The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Without the knowledge of each other, a research and development competition quietly kicked off.

However, one of the parties took a path that was deliberately guided.

Strictly speaking, it cannot be completely called a "mistake" - after all, if you follow that route, you will definitely achieve the same result in the end.

But the resources and time consumed in the process are another matter.

And what began to revolve around Chang Haonan was not just this...

……

One afternoon in late February, Liang Shaoxiu strode into the headquarters building of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, looking exhausted.

A day ago, he had just returned to Nanzheng after completing a phase of test flight missions for the KJ-200 early warning aircraft when he received a call from Beijing.

The call came from the Development Planning Department of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, asking him to go to Beijing as quickly as possible to discuss important model planning matters.

Therefore, he only had time to catch up on a quick nap at home before boarding another plane to Beijing.

After entering the hall, Liang Shaoxiu took off his half-dry, half-wet scarf, shook it gently, then asked for two pieces of paper from the guard room and wiped off the water droplets on the surface of the briefcase.

The weather in late winter is so annoying.

What was floating down was still snow, but when it landed on my body it turned into water.

After tidying up a bit, he spent a few more minutes following the signs in the corridor to find the elevator.

Nanzheng Factory 182 was a marginal unit only two or three years ago, and Liang Shaoxiu was only acting as chief engineer at the time, so he rarely came to the headquarters in Beijing.

It can be said that if General Chang had not called for troops, he might still be in Nanzheng dealing with the ice accumulation problem of the Y-8 aircraft...

Soon, Liang Shaoxiu appeared at the door of the general manager's office and raised his hand to knock gently.

"Come in."

A calm voice that he was not familiar with came from inside.

However, if Chang Haonan were here, he would probably find it very familiar—

A month ago, at the beginning of 2001, Liang Zhuoping, the former general manager of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, was transferred to another position due to illness, which actually meant he retired to the second line.

His successor was Liu Gaozhuo, who was transferred from Factory 112.

He was the former head of Project No. 11 who was chatting and laughing with Chang Haonan a few months ago.

Originally, Liu Gaozhuo had to wait until at least next month after the trial production batch of six J-6Bs were delivered to the Air Force before he could be transferred to another position. However, plans cannot keep up with changes and Liang Zhuoping's health problem could not delay him, so he had to be transferred ahead of schedule.

Fortunately, the research and development of the J-11B has been basically completed, so it cannot be regarded as a change of generals at the last minute.

"Mr. Liu, you..."

Before Liang Shaoxiu could finish saying hello, he caught a glimpse of another figure sitting on the sofa at the side of the office:

"Director Ding... Director Ding?"

Ding Gaoheng's appearance was completely unexpected, making him suddenly feel a little nervous.

Liang Shaoxiu and Ding Gaoheng had met before when the senior leader went to Nanzheng to visit the KJ-200.

However, on that occasion, another chief designer, Wang Xiaomo, who had a higher status and more experience, was present. Moreover, the KJ-200 was a project he had handled himself, so he had some idea about it.

Therefore, the shock felt in my heart is not as great as this sudden attack.

"Comrade Shao Xiu, please sit down."

Ding Gaoheng nodded to Liang Shaoxiu and raised his hand to gesture to the single sofa next to him.

The latter immediately sat down obediently:

"Director Ding, General Manager Liu, I don't know why the organization called me here this time..."

The notice he received before was about "important model planning", but in the current situation, it is better not to speculate rashly.

However, the other party's first question was completely beyond Liang Shaoxiu's expectations:

"Comrade Shao Xiu, you should have worked with General Chang Haonan of the Aviation Power Group before?"

In an instant, Liang Shaoxiu's brain started working rapidly.

This kind of thing, whether it is Ding Gaoheng or Liu Gaozhuo, they will definitely know it just by looking through the files.

Now I have come to him to confirm it in person. There are only two possibilities:

First, something happened to Mr. Chang.

But judging from the expressions of the two people opposite, it doesn't look like that.

Then there is only the second option left: there is a project related to Mr. Chang that I need to do myself.

For him, this was naturally what he wanted.

Working with Chang Haonan, regardless of other things, the level of support will definitely be maximized.

So, Liang Shaoxiu finally breathed a sigh of relief:

"That's right. From the end of 96 to the beginning of 97, General Chang was still at the 601 Institute, participating in the 182rd Project. He temporarily supported our 8 Factory and helped us solve the icing problem on the wings of the Y- aircraft that had troubled us for a long time."

"Also, when I first came into contact with the KJ-97 project in the second half of 200, the overall plan of the T-shaped antenna layout and double ventral fins of the entire early warning aircraft was determined in advance by General Chang."

