Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1385: Not many questions left? (4k today, will resume 9k tomorrow)

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "That's easy, then we won't use external attachments! We'll put them in the bomb bay."

While the other comrades didn't react much to this statement, the comrades from the Air Force Equipment Bureau reacted the most strongly.

Chief Engineer Gao hates bomb bays the most, doesn't he?

The old Tu-4 had its bomb bay removed and replaced with mission payload and fuel.

The light bomber, a copy of the Il-28, had its bomb bay removed and was turned into an attack aircraft;
The old attack aircraft, which was improved from the MiG-19, has lost its bomb bay and has been transformed into a multi-role fighter.

The medium bomber, a copy of the Tu-16, is also trying to eliminate its bomb bay.

Why is he suddenly reversing course on this matter?

"Chief Engineer Gao, will digging out the bomb bay affect fuel levels and increase drag?"

At that time, the comrades hadn't thought about the difficulty of the bomb bay, after all, such things were everywhere before, simple! They never imagined that decades later, the White Bear would leave behind a "Schrödinger's main bomb bay" meme among military enthusiasts.

Their concerns remain about fuel consumption and drag. After all, the method of removing the bomb bay and replacing it with external stores had indeed significantly improved the aircraft's range.

Moreover, an internal weapons bay would significantly increase the size of the aircraft, which would have an adverse effect on the drag of the clean configuration of the aircraft.

Before Gao Zhendong could speak, the comrades from the Southwest Institute said with admiration, "No, no."

It turns out that Committee Member Gao had been prepared all along.

The colleague from the Air Force Equipment Bureau turned to look at the Southwest Institute: "Oh? What exactly is the situation?"

"To meet Chief Engineer Gao's requirement for the fuselage to be as smooth as possible, our aircraft already has ample space. To put it simply, we've gone to great lengths to cover all the original uneven areas with a flat plate, thus transforming the previously uneven space into internal space. We just estimated that, disregarding the shape, the volume is sufficient for both missiles and fuel. At least four to six air-to-air missiles shouldn't be a problem. If necessary, we can ask the researchers at the Guidance Research Institute to modify the missile design. Actually, before this, we were worried about another issue—if we filled all the extra space inside the aircraft with fuel, the entire aircraft would be significantly overweight! We had to consider leaving some of it empty!"

The thrust of an aircraft engine is limited. If all the space is filled with fuel and external weapons, it will definitely be overweight. Now, using part of the space to store weapons is perfect.

The comrades from the Southwest Institute spoke with great admiration for Gao Zhendong. The foresight he demonstrated made all the hard work he put in to smooth out the machine body and ensure aerodynamics all the more worthwhile.

The Air Force Bureau was overjoyed; 4-6 missiles were more than enough! In fact, even decades from now, the mainstream air superiority loadout will be 4 medium and 2 short missiles, except for a few heavy fighters and those used for demonstration purposes.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "Actually, if we want to ensure the progress of the air superiority fighters, there is another way—to proceed in two steps."

After all, the development of this air superiority fighter also needs to be completed on schedule, and it's impossible to delay it indefinitely for the sake of stealth design.

Which two steps?

Gao Zhendong said, "The first step is to use semi-recessed pylons. Several slots are dug in the fuselage to bury most of the missiles, leaving only a portion exposed. This can achieve good results, but these semi-recessed pylons have a very limited purpose. If you want to perform multi-purpose missions, you still need to add additional pylons."

The comrades from the Air Force Equipment Bureau laughed: "Air superiority should look like air superiority. Single-purpose is fine! At least it can solve problems quickly. As for multi-purpose, it's enough to be able to install racks."

Besides, even if this thing is actually developed, the Air Force probably won't have time to use it for multi-purpose missions for a long time.

The comrades at the Southwest Institute nodded repeatedly. If all parties agreed to this step, then at least this part of the task could be completed. After all, the semi-buried mounting bracket was almost the same as their current machine body, with no modifications.

"As for the second step, it's the proper internal weapons bay. Don't underestimate this thing. It's not easy to do at the high speed of a fighter jet. It's not as simple as just digging a hole in the fuselage. To put it bluntly, if it's not done well, you might not even be able to open the door, let alone launch missiles. It's even possible that the missiles won't be able to leave the fuselage at all."

