Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 267 This is truly our own Chinese carrier-based aircraft
Chen Jiang checks the disaster situation every day. Although the data on casualties and economic losses are heartbreaking, things are generally moving in a positive direction.

The nation's support for the disaster area is unprecedented, with almost all departments and units extending a helping hand to the people in the disaster area.

When one place is in trouble, help comes from all sides; this is true unity of purpose.

Soon, with the full support of the country, the earthquake relief work finally achieved a decisive victory, which demonstrated the country's first-class cohesion and centripetal force.

During the earthquake relief efforts, countless admirable individuals and heroes emerged. Chen Jiang and his team, as the first elite troops to parachute into the disaster area, suffered enormous casualties and sacrifices, and were therefore recognized as a heroic collective in the disaster relief effort.

Chen Jiang, as one of the commanders who participated in this operation, was also awarded a second-class merit.

What made Chen Jiang happiest was that his wife, Chu Ning, returned safely and received the honor of being an advanced individual in earthquake relief, which would be helpful for her future professional title evaluation.

Of course, nothing is more gratifying to him than his family living together peacefully and happily.

Chen Jiang's daily work has returned to normal, and his main focus remains on the research and development of high-precision and cutting-edge weaponry. Fortunately, good news is pouring in from all fronts:
First, the PL-12 medium-range air-to-air missile achieved a technological breakthrough. Although it still used a solid-propellant dual-thrust rocket engine and had relatively poor terminal maneuverability, its 100-kilometer range was already close to that of mainstream Western medium-range air-to-air missiles at that time.

At the very least, it can offset our regret about selling the PL11. With it, the PL11 will become a "past its prime".
Secondly, the initial refitting of the Varyag aircraft carrier has been completed, and the first prototype of the domestically produced carrier-based aircraft has been produced by researchers working overtime.

This greatly excited Chen Jiang, because he had proposed building a simulated ski-jump takeoff platform on land a long time ago, so the first land-based test flight had to be put on the agenda.

Chen Jiang brought all the key technical personnel to the site and saw the domestically produced carrier-based aircraft that made all Chinese people proud—the J-15.

The J-15 is based on the J-11 and adds canards, two high-powered engines, and foldable wings. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 32500 kg, a maximum speed of Mach 2.4, and a maximum range of 3500 km.

Equipped with a 30mm cannon, it carries various types of anti-ship missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and precision-guided bombs, giving it the capability to strike targets in all sea and air domains.

It possesses complete independent intellectual property rights, a large combat radius, good mobility, and a large payload.

As this was the first experimental aircraft, there was a great deal of work to be done. The first step was to debug and integrate all the aircraft's equipment; the second step was to select test pilots; the third step was to take off from a land-based runway to verify the aircraft's various performance characteristics and flight status under various weather conditions; the fourth step was to take off from a land-based simulated ski-jump platform; and the last step was to conduct test flights on a ship.

The debugging of all equipment is now basically complete, and the test pilots have been selected. There are two test pilots in total, one selected and one substitute. Both are Air Force Special Grade Test Pilots with thousands of hours of flight experience and have flown various types of aircraft.

Today is a beautiful, sunny day, perfect for a test flight.

Chen Jiang stood on the reviewing stand, his gaze fixed on the yellow warplane poised for takeoff at the end of the runway. Everyone held their breath, awaiting this historic moment.

my country's prototype aircraft are generally not painted in Air Force blue.

The morning sunlight shone on the J-15's sharply defined fuselage, and the unique design of its canards and foldable wings made it look exceptionally agile.

"Tower calling 03, ground checks complete, taxiing is permitted." The instruction came over the radio.

"03 received." The test pilot's calm voice echoed through the viewing area via loudspeakers.

The J-15's engines emitted pale blue exhaust flames as the aircraft slowly taxied towards the runway starting point.

Chen Jiang noticed that the test pilot's handling of the aircraft was extremely delicate, with every turn and acceleration being incredibly precise, demonstrating the pilot's superb skill level.

The atmosphere reached its peak when the fighter jet came to a stop at the end of the runway.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide open, staring intently at the fighter jets that were about to take off.

"03 requesting takeoff."

"Permission to take off."