"Ah."

Ding Gaoheng nodded, a satisfied look on his stern face, then turned to look at Liu Gaozhuo behind the desk:

"Please give me a brief introduction of the situation."

After hearing this, the latter took out a file bag from under his desk that had obviously been prepared long ago.

"Taking into account the mission requirements of the transport aviation force in the new era, the superiors decided to plan a medium-sized tactical transport aircraft to replace the Y-8, temporarily named the Y-9."

Liu Gaozhuo said this and put the file bag on the desk.

Liang Shaoxiu quickly took it and opened it as quickly as possible.

Inside was a "New Tactical Transport Aircraft Requirement Demonstration Report."

Only at this time did Liu Gaozhuo continue:

"The preliminary indicators set at present are that the maximum take-off weight shall not exceed 90 tons, the maximum effective load shall not be less than 20 tons, the range at half load shall not be less than 5500 km, and the range at full load shall not be less than 3500 km. The cargo hold size (of course, mainly refers to the cross-sectional area here) shall not be less than 76% of the Il-85, and a reserve shall be reserved in the cargo hold during the design to temporarily serve as the hardware facilities of the aerial refueling aircraft..."

Listening to the performance requirements from his leader, Liang Shaoxiu felt overwhelmed.

Other requirements are easy to say, but the range with a 20-ton payload must be no less than 3500 km...

This is about twice the size of the Y-8 Class III platform.

It is also necessary to consider that as the cross-sectional area of ​​the fuselage increases, its own flight resistance will increase.

Considering that there is currently no available alternative model to the Turboprop 6C, it means that the new product cannot be an analogue of the Y-8 or C130.

"Chief."

Liang Shaoxiu calmed himself down, took a deep breath, and said:

"This indicator requirement is almost impossible to achieve with the four-engine turboprop power of a traditional tactical transport aircraft, so..."

Before he finished speaking, Ding Gaoheng and Liu Gaozhuo looked at each other:

"That's exactly why we came to you."

"You may have heard that the Aviation Power Group has planned a high bypass ratio turbofan engine using the WS-10 core engine, with a thrust of about 13-14 tons. According to estimates, if two turbofan engines are used instead of four turboprops, the performance Comrade Gao Zhuo just mentioned should be achieved."

"I know this model. It was one of the three key models planned when the Aviation Power Group was established two years ago, but..."

This sudden bombardment of information made Liang Shaoxiu a little confused:

"I remember that the WS-10 was only officially finalized in December last year. Has the high bypass ratio turbofan been approved now?"

"That's not true."

Ding Gaoheng shook his head:

"Comrade Haonan is currently focusing on the production and finalization of the WS-10, but the Gaofa Group has already started project planning."

"But considering the speed of progress in the field of aviation power in the past few years, we still think that there should be a time difference so that the schedules of aircraft and aero engines can match..."

Hearing this, Liang Shaoxiu suddenly realized——

The statement of "creating a time difference" has obviously fully taken his feelings into consideration.

In fact, he was worried that if he and Chang started the project at the same time, it might be possible that the engine of others had been finalized, but the aircraft was still in the design stage...

What’s even more worrying is…

Even Liang Shaoxiu himself had to admit that this possibility was not low.

Of course there is another level.

Even if by some chance the aircraft progresses faster, we can also grab two PS909A from C76 or Il-90MF for test flights first.

But if the engine progress is faster, China currently cannot find a model that can be installed.

After all, the No. 760 aircraft at the Flight Test Institute is an aerial test bench and can only replace one engine, which does not meet the requirements for design finalization.

All we can do is wait.

It wastes too much time.

After thinking this through, Liang Shaoxiu nodded decisively:

"I understand."

"Then, Comrade Shao Xiu."

Ding Gaoheng looked at him with a smile:

"Do you have the confidence that your Qin Province Aircraft Industry Group can lead the design and development of this new model from scratch?"

There was a gleam of light in Liang Shaoxiu's eyes.

Start from scratch!

In the past, due to the historical background and strength of Factory 182, the few projects it handled were all minor repairs and improvements based on the Y-8.

But this time, it is a new project that has no direct relationship with the Y-8 or any other model at home or abroad.

If it succeeds, then Qin Fei will have a great chance of getting rid of the shadow of Gaofei next door and truly becoming an important part of the Aviation Industry Group independently.

And his name will definitely be recorded in the history of Qinfei Group and even the entire Chinese aviation industry...

Liang Shaoxiu stood up and stood at attention:

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"