Bierworth did not come by himself. In fact, he came with an American military delegation. After China and the United States formed a substantial alliance, this kind of military exchange visits basically took place two or three times a year to promote mutual trust and cooperation. Although the United States was unhappy with the war against Taiwan at the beginning of the year, China later provided support to the United States in arms sales and participation in joint mine clearance operations, so the two sides generally maintain a healthy relationship.
In this event, in response to the last time the US military opened the Los Angeles-class attack nuclear submarine to PLA senior officials, this time the military also opened the Type 09-class attack nuclear submarine to the United States for "viewing." The Americans are complacent, thinking that they have exchanged an old product for a new product from the Chinese, but they don't know that the Chinese are also laughing at the Americans as idiots, because in addition to the eight 09-s in the Navy, the main attack nuclear submarines are already 2 Type 096s.
Of course, it is impossible for the professional and technical personnel of the U.S. Navy to visit all nuclear submarine sections. However, they still have a vicious eye and commented: "The Chinese made this class of nuclear submarines quite well. They are roughly on the same level as the Los Angeles class. If it is really As they said, if the noise is only about 20 decibels, then the combat capability should be stronger than the Los Angeles class."
The real situation is that the noise of 09- is only 110 decibels, which is much stronger than the 2B decibel Los Angeles level. The Los Angeles class is still being manufactured in the United States. It was built until 3 years ago, and as many as 62 ships were built. It spanned 20 years, and the technical level is actually quite different. Although the newly commissioned Los Angeles class is not as sharp as the 09-class, it is not too far behind.
The Chinese military has not told the Americans how many 09Bs it has. In fact, the Americans have not told the Chinese how many nuclear submarines they have. Compared with things like aircraft and tanks, nuclear submarines themselves have higher confidentiality. If the Chinese don't tell them, the Americans won't ask in depth, because if they ask, it probably won't be true.
After communicating with Qi Yiming, Bierworth returned to the military delegation and persuaded several senior military officials in the delegation to go to a military airport in Shandong to visit the Chinese Air Force's new attack aircraft, the Strong-Maintainer. . This itinerary originally did not exist, and it was naturally impossible to arrange a visit as a new type of equipment. However, Bierworth wanted to promote cooperation with China in the development and production of this type of attack aircraft, and Qi Yiming also felt that there was room for maneuver, so he They told the Air Force to allow them to visit a strike group.
Since the Taiwan War at the beginning of the year, the Air Force has gained some new understanding of strong defenders. The Air Force's ground operations have always emphasized combat bombing or multi-purpose routes, which means that fighter aircraft need to have considerable combat capabilities and at the same time have excellent ground and sea strike capabilities. Even the previous strong-attack aircraft was actually the route of the fighter-bomber, but it was divided among the attack aircraft.
The emergence of the Qiang gave the Air Force a new perspective. This attack aircraft's bomb load at extreme times is almost that of a H-6K and it has unexpected battlefield applicability. During the battle, several Qiang aircraft hit farmland in Taiwan. Landing, replenishing fuel and ammunition at a nearby location, and then taking off again for combat. This was simply unimaginable in the past. The Navy also has L fighters such as the J-V, but the VTOL displayed forcefully is another matter.
Although the maintainer will still waste a lot of fuel when taking off and landing vertically, even if it takes off and lands vertically, this fighter can carry seven or eight tons of weapons, fight in the sky for several hours, fly more than 106 kilometers away, and carry auxiliary fuel tanks. The airport transfer range is also more than 26 kilometers. It can be said that the maintainer's own airport take-off capability is not the main use method at all. Straight up and down is the maintainer's expertise.
After the attack, it can use the Navy's landing ships to replenish it, and then go into battle again. It can also land at temporary supply points on the battlefield front lines. As long as it is a slightly flatter land, it will not pick it. This means that the deployment of this aircraft does not require an airport, greatly increasing the air force's activity space.
Therefore, the Air Force hopes that relevant companies and research institutes will conduct research on similar VTOL designs for fighter jets and develop a fighter jet that is similar to the Qiang and focuses on vertical takeoff and landing. However, Qi Yiming only smiled bitterly when he learned that the Maintainer could take off and land vertically because it was equipped with four vector engines. If it were installed like this on ordinary fighters, the aerodynamics would be completely destroyed. The cost of producing VTOL engines at the base is not high, but if it is actually manufactured by an ordinary enterprise, the cost of one engine is no less than that of one -10G engine. Four engines plus one is equivalent to half the price of a J-10.
It can be said that the biggest highlight of the maintainer is reflected in this VTOL engine.
The US military visiting delegation was led to this military airport by the Chinese military. In order to welcome the inspection, there were already two rows of defender attack aircraft on the runway.
