The Chinese Air Force defeated the many with less, suddenly giving the world the illusion that the Chinese army is not only huge in size, but also has amazing combat power. Although reports in the news media did not reveal how many South Korean fighter jets China shot down, some sources speculated that the number was close to at least 10.
Although both China and South Korea are vague, there is no doubt that none of their own aircraft was damaged, and it is certain that many South Korean fighter planes were shot down. In addition, the FC-1 equipped by the Iranian Air Force has basically suppressed the Iraqi Air Force. At the same time, the ship attacks in the Iran-Iraq War in the second half of the year gradually weakened due to repeated attacks on the Iraqi Air Force. In addition, the contract between Pakistan and China for ordering FC-1 has also been disclosed.
¡°This all confirms from different aspects that the equipment level of the Chinese Air Force is quite high. Some people even boldly predict that the Chinese Air Force, as a disciple of the Soviet Union, has surpassed the Soviets and ranks only behind the equipment capabilities of the United States.
South Korea actually ordered F-16 fighter jets from the United States in 1981. The delivery period was from 1986 to 1991, with a total of 36 aircraft, model F-16C. It¡¯s just that this batch of fighters still does not have advanced mid-range interceptor projectiles that are fire-and-forget. Their main weapons are AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder.
After the 1990s, South Korea also obtained a production license and produced more than a hundred F-16C/D batch 50/52, which they called KF-16 fighters. These fighters constituted a considerable The main combat capability of South Korea's air defense for a long time.
At this time, the Koreans have not seen what their F-16 looks like, but it is estimated that it is not as powerful as China's main fighter. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense had previously obtained an FC-1 sales brochure distributed abroad by AVIC. This Chinese fighter jet has "shoot-and-forget capabilities in beyond-visual-range air combat," "multi-purpose capabilities and a complete range of ammunition," and " It is marketed with the gimmick of "low price, high cost performance".
The F-16 naturally does not have the fire-and-forget advanced medium-range missile. Perhaps the F-16 they are about to get also has multi-purpose capabilities, but it is a pity that the Maverick missile and the Penguin anti-ship missile were only added to the F-16 batch 150CU. above, dated 1987. The Harpoon anti-ship missile, JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), and JSOW (Joint Standoff Weapon) were also added after batch 50/52. The anti-radiation missile Moxa AGM-88 is an improved product of 50\/52D. In other words, the current F-16 can only fight AIM-7 and AIM-9 in air combat, and can only fight Mk80 series unguided bombs, CBU-87\/89 cluster bombs and Paveway series laser-guided weapons on the ground.
What types of Chinese ammunition are there in the FC-1 series? Blue Arrow series missiles for anti-tank and construction targets. The anti-ship missiles include the small C-701, the slightly larger C-705, the C-802 and C-803 missiles with performance comparable to the Harpoon, and the anti-radiation missiles include the C- 901, for land attack there are KD-88, Thunderstone series gliding bombs, and Thunder series composite guided bombs. However, there are no cluster bombs in these munitions, because these things are particularly unethical and can easily cause unexploded bombs to harm civilians. Even if China has mastered the technology to produce cluster bombs, Qi Yiming still urges not to export such weapons.
From this comparison, it can be seen that the early model F-16 really has no way to compare with the FC-1 Xiaolong that actually belongs to 20 or 30 years later.
The Koreans were sure that the fighter jet that shot down them that day was not the FC-1, but they thought that it was the legendary main fighter of the Chinese Air Force and would not be used for export. The combat performance of the FC-1 may be weaker than that main fighter. But the basic combat capabilities have been inherited. According to the confessions of Korean pilots who survived that air battle, most of the Korean fighter planes were shot down during beyond-visual-range air battles. What impressed the Koreans the most was the missile that they could not avoid at all.
If we can obtain advanced fighters and missiles manufactured by the Chinese, the strength of the South Korean Air Force can be greatly improved. In addition, China's sale of weapons to South Korea also has considerable political significance. South Korea believes that it is also a blow to their old enemy North Korea.
After the meeting that day, Qi Yiming privately called Grumman and informed them of his intention to compensate South Korea in this way. But he didn't expect that Grumman was more attentive than the Koreans. Even the next day, Grumman International President Pellehak, who was in Beijing, made a special plane to Seoul to discuss this issue with Qi Yiming. .
Qi Yiming still underestimated Grumman's enthusiasm for the FC-1 light advanced fighter project. From early on, they determined that this fighter would not only be used in third world countries, but even in many moderately wealthy countries, especially Singapore, South Korea and other emerging developed countries will be interested in such a fighter.
As soon as Pelehak saw Qi Yiming, he handed over a cooperation intention prepared by his company overnight. Qi Yiming was not surprised to see that Grumman demanded a project status second only to Chengdu Aircraft, and hoped to obtain Nearly all the technical indicators and project parameters of the FC-1 to better improve this fighter. Their proposal is to replace the FC-1 with an APG-66 radar and a US-made engine, and Grumman will make certain improvements to the airframe.
