Chapter 344: An Advanced Armed Helicopter Is Born!

Except for the Mi-24 type, whose short wings are too large, blocking much of the airflow disturbed by the rotor, and besides the need for heavy loads to take off after a runway, most helicopters can take off like a stalk pulled from dry ground—just like now, the armed helicopter 9 before our eyes, as the collective pitch is raised, the rotor's whine increases, and this helicopter shoots up like an eagle.

This power is really strong!

"This prototype has no armor installed, so its weight is a bit lighter, but once the second one is built, it will be fully equipped, and at the same time the helicopter's engine will be upgraded, so the power will still be ample." Zhang Zhiqiang said with a chuckle.

"Hmm, not bad, with this ample power, operating on the plateau is no problem." Qin Miao was also satisfied.

Our country's territory is vast, the terrain complex, especially the western plateau, which is practically a no‑fly zone for helicopters.

Ordinary helicopters can't fly on the plateau; they need greater engine power. In later times, domestically only the Black Hawk could operate on the plateau, but now……

There will still be great demand for ten‑ton‑class helicopters, and they still need to be developed, but this five‑ton‑class helicopter can also meet domestic needs!

Qin Miao began to think about the helicopter's future development.

Good, beautiful!

Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts; looking around, a person in uniform let out a sigh.

After takeoff, first came a hovering nod, a greeting to everyone, then followed by pendulum flight, figure‑eight turns, forward flip turns, etc. —is this still the maiden flight? This is practically an air show!

However, it's just a modification of the airframe; everything else follows the previous design, with French involvement, so it's quite mature.

And when the helicopter performed a vertical pop‑up roll‑and‑pull maneuver, the whole crowd burst into cheers.

This maneuver had only been seen in documents before, but now our Eastern helicopter can do it too!

Awesome, awesome!

"Comrade Qin Miao, Ha Gong Da has provided our army with an advanced armed helicopter! This aircraft and the Strong Five, high‑low mix……"

"Cough cough……"

Qin Miao really wanted to say, the Air Force leaders who came, don't get too excited too soon—in a year or two, a sweeping disarmament will begin, and at the same time, the Air Force's helicopters will be transferred en masse to the Army; you're just making wedding clothes for others.

But…… he didn't dare say it.

"Comrade Qin Miao, what's wrong with you?"

"It's fine, everyone; the Strong Five and the Armed Helicopter 9 operate in different environments. The Strong Five is used for ground attack before air superiority is seized, targeting whatever enemy air defenses, etc., while the Armed Helicopter 9 is used for ground strike after air superiority is won, mainly against enemy tank units……"

Now the Air Force leaders understood.

Armed helicopters sound fearsome, whatever tank‑killer, but in the face of fixed‑wing fighters they're just a useless appendage!

Even a single Destroyer Six can easily shoot down an armed helicopter—just need to mount a short‑range missile!

Armed helicopters are useful only after air superiority is gained, whereas the Air Force's job is to seize air superiority, then hand it over to the Army!

Wait, anything that flies in the sky belongs to the Air Force!

The Air Force leaders firmed up their belief, and at that moment, the roar in the sky grew louder; the helicopter had completed its maiden flight and was descending slowly.

"Not bad, really not bad—tonight we'll have a feast to celebrate the successful maiden flight!" The Air Force leader looked at Qin Miao: "Everyone from Ha Gong Da's Materials Department, Aviation Engine Department, etc., who participated in developing this aircraft, can come along!"

Good.

"Qin Miao, don't leave—go to the meeting room; we'll hold a debrief on the helicopter's maiden flight, and you should join too!"

Qin Miao isn't unwilling to participate; he just doesn't want to join the Air Force in this, which will surely breed resentment later. Even though he has repeatedly impressed upon them that this is meant for the Army, those Air Force leaders still won't believe it—what can he do?

Inside the meeting room.

"This test flight verified that the aerodynamic layout is sound and flight performance top‑notch; next, the aircraft's avionics still need more support from Ha Gong Da."

Just that one sentence, and everyone turned their gaze to Qin Miao.

"Cough cough, Ha Gong Da will of course give full support."

"Well, next is the aviation engine; although we have a new‑generation turbine blade, integrating it into the engine still requires more support from Ha Gong Da."

"Cough cough, Ha Gong Da will give full support."

This meeting was nothing but a series of expressions of resolve; once the statements were done, night fell.

In the canteen of Factory 122, tonight was especially lively; many people came to the banquet, acquaintances or not, just clink their bottles.

"Come, Comrade Qin Miao, I'm in charge of airframe production—thanks to Ha Gong Da…… come, cheers!"

"Come, Comrade Qin Miao, our engine can't do without your efforts—come, cheers!"

After a few drinks, Qin Miao couldn't hold on, found an excuse, and left the canteen.

Gazing up at the star‑filled sky, Qin Miao wondered in his mind if he had forgotten something.

"Comrade Qin Miao, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Ding Fantao approach, Qin Miao suddenly realized something.

"Right, Professor Ding, this time I went to the Materials Department for the Institute 201 project; our Materials Department needs to quickly overcome the difficulty of liquid‑phase sintering technology……"

"What?"

"This is equipment urgently needed by the Army right now, we……" Qin Miao launched into a detailed explanation, and Professor Ding's attitude turned serious: "Good, good, we'll start R&D when we get back; any other arrangements?"

"Other…… of course there's more; we also want to play with nuclear raw materials……"

"Good, great—Ha Gong Cheng has a nuclear reactor, while Ha Gong Da doesn't; we can't fall behind them, so tell me, how should we do it?"

Qin Miao resigned: "We'll just work with some depleted‑uranium material……"

"What, just that?"

"This is urgently needed by the military; we must get it done quickly!"

"All right." Professor Ding nodded: "How to do it?"

Looking at Professor Ding's expectant eyes, Qin Miao could only explain: "This manufacturing process isn't hard; we start from the centrifuge, the output is a gaseous compound, we need a special way to turn it into metal, then add various rare materials……"

Qin Miao doesn't know the specific process—it requires research by the Materials Department—but the basic procedure is clear.

"'For now we only study the process, not mass production; when needed later, we can switch to production at any time.' Qin Miao added finally."

Americans use depleted‑uranium munitions, after all they fight year‑round, while we don't fight; in peacetime producing depleted‑uranium munitions isn't worthwhile, because the uranium‑based alloy oxidizes easily, storage time is pitifully short, and once scrapped, the later disposal cost is also high.

But we must definitely have the required technology!