Great warships

Oriental destroyers usually have a meter-wave radar. The first meter-wave radar was a Yagi antenna, which looked like a clothes drying rack. Now, the latest radar has been replaced by a fly swatter, a more regular rectangular shape. The performance of the shelves is also becoming more and more advanced.

"How is the performance of our radar?" Qin Tao asked enthusiastically.

"The maximum target detection distance is more than 500 kilometers, and it has the ability of interference analysis and adaptive frequency agility. During a week of antenna scanning, it can process 24 target data at the same time, and can be turned on [-] hours a day. Moreover, under normal working conditions , the total power of the machine is only three kilowatts.”

Three kilowatts, which is the power of a household instantaneous water heater!For a warship, such consumption is almost negligible.

"What about the ability to search for invisible targets?"

"For a stealth target with a radar reflection area of ​​0.01 square meters, the search distance exceeds [-] kilometers."

Qin Tao nodded with satisfaction: "Our relevant units have done a good job!"

Not only is the Aegis system developing, this ordinary meter-wave radar is also developing, and the technology is becoming more and more advanced.

The previous clothes drying rack could only detect stealth targets of 0.1 square meters with a detection distance of 0.01 kilometers, but the current clothes drying rack has been further developed to [-] meters. Such performance has made all so-called stealth machines invulnerable. Shaped.

"This is also due to the rapid development of our domestic electronic technology. The advanced capabilities of this radar are inseparable from the later data processing. The latest Loongson processors are also used in these circuits."

Without the development of electronic technology, there would be no advanced radar equipment. Although Loongson is for civilian use, it has now been used in various military equipment and has played a huge role.

"In this way, even if the Americans come up with flying toads or invisible fat electricity, they will not pose a threat to us." Qin Tao said.

On the Pacific Ocean, blue waves ripple.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Reagan, with a displacement of [-] tons, is a super aircraft carrier that is still in the final stage of sea trials and has not been delivered to the U.S. Navy. It is also the ninth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

The aircraft carrier is currently undergoing frequent aircraft carrier tests and is also undergoing carrier-based aircraft tests.

Swift smoked a cigar and stood on the island of the aircraft carrier, looking at the huge flight deck. For some reason, he felt a sense of urgency in his heart.

"Our opponents have begun to use electromagnetic catapults. Only we are still using the old steam catapults. This reminds me of the gap between steam locomotives and modern high-speed railways. Can anyone tell me when we can use electromagnetic catapults?" Ejection, can the next aircraft carrier, the USS George Bush, become our most advanced aircraft carrier."

After the end of the Cold War, there was no imminent threat from the Yankees, so the construction of aircraft carriers also slowed down. CVN-94 was ordered in 76, named the USS Ronald Reagan, and CVN-98 was ordered in 77. It was named the USS George Bush at the end of last year.

Hearing his words, Adams, a technician from Newport News Shipbuilding on the side, said: "According to the original plan, CVN-77 will be used as an equipment verification ship for the next Ford-class aircraft carrier. The ship island, electronic system, The catapult, power system, armament, etc. will all be redesigned and configured, and the changes will be significant enough to make it an independent-level aircraft carrier. Currently, the island design of this warship has been completed, and the island will be reduced in size. It has a simple appearance and uses a phased array radar.”

"What's the use of island design? The key is the take-off and landing of aircraft carriers!" Swift said: "The island is just a trivial project, take-off and landing are the most important."

"Relevant units have started research and development, but if you want to replace the electromagnetic catapult, you may have to wait for a long time. Dongfang people are said to be planning to build a third aircraft carrier. Our aircraft carrier cannot be delayed, so..."

So what?We have ten aircraft carriers in active service. What are we afraid of? We must have advanced aircraft carriers!Swift's face showed dissatisfaction, but before he could get angry, he heard the roar of the plane.

A Super Hornet flew over and slid along the determined route.

Compared with previous aircraft, the Super Hornet's fuselage has undergone stealth modifications, and the air intake has also become a rectangular shape, which looks more beautiful. However, compared with Dongfang's fourth-generation stealth aircraft, it is still far behind. .

"The posture is normal, continue descending!"

"500 meters away, keep it!"

The voice of the landing officer kept coming from the radio, but just when the carrier-based aircraft was about to fall, suddenly, the nose of the aircraft was pulled up again!

