Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry

#434 - J9 out, F4 down

Around July 1st, the new generation fighter jet based on the F-4 Phantom successfully completed its test flight. When it came to officially naming and numbering it, the higher-ups didn't use Ren Zhong's super perfunctory "Super-7" designation. Instead, they skipped a level and named it J-9. Before that, the FTC2000G was officially designated J-7. This way, Dongda's fighter jet numbering successfully evolved into an odd-number pattern, gradually evolving from J-5 / J-7 / J-9!

The even numbers were left out. Because it hadn't become a convention at this time, the disappearance of these even numbers gave the rogue eagle's intelligence agencies endless torment.

"Sh*t, how is Dongda's J-9 fighter jet so similar to our F-4 that's currently under development?" McDonnell Douglas' Hermann. Berkeley almost passed away on the spot when he saw the J-9 pictures sent from the intelligence agency!

It couldn't be said that this fighter jet and the F-4 fighter jet they were developing, which had just completed its main view, were similar. It could only be said that they were exactly the same!

Although the F-4 project started in 1953, and Hermann. Berkeley began conducting research work, the official determination of parameters and winning the design order started with the design in 1956.

So, this similar result was very difficult for Hermann. Berkeley to accept.

Because he confirmed that he had not received any intelligence data about Dongda's research on new fighter jets. The current F-4 fighter jet was entirely designed and handled by him. Therefore, there was no such thing as plagiarizing Dongda's opponent.

But if it was said that Dongda plagiarized their design, that would be even more unreasonable. Now, Dongda's F-4 had already flown into the sky, while their fighter jet was still on paper. If they insisted that others plagiarized, who would believe it?

So, how did such a similar coincidence occur in the middle?

Hermann. Berkeley completely didn't know how to explain it.

Because of this, Dongda's J-9 test flight led to the Douglas Company's F-4 project being forcibly called to a halt.

"Mr. Hermann, do you have any explanation for the similarity between the F-4 and Dongda's J-9?" Raymond, who was in charge of intelligence work in the project team, couldn't help but ask when he saw Hermann. Berkeley staring blankly at the photos.

Hermann came back to his senses and looked at Raymond with a blank expression.

"Mr. Raymond, I have nothing to say. You have to know that we just drew the drawings, but the photos you gave me show that Dongda's similar fighter jet has already flown into the sky! According to our plan, we will be able to test fly at the earliest in two years. So, I completely don't know what's going on. Maybe it's a d*mned coincidence," Hermann replied with a confused look.

Coincidence?

Since the Wright brothers invented the airplane, thousands of aircraft models have been researched so far. Although Raymond doesn't particularly understand how many fighter jets the industry has produced, he knows that there have never been two fighter jets independently developed by different countries that have such a similar appearance!

So, the coincidence of the fighter jet's appearance being completely identical is impossible.

Someone must be plagiarizing.

Now Dongda's fighter jet has flown into the sky, while Hermann's team's similar fighter jet is still on paper.

This shows that, to a large extent, Hermann's design team probably borrowed the design from Dongda's fighter jet design team. It's just that they don't know how they got these top-secret materials, and they even used this design to impress the Navy and win the prototype development rights for the F-4 fighter jet.

Obviously, Hermann's team took a shortcut in the design, but because the indicator results of this design were too good, even though someone had been reporting him before, the bidding team didn't notice anything wrong and chose them to do the overall design work for the F-4!

Now there's a problem, and Hermann and his team still don't admit it?

However, if the higher-ups weren't investigating too closely, Raymond wouldn't have suspected Hermann and his team. The reason is very simple: this team almost always works in a completely closed environment, and there are strict inspections every day. There is absolutely no possibility of taking drawings or anything home privately, so the possibility of a complete set of data being leaked is almost zero.

Why did Dongda develop an almost identical F-4 in advance? Only God knows the answer to this question.

The internal review was clueless.

