Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 259 The "Big Spender" Arrives
Chen Jiang and his team's design ideas were quickly approved by their superiors, whose approval was similar to Chen Jiang's, but even more cautious and pragmatic.

The second aircraft carrier was based on the Varyag, an attempt to build an aircraft carrier of its own; it was not until the third that it began to be completely innovative.

This approach is undoubtedly more prudent. Chen Jiang estimates that the third aircraft carrier will still be conventionally powered, and even the fourth will be conventionally powered.

Starting with nuclear power and electromagnetic catapults is prone to problems. Instead of building an aircraft carrier like India and having to repair it every day, it's better to proceed steadily, build on existing technology, and eventually have our own nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

In 2007, good news kept coming one after another.

First, the KJ-2000 has finally officially entered service.
Due to my country's large territory, early warning aircraft generally need to be on duty in the air for a long time, and there are also strict requirements on range. Therefore, the Il-76 large transport aircraft was chosen as the carrier platform.

The Il-76 transport aircraft is a large transport aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in the 70s. It is 49.59 meters long, 14.76 meters high, and has a wingspan of 50.45 meters. Its maximum speed is 850 km/h, its cruising speed is 750-800 km/h, its service ceiling is 15500 meters, and its range is 5000 kilometers. It meets my country's requirements for early warning aircraft operations.

Moreover, the aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 170 tons and a payload of 40 tons. Its cargo hold is relatively large, measuring 20 meters × 3.46 meters × 3.40 meters, providing sufficient weight and internal space to install early warning system equipment. Due to the large internal space, a dedicated rest area can be set up, allowing onboard staff to take turns on duty and extend mission time.

Furthermore, both Russia and India have modified the aircraft into early warning aircraft, and the Chinese Air Force has been using the Il-76 transport aircraft for many years, possessing certain logistical support capabilities. Therefore, it is only natural for it to serve as a modification platform.

Chen Jiang was quite satisfied with the actual parameters of the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft.

The KJ-2000's early warning radar system adopts a dome-shaped configuration, similar to the US E-3, E-2C/D, and the Russian A-50 early warning aircraft, which mounts the early warning radar in a dome-shaped radome on the upper back of the aircraft.

The advantage of this installation method is that the fuselage does not obstruct the radar, eliminating radar blind spots and enabling 360-degree scanning coverage. However, the disadvantages are its large size, high drag, and the impact of airflow on the vertical tail, which also affects the aircraft's stability.

Unlike the aforementioned early warning aircraft, the KJ-2000's radar antenna, although also disc-shaped, uses a phased array radar instead of a mechanically scanned radar.

Phased array radar has significant advantages. First, phased array radar has lower internal transmission loss than ordinary radar, thus allowing for a longer detection range. Second, phased array radar has a faster target signal refresh rate, making it easier to acquire targets.

A single crew of the KJ-2000 large early warning aircraft consists of 17 members, divided into aircrew and combat teams. The aircrew team comprises 5 people: captain, first officer, navigator, communications officer, and air mechanic. The combat team consists of 11 people, including commander, guide, radar intelligence officer, radar operator, electronic countermeasures intelligence officer, and communications operator. Typically, each early warning aircraft requires two crews to ensure continuous operation.

Compared with the earlier KJ-200 early warning aircraft, the KJ-2000 has a much wider operating range and has achieved comprehensive breakthroughs and upgrades in terms of loiter time and combat effectiveness. This has played a huge role in enabling commanders to fully grasp the air situation and integrate, process, analyze, and assess various battlefield information.

In particular, it can promptly relay the battlefield information it has gathered to ground troops or air fighter groups and air defense fire strike groups, much like the "eyes that can see a thousand miles" and "ears that can hear the wind" of ancient times.

Moreover, the research department has also made breakthrough progress in the development of the engine.

Previously, our advanced fighter jets used AL-31F engines purchased from Russia. These engines had many problems, such as a high failure rate, complicated maintenance, and a short lifespan. However, they were the most powerful engines we could currently use, so we made do with them for a long time.

Even so, they are still threatened by the Russian bear country with supply cuts from time to time. Without engines, no matter how powerful your fighter jet is, it's useless!

Fortunately, the WS-10A turbofan engine has recently made significant progress. Although this engine still has some problems, it has indeed achieved a breakthrough in the localization of high-thrust engines.