In an instant, the roar of the two high-powered engines began to grow louder and louder, until it was deafening, and the J-15 shot out like an arrow.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd in the reviewing stand, the fighter jet accelerated extremely rapidly, taking off lightly after only gliding for a little over 200 meters.

The moment the landing gear retracted, enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd.

Chen Jiang did not let his guard down. A distance of more than 200 meters is certainly excellent for takeoff from flat ground, but there is no runway that long on an aircraft carrier. Moreover, today's fuel is low and the weapons are zero, which is equivalent to taking off with a bare aircraft, which does not prove anything.

He carefully observed every movement of the plane through his binoculars.

When J15 completed its first climb turn, he noticed that the turning radius seemed a bit too large.

This detail was extremely subtle; if his perception hadn't already far surpassed that of ordinary people, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

"02, is the aircraft data normal?" Chen Jiang immediately asked the data monitoring center through the internal communication system.

"01. So far, everything appears to be normal!"

At this point, the J-15 had already completed a series of basic maneuvers in the air.

Every roll, climb, and dive was clean and crisp, demonstrating exceptional maneuverability.

As the fighter jets swooped down and flew past at low speed, applause and cheers erupted again from the reviewing stand.

However, an accident occurred just as the track was climbing at a steep angle after the pass.

The monitoring center suddenly received an urgent report: "The right engine speed is abnormal, and the temperature is rising abnormally!"

Chen Jiang's heart sank.

"02, notify the pilots to abort the test flight and return to base immediately!"

Chen Jiang knew that this aircraft was the culmination of the collective efforts of all the aircraft carrier researchers, especially the test pilots, who were more precious than gold and could not be allowed to have any accidents. Therefore, he would rather interrupt the test flight than compromise safety.

But the test pilot's voice remained calm: "Report to tower, right engine malfunction alarm, engine is shaking severely."

"Return to base immediately!" the control tower ordered.

Every second that followed felt incredibly long.

The expert team urgently analyzed the transmitted data and quickly formulated a troubleshooting plan.

They instructed the pilots to switch to the backup control system and gradually reduce the flight altitude and speed.

But the situation was much more serious than they had anticipated. The test pilot reported that the aircraft was uncontrollably tilting to the right.

Faced with this situation, everyone felt a sense of despair, because landing was extremely difficult, and the best option was for the pilot to eject. However, if the pilot ejected, the carrier-based aircraft would be lost. Although it could be rebuilt, it would undoubtedly involve many more detours in the process.

"03, eject immediately!" Chen Jiang called the test pilot's channel and gave the order directly.

While airplanes are valuable, pilots are priceless.

There was silence on the other end of the communicator, and the aircraft's attitude in the air was already very bad. Everyone could see with the naked eye that the right engine was close to shutting down.

Although the aircraft is a twin-engine heavy fighter jet, if it only had one engine, the landing would definitely be much more difficult. The key issue is that this is an experimental aircraft, and it is very unstable in many aspects.
"01, this is 03, and I firmly believe I can fly the plane back!"

"03, eject, that's the order!" Chen Jiang was anxious. Of course he knew what our pilots were thinking. Every test pilot cherishes the test aircraft like his own child. What mother would easily abandon her child?
But the other party's communicator never responded again.

Chen Jiang dared not shout anymore, for fear of distracting the other side. Everyone kept their eyes fixed on the fighter jets that were constantly adjusting their attitude in the air.

Reduce altitude, deploy flaps, lower landing gear, slightly pull up the nose, land and taxi, then deploy speed brakes.
When the J-15 finally landed smoothly on the runway, Chen Jiang was the first to rush to the apron.

Ground support vehicles quickly surrounded the area and immediately began a comprehensive inspection after rescuing the heroic test pilot.

"You are a hero!" Chen Jiang stood at attention and saluted the test pilot.

When faced with a choice between life and death, our test pilots are always so fearless.

"Loyal to the motherland, loyal to the people!" The test pilot solemnly returned the salute, his expression calm and composed.

"Go and rest first." Chen Jiang saw that he was soaked in sweat, so he had someone take him away to rest. He said that someone would definitely talk to him and find out what was going on after a while.

After intensive investigation, it was found that the malfunction was mainly caused by a small component in the engine fuel regulation system that malfunctioned at high speeds.

