Chapter 121: with translation of chapter title

February 1978, the Eastern Aviation Industry delegation visited Romania, and they were very interested in the MiG-21MF equipped by them. This aircraft is thicker than the Eastern J-7, that is, the MiG-21bis, holds more fuel, has a larger engine, and especially, the nose has a small radar!

Actually, this radar's search range is only twenty kilometers; even the eyes can spot targets earlier than the radar, but at night this radar becomes important! After the ground control directs the pilot to the corresponding position, the pilot can use the radar to find the target in the darkness.

In other words, this aircraft has night combat capability, making it an all-weather fighter!

For the J-7 that can only fight during the day, this capability is extremely strong, so the Air Force took notice; in 1979, they secretly brought back one from Egypt, and the superiors decided to formally start the survey and imitation work on this aircraft, naming the project J-7III!

At that time, the Air Force leadership valued this project highly, repeatedly saying they wanted to purchase a thousand; finally, production was assigned to Factory 132, and the 611 Institute in Chengdu was responsible for the survey.

Then……

Factory 132 started cutting materials, the first batch produced 17 aircraft; when production was about to end, the Air Force waved a hand and said they didn't want them!

The money for these first 17 aircraft was still fronted by Factory 132! This put Factory 132 in a bind again.

Air Force leadership, you must fulfill your promise; never mind the original thousand, even if you just buy these dozen or so aircraft, that would be fine!

The leadership replied bluntly: whoever promised it, go find them!

The one who promised it back then has already retired!

Later, after repeated coordination between the aviation industry system and the Air Force, the Air Force finally accepted the manufactured aircraft.

At this moment, the Air Force valued the J-7III project, what a pity!

"Leaders, what project is the J-7III?"

Since we've encountered this, Qin Miao thought he could chip in; whether the leaders listen is their business, at least he did his best.

"Well, this is a confidential project of our Air Force, but you don't need to keep it secret, Old Lin, introduce Comrade Qin Miao!"

Then Old Lin said a few words, and…… Qin Miao's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Leaders, this matter supposedly has nothing to do with me, but…… I can't help but remind you all: it's already the 1980s, spending huge sums to survey and imitate a 1960s aircraft— is this appropriate?"

Old Lin's face also turned solemn.

This is a project jointly approved by the Air Force, the Third Ministry of Machine Building, several aircraft factories and research institutes, considered very important; now…… Qin Miao actually doubts it?

If it were someone else, they'd probably be kicked out right away, but Qin Miao is no ordinary person; his recent promises gave the J-7 a clear future, and he is also Zhang Wanhe's son-in-law……

"Old San Shui, could you give a concrete reason? Everyone knows you're acting out of public spirit, but those who don't understand you might think you're doing this for the Super Seven project!"

Old Lin's words were meant to guide Qin Miao.

"Super Seven is also a variant of the J-7, and the J-7III is also a variant of Super Seven; favoring one over the other like this might invite gossip!"

"The goal of the Super Seven project is merely to reach eighty percent of the F-16's performance; it's an aircraft specially developed for export, a low-cost fighter tailor-made for our third-world brethren. For our Eastern Air Force, we need a jet that can completely outperform the F-16 in performance, putting the funds spent on surveying and imitating obsolete aircraft into this brand‑new project— wouldn't that be better?"

Qin Miao knew Old Lin meant well, but the words that needed to be said still had to be made clear— this is the mission of his reborn self!

"A brand‑new project?"

"Exactly! Leaders should all know that the times have changed; the importance of high altitude and high speed is no longer what it once was. Have you all heard of the energy‑maneuverability air combat theory proposed by the fighter mafia?"

Old Lin nodded: "I've heard of it! In air combat, the side that wins is the one with abundant energy!"

"That's right, so a next‑generation fighter needs an advanced high‑thrust engine; in air combat the aircraft's thrust‑to‑weight ratio must exceed 1, and the aerodynamic design should make as much use as possible of advanced aerodynamics achievements, such as utilizing vortex lift, to improve the aircraft's maneuverability……"

Speaking of these, Qin Miao's words flew like spittle, endless and incessant.

"The nose should mount a large‑diameter radar, so targets can be detected at long range and the attack initiated first; weapons should be mainly air‑to‑air missiles, with the cannon's presence diminishing; meanwhile, as avionics improve, these fighters can also have strong ground‑attack capability……"

"What you say, kid, is indeed strong…… but our domestic aviation industry can't achieve it!"

"Old Lin, we just said we should emancipate our thinking, right? When we encounter problems, we should think of ways to solve them; you're forever afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind…… cough cough cough……"

Everyone present had a complex expression; just now Qin Miao took Old Lin's words educating Old Tu and threw them right back at Old Lin, slapping his face……

"You kid speak simply, but our country lacks advanced engines and advanced radar equipment……"

Old Lin's words suddenly stopped; these were exactly what Old Tu had just said, though not verbatim, the meaning was the same.

"Our Air Force's own‑use models cannot be purchased externally!" Leader Zhang spoke.

"Exactly, buying foreign would leave us strangled." Qin Miao said: "Developing these items will certainly require huge funds, so the survey and imitation of projects like the MiG‑21 must be halted— good steel should be used on the cutting edge!"

"You kid, you speak lightly; can Ha Gong Da build engines or radars?"

"Old Lin, modern defense cannot be bought; advanced technology, the West will forever keep a monopoly on us, we have already fallen behind, so we must seize the time and strive to catch up! If the Air Force is willing to entrust us with the relevant projects, then Ha Gong Da will certainly take on these tasks! No matter how great the difficulty, we will rise to the challenge— only thus can we catch up to the world's advanced level and then surpass them!"

In the meeting room, no one spoke.

"Modern defense cannot be bought!" This sentence rang like a bell in the ears!

The Yankees' military‑industrial technology is advanced, but their military‑industrial product exports are tiered; Eastern can at most buy an F‑16, or a castrated version with a J79 engine!

The French, on the other hand, are openly selling, but the price is outrageously high; now the state wants to develop the economy, and there's simply no spare money to buy French goods!

The Soviet Union…… this simply cannot be considered for the time being.

If we cannot buy, the road before us is independent development! No matter how many difficulties we encounter, no matter what price we pay, we must develop it ourselves!