With our own engines, our military trade market will be revitalized.

Upon receiving news that Pakistan had come to purchase weapons and equipment, Chen Jiang, as the director of the equipment department, naturally had to participate.

When he arrived at the scene, he saw the head of the purchasing delegation, Deputy Prime Minister Mubarak, visiting our FC-1 fighter jet production line with great interest.

This fighter jet will later become the famous JF-17 Thunder.

The FC-1 fighter jet originated from the "Super-7" fighter jet program in 1988.

The FC-1 "Xiaolong" fighter jet adopts a conventional layout with a medium aspect ratio leading-edge extension wing, and the fuselage uses a supersonic area rule, with a hybrid structure of beam and semi-monocoque.

Single vertical tail, differential horizontal tail, twin ventral fins, leading edge flaps and trailing edge flaps with full wingspan.

The leading edge sweep angles of the wings, horizontal tail, and vertical tail are all 42 degrees, and the large sweep angle strakes extend all the way to the tail of the fuselage, with tricycle landing gear.

This fighter jet is a light fighter. Although its maximum takeoff weight is relatively average, it is cheap to manufacture and, when equipped with an excellent radar system, is quite good for homeland defense operations.

This is also an important reason why Pakistan wants to import and replace its aging fighter jets.

Moreover, Pakistan contributed a significant amount of funding to this fighter jet in its early stages of service, accounting for 60% of the total investment.

Now that the engine problem that had been hindering the development of this fighter jet has been resolved, they naturally came to request delivery.

"Your production line is very simple and efficient; no wonder the fighter jets you produce perform so well." Mubarak was very satisfied after looking around.

Once the Chinese side sees that the other side is relatively satisfied, then it will proceed to substantive negotiations.

In the meeting room, Deputy Prime Minister Mubarak clearly stated that he wanted to transfer the entire JF-17 Thunder fighter jet production line to them, equipped with our domestically produced engines, so that they could work overtime to produce the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.

It also requires the KLJ-7 pulse-Doppler radar and the PL11 medium-range air-to-air missile.

It should be said that these equipment basically represent the strongest combat equipment of the current Chinese Air Force. Our PL10 medium-range air-to-air missile has not yet been successfully developed, while the PL11 was finalized in 2002. It is a copy of the "Aspide" missile and uses semi-active radar guidance with a maximum range of 50 kilometers.

Therefore, when Pakistan made its request, we were somewhat resistant. The unspoken rule in international arms sales has always been to "hold back a trick up one's sleeve," meaning that what is sold will certainly not be the best available domestically. Some countries even produce "crippled" versions of second-rate weapons, namely export versions. This ensures that core technologies do not leak out, and also prevents the other party from using this to retaliate against us.

“That’s impossible. We can provide PL-8 air-to-air missiles,” the Chinese representative replied outright.

Mubarak was somewhat displeased upon hearing this. "Actually, the PL-11 is not advanced enough internationally. Compared with the American Sidewinder series, it still lags behind. Our JF-17 fighter jet is a light fighter jet. If it doesn't have any highlights in its air-to-air missiles, then the combat effectiveness of this fighter jet will be greatly reduced. What's the point of such military trade procurement?"

"Don't we also have radar? Our radar technology is at an advanced level among Doppler radars," the Chinese representative emphasized.

Mubarak laughed, "What's the use of just seeing far away if you can't hit anything?"

Fighter jets rely on beyond-visual-range combat. The effective range of the PL-8 air-to-air missile is only about 20 kilometers. What can you do with that distance?
The negotiations reached a stalemate, at which point Chen Jiang requested a recess.
During the recess, he discussed the matter with others in a small conference room.

"What? Sell it all to them? How can that be?"

"That's right, we can't sell our most powerful weapons."

"Yes, this is the result of so much hard work from our scientific research experts."

After hearing Chen Jiang's opinion, everyone voiced their objections.

Chen Jiang had anticipated this. After calmly listening to everyone's objections, he asked calmly, "Ask yourselves honestly, are the KLJ-7 pulse-Doppler radar and the PL11 medium-range air-to-air missile really top-tier at the moment?"

Upon hearing Chen Jiang's question, the group that had been making a ruckus earlier exchanged bewildered glances. They had to admit that while these items were considered treasures domestically, they were somewhat outdated on the international stage.