The comrades at the Southwest Institute then realized that in the past, bomb bays were mostly implemented on low-speed aircraft like bombers, and the bombs they carried were not optimized for flight. Under strong airflow and combined with gravity, they were much less likely to be interfered with. Missiles, however, are different. They are only slightly heavier than 125-kilogram bombs, and their bodies are optimized for long-distance flight. Strong airflow can indeed make them more difficult to maneuver.

In particular, the bomb bay is a recessed area where airflow rushes in from the outside, making it far more complex than when it is hung under the wing.

Although it was indeed difficult, the thought of having a semi-buried foundation gave the comrades at the Southwest Institute renewed confidence. The path paved by Chief Engineer Gao was indeed so comfortable to walk.

"It's okay, we're confident. We'll start with a semi-buried approach to ensure a high success rate, and then we'll improve the progress of digging out the bomb bay. The only problem is that the bomb bay can't be made too big; it won't be able to hold large bombs, so it's not really suitable for kicking down doors."

Unexpectedly, the comrades from the Air Force Equipment Bureau laughed, their expressions a mixture of joy and admiration.

"You don't need to worry about that. Chief Engineer Gao has already advised the relevant factories and institutes to prepare a 125kg guided bomb. Other types might not be able to fit, but this level is definitely not a problem, right?"

So they even prepared bombs.

The comrades from the Southwest Institute nodded repeatedly: "It can fit, it can fit. This thing is not even as heavy as a medium-range air-to-air missile, and the caliber is not large either."

"Then there's no problem. A 125kg bomb might not be enough to destroy a solid bunker, but it's very effective at destroying radar. Once the radar is destroyed, the other planes carrying heavy bombs can swarm in!"

No wonder even with the semi-recessed mounting bracket, Comrade Gao Zhendong still wanted to build a bomb bay; it turns out this thing really can kick down doors!

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "If all else fails, you can ask the relevant factories and institutes to modify the shape of the bombs, for example, to make them rectangular in cross-section."

"Ah, right, right! That's one way too!" The comrade from the Aircraft Equipment Bureau was beaming with joy. With the external stores problem solved, he suddenly remembered another issue: drag. The comrade from the Southwest Institute, however, wasn't worried at all: "Drag? Well, here's the thing: as long as the external stores are placed inside the fuselage or partially buried, the drag from the increased fuselage size is far less than the drag reduced by eliminating the external stores! In other words, the mission configuration of this aircraft actually greatly reduces drag! Moreover, this type of lift fuselage already has good lift, which can indirectly offset some of the drag problems."

Chief Engineer Gao proposed developing a lift fuselage, which is perfectly suited for this aircraft!
"However, this would increase the amount of computational work, especially the modification of the aerodynamic-stealth shape. We can't afford to conduct experiments on that. It's necessary to calculate a certain range of solutions first before conducting experiments. We may need more computers," said the colleague from the Southwest Institute.

"No problem, we'll help you solve this! I'll get you the latest 32N aircraft, very quickly!" The comrades from the Air Force Equipment Bureau took on all the responsibility, wanting the horse to run fast without feeding it. Where in the world can you find such a good deal?

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "Well, let's make do with the 32N for now."

Even the simplest cluster cannot be built overnight. Fortunately, the 32N is already at the level of the 386 decades later, and can play a significant role in scientific computing at this stage.

The downside of being a pioneer is that you have to figure everything out on your own, but the advantage is that you don't have to pursue the ultimate result. Getting it roughly right is already groundbreaking.

Gao Zhendong's words surprised the comrades from the Air Force Equipment Bureau and the Southwest Institute. His words sounded quite profound. What did he mean by "make do"?
Machines of the 32N level are top-notch, not only domestically but also internationally. However, the word "make do" clearly implies that there are better ones available. As for why they are making do for now, perhaps it's because they haven't been fully developed yet, or perhaps they haven't reached production capacity.

However, seeing the chief engineer of the National Defense Industry Committee and Gao Zhendong smiling without saying a word, they could only suppress their curiosity and refrain from asking questions they shouldn't ask.

The chief engineer of the National Defense Industry Commission knew about the supercomputer project. After all, the project was half under the National Defense Industry Commission and half under the Twelfth Ministry of Machine Building. As the chief engineer of the commission, he certainly knew about it.