The prototype we got from Ukraine also had this component, but the climate in Ukraine is different from ours, so it didn't adapt well to the new environment.

"This was our oversight," the project manager said apologetically.

Chen Jiang patted him on the shoulder: "Discovering problems is progress. Today we not only verified the basic performance of the aircraft, but also exposed key defects. This is experience that money can't buy."

"This can't be rushed. It's better to be slow and ensure safety. You have to eat one bite at a time and solve problems one by one."

At the post-flight debriefing meeting, Chen Jiang made a bold decision: to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all similar components and postpone subsequent test flights.

This decision meant that the project schedule would be affected, but for safety reasons, no one raised any objections.

Chen Jiang made this decision under immense pressure, as his superiors were paying close attention to the test flights of the carrier-based aircraft. Therefore, that very evening, Chen Jiang presented his investigation report to Minister Cao.

Minister Cao read the detailed investigation report and remained silent for a long time.

He was under considerable pressure as well; this project was extremely important, arguably the most crucial of all the General Assembly's current priorities.

"Chen Jiang, our superiors are calling several times a day to inquire about the progress. Is it necessary to postpone the schedule? We must be cautious."

Although Chen Jiang was his favorite general, this matter was too important, and he still wanted to try again.

"Sir, most of the parts of our experimental aircraft are based on that prototype aircraft, and then we made improvements on the basis of the J-11. Facts have proven that it is not suitable to follow their system. If we force it to be implemented, it is easy to end up with a tragedy of crashing the aircraft and losing lives."

Chen Jiang specifically emphasized, "This is not my personal conjecture, but the collective conclusion of the entire R&D team of experts. I have to consider the consequences."

Minister Cao pondered for a moment, his fingers lightly tapping the report on the desk. The only sound in the office for a moment was the ticking of the clock; the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost suffocating.

“You’re right.” After a long silence, Minister Cao finally spoke. “We can’t risk the lives of our pilots, and we certainly can’t gamble with the future of the entire aircraft carrier project.”

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the deep night: "But Chen Jiang, you must understand that the international situation is becoming increasingly severe. The leaders' urgency is not without reason."

Chen Jiang straightened his back: "Commander, precisely because the situation is so serious, we cannot afford to make any mistakes. I suggest that while solving this technical problem, we can first advance other related projects."

"Oh? What are your thoughts?" Minister Cao turned around, his eyes questioning.

"We can have pilots complete more adaptive training on simulators. At the same time, the testing of the carrier-based aircraft's weapon systems can also be carried out simultaneously. Didn't the PL12 missile just achieve a breakthrough? We can first conduct computer docking tests between the missile and the carrier-based aircraft's fire control system."

Minister Cao nodded thoughtfully: "Alright, we'll do it your way. But Chen Jiang, I can only give you one month; we can't delay any longer."

"Yes, sir! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" Chen Jiang stood at attention and saluted.

One morning a month later, the runway test flights resumed.

After more than a month of hard work, they not only inspected all the parts of the aircraft, but more importantly, they established a complete verification system for key components.

The yellow J15 once again glided toward the starting line, gleaming in the morning light.

"Tower calling 03, ground checks complete, taxiing is permitted." The familiar command came over the radio.

"03 received." It was the same meritorious test pilot from last time.

The J-15's engines instantly emitted pale blue exhaust flames, and the aircraft slowly taxied towards the runway starting point.

"03 requesting takeoff."

"Permission to take off."

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd on the reviewing stand, the yellow fighter jet suddenly accelerated and soared into the sky in a beautiful arc.

The steep ascent was executed exceptionally well, drawing cheers from the crowd.

This was followed by a low-speed flyby, and then an aerial maneuver was performed. The aircraft's flight attitude remained relatively stable throughout.

At that moment, the test pilot's calm voice came through the radio: "Report 03, all equipment is working normally."

When the J-15 completed the classic "Cobra" maneuver of the SU series, landed steadily on the runway and came to a slow stop, enthusiastic applause immediately erupted from the reviewing stand.

Minister Cao excitedly led the applause: "Great! This is truly our own Chinese carrier-based aircraft!"

(End of this chapter)