Qi Yiming smiled as he held the letter of intent and said: "The KLJ-7 radar we equipped for Xiaolong is about the same as the APG-66 used by the F-16. In addition, the glass cockpit of Xiaolong The level is also far better than that of the current F-15 and F-16. Our WS-13A engine has a thrust-to-weight ratio of 8 and a thrust of 86 kilonewtons, which is also better than the level of the F404. To put it bluntly, our proposal to seek cooperation with the United States is just to let South Korea. It is easy for both China and the United States to accept it, but it is impossible for anyone to take the lead.¡±
Pelehak is also too weak to do it. Qi Yiming is right. The FC-1 is already a mature fighter developed by the Chinese and has achieved results in the Iran-Iraq battlefield. The replacement parts proposed by Grumman are basically superfluous. The only effect it can achieve is to increase the cost of the Xiaolong. The reason why aircraft manufacturing companies like Grumman are proud of aircraft manufacturing companies in other countries is their ability to integrate systems. They can integrate different systems such as radars, weapons, and power from different companies into one aircraft. above. It is a pity that Chinese counterparts may have a certain gap in this regard, but the integration of FC-1 has already been completed. If they want to integrate again, there is nothing to do.
Even so, Pelehak was still prepared to act rogue. He said: "Mr. Qi, as an important ally of the United States of America, South Korea needs to be highly unified with us in defense. Haha, the military command power on South Korean soil is still in the hands of our country. , so in the final analysis, it is not up to them what kind of fighter planes the Koreans use. And even if the Koreans want to get a pure Chinese weapon, they will not be allowed to cooperate with us. is the right way."
Qi Yiming has long been accustomed to these gentle arms dealers who have male thieves and female prostitutes behind their backs. He is not angry and replies with a smile: "It doesn't matter. We have different psychological preparations for whether South Korea will finally accept our plan. It would be a pity for us if South Korea gives up, but we can still accept it, and we cannot expose a weapons platform that may be worth billions to our possible market rivals just because we have to pay South Korea tens of millions."
Pelehak saw that Qi Yiming was also a bachelor, and said anxiously: "Mr. Qi, please remember that Grumman and China are good partners!"
"Yes, we are partners, but that doesn't mean that we in China can take our heart out of Grumman." Qi Yiming said slyly.
Pelehak could not change Qi Yiming's mind. Indeed, any rational person would understand that if he leaked important technical indicators and sold out the fighter platform he had devoted all his efforts to develop because he wanted to sell some FC-1 fighters to South Korea, That's really stupid.
"So how does Mr. Qi want this project to proceed?"
"First of all, the FC-1 is our aircraft and our project, so there is no doubt that the overall design and system integration of the fighter aircraft are done by us. Some sub-projects can be subcontracted, and we are happy for Grumman to undertake this Part of the content. In addition, the choice of all major subsystems, such as avionics, power, and weapon systems, is in our hands in China. If customers have special customization requirements, we will make changes.
Put it this way, if we work with our American friends to modify the Xiaolong, our positioning is to be a universal joint fighter that can adapt to multinational battlefields. The fighter aircraft needs to have relatively strong replacement capabilities. In other words, if customers want to use Chinese-made radars, they can If you want to install a Chinese-made radar and use an American-made engine, you can replace it with an American-made engine. This requires a high degree of modularity in each component. In the spirit of openness, Chinese companies will send individual technical indicators to participating partners, and then install them for testing. Once completed, they will be considered passed. "
Pelehak didn't expect Qi Yiming to come up with such an opinion, but he also knew that this idea of ??unified standard customization has gradually begun to emerge among the fighter aircraft currently in service in the United States, such as the F-15 and F-16. It has the ability to replace both F110 and F100 engines, and the same goes for radar avionics.
In this way, what the American company basically gets is data such as the weight and center of gravity of the entire aircraft, the structural dimensions of the nose joint, and the dimensions of the engine compartment. The Chinese side is proud of the flight control system, weapons management system, etc. Nothing will be open to Americans.
Pelehak calculated it and concluded that Grumman would definitely make money by participating in such a project, but not much, because most of the money is in the hands of the Chinese. But think about if this version of the Sino-US cooperation fighter can be huge. Once the sales volume increases, Grumman will still make more money. In addition, the F-14 project is Grumman's current major focus, and Grumman cannot offend China because it wants to compete with China.
Qi Yiming himself feels that it is actually completely unnecessary for FC-1 to install Western systems, but it will make it easier to rely on the influence of the United States to enter the market of American allies. This big piece of cake was previously occupied by the United States. Keep an eye on him. Such as?Able to fool companies such as Grumman, General Electric, and Hughes (Hughes was officially split in 1985, and then most of the missile and radar business was transferred to Raytheon). It is obvious that the main competitor is General Motors, the owner of the F-16. Momentum, it would be very troublesome to parry.