Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"How could there be no problem?" Qin Yang rolled his eyes at Old Lin: "The problem is huge! My people don't have advanced electronic technology."

"How could you not?" Old Lin said, "The airborne radar was developed by you guys, and now you've taken over the computer institute's project. Isn't it easy to handle this kind of technology?"

Speaking of airborne radar, Qin Yang suddenly thought of something: The Tomcat fighter has a data link!

The Americans have been messing around with data links since the 1960s, and the Tomcat fighter was also developed starting in the 1960s, so after development, it was equipped with a data link. At that time, there was no choice, it was just Link4. Later, as the Tomcat was upgraded, the data link was also upgraded, becoming Link4C. Although this data link is very rudimentary, it's enough for Tomcat fighters to cooperate with each other and occasionally receive data transmitted from the early warning aircraft.

The Tomcat fighters purchased by Iran are different from those used by the US military only in the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system. There are no other changes, and of course, the data link is also present. During the reverse engineering, because there were no related parts in China, this system was abandoned and temporarily left empty.

Now it seems that this data link system still needs to be reverse engineered, and the time can't be too long!

"Old Lu, is the data link system of the Tomcat fighter prototype still there?" Qin Yang asked.

"Yes, it's still there, Chief Qin. Do you want to reverse engineer it?" Old Lu asked.

Not to mention the Tomcat brought back from Iran, when the Americans showed off the Tomcat, one of them even fell into the water. This fighter also fell into their hands, and the data link system on it is still from the US military, with stronger performance.

Even the IFF is American. If the secrets on it are cracked, then American fighters will have no secrets from us in the future. We can even impersonate American fighters. Of course, there's no need for that in the 1980s.

Back then, when Belenko defected and took away a MiG-25 fighter, the Soviets had no other choice but to replace the IFF on all their fighters. So if they had the chance, they would strangle the hateful Belenko.

Seeing Qin Yang nod, Old Lu frowned: "Chief Qin, reverse engineering this kind of thing is not simple. We must know the principles inside before we can do it. I'm afraid it will take a long time."

"Yes, it will take a long time. However, our naval and air forces both need advanced data links. This project must be overcome. Find technical personnel and concentrate all our efforts. It would be best if we can make it in time for the military parade. If we can't, then we'll have to use voice guidance."

Work has to be done step by step. Taking too big a step can easily lead to problems. It's already very difficult for us to develop an early warning aircraft on the same level as the E-3. Currently, the problem to be solved is the early warning aircraft. Other problems can be put aside. So the first early warning aircraft will only have voice guidance capabilities. And now, the demand for data links is also becoming urgent.

What to do? Grit your teeth and go for it.

If it can be done, that would be the best. After all, the data link can transmit data to every aircraft, making command more convenient. Without a data link, we can only use voice guidance. In this case, we can only guide the lead aircraft of each participating formation, which will definitely be more troublesome.

Old Lin's expression was serious. It seems that Chief Qin is really certain that the weather conditions will be very poor at that time, so he plans to use an early warning aircraft for guidance.

Our early warning aircraft is very advanced. During the test flights, its search and discrimination capabilities have been verified. It can accurately locate each aircraft, which is much more accurate than ground radar stations.

If there is an early warning aircraft in the sky commanding, the flight of the participating formations will be easier, and dozens of fighters will not have problems. It's a pity there's no data link.

"We will also transfer technical personnel from the military to help with the research," Old Lin said.

This project is a forced march, but since it is a key project, we must concentrate all our efforts. Our country's greatest characteristic is that it can concentrate its strength to accomplish great things!

"Yes, this project is related to the future development of the naval and air forces. We need to complete the research and development. If we need to import some electronic components from abroad, our Factory 960 can help."

Since we are going to reverse engineer it, then we will definitely use some foreign chips. The reverse engineering of these chips can be discussed later. Now we need to purchase a batch first.

"Okay, so what's next?"

This project can be considered arranged, and it can also be considered as making up for a past oversight. Qin Yang continued to think about what to do next.

"Our contingency plan should be more thorough. For example, if we think the local weather will deteriorate, then we should evacuate some long-range aircraft to farther places in advance. When the time comes, they can take off in advance. Even if the local formations cannot take off, at least these formations can join in the fun and make some noise in the sky."

The domestically produced J-7 and Q-5 fighters have very short ranges, so they can only take off from nearby airports. At that time, the entire North China region may be shrouded in thick fog. How can they take off?

At this time, long-range fighters can come in handy, such as the H-6 and J-11. These aircraft have very long ranges. Even if they are evacuated to the northeast, they can fly to the capital to participate in the air show.

"Evacuate to farther places?" Old Lin looked at the J-11 fighter in front of him: "It seems that we don't need to keep these fighters here. We should still equip them to the troops. When needed, we can directly let them fly over."

"That's right, there's really no need to keep them here. These fighters are very precious and should be placed on the front line to serve as our strongest interception force," Qin Yang said. "And we also need to train a group of excellent pilots."

Putting advanced fighters here in the capital is a pure waste! Qin Yang supports putting these aircraft on the front line. After all, the Air Force has been very miserable all these years, using old fighters to guard the motherland's airspace. If a war really breaks out, we will need to rely on a spirit of great fearlessness.

"By the way, how is Old Song's research going?"