Great warships

"Report to Leader Wu, the AWACS has been inspected and the airspace is clean, please take off!" Duan Yi finally asked Wu Shengli for instructions.

This airspace is clean, which of course means that there are no reconnaissance satellite activities overhead. Although it is inevitable to be detected by reconnaissance, if you can hide, you still have to dodge for a while.

"You can take off, I wish you a successful first flight!" Wu Shengli nodded, and he walked up to the crew and shook hands with them.

There are five or six crew members in a regular AWACS aircraft, the two at the front are driving the aircraft, and the few at the back are operating radar equipment. But now, because there is no radar and electronic equipment on this aircraft, and the test flight is also full of risks, there are only two pilots. .

They are all experienced old pilots. They used to fly the Yunqi which was close to the size of the early warning aircraft for a long time. Now they have changed to fly the KJ-600 and have hundreds of hours of flying experience. I have simulated countless times on the Internet, and experienced real takeoff and landing in the cockpit of a trainer, so the experience is rich enough.

At this time, the two shook hands with Wu Shengli, both of them were full of confidence: "Leader, please rest assured, we will be able to successfully complete the test flight mission!"

"Well, I look forward to your success!"

The hangar door opened, and a professional aircraft carrier tractor came over, leading the special early warning aircraft forward slowly, and countless curious eyes looked over.

This early warning aircraft came to Huangdi Village in the middle of the night yesterday. At that time, the flight training was over, and there were not many people in the field. After arriving, it went directly into the hangar, so most people did not see it.

Today is different. Many people are surprised when they see this kind of aircraft in broad daylight. After the surprise, they are excited.

AWACS!
Our navy also needs to have early warning aircraft!
"Attention, the electromagnetic catapult is ready!"

The personnel who specialize in operating the electromagnetic catapult are already in place, the energy storage has been completed, and they are ready to launch at any time. Since the catapult was equipped in the wasteland village, a large number of ejection experiments have been carried out. Except for regular maintenance, there has never been any accident. If the success rate of the ejection is announced, it will definitely make the US Navy envious.

The front wheels of the KJ-600 are designed with two wheels, which is also for the convenience of ejection. The landing gear is very thick. After the front wheels are fixed securely, the whole aircraft is ready to go.

The flame deflector rose slowly. In fact, for the propeller aircraft, this flame deflector is of little significance, but this is a fixed process, and the US Navy ejection early warning aircraft is also like this. Everyone followed suit.

The engine roared, and the huge propeller turned from slow to fast.

Unlike the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft, this engine is a three-rotor, and the propeller is a complex coaxial counter-rotating propeller. There are two pairs of propellers in front of an engine, which rotate in opposite directions. The biggest advantage of this is that it offsets the rotational moment. , to make the aircraft more stable, the price is of course a great increase in complexity.

The huge propeller looks very different in shape, which is amazing.

Even Delano felt emotional: "The huge engine needs this special propeller, but it sounds like the engine is not running at full power?"

"Yes, the power of [-] horsepower is surplus. Even for take-off, we can use [-] horsepower. The excess power is mainly used as reserve power. Once one of the engines fails, the other will be used. It's going to hit full power quickly."

Their E-2 does not have this capability. Even if the engine is replaced with a higher thrust engine later, it only improves the take-off and landing characteristics. Once one of the engines fails, it will definitely fall into the sea.

The catapult commander made that skilled body movement, and the buzzing excitation sound of the electromagnetic catapult filled everyone's ears. For the first time, the KJ-600 has withstood the test of catapult take-off. Drag it, and run forward quickly, faster and faster, before reaching the end of the catapult, the front landing gear has separated from the catapult block, the catapult starts to slow down and stop, KJ-600 Continue to accelerate forward for one or two meters, and the whole fuselage left the runway easily.

fly!

Easy, no surprises!
"This time it's an empty ejection take-off and landing, and we should continue to add counterweight next time." Duan Yi said: "However, the catapult does not have full power output, and there is still a large margin. There should be no problem with full-weight ejection." question."