The fighter plane roared past the left side of the ship island. Everyone opened their eyes wide and looked at the fighter plane that did not know why it had made a go-around. At this time, a curse came from the radio: "Damn it! I hate three obstructions. Suo, let someone else fly!"

Although they are all called Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, they are divided into three batches. The Reagan and Bush belong to the third batch.

The Reagan has made a lot of improvements. For example, the right side of the ship island extends outboard, which greatly improves the security capabilities of the right side. It also increases the surface area of ​​the ship island. Therefore, the Reagan The ship island has one less floor than before.At the same time, there are independent masts integrated into tower masts, some radars are replaced, etc.

At the same time, many improvements have been made to the bow. For example, the bulbous bow has been redesigned to be larger and more buoyant, so that even if three catapults are used together, the bow will not sink.

Also improved are the blocking ropes.

After long-term practice by the U.S. Navy, they believed that the fourth blocking cable was often not used, so they simply omitted one.

According to them, it is to save manpower, maintenance hours and space. After all, even if the fourth set of blocking cables is not used, they still have to maintain it according to the maintenance manual, which is a laborious task.

The blocking rope is not just a section seen on the deck. There are a lot of mechanisms below. Those poor green vests are working hard on the deck carrying the thick blocking rope. The scene is similar to the trackers on the Volga River.

It's a pity that the superiors had good intentions, but forgot to consult the users. For the U.S. Navy pilots who are used to four blocking ropes, they lack a sense of security without one blocking rope. They are already under great pressure to land. Big, now, while the aircraft carrier is still undergoing sea trials, some people have already begun to put down their options.

I won’t try it anymore, you can replace me with someone else!
There was a moment of embarrassment on the island.

"Next, the ejection test."

"This ejection is the turn of our 374 configuration F-32B. We believe that this test flight will be successful." Hudson said.

Their Flying Toad was recognized by the Navy because of its faster progress. After their continued efforts, the 374 configuration, which is the most perfect configuration of the F-32B, has been built. According to the requirements of the Navy, they need to be on the aircraft carrier test.

In fact, this B-type vertical take-off and landing model should be used exclusively for the Marine Corps. However, their three models are similar. This is the most difficult model to develop, and the others can be deformed at any time. Moreover, even Vertical take-off and landing must also have the ability to catapult take-off. After all, British customers are always thinking about installing electromagnetic catapults on their Queen-class aircraft carriers.

Their opponent Lockheed Martin's X-35 is also making rapid progress, so they must test it quickly and try to let the three armies make a complete decision and eliminate the X-35.

The white flying toad was dragged to the ejection take-off position.

Hudson was still talking there: "Actually, if naval pilots feel that landing with an arresting cable is risky, they can use our vertical landing, and our landing will be perfect."

Their plane must have flown over and then landed, but their pilot didn't have the coward's choice: he couldn't bear the pressure and left, and just landed vertically. With such a large deck area, it was easy to land.

"No, we need to block the cable landing. After the aircraft ejects and takes off, we will use the blocked landing method to board our aircraft carrier. This is a test that must be passed."

"I'm sorry, ours is a vertical take-off and landing model without a landing hook. Once the F-32C we develop for the Navy is built, we can conduct this kind of test." Hudson cleverly rejected Swift. proposal.

Swift had no other choice but to nod: "Okay."

On the deck, the Flying Toad was still preparing to take off. The slender landing gear looked very thin. It was not known whether it would be torn off during ejection and take-off.

The Feitian Toad uses a ventral air intake scheme, and with the movable chin, it can play a good stealth role. However, this also means that its landing gear must be very long, and the J-[-] is not suitable for boarding ships. One of the important reasons is that the landing gear is too long due to the layout of the J-[-]'s belly air intake.

Feitian Toad not only has a long landing gear at the front, but also a long main landing gear at the back, which makes it even more distinctive.

Of course, this is also a helpless choice.

Ordinary airplanes put the engine on their butt, while the Flying Toad puts the engine on its belly. This leads to a flaw: Where to put the bomb bay?
The designers racked their brains and could only think of openings on both sides of the fuselage. They couldn't open to the back, right?When you throw the bomb like this, it has to fly upside down.

There are openings on both sides for bombs, but what about the landing gear?

The landing gear has become the same as that of the second-generation aircraft. It is stuck on the inside of the wing and is placed at the wing root during recovery. It does not occupy the space of the fuselage. It is completely different from the small three-point landing gear.

This has advantages: the wheel spacing is very large, so you don’t have to worry about the tricycle flipping over when landing, but at the same time, because it is a high-wing monoplane, the length of the landing gear is very long.

