Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1118: Gao Zhendong tricked me again

It was not only this old comrade who was amazed at the good materials we had, but also the comrades who had already used the new materials but had discovered even newer materials.

In Beijing, at the Missile Research Institute, the comrade in charge of the semi-active radar medium-range air defense missile was holding the test results of GAP propellant with a constipated look on his face.

"What do you think we should do about this? The semi-active radar medium-range surface-to-air/ship-to-air missiles are about to undergo finalization tests, and now this thing comes up!" The speaker was the chief designer in charge of the semi-active radar medium-range air defense missiles.

Another comrade looked at him and asked, "Why, you're not happy to get on with the new propellant?"

"I'm happy to do so, but come on, our deputy chief engineer, you decide whether to modify it or not? If you want to modify it, then the current semi-active medium-range air defense missile needs to be greatly modified. With the same range, it does not need such a large missile body. And if you look at the parameters and test results of this new propellant, there is no doubt that the existing solid rocket engine cannot be used and needs to be redesigned. This is not a problem that can be solved by simply scaling it up or down."

The deputy chief engineer looked at the test results of GAP propellant. Although he was happy, the constipated expression on his face was actually not much better than that of the chief engineer.

This thing is so good, I don’t know how to use it, this thing is so complicated.

Thanks to their efforts, as well as Gao Zhendong's timely assistance during the development process and guidance on major technical problems, the semi-active radar medium-range air-to-air missile is finally about to produce results today.

Just when everyone was busy and excitedly preparing to finalize the design, we suddenly discovered that there was a newer propellant!

This means an increase in range, or a reduction in the size of the projectile, a reduction in the weight of the projectile, or a change in the launch device...

This series of changes almost overturned at least half of the previous work.

As we all know, air defense missiles rely on two core components to defeat the enemy: rocket engines and guidance heads.

The former determines how far the shot will be, while the latter determines how accurate the shot will be.

Of course, there are other important areas such as aerodynamic shape, trajectory planning, and control systems, but the first two are almost decisive.

For example, the famous "loitering missile" Barak-8, which relies on its aerodynamic shape and ballistic planning, has a good range, but its speed... Let's put it this way, in most of its flight sections, even if Mr. Bay starts running for his life 1000 meters in front of it, it will probably be difficult to catch up with it.

As for terminal mobility, if any, it can attack bombers, transport planes, etc. It can't attack other targets. It can't deal with high-speed and high-mobility targets. It can only bully the weak ones around the oil bay.

Therefore, the comrades in the Institute of Guidance and Research were caught in a dilemma at this time.

Use? It makes too much noise and affects the progress.

No? Who is willing to do so? The chief engineer? The deputy chief engineer? Other comrades?
"Then... let's report it to our superiors and ask the Defense Working Committee and the comrades in the army to organize a meeting. This matter is indeed difficult to handle."

"Okay, we'll report and come up with a set of rules. Otherwise it'll be such a shame, I won't accept that!"

The two did not have any unhappy expressions. After all, this was a big happy event, and the problems that arose were not called problems, but "matters awaiting decision". For them, this matter was not the shame of an unfinished task, but they wanted to find a better way, that's all.

They couldn't make a decision on this matter, and they couldn't even decide it directly after discussing it with Gao Zhendong. There were too many aspects involved. Even if Gao Zhendong still had the idea, this method couldn't be used.

Also in Beijing, Defense Work Committee.

"There's a report coming in about the semi-active radar medium-range air defense missiles." The chief engineer of the Defense Work Committee came to the leader's office with a document.

"Oh? Do they have good news?" the leader laughed.

The semi-active radar medium-range air defense missile can be said to be the backbone of air defense. At this time when long-range out-of-area ammunition is far from mature and rampant, this thing can basically threaten all air combat aircraft.

For the Air Defense Working Committee, this matter is also very important. In the field of air defense, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the "No. 1 Project", so the leaders are naturally very concerned about it.

This kind of equipment can be used not only on land, but also on sea!
Forget about it in the air. Just modify the medium- and long-range air defense missiles and put them on airplanes, but they are not used much. First of all, the airplane has to be big, and the technology has to be weak. If the airplane is small, it can't be installed. If the technology is strong, people are unwilling to make such modifications. Aren't professional medium-range air-to-air missiles better?

The most famous example of a perfect match is when Iran's F-14 used up all its AIM-54 "Phoenix" long-range air-to-air missiles and then launched "Hawk" surface-to-air missiles at the F-14.

When the chief engineer heard the leader's question, his expression was a little subtle: "They are all good news, but when combined together, they are not so good for the time being."

"What do you mean? Are you kidding me?" But overall it should be good news.

The chief engineer handed the report from the Institute of Research to the leader and said, "Take a look at it yourself."

The leader read through the whole process with a smile on his face: "Hahaha, the Institute of Advanced Research has been cheated by Gao Zhendong again. There are quite a few comrades who have been cheated by him."