Of course, there can be no problems. If there is a problem, it will be a big trouble!
The carrier-based early warning aircraft must be able to take off with a full load. If it can’t, it means that there must be less stuff. There must be fewer people and less equipment, so you can only load less fuel. If the fuel is less, the battery life will be insufficient. .

Therefore, we have to find a way on the aircraft carrier: extending the length of the catapult is a big project. Just look at the experience of the French on the Charles de Gaulle. It is not because the E-2 cannot board the ship. Without lengthening the catapult and lengthening the deck, it finally became a joke all over the world.

Our own side must not engage in this kind of oolong. Now that the construction of the aircraft carrier has started, it is estimated that the first section has been built, and the aircraft carrier will be finalized. If it is revised, it will definitely be a big project.

"That's right, the test flight was successful, now we'll see the landing." Wu Shengli said.

This early warning aircraft came to test for nothing else but for take-off and landing test. Therefore, every opportunity should not be wasted if it ejected and took off on one side, and blocked the landing on the other side.

Delano has strode towards the guidance area of ​​the ship, which is also where he often works. Almost every pilot of a carrier-based aircraft has the experience of being guided to land by him, but this is the first time for this early warning aircraft.

Moreover, Delano has been able to speak fluent Chinese for many years in the East, and it is very convenient to communicate with. no problem.

Qin Tao and the others didn't go there, they just stood outside the landing area, admiring the landing of the plane from a distance, which would be more spectacular.

"The take-off and landing test of the carrier-based aircraft is very important, which means that our KJ-600 is one step closer to being practical." Standing beside Qin Tao, Wu Shengli said.

"Yes, this kind of early warning aircraft is one step closer to being officially put into service. Our 002 aircraft carrier will become a truly modern super aircraft carrier. Its combat effectiveness will not be inferior to that of the American aircraft carrier. As for the gap in numbers, we can slowly make up for it. Wait until The 002 aircraft carrier is officially in service, and our country's economic strength has also increased. At that time, it is completely possible to start construction of two ships at the same time, we will build one in Mingzhou, and other shipyards will build one."

Hearing Qin Tao's words, Wu Shengli glanced at him: "Start work on two ships at the same time? Only you dare to think so."

"What is there to dare to think about? Did the Navy dare to think about having an aircraft carrier back then? Isn't there two now?" Qin Tao said: "In order to protect our maritime rights and interests, we must build a powerful navy."

When I was talking about this, there was a rumbling sound in the distance, and the figure of KJ-600 had appeared outside the landing zone, and entered the glide path accurately.

"Steady, yes, keep the current state, continue to slide, don't be afraid!" Delano held the radio and kept shouting inside, just like calling out to former students.

The landing of a carrier-based aircraft is different from that of an ordinary aircraft. It is more like a direct drop. Therefore, when a carrier-based aircraft pilot lands on a ship for the first time, he will feel a sense of fear from the bottom of his heart, watching the deck rush towards his face. , I can't help but want to pull the joystick to go around. If I can't overcome this fear, I can't become a qualified carrier-based aircraft pilot, and I have to go back where I came from.

At this time, the AWACS aircraft that is landing is still in good condition, and then it has to continue to slide down, downhill bravely, don't be afraid.

In the cockpit, the two pilots were engrossed. Unlike a flight simulator, you can start over if you fall. If you fall now, there will be no second chance.

Carrier-based pilot, the crystallization of bravery and technology!

Their eyes were on the Fresnel landing assist mirror, which kept sliding down and down, and the landing area became bigger and bigger.

"Okay, very good, low-altitude pass!" Delano shouted.

Any landing action must not go wrong, otherwise there will be disastrous consequences. Therefore, the critical first landing must be prepared several times, just like now, the carrier aircraft is only one step away from landing. It came up, but it didn't hit the runway directly and hook the arresting wire, but passed through the field at low altitude, went around, and aimed at the landing area again.