I wonder if it can withstand the impact of landing?

At this time, Swift also had some regrets. Was she sloppy?
If the X-35 can be successfully developed, that configuration should be more mature. After all, there are mature Eastern models as a reference.

The yellow vest stood on the side of the plane and made the familiar gesture. The huge flying toad quickly glided on the deck, filled with steam behind it, and jumped out at the end of the runway.

"Take off successfully!" Hudson said excitedly: "Mr. Swift, did you see it? Our aircraft is mature and perfect, and it can fully adapt to the Navy's carrier!"

"Since you can't stop the landing, let's fly back," Swift said.

Fly back?Hudson's expression changed: "We don't have enough fuel on the plane to fly to the airport."

"Then why don't you add more?" Swift's expression changed: "Are you doing it to make the ejection more beautiful?"

The lighter the weight, the easier it is to take off.

"Of course not. This aircraft carrier is in the trial stage and has not yet loaded with aviation fuel. We cannot replenish it."

"In that case, I'll call you an air tanker."

"Okay." Called the F-35B test pilot nicknamed Yellow Croaker, he almost cursed when he heard the order given on the radio.

"What? Flying to land? Why?"

"No reason, this is Sir Swift's order."

"Damn it, why didn't you say that before takeoff?"

"Yellow croaker, continue flying a hundred nautical miles toward the coastline. There will be an A-6 aerial tanker waiting for you. You will have enough fuel to fly back."

"Croaker got it."

Of course, what he was most worried about was the lack of fuel. He originally planned to turn around and land after taking off, and finally wait to return with the aircraft carrier. But now he actually had to fly back by himself, so he had to refuel.

For American pilots, everyone must be able to refuel in the air, and they never worry about running out of fuel, because they can call for air refueling at any time. During the Vietnam War, there were often F-4 ghosts that had burned out of fuel and were scurrying around. The ground came to refuel without worrying about running out of fuel and falling. There was even an aerial tanker that was short of fuel, and then it connected to the pipeline of another aerial tanker for refueling.

In short, for American pilots, mid-air refueling is a common thing.

But today, they encountered a head-on blow.

"Yellow croaker calls the nanny, I've seen you." Huang croaker looked at an A-6 fighter in front and said in a calm tone: "Please release the air refueling pipe."

After the U.S. Navy eliminated the professional KA3B carrier-based aerial tanker, it used the A-6 to modify the KA-6 aerial tanker. It can be used for partner refueling and bombing. One aircraft has multiple functions. It is the first version of the U.S. Navy aerial tanker. Main force.

Yellow Croaker also often docked with this kind of aircraft to refuel. He used the Flying Toad to approach with ease, then approach again, and then suddenly move forward.

Whoosh!
The aerial refueling drogue flew off!

Docking failed!

The retractable aerial refueling pipe is on the right side of the Flying Toad's cockpit. You can clearly see that this originally foolproof docking failed!

The croaker gritted his teeth and continued to connect.

Whoosh!
The aerial refueling drogue flew off again!
After two consecutive failed attempts, the croaker already had an ominous premonition.

Is it because I don’t have enough skills?Of course not. I have carried out thousands of aerial refuelings over the years, and there has never been an accident!The docking success rate is as high as 90.00%. The docking failure this time is clearly due to a problem with the design of the aircraft!

The aerodynamic shape of the aircraft has a huge impact on the docking. When the aircraft is close to the conical sleeve of the air refueling pipe, the airflow will push the conical sleeve away. This is a problem with the design of the aircraft!
"Croaker reports, unable to dock with air tanker."

Unable to connect?

On the aircraft carrier, everyone’s expressions changed.

"Croaker, how much fuel do you have left?"

"About five hundred liters." Yellow Croaker glanced at the large LCD screen, which had already started to alarm.

"Don't skydive. You must not skydive. Find a way to save the plane." Hudson was anxious: "As long as you can save the plane, the company will reward you 100 million!"

Western pilots have no idea of ​​​​saving the aircraft. When encountering danger, saving their own lives first is the right way. After all, if the aircraft is gone, it can be rebuilt, but if the people are gone, then they are really gone.

But now, this plane is the only one with the 374 configuration, so there cannot be any losses. Moreover, if it falls because it cannot refuel in the air, it will definitely be criticized by the opponent. They will never tolerate this. A situation arises.