The rogue eagle's naval aviation and air force were very troubled about whether to continue. Because if they continued, this fighter jet would undoubtedly fall behind Dongda's new fighter jet by more than two years. At that time, the world would think that the rogue eagle was plagiarizing and copying Dongda's fighter jet.

On the one hand, this was a serious spiritual blow to the rogue eagle, which had been striving to shape and promote technological leadership. On the other hand, there were also serious doubts about whether the new fighter jet could defeat its opponents in terms of combat effectiveness!

"We will indirectly announce some of the performance of this fighter jet! While deterring the villains, we will also add some blockage to our competitors," Ren Zhong said to Chief of Staff Ye, who came to visit, after hearing that the J-9 test flight was successful. "I heard that the rogue eagle is also researching a similar fighter jet, and its performance parameters and appearance are almost the same as ours. If we announce some data, it will cause fluctuations in their project, and even force them to cancel the project, then we will have made a big profit this time."

"The brewing, design, and finalization of a main fighter jet is a long process. With the strength of the rogue eagle, it will take them 8 to 10 years to develop a main fighter jet. Now that we have announced the appearance of the J-9, I believe it will be a serious blow to their project. If they cancel it, their previous years of pre-research will be wasted. If they don't cancel it, and their main fighter jet comes out and is the same as ours, it will seriously impact the confidence of their allies in them. After all, they will be able to come out with the same fighter jet a few years later, so the concerns about technology and performance are almost certain."

Ren Zhong's method was an open conspiracy. In any case, the rogue eagle would suffer a loss in this wave of aviation research and development.

"This method is good. I even want to see what the expression of their project team will be when they face our J-9 high-definition pictures?" Chief of Staff Ye said with a smile. Because Ren Zhong led everyone to create too many advanced things in this space-time, there was no idea of hiding and tucking away things as trump cards, which was completely different from the other space-time in the 1970s and 1980s.

Now we have full confidence to show ourselves. Whether it is the Big Black Fish or the Small Tablet, Dongda has generously carried out appropriate displays as the project progresses!

The Big Black Fish's looming ocean selfie photos appeared grandly in major media newspapers.

"Speaking of which, we already have a lot of leading things. Now our TV satellite broadcasting can cover the world. On TV media, I personally suggest opening a technology channel to spread some of our technologies, and compete for global technological leadership in the midst of truth and falsehood," Ren Zhong's thoughts diverged and he began to think about another level.

However, upon careful consideration, they made perfect sense. Although our current development momentum is good, internationally, apart from the military aspect which gives people a strong impression, many other aspects are not well recognized. The influence of television as a medium is becoming increasingly powerful, with television users increasing by tens of millions every year. Satellite television, as the most widely spread method, has a very low barrier to entry for many places.

The ground receiving equipment for satellite television has been iterated again, highly integrated, and its cost and use have made it possible for home promotion. Although most powerful nations' television users currently use cable television, the construction of television networks for the vast number of Asian, African, and Latin American brothers is still very difficult. After all, the initial construction cost is not a small amount of money, and the economic conditions and local service provider strength of third-world countries are far less than those of the powerful nations.

Therefore, the promotion of satellite television is much cheaper than cable television. After all, satellite television is not currently encrypted. Direct reception and connection to the television can play it. The temptation of a one-time investment for a lifetime of free television is more cost-effective overall than paying monthly fees for cable television.

Technically speaking, Ren Zhong's plan is feasible.

"Brother Ren, I think what you said is feasible. Regarding the method of inserting advertisements on television that you mentioned earlier, I see that the television station has adopted it, and now they don't even need to ask for money from above. Although I don't know exactly how much money they have earned, it is clear that the income is greater than the expenditure. With this money, even if they don't hand it over, investing these funds in the production of new programs to promote Dongda's broadcasting cause to the world is the right thing to do."

