In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 300: The Air Force Doesn't Support Domestic Production, Wants to Buy F-16s?

"Sir, even if we don't use canards, we still have to develop a digital fly-by-wire operating system... As technology advances, the requirements for the control system of fighter jets will become increasingly demanding!"

President Song explained.

If the J-9 had the supporting equipment and sufficient funding available at the time, it might have developed a suitable flight control system.

If you're going to build a canard, the flight control system absolutely cannot be subpar.

"Sir, the canard is the best option we can make right now!"

Xie Wei became displeased when the air force commander asked why canards were necessary.

If the engine technology is not up to par and there are no engines with a high thrust-to-weight ratio, how much maximum takeoff weight can be produced for a fighter jet if we rely solely on the engines that can currently be produced domestically?
If the engine is powerful enough, is it necessary?
While a lack of aerodynamic design technology and experience is a contributing factor, it is not the primary reason.

If the engine is truly powerful, even if the shape is designed like a brick, it can still be sent flying by the powerful engine.

"Our engine technology is not strong enough, especially turbofan engines... Canards can significantly increase lift and instantaneous turn capability, and provide better control at low speeds. This can greatly improve the maneuverability of fighter jets, and also allow us to send more fuel and munitions into the air when engine thrust is insufficient!"

"What exactly did Xie Wei study? It seems he's not only familiar with missile technology, but also has a good understanding of fighter jet technology."

Long Yaohua asked Li Rui, who was following him, in a low voice.

At this moment, he was somewhat curious about what Xie Wei was studying.

Before coming, he learned about Xie Wei's special status at the school through Li Rui, and knew that Xie Wei could not be viewed as an ordinary college student. Even though Long Yaohua felt that he had already paid great attention to Xie Wei, Xie Wei's current performance still made him feel that it was somewhat inadequate.

"Sir, you don't want him to join the military system, do you? That won't do!"

Li Rui looked wary.

They were afraid that Lung Yiu-wah would poach their employees.

"Look at you! You're practically a member of the military now. How can you be so biased towards outsiders!"

Long Yaohua himself had no intention of recruiting Xie Wei into the military system. Li Rui's words made him feel that it would be most suitable for Xie Wei to go to the military. Whether it was the General Logistics Department, the General Armaments Department, or the technical department of the General Staff, they could provide Xie Wei with a larger platform for development.

"..."

Li Rui felt embarrassed.

At that moment, he really didn't know how to answer.

You can't exactly tell Long Yaohua that Xie Wei was the principal he chose when he was still in school, and that everything is developing according to the route he originally planned for Xie Wei. In addition, Xie Wei's abilities are becoming stronger and stronger, and his future potential will definitely not be limited to Harbin Institute of Technology.

"Look at your face, I was just joking."

"...Next, let's listen to President Song introduce the fighter jet project to everyone."

At this moment, Xie Wei brought the topic back.

I originally wanted to give the experts a detailed introduction to the quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire control system, but the conversation drifted off-topic because a leader asked why it had to be a canard.

Xie Wei then realized that while the air force leaders of the 1980s might have had decent combat experience, their educational level and strategic vision were lacking...

In order not to waste time, he took the initiative to steer the conversation back to the topic and let President Song continue his introduction.

Just as General Song was about to refuse, he realized that Xie Wei, though young, was more suited to the situation than he was.

Xie Wei leaned closer and whispered, "President Song, the presentation is over. This is a good opportunity to propose a third-generation fighter jet to our superiors. It's not certain that the project will be approved right now. The outcome will be completely different once the Air Force takes it seriously."

Is the Air Force short of money?

That's not a problem, we have people in the Air Force.

Moreover, Xie Wei, as someone who had been through it all, knew very well that when the Air Force signed the contract with Rafael Corporation in September 1983 to import Python-3 air-to-air missiles, it had prepared $500 million in funding!

Long Yaohua also stated that the support given to prevent Xie Wei from selling the improved PL-4 was funds raised by the Air Force to introduce advanced technology.

This money might very well be used to import Python-3.

That means the Air Force definitely has more than 8000 million in its hands.

As for the Air Force not being able to raise enough funds for the improved J-7B?
What a fuss!

The Air Force never wanted the J-7 from the beginning. It wasn't just that the J-7 had poor production quality and a high failure rate, but more importantly, third-generation fighters had been in service for many years, and the Air Force had no other choice.

After Nixon's visit to China, relations between China and the West gradually thawed, and cooperation in the military and technological fields increased.

The Air Force has always wanted to import advanced foreign fighter jets.

Upon hearing Xie Wei's words, General Manager Song immediately stopped refusing.