¡°It looks really weird, even weirder than the A10.¡± A U.S. Air Force colonel joked.
The attack aircraft in front of us is much larger than ordinary attack aircraft. If it were said to be a bomber, some people would probably believe it. This attack aircraft is 2 meters long. The fuselage is wide, flat and multi-faceted. It is obviously designed to reflect radar waves. From the net below, the body is very flat, which is good for stealth. A pair of wings are also madeSome strange things, the most eye-catching thing is its relatively large wing area, which is obviously to increase lift. This attack aircraft does not have a tailgate like a transport aircraft. The soldiers in the cabin need to open a hatch under the fuselage and climb a ladder to get out. This part can also be replaced with a built-in magazine, which can hold three to four tons of weapons.
A brigadier from the Marine Corps climbed into the cabin from the gangway and frowned: "The space is a bit cramped. Soldiers may not be very comfortable if they stay in here."
The attach¨¦ of the Chinese Air Force would not explain. In fact, the Air Force rarely uses this inner compartment to carry soldiers. Some of them even think that designing such a cargo compartment is redundant.
Bierworth wanted to do business, so he had to explain. He quickly said: "You see, this model is actually mainly designed for their air force. It is mainly used to carry some light cargo and ammunition, but they There is enough redundant space left, and if an improvement is made, the volume of the inner cabin can be increased. "
Qi Yiming was also in the team. He had previously asked the Red Alert engineers and the base about technology and improvements. Now he said: "The power aspect is not a problem. If you want to emphasize the troop carrying capacity of this model, there are There are several different options. Because the aircraft has relatively complex electronic equipment to assist ground attacks, it will take up more space. If it is purely used as a troop transport tool, then these things can be removed or simply installed on the body. To make improvements, we can moderately increase the width and height of the fuselage to design a more comfortable and efficient cargo bay, which can roughly double the carrying capacity. There is no problem in transporting 12 soldiers, but of course it will still be cramped. This cannot be changed. ¡±
The Brigadier General of the Marine Corps raised his brows and said: "Two people? It's quite a lot. Indeed, if the current attack capability can be retained, it is best to retain it. We need more than just a troop transport aircraft."
The current main L fighter of the U.S. Marine Corps is the -B. I originally thought it was good, but since the Chinese started using the P, I feel that the -B is unsightly. Basically, all data and capabilities are inferior to Chinese products. Therefore, the Marine Corps believes that in the field of L, the Chinese are more experienced. So now China has come up with a new VTOL attack aircraft. The Marine Corps believes that this is an epoch-making model similar to the 2 Ospreys they are planning, and it has a strong interest in it. Otherwise, Bierworth would not take it. Threading the needle.
Bierworth then encouraged an officer of the U.S. Navy: "Sir, you see, this aircraft itself has considered a lot of stealth design, and its design is much more mature than the A2, although there are some things that are not as arbitrary. , but this is a platform that has been used in actual combat, and it is doubtful whether the A2 can fly in the end. We can add more stealth elements to this platform and improve the performance of their magazine. Although this is an aircraft with four engines, the aerodynamic layout is still relatively traditional. Compared with the A2, which basically has no air combat capabilities, this aircraft is definitely no worse than the A6. "
Qi Yiming also added: "Four vector engines will give this type of attack aircraft a rather unique flight mode. Our air force is still exploring, but it is certain that although it is larger than the Intruder, it is more flexible." It won¡¯t be bad.¡±
??Subsequently, a Red Alert pilot controlled a Maintainer attack aircraft to take off vertically and perform a flight demonstration for the visiting delegation. At this time, Americans have never seen an example of a fixed-wing aircraft being able to take off vertically. Although it is claimed that it can be done, it will never do so, and the failure rate is also very high.
I saw this somewhat plump attack aircraft slowly rising to a certain height driven by four downward-facing jet engines. Then the reversible engine slowly changed the direction of the nozzle, and the aircraft immediately started flying. After retracting the landing gear, the aircraft first accelerated and quickly crossed the sky.
A captain in the U.S. Navy asked: "What is the fastest speed it can reach?"
Qi Yiming replied: "More than 0 knots."
The brigadier general of the Marine Corps' eyes lit up and he said: "It's basically more than twice the speed of the rotorcraft.
The attack aircraft circled in the sky, turning sideways and then turning. It looked no different from an ordinary aircraft, and it was not as clumsy as imagined. Instead, it felt a little unusually sharp, considering its size.
Climb, roll, dive, barrel roll, these actions are all completed beautifully, which also proves that this platform is indeed a mature platform. Afterwards, the attack aircraft with a built-in magazine conducted a demonstration of air strikes on the ground. It launched two guided bombs and hit a target specially set between several obstacles, which attracted many visitors to nod.