
They pinned their hopes on the Type 374, which reflects the strength of Boeing's research and development and continuous modifications, but on the other hand, it also shows that they did not consider it carefully in the initial design stage, and this will also cause more worrying problems.
Thing: Just because the first test results are good, it doesn’t mean that the later ones are better. Who knows whether this kind of modification will get better with more modifications, or will make it worse?
"Okay, we can't wait any longer." Swift said: "If this aircraft can meet the needs of our navy, and the progress is so advanced, our navy is willing to support -3!"
They really can't wait any longer. The navy must have advanced and powerful fourth-generation stealth aircraft, otherwise it will not be able to dominate the sea in the future!
All at Boeing are delighted.
"But, I have a request." Swift said: "Within half a year, we will put this aircraft on the aircraft carrier, even if it is just for testing!"
The Flying Toad has the support of the Navy!
When they got the news, everyone at Lockheed was dumbfounded.
how so?
Obviously the flying toad has many flaws!
"Shameless, Boeing is so shameless, they must have bribed the Navy!" Stanley said angrily: "Our Lockheed project is the best."
"That's right, how could that ugly flying toad be chosen by the Navy? A good plane must first be a beautiful plane!"
Everyone is unwilling to do so, but the fact is the fact.
"We have to go to the Pentagon and explain to them the advancement of our aircraft!"
After Daniel said this, he stood up and really wanted to go.
"Go to the Pentagon? What can you say?" Karl's face was cold: "Are you sure that we can send our aircraft to the deck of the aircraft carrier within half a year?"
"How is it possible? Research and development takes time."
"Yes, time. The biggest problem is time. The Navy is so stimulated that it wants to have an advanced fourth-generation stealth carrier-based aircraft immediately. How far is it from our -3 to be on the ship? One year, two years, five years
Year? As long as we cannot put the aircraft on the ship within half a year, the Navy will not choose us."
Karl already knew the inside story. The Navy chose Boeing's plan not because their Lockheed plan was similar to that of Eastern, but because of their progress.
Progress is a very mysterious thing, and an accident may cause the progress to be greatly delayed.
Now, they just lose out on progress.
"I don't believe that Boeing can put the flying toad on the aircraft carrier within half a year," Stanley said.
"Yes, definitely not!" Daniel nodded.
"So, even if the military chooses -3, we should not be discouraged and continue to develop our fighters." Karl said: "When the navy finds out that -3 is not suitable for boarding ships, it may choose us again. Just like
Just like General Electric failed back then.”
In the bidding for third-generation aircraft engines, Pratt & Whitney's F100 engine won the recognition of the military with its advanced performance indicators. However, General Electric did not lose heart after the failure and continued to develop it. A few years later, when the military discovered that the F100
When there were huge reliability problems, they turned around and purchased General Electric's F110 engine. From then on, in the engine field, the two have their own merits.
Lockheed doesn't care about this failure. They are determined and there will be a turnaround in the future.
"But where will the funds come from?"
It costs money to develop fighter jets, especially fourth-generation aircraft. The research and development of their vertical take-off and landing fighter jets is the most expensive of all.
"Funding? We just need to raise the price of the F fighter." Karl said.
Even if Lockheed loses the jf project, it is still the leader in military aircraft research and development, because they have begun to produce fourth-generation heavy-duty stealth aircraft for the Air Force! This fighter is of great significance to the Air Force and is currently the only one that can overwhelm the fourth-generation Oriental
For the stealth fighter project, when the Air Force is purchasing it, it can't do anything to spend more money.