"Actually, we all know that these things are only treasures to ourselves. But if we compare them with the main equipment of the United States or even the United States, they are nothing! We may admire them, but they are not really treasures. Since that's the case, we might as well broaden our thinking, package these things and give them to them, and then exchange them for foreign exchange funds to further promote the research and development of our new equipment."

Chen Jiang emphasized, "Don't forget, they don't even look at our newly developed WS-10A turbofan engine. Of course, we can't sell the KJ-2000 to them either, so the core technology is still with us. As long as we have enough R&D funding, it's only a matter of time before we develop newer and more powerful equipment."

He smiled and said, "The PL11's range is only 50 kilometers. In the future, we will also have the PL15 and PL17, and the range will be 200-400 kilometers. We will take them out as soon as they take off from the airport!"

Hearing Chen Jiang say this, everyone was impressed by his optimism. 200 kilometers? We don't even know where the air-to-air missiles with a range of 100 kilometers are in China right now.

In the early years, when there were no air-to-air missiles and only machine guns, didn't we still take off and "fight hand-to-hand" in the air?
After much persuasion, Chen Jiang led everyone to meet with Mubarak again.
This time it was Chen Jiang's turn to make the terms: "Mr. Mubarak, we can provide whatever you need, and it's all the latest model! No problem!"

Upon hearing Chen Jiang speak, Mubarak's eyes immediately lit up.

Although he knew that the PL11 wasn't exactly a world-class close-range combat missile, it was more than enough for them to use against the Indians.

So before he came, he didn't really have high hopes for the PL11, after all, it is China's most advanced air-to-air missile at present, why would they give it to him?

Unexpectedly, this young senior colonel was willing to sell it to me? Suddenly, the PL8 didn't seem so appealing anymore. Who would want to eat cabbage when there's steak to eat?

"Oh? That's great! I knew the older brothers were the most generous to us younger brothers. Cheers to our great friendship!" Mubarak's eloquent words came out casually. Anyway, these kinds of words were free, and he could say as much as he wanted. But he suddenly realized that there were no glasses or wine, and he felt a little embarrassed.

In fact, he didn't understand Chen Jiang at all. If he had done a little research, he would have known that people like Chen Jiang almost always benefited and never suffered losses.

As the saying goes, the more you give, the more they want from you.

Chen Jiang smiled and said, "Cheers is no problem. We can also provide our own Moutai, the best quality, specially supplied!"

Hearing Chen Jiang say this, Mubarak beamed with joy. He had long admired our Moutai, which was an exceptionally good product!
"However, we still need to discuss the details. We've shown our sincerity, but you should also show some sincerity in return," Chen Jiang said with a smile, staring at the other party.

"What sincerity?" Mubarak was a little stunned. "The production line, and the missile radar, we can pay you at market price, no problem."

“No, no, no,” Chen Jiang shook his head. “Mr. Mubarak, you already know that the PL11 is the best air-to-air missile in our country. Under normal circumstances, we would not sell it, but considering our great friendship, our superiors agreed. So your side must also show some corresponding sincerity, after all, being brothers is a long-term and mutual relationship.”

Mubarak sensed something was wrong, but he still cautiously asked, "What does your side mean?"

"It's very simple. The order quantity for the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets is no less than 200, and we also need to provide you with relevant parameters of your F-16 fighter jets, the more detailed the better."

hiss~~~
Mubarak was stunned when he heard this.

The JF-17 Thunder fighter jet was originally jointly developed by both sides. Their original plan was to mass-produce it themselves after acquiring the production line, as assembling it themselves would definitely be much cheaper than buying it. Now, Chen Jiang actually asked for 200 units? Even the cheapest JF-17 Thunder fighter jet would still cost at least 20 million US dollars per unit, which is 4 billion US dollars!

Pakistan's annual military expenditure is so small, how could it possibly spend 40 billion at once? Not to mention the accompanying radar and missiles, which are consumables and need to be purchased in large quantities.

As for the F-16s, although they were early models sold to the United States, their technology was strictly controlled. If they rashly transferred the technology, the United States would crush them, which they certainly couldn't afford.

Thinking of this, Mubarak shook his head vigorously, "No, no!"

(End of this chapter)