Comrade Zhendong's troops haven't moved yet, but all kinds of supplies have been prepared in advance!
"However, this creates a problem with the air intake. The bomb bay will inevitably take up space in the air intake. Even if the total volume is sufficient, it will definitely encroach on the optimal air intake path and affect the air intake efficiency." The comrades from the Southwest Institute looked at the aircraft structural sketches and raised further questions.

If the journey is long and involves turns, it will always affect efficiency.

Gao Zhendong shook his head and said, "This is not a bad thing."

"Not a bad thing?" Not only the Southwest Institute, but everyone else was a little surprised. Lower air intake efficiency means paying a higher price to compensate.

Seeing their surprised expressions, Gao Zhendong nodded affirmatively: "It's not a bad thing! Intake efficiency can be compensated for by making certain improvements to the intake duct, and the impact is not too great. However, on the other hand, bending the intake duct can bring a great benefit!"

Could this really bring such great benefits? The comrades were completely baffled.

Gao Zhendong pointed to the engine blades at the rear: "Yes, a huge advantage. The curved air intake can block electromagnetic waves from directly looking at the engine blades! This is a huge source of reflection, and an unmanageable one! But without blocking it, the frontal stealth effect won't be good!"

Unlike airplanes, whose shape can be repaired, the shape of blades is very difficult to repair. There is no such thing as trying to do both at the same time here, only one pursuit, one ultimate pursuit—to swallow them whole! To swallow them steadily!

What to swallow? Air. Plenty and stable.

Therefore, trying to reduce the radar reflection signal of engine blades by changing the shape of the blades or adding a shielding net in front of them is almost always a crooked approach and not worth the effort.

As for applying a stealth coating... well, let's just say that the effort required to ensure the coating adheres firmly to the blades without falling off, doesn't affect engine intake, and is maintainable is less than the effort put into developing an S-shaped air intake.

After all, the coating on Citibank's later Raptor was so badly done that it looked like the putty hadn't been applied properly at a car repair shop. Trying to scrape that stuff off the high-speed rotating blades would be difficult!
Looking at Gao Zhendong's fingers, the comrades once again deeply felt the difference between people. They had just accepted the need for external cloaking and were beginning to try to solve the problem, while his attention was already on the belly of the plane. He had even considered such a hidden place and solved the problem with an almost "waste utilization" approach.

The bomb bay will affect the air intake? Well, that's exactly the effect I want. Although it will have a slight impact on air intake efficiency, I've covered up the blades!
The intake section is different from the engine blades. We can still find ways to compensate for the affected air intake because its working environment and conditions are far less extreme, harsh and complex than those of the engine blades.

"Wonderful! This is absolutely amazing!" The comrades from the Southwest Institute once again expressed the same exclamation that many of their colleagues had made before.

"We can definitely solve the air intake problem!" Compared to the more futuristic and mysterious stealth technology, solving the minor impact of the air intake gave the comrades more confidence. Only a fool wouldn't be happy to take a break with Committee Member Gao's help.

After all, the air intake is visible and tangible, while the idea of ​​invisibility sounds far-fetched.

At this point, the colleagues at the Southwest Institute realized that there didn't seem to be too many problems.

The aircraft was designed to be as flat and smooth as possible, and even the various openings were pre-treated.

Since stealth is not mandatory in the future, there's not much that needs to be modified in the latter half of the machine; it can simply remain smooth and flat.

The specific parameters for the forward direction need to be calculated and tested, but I think this paper by Comrade Bei Fang and the research results of Committee Member Gao can be of great help.

One of the biggest hidden dangers in the forward direction, the engine blades, was solved by Committee Member Gao in a way that was almost like cheating.

Then—the comrades looked towards the cockpit.

To the radar, the transparent material on the top of the cockpit is practically invisible; it's just a large pit that produces strong reflections.

“This… I think we should add a coating, a coating that can reflect radar waves!” A colleague from the Southwest Institute suggested, taking matters into his own hands.

"Add a reflective coating? You're afraid the radar reflection signal isn't strong enough, aren't you?"

"Hey, you're mistaken. If the canopy is made smooth enough, it can have the same effect as a smooth fuselage, deflecting most radar signals in other directions and reducing reflections."

The comrades engaged in a heated discussion.

(End of this chapter)