“Well, you see, the current Research Institute is like a monkey eating ginger – it tastes spicy when you eat it, but smells good when you throw it away.” The chief engineer also laughed.

Comrade Zhendong's trick should be used more often. The leader waved his hand and said, "Inform them that we approve their request and hold a meeting! Tell them to be prepared. By the way, don't forget the culprit of this incident."

Normally, there is no need to remind Gao Zhendong of such things, and he must not miss such meetings, but the leader just wanted to say something, for no other reason than that he thought it was interesting to talk about.

When the comrades from the Institute of Guidance and Research saw Gao Zhendong in the meeting room of the Defense Working Committee, they smiled and "complained" and said, "Commissioner Gao, I have to trouble you again. It was almost finalized, but I didn't expect that there was a new idea. I still need to listen to your opinion."

Gao Zhendong looked at him in confusion. What trouble is there? This trouble was caused by me, don’t you know?

But on second thought, he might really not know that the confidentiality level of GAP propellant is much higher than that of ordinary solid propellant, and not many comrades know that this thing was invented by him.

This is normal. One nitrate, two sulfur and three charcoal are all propellants. Whether sugar is added or not, they are all propellants. However, even children know about this type of propellant.

Gao Zhendong suppressed his laughter: "Ah, it's not a problem, it's not a problem, it's all work that should be done."

Although the people who were working on the semi-active radar medium-range air defense missiles were not the same people who were working on the air-to-air missiles, Gao Zhendong was still familiar with them, so it was okay to make a joke.

Listening to their conversation, the leader of the Defense Work Committee and the chief engineer almost couldn't help laughing out loud.

The culprit is right in front of you, and you're still being polite.

Comrades from the Land Equipment Bureau, Air Equipment Bureau and Naval Equipment Bureau all came. This thing was useful to them all, so they were sure to get it. Even the Air Equipment Bureau joked that this was called "spying on the enemy."

This is a big joke. Although surface-to-air missiles are used on the ground, medium-range missiles are now part of the Air Force. The arrival of the Land Equipment Bureau means that we need to listen to their opinions just in case.

For example, the S-57 missile unit that shot down the RB-2 and U-75 is now part of the Air Force.

"Well, everyone is here, let's get started."

With the words of the chief engineer of the Defense Work Committee, the meeting entitled "Semi-active Radar Medium-range Air Defense Missile Progress Coordination Meeting" was officially started.

The comrades from the Institute of Guidance and Research quickly introduced the situation. Of course, a lot of content was vague, and they had to be vague in some places, such as GAP propellant. They themselves only knew that this thing was called "ultra-high energy propellant."

"…This is the situation now. This type of propellant will greatly increase the range, but it will also cause considerable delays in progress. It is difficult for us at the Institute to make a decision on this matter, so we can only ask the leaders and experts to give us some advice…"

The matter itself was not complicated and the report was made quickly. The comrades from the Maritime Equipment Bureau and the Air Equipment Bureau understood it quickly.

"The range has been greatly improved? How much?" asked a comrade from the Naval Equipment Bureau. This was what they were most concerned about. The same was true for the Air Equipment Bureau. On the contrary, the comrades from the Land Equipment Bureau were very calm. The longer the range, the further away this matter was from them.

"Conservative estimate, 50%." This data has been calculated by the Research Institute.

The comrades from the two equipment bureaus almost jumped up: "How much? Half? Postpone! Postpone! Postpone! This is it!"

Known condition 1: Range ≈ Firepower
Known condition 2: The patient has severe firepower phobia
Question: What is the probability that the patient chooses to increase the range?

You don’t have to calculate for this question, it’s infinitely close to 100%.

The missile chief designer reminded: "If it is delayed, it means that the time for us to get the semi-active medium-range air defense missile will be delayed by at least one and a half to two years."

One and a half years? Two years?
The comrades from the air and sea equipment departments only then realized the seriousness of the problem. It seemed a little...

"so long?"

"Yes, because there are many processes that need to be redone, many experiments that need to be redone, and many problems that need to be solved now."

The most troublesome thing is that many difficult problems need to be solved now, which means that there is a risk that this part cannot even be solved.

The comrade from the Naval Equipment Bureau calmed down and asked: "What is the range of the missile that has been developed but not yet finalized?"

"30 kilometers."

"What about the size?" The other comrades didn't know why the Haizhuang Bureau asked about the size, but Gao Zhendong knew.

"Much smaller than the S-75..." A comrade from the Missile Research Institute reported a set of data. Gao Zhendong calculated in his mind and found that it was almost on the same order of magnitude as missiles such as the Shijieli and Standard-1. In fact, it was shorter than the Shijieli. It seemed that the solid propellant and improved formula for tactical missiles that he had obtained from the American guy had been used to the extreme by his comrades.

"Hiss...this..." The comrades from the Naval Equipment Bureau and the Research Institute were in a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)