100? One million is nothing. Huang Croaker looked at the fuel alarm and was already planning to pull the ejection handle. When he took one last look outside, his eyes suddenly lit up: There happened to be a container ship below!
The ship is full of containers, neatly arranged, and the tops are relatively flat!
Maybe give it a try!
"I want 1000 million." Yellow Croaker shouted on the radio: "1000 million, buy my life, this is fair and reasonable."

"Okay, 1000 million. As long as you can save this plane, the company will reward you 1000 million." Hudson could only agree.

"He's losing altitude," the radar officer said.

"Did it fall?"

"No, it's still flying normally." Hudson finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the pilot ejected, the plane would definitely fall. The current normal descent shows that the pilot is trying to save the plane. Is it necessary to make an emergency landing? On the sea?Our flying toad can't float either.

He knows that this task is difficult, so a reward of 1000 million is acceptable.

Moreover, he also made it clear that the reward would only be given if the plane was saved. If the plane was not saved successfully, the reward would naturally be gone.

For a container ship on the sea, this is an unprecedented experience.

While they were sailing normally, they heard a roar in the sky. The captain stood in the cockpit, watching a strange plane approaching, with surprise on his face: "What kind of plane is this? I've never seen it before!"

"Yeah, we're not in Area 53. We didn't expect to see such an aircraft."

"No, why did it fly so close?"

"It's so slow. It reminds me of a sea harrier. Wait, is it trying to land on our container ship?"

When the captain said this, everyone was shocked. They were a container ship, not an aircraft carrier!
What do they do now?Don't let this plane land?Of course not, they don't have the ability.

"Quick, turn the radio to the public channel."

"The white plane in front, listen, this is the container ship Pacific Conveyor. We are performing a task of operating containers. What are you going to do? What are you going to do?"

There was no answer on the radio. At this time, Huanghuayu didn't care at all. His hand pushed the operating lever steadily, and the fighter plane slowly descended, and then descended again!

Boom!
Finally, the landing gear hit the container, and the plane bounced back up.

He wanted to continue operating, but the roar of the engine disappeared and the last drop of oil had been burned!

The plane fell again and was completely out of control. Fortunately, after two bumps, it finally stopped.

The croaker took a long breath and looked outside. Success!
After the bright spot disappeared from the radar screen, the people on the Reagan aircraft carrier fell into nervousness. The radio kept calling, but there was never an answer.

Did it fall and fall into the sea?
Just after they waited anxiously for more than 20 minutes, a call suddenly came from the public frequency band.

"Yellow Croaker calls the Reagan. I have successfully landed on a container ship. Please coordinate the follow-up situation. Also, please honor the reward given to me as soon as possible."

It worked, finally it worked!
Hudson's face was filled with excitement.

"Sir Swift, did you hear that? This is the advantage of vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. Even if it burns out its fuel, it can still find a suitable place to land. I think the Navy should use vertical take-off and landing fighter jets as its main force."

Swift said with a cold face: "If the vertical takeoff and landing fighter has the same weight, the same range, and the same attack power as the catapult takeoff, arresting and landing aircraft, we can choose. If not, then stop saying such stupid things."

Hudson shut up. He didn't know why. Mr. Swift seemed to be in a bad mood?

Regardless, in short, our side is in the limelight again this time!

Word quickly spread, including to Lockheed Martin.

Daniel looked serious: "Boeing has shown off again this time. It was obviously a failure in mid-air refueling, but now it is showing that their vertical take-off and landing fighter technology is mature. Damn it, when will our vertical take-off and landing fighter come out?" ?”

With Lockheed Martin's technical capabilities, it takes little effort to shrink the F-22 into an X-35, but it takes a lot of effort to take off and land vertically.

"So far, we still haven't found a suitable material to make the fan clutch. We can say that we are standing still." Stanley, who is responsible for the lift fan project, said.

"Standing still? Oriental's vertical take-off and landing fighter jets have begun to be delivered in large quantities, but we still can't find suitable materials. Are we still no match for Oriental?"

It was a wrong route in the past, but now that the route has been chosen, it’s a shame to go back to normal!

"If we want to make a breakthrough, there is only one way." Stanley said.

"Say."

"Find an Oriental vertical take-off and landing fighter, take it apart and look at their lift fan structure and materials."

Imitate Oriental ones?This is even more of a shame, and, how to find it?
Daniel continued to look at Stanley.

"Currently, big players are equipped with a large number of J-31As. We just need to find a way..."