"Currently, all our technical projects are based on the technological achievements of the J-9, solving problems encountered during the J-9's development... The control system is only one aspect; radar and avionics systems are also areas where we are currently investing heavily..."

General Manager Song led everyone to the floor where the radar and avionics projects were located.

Although he was familiar with the technical progress of the radar project, he only gave a general overview before directly introducing Professor Wei Guosong, who was in charge of radar at the university.

A professional manager provides a more professional introduction.

The explanation may not be understandable to leaders who lack expertise, but it will definitely be able to handle tricky questions from laypeople.

"...That's the technical situation. The theoretical design is complete, but due to a lack of funding, prototype manufacturing has not yet begun..."

Wei Guosong explained the cooperation with 607 and directly laid out the problems.

"Can the new radar really achieve a detection range of 50-70 kilometers? Or is it a pulse-Doppler radar with look-down capability?"

One of the leaders frowned and raised a question.

He always felt that the data presented by Wei Guosong was exaggerated.

"Sir, the detection range of 50 to 70 kilometers is only the theoretically achievable range of the design. In reality, we need to test it after producing a prototype. If it cannot be achieved, then we will modify the design."

Wei Guosong directly retorted, "Whether it's achievable or not, we don't know without samples for testing. However, simulations show it's achievable, but whether the performance of various electronic components meets design requirements also affects the detection range..."

"If that's the case, why not start preparing samples?"

Someone else spoke up.

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone's eyes were on him.

"What? The feasibility study is fine, the design work is complete, isn't the next stage to manufacture the prototype? Isn't this an independent project of Harbin Institute of Technology?"

The leader who spoke did not think there was anything wrong with his statement.

His reminder reminded many bigwigs that Harbin Institute of Technology holds the autonomy to manage and operate projects.

Their projects definitely need to be funded by themselves, rather than waiting for funding from the Air Force or higher authorities.

This problem stumped Wei Guosong, who had no choice but to look to Xie Wei for help.

It can't be said that the school only increased the funding for the radar project to a total of 500 million yuan this year, and that most of it was invested in phased array radar, which is a more advanced and cutting-edge fighter jet radar, right?

"Commander, you're right!"

Xie Wei stepped forward without flinching, smiling as he looked at the leader who had raised the question.

"Now that the design is complete, why not manufacture a prototype? Don't tell me you don't have the money!" "The commander is right, we really don't have the money."

Xie Wei nodded.

Everyone frowned.

"This has nothing to do with whether the school is affiliated with the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, but rather with the operational mechanism of the school's independent projects. Originally, the school had limited funding, and the financial allocations from higher authorities were not even enough for the school's basic development. The school-enterprise cooperation office had only been established for a short time, and the funding it provided was limited... Therefore, in order to use resources wisely, at Principal Li's suggestion, the school's leaders and the Party Committee discussed and decided that all projects would only receive a portion of the funding for theoretical research each year. Once there were users or funding from higher authorities was obtained, the school would increase its investment to achieve results more quickly..."

"..."

Li Rui didn't expect that Xie Wei would still push the blame onto him even though he hadn't been at school for a long time.

That guy is no good person at all.

Long Yaohua, who had been silent the whole time, glanced at Li Rui with surprise.

"There are many projects but little funding, so deciding who to give the funding to and who not to give it to is a problem."

Li Rui explained awkwardly.

It was clearly all Xie Wei's idea!
"Your school didn't have any funding before, and you sold rocket launchers twice in a row, and you still didn't have the money?"

Those who raised questions were even more unhappy.

"Sir, this is also related to the school's independent project investment mechanism. We can't just invest all of the school's working capital into it, can we? We have indeed made a considerable profit from selling long-range rocket launchers recently, but the school has many projects... Microcomputers, faster central data processors, chips with larger storage capacity, etc., have already gained market share, so we need to increase investment, right? As for CNC systems, foreign countries have been using five-axis multi-linkage systems for many years, and we have only just developed a four-axis CNC system, so the control precision is not that high yet..."

Xie Wei doesn't speak very fast.

However, it did not give anyone a chance to interrupt.

"Even with the tank project, although it received $80 million in technology development funding from Pakistan and nearly $100 million in orders, can it be completed within the stipulated time by spending all of that funding to transform the original WZ-122 technology into a third-generation main battle tank? Wouldn't that require even more investment?"

"..."

Xie Wei's words were irrefutable.

"This kid's methods are even more subtle than yours when it comes to money!"

Long Yaohua looked at Xie Wei and admired him more and more. He felt that the General Staff was the most suitable place for Xie Wei's development, and for a moment he had the idea of ​​poaching Xie Wei to the General Staff.

