Chapter 347

Lao Huang, be careful in everything; if you find the situation going wrong, just bail out—your life is more important than this aircraft.

What?

Hearing Lin Lao's earnest admonition, everyone felt a chill run down their spines; Lin Lao, is this... appropriate?

Qin Miao, meanwhile, secretly laughed, thinking how little Lin Lao trusted the technology here—needless to say, even a test pilot, let alone an ordinary pilot, will instinctively protect the aircraft and the lives and property of people on the ground, even to the point of forgoing a chance to bail out.

For a test pilot, protecting the aircraft is even more their primary duty—after all, a test pilot's job is to uncover the aircraft's problems, bring them back, and let technical personnel study and solve them; otherwise, the aircraft will never be finalized.

"Please rest assured, leaders, I am confident I can complete this maiden flight!"

Huang Bingxin strode confidently toward the aircraft.

A roar sounded as the two engines ignited in sequence; the jet taxied slowly toward the runway, aligning with the centerline, and Huang Bingxin shouted loudly, "004, request takeoff!"

"Cleared for takeoff!"

Throttle to full, the jet rolled down the runway—fifty meters, a hundred meters, five hundred meters…

The nose lifted, it continued rolling another two or three hundred meters, and finally the main landing gear left the ground.

"For a second‑generation aircraft aimed at high altitude and high speed, this takeoff distance isn't bad, but it can't compare to third‑gen jets—a top‑tier fighter needs to be able to take off within three hundred meters to suit future warfare."

Qin Miao's remark—once again he's pouring cold water on things.

In modern warfare, once hostilities begin, the first target is the enemy's airfields, so fighters must be able to continue fighting even when no airfield is available.

Thus, for a long time, vertical takeoff and landing fighters were in vogue—the British Harrier and the Soviet Yak-38 being the two that ultimately entered service.

But achieving VTOL comes at a great cost—first, short legs: in VTOL mode the combat radius is only one or two hundred kilometers, essentially making them born airfield guards, mast guards.

Even the later‑generation F‑35 VTOL variant has a combat radius of no more than five hundred kilometers—incomparable to its conventional counterparts.

Experience shows VTOL is a pitfall, but short takeoff and landing can still be pursued.

Many European nations developing fighters demand short takeoff and landing capability—jets like the Typhoon and Gustaff can launch from runways under three hundred meters, as can the American F‑15 and F‑16; this ability can be said to be standard equipment for third‑generation aircraft.

Meanwhile, the people from the Northern Institute and Factory 112 could only listen, unable to interject.

"Yeah, this aircraft is just an interceptor, mainly meant to intercept northern bombers; its matching missiles also need to be rushed into development."

"Our Air Force currently has nothing—we lack both the radar and the medium‑range missiles needed for medium‑range interception."

"That's not hard either; looking domestically, the Red Flag‑61 from Modu looks decent—we can simply mount our own Ha Gong Da‑produced seeker onto its airframe and give the Air Force a solution for medium‑range interception."

"When you run into trouble, don't worry—just look at how history solved it, as a reborn person."

In the 1980s, Dongfang obtained the Aspide seeker technology from Pasta Country, paired it with our own surface‑to‑air missile, and the Thunderbolt‑11 was born—this is the nation's first medium‑range radar‑guided missile!

Too bad, the development took too long!

After much tinkering, it wasn't until the mid‑1990s that the seeker was finally mounted on a Jian‑8II for test firing; by then the Air Force already had imported Su‑27s with R‑27 missiles, and the key point was that the technology had become obsolete, with a shift beginning toward active air‑to‑air missiles.

A semi‑active missile requires the launch aircraft's radar to illuminate the target, with the missile's seeker merely receiving the radar waves; throughout the engagement the launch aircraft cannot perform high‑g maneuvers, or the missile will lose lock.

An active missile, however, can emit its own electromagnetic waves; once the launch aircraft fires it, it can turn and flee, giving a huge advantage in combat.

Even now, in the 1980s, the Sparrow missile's hit probability has only just risen to a usable level; at this point, if we provide the Air Force with a comparable product, it will surely satisfy them.

"Good, then we'll wait!" Lin Lao said, his face full of excitement.

"Mm, Ha Gong Da won't let the Air Force down; as for short‑range air‑to‑air missiles, I recommend importing David's Python‑3 technology for local production."

In the 1980s, Dongfang and David were still quite close; in the Bekaa Valley air battle, David's Eagle demonstrated their prowess, and at the same time their Python‑3 missile consequently shone brightly.

Dongfang's current short‑range missile can only perform tail‑chase attacks—that is, it can lock onto a target only by aiming at the hottest part of the jet's exhaust nozzle, with a very small off‑boresight angle, meaning it must be fired almost directly at the fighter's tail to score a hit.

Meanwhile, David's air‑to‑air missile is already capable of head‑on launch!

Its seeker employs a new‑generation indium antimonide photosensitive material, the gimbal has been upgraded to allow launch offsets of up to thirty degrees, and the missile's engine thrust is still strong…

Thus, in the mid‑1980s Dongfang imported the full missile technology and production line, giving rise to the Dongfang Thunderbolt‑8; later, since this missile could only be used domestically and not exported, they specially developed an export version, the Thunderbolt‑9.

Once these two missiles are ready, the Air Force's problems will be completely solved.

"All right, we'll now prepare to meet with David's people, San Shui—after we watch the maiden flight, shall we head back to the Capital together?"

"Well…"

"I'd like to fly back myself, but if I take the Air Force's special plane and return, will it still be mine? You might not keep me long, and I can't afford to waste this time."

"What, you kid still unwilling?"

"No."

The others wore complex expressions—well, it seems the Air Force is really after Qin Miao; is our Jian‑8 really so unworthy of their notice?

A roar sounded as the Jian‑8 flew back!

The entire maiden flight went very smoothly!

The aircraft landed smoothly, taxied back to the apron, Huang Bingxin disembarked, and looked toward the crowd coming to greet him.

"Lao Huang, you flew well—keep it up!" Lin Lao patted his shoulder, saying, "Next, we should be heading out."

"Lin Lao, why don't you stay for the victory banquet?"

"No need, we're leaving now; we'll be back in the Capital before dark, and grabbing dinner at the aircraft tower won't be late."

They didn't even attend the maiden‑flight celebration banquet!

Watching the group of leaders depart, the people on the ground felt helpless—is our Jian‑8 really that embarrassing?