Red Soviet Union

During World War II, a design bureau with dozens of people could independently design aircraft, but in the era of jet aircraft after World War II, it was necessary to have a team of hundreds of people. The more hands you have. Especially the stealth machine, it needs to consume countless resources to manufacture it.

Even the United States, with its deep pockets, cannot undertake the research and development tasks alone when developing a new generation of stealth aircraft. In the end, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman were selected for demonstration/verification. The two prototypes of the flight test are the American YF-22 fighter and the YF-23 fighter. At that time, Lockheed, General Dynamics, and Boeing reached an agreement that if only one company's design was selected, the remaining companies would also join in the development of the Advanced Tactical Fighter program. Northrop and McDonnell Douglas have signed similar agreements.

The aviation technology of the United States is quite developed. In order to develop a new generation of fighters, several companies need to work together. However, the Soviet Union wants to develop advanced new fighters in a short period of time. The cooperation between various design bureaus is also inevitable. must do.

However, when Andre proposed this plan, he realized that he was indeed wrong. He underestimated the competition among the various design bureaus within the Soviet Union!

Andrei, we need to carefully consider your proposal. Ustinov said: Now, there is fierce competition among various design bureaus, so that we can promote the development of our aviation technology. If there is no Competition, no matter which design bureau wins, another design bureau will be able to get the corresponding task, which is not good for competition.”

Yes, General Andrei, as one of the oldest design bureaus in the Soviet Union, our Mikoyan Design Bureau has designed many advanced fighters. Our design bureau is strong enough to undertake the development of a new generation of fighters alone. The chief engineer of the Mikoyan Design Bureau also said.

Andre was embarrassed for a while. In later generations, as a pilot, he knew about aircraft from all over the world, especially Soviet fighters. He remembered quite clearly that the MiG 1.44, as a new generation of Soviet fighters, was actually not It was independently completed by Mikoyan Design Bureau. Because the bureaucratic system of the Soviet scientific research units and the dispersion of research units at that time made the scientific research efficiency very low, they were unable to cope with the large-scale and advanced plans of the fifth-generation aircraft, which also caused the dispersion of funds. Moreover, the research and development of the systems and equipment of the fifth-generation fighter is also a complicated matter, and the research and development costs and work complexity are increasing. In order to reduce risks and get new fighters out as soon as possible, the Soviet Union formulated the Joint Development Plan in 1983 to jointly research new systems and technologies for all levels of fifth-generation fighters. interaction, contain bureaucracy, and maximize efficiency.

This plan was welcomed, and Mikoyan chief designer Belyakov was very supportive, and the senior leaders of the Soviet Ministry of Defense and industry included it in the five-year economic development plan, which shows the importance attached.

And now, the joint plan I proposed,

Why is it so ignored? Could it be because of his own intervention that the situation has changed dramatically?

An idea flashed in Andre's mind. He seemed to have made a mistake. It was absolutely impossible to unite the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Mikoyan Design Bureau. It can't be uncovered, and it was merged into the Sukhoi Design Bureau. Otherwise, how could these two giants be inferior to others!

Twisted melons are not sweet.

It is not the various aircraft design bureaus that are united, but the subordinate units, such as the Saturn Design Bureau that produces the AL41 engine, the Tikhmirov Instrument Manufacturing Institute that produces radar, etc., combining these departments can greatly improve efficiency .

Well, I take back what I just said. In order to develop our fifth-generation fighter, we need the cooperation of various departments. I propose to form a joint department with our aircraft design bureau, engine design bureau, and avionics design bureau. , fully develop the systems and equipment of our fifth-generation aircraft, and coordinate the overall progress. Andre said: The research and development of the fifth-generation aircraft is of great importance, and we cannot fall behind because the progress of a certain department cannot keep up. Electricity Department.

Andre's proposal caught everyone's eyes this time, especially the aircraft designers.

Their biggest headache is that the progress of the subsystems cannot keep up. For example, when Simonov was developing the Su-27, the engine could not keep up with the progress. He had to use the backward turbojet engine to test the flight first, and the development of the radar could not keep up with the progress. If not Later, I obtained advanced electronic technology from the island country. I am afraid that my own Su-27 will have to carry a heavy inverted card antenna to the sky!

As for the new generation of fighters, the ultimate performance depends not only on the efforts of fighter manufacturers, but also depends on other departments, such as what level the new engine can achieve, whether the thrust-to-weight ratio can achieve the design index of more than 10, and the thrust Whether it can reach 20 tons is very important. For example, whether the avionics department can come up with a comprehensive and integrated fire control system is also very important!

I agree with General Andrei's proposal. This time, Belyakov spoke first.

I also agree with Andrei's proposal. Ustinov said: Andrei, the top person in charge of this joint department, it seems that you are the most suitable.

Own? Andre shook his head: No, I still have to be in charge of the affairs of the military region. I'm afraid I'm too busy. Let's choose a new suitable candidate.

If he didn't command the military area, Andre would really like this position, what a pity...

Well, this matter needs to be discussed at the next meeting. This is our focus and needs to be included in the five-year plan. Ustinov said.

The meeting was basically over, and after the meeting ended, Andrei stopped Simonov.

Comrade Simonov, how is our carrier-based aircraft project going? Andrei asked Simonov.

In the field of fighter aircraft, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Mikoyan Design Bureau have always been in a competitive relationship. Thanks to the experience accumulated on the MiG-23K, the MiG-29K of the Mikoyan Design Bureau is already in An experimental flight was carried out on the aircraft carrier, and it also participated in the last battle. The Sukhoi Design Bureau has just sent the basic model of the Su-27 to the troops, and the improvement work of the Su-27K is underway.