"He didn't ask for money!"

Li Rui rolled his eyes, not even bothering to see who had chosen his successor.

But they won't admit it.

"He didn't ask for money? He practically had the words 'I'll pay' written all over his face! Isn't his attitude clear? If the military wants to see a prototype of this radar as soon as possible, understand its true performance, and accelerate the development of the air force's combat capabilities, they must invest in this radar."

Long Yaohua said irritably, "I thought that after you left, when the leaders from the higher-level authorities came to Harbin Institute of Technology, I wouldn't need to leave anything behind before I could leave. But..."

"It's not that serious!"

Li Rui simply denied it.

Since they've already come all this way, how can leaders show consideration for their subordinates if they don't leave something behind?

"Ha~"

Long Yaohua was amused by Li Rui's attitude. "The PL-4 modified air-to-air missile that the school brought out has a detection range of 24 kilometers. According to Lai Guichang, with some improvements, the detection range can reach 50 to 70 kilometers... while the J-7's detection radar only has a range of 20 kilometers... even the 204 radar, which hasn't been successfully developed yet, only has a detection range of 30 kilometers! You're going to come up with a detection range of 50 to 70 kilometers right off the bat. If the Air Force doesn't provide funding, do you think that will work? If word gets out, people will think that the Air Force is deliberately not providing support for advanced domestic technology and is only thinking about importing it!"

"..."

The spacious research room was completely silent.

All eyes were on Long Yaohua.

It seems that Long Yaohua is refuting Li Rui, but what is the reality?

"As expected of Boss Long, I guess the calls from the Air Force to import advanced foreign fighter jets and equipment are getting louder and louder..."

Xie Wei was not surprised at all upon hearing Long Yaohua's words.

If it weren't for Long Yaohua's intervention, China might have introduced the F-16/79, an advanced fighter jet that was touted as being only slightly inferior to the F-16 in performance, and superior to the Su-27 in all aspects except for its engine!

Could it be that Lockheed and General Dynamics are already aggressively marketing this junk fighter jet, which is practically unsellable internationally, to the Air Force?
83年，美国就放开了F-16的出口限制，装备推力5390千克、加力推力8160千克的J79-GE-119涡喷发动机的F-16/79更没有市场。

This thing was introduced after the United States announced in 77 that it would no longer export fighter jets with the same level of technology as its domestic counterparts.

Historically, there has not been a single order.

Nobody's a fool to spend tens of millions of dollars on such a piece of junk.

Following Long Yaohua's remarks, fewer questions were raised during the subsequent visit, and even when questions arose, they were only about technical details.

The group left without even having lunch.

"Is Boss Long implying something?"

When Xie Wei saw the group off to the station, he seized the opportunity to secretly ask Li Rui a question.

"You boy!"

Li Rui's lips twitched, and he looked at Xie Wei helplessly, "How did you figure that out?"

Is it that obvious?
Xie Wei smiled but didn't explain. "Is the Air Force preparing to import advanced foreign fighter jets?"

Li Rui's eyes suddenly widened, and his gaze towards Xie Wei became even more strange.

"This isn't hard to guess. You can deduce it from the fact that the Air Force didn't want the J-7 after the agreement was reached to transfer British technology to the J-7."

Li Rui thought about it and realized that made sense.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and the idea of ​​arresting Xie Wei and interrogating him about his intelligence sources vanished instantly.

"Sigh, the Americans are trying to sell F-16s to the Air Force..."

"That's great! The F-16 is the world's most advanced single-engine fighter jet, with advanced avionics and radar. With this thing, the Tu-22M Backfire is nothing!"

Xie Wei pretended not to know, his face showing surprise.

"If it were that kind of thing, I'd sell everything I own to buy dozens of them, and then copy them..."

Li Rui said unhappily, "Unfortunately, the Americans are selling the F-16 with a turbojet engine, claiming that its performance has only been partially reduced. In reality, its range, combat radius, payload, and air maneuverability have all been severely weakened. Even its avionics and radar have been downgraded to the level of the F-5E..."

"But it's still more advanced than the J-7 currently used by the Air Force."

Xie Wei was overjoyed, but his face remained sincere.

The Air Force definitely wanted to acquire it for this reason.

The J-7 is a copy of the MiG-21. During this period, the Soviets had already developed the MiG-29 from the MiG-21. China has not even reached the level of the MiG-23 yet.

The J-8 is slightly better, but only in terms of range and payload; its combat performance is not much better.

But the thing with two engines is for the navy!

(End of this chapter)