"Moreover, Brother Ren is right. Technology has no borders. I believe that broadcasting to the world through the science and technology channel will be the least helpful for promoting this program. We don't need to add any of our own opinions to this channel. Simply and realistically showcasing technology in all its aspects is the greatest promotion."

Ye Canmou had been influenced by many ideas from the main world after knowing Ren Zhong for so many years, so he was no stranger to this new strategic high ground of cultural propaganda. The J-9, this strategic new weapon, should not be locked in our secret circle.

Instead, it should be displayed generously in an appropriate manner. To potential competitors, we should not only crush them technically, but also mentally, with a "benevolent heart!"

Dongda's consistent style is swift and decisive. After returning, Ye Canmou quickly negotiated and came up with an implementation plan.

The newest novel is first published on 69shuba!

The J-9 fighter jet was given a positive high-definition close-up, clearly showing the outline of the entire body. In the blurred actual flight video, all four prototype J-9 fighter jets were pulled out for a formation flight!

If the positive high-definition photos had already caused an uproar in the Liangjian world, then this four-aircraft formation directly collapsed the Rogue Eagle F-4 team.

Four aircraft! This means that they have completed many preliminary experimental works and are beginning to truly enter the equipment stage.

The Rogue Eagle Navy and Air Force, who were originally hesitant, had no way out this time. They could only call a halt to the project and start from scratch.

They restarted the Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III program, which had failed in the competition with the F-4 program!

The maneuverability of the XF8U-3 far exceeded that of the F-4. Because in the engine selection, the J57 engine used by the first two generations of XIF80U-3 fighters, the F8U-1 and -2, had a maximum thrust of about 80 kilonewtons in afterburner mode, which was already the maximum thrust of the J79 afterburning turbojet engine selected by the F-4 fighter in afterburner mode; and the XF8U-3 chose the new generation J75-P-5A engine, with a maximum thrust of up to 131 kilonewtons of afterburner thrust!

Great power means great flight, not to mention that this maximum thrust exceeded the previous generation by 64%. This allowed the Crusader III fighter to easily exceed the bidding design target of Mach 2.2. In fact, after modifying the cockpit glass, the test pilot easily flew to a speed of Mach 2.7. If the strength of all aspects of the airframe was sufficient, the designer estimated that the maximum speed could exceed Mach 3.

Because the power was so excellent, when the Crusader III was later test-flown, it took off from the ground using only about 274 meters of runway...and without using a catapult. If there was a headwind of 30 kilometers per hour (which is typical of an aircraft carrier deck wind), the takeoff distance would even be shortened to 228 meters.

As a naval carrier-based aircraft, the Crusader III fighter was flawless in terms of takeoff.

But such an excellent fighter actually lost to the F-4 fighter. Conspirators may think that there is some shady deal, but in fact, even if there is, it is not much.

From the initial design, the XF8U-3 is essentially a pure fighter, not a multi-role attack aircraft.

But it is precisely this that enables it to be the best fighter, because designers do not have to integrate multiple roles into the same aircraft and do not have to compromise on multiple adaptations. In flight tests, the Crusader III completely defeated the Phantom II with its powerful thrust-to-weight ratio (0.89 compared to the F-4 Phantom's 0.59) and excellent maneuverability. In almost every maneuverability flight test, the XF8U-3 Crusader III won without controversy.

However, after the Rogue Eagle Air Force intervened, it included ground attack as a key indicator requirement. The Crusader III was dumbfounded, because the Crusader III did not even have the option to carry bombs!

Although this option can be modified in subsequent designs, as a multi-role fighter requirement, these modifications cannot be completed simply. The pylons are one thing, and the entire avionics system needs to be modified, which is a large system engineering project.

Therefore, for the needs of multi-role fighters, the shortcomings of the Crusader III are difficult to make up for in the short term, while the F-4 Phantom is different.

But now the situation is special.

Even if it doesn't work, the Crusader III has to work! (End of this chapter)