"Attention, just like last time, keep it!"

The KJ-600 landed again, just like last time, the flight state was very stable, and the glide line was flawless. Delano shouted with satisfaction: "You can land the ship!"

If it were an ordinary pilot, they might fly more than a dozen times of descent maneuvers, and they would only land when they were thoroughly proficient. But now, Delano is very satisfied with the performance of the pilot of this plane, so he issued a landing order.

The huge landing gear hit the runway, the buffer device shrunk a lot, the body also trembled downwards, and then continued to slide forward, hooking the second arresting wire firmly.

The moment the plane stopped, bursts of cheers erupted from the scene.

KJ-600 successfully achieved carrier-based take-off and landing in Huangdi Village for the first time!
"Tow it back to the hangar within 5 minutes, and conduct the second test flight at three o'clock in the afternoon!" Wu Shengli gave the order.

The space between the satellites in the sky is really hard to find.Who would have thought that just a few minutes ago, a satellite suddenly changed its orbit and flew over here?
The long arresting cable quickly recovered, the trailer drove smoothly to the plane, and then dragged the AWACS to the hangar. Everything was very skillful, after all, this was already a daily operation.

"The carrier-based pilots in the East are all first-class." Delano said: "In the US Navy, there are not many pilots who can land after the second flight."

"This is also because our simulator has excellent performance." The pilot said after coming down: "We can realistically simulate all the real situations on the simulator. So now the real landing is similar to the flight simulator. Of course, the acceleration and The feeling of deceleration still cannot be simulated.”

"We have to fly in the afternoon, so we can't drink the celebration wine. We will go to dinner first, sum up the experience of the flight test, and prepare for the flight in the afternoon!" Wu Shengli said.

Lunch was already prepared in the cafeteria, but the big guys were obviously not in the mood to eat, they were all excited.

"Our navy has long been looking forward to the fixed-wing early warning aircraft. The Air Force has the Air Police-2000, and our navy has the Air Police-600. Our navy's combat effectiveness can also be raised to a higher level!"

"This is our second early warning aircraft in China. I hope our scientific researchers will continue to work hard and develop more and better early warning aircraft!"

"That's right, good things like early warning aircraft, no matter how much money you spend!"

"Guys, you are worrying too much." Qin Tao said: "The early warning aircraft project did cost a lot of money, but this thing is not completely a waste of money. We can also sell it to make money. Saudi Arabia is not going to Is their C-130 airframe transformed into an air early warning aircraft? Other countries such as Laoba will also purchase it, and our current research and development funds will be recovered in the future.”

Duan Yi nodded: "Yes, there are not many early warning aircraft using active phased array technology in the world at present, and we are the only one with a big plate. As long as they are exported, there will definitely be many customers."

The Davids were the first to install the active phased array radar on the early warning aircraft, but they used the method of big nose and big cheeks. They only made a big deal when they cooperated with Dongfang early warning aircraft. The project was terminated due to the interference of the West. Fortunately, Qin Tao had planned ahead and set a high amount of compensation in advance. The development of the current early warning aircraft project depends on the compensation.

Our own technology is advanced, and as long as the military permits it to be exported, the market prospect must be good.

"I have an idea." Qin Tao said suddenly: "If the early warning aircraft can guide air-to-air missiles, then can our fighter jets just fly over and fly back after launching the missiles? There is no need for relay guidance. In this way, our stealth machine will be even more silent."

The basic tactic of the stealth aircraft is to approach the opponent quietly under the guidance of the early warning aircraft, then launch the missile, and return to the voyage. However, if you want to elaborate, before launching the missile, you still need to turn on the radar, as long as it is not the kind of infrared missile that locks the target in advance. Radar must be used to provide missiles with various shooting data.

Moreover, even if it is an active radar-guided air-to-air missile, limited by the diameter of the missile, the power of the seeker is small, and the active guidance distance is only more than 20 kilometers. Before that, radar irradiation is still required.

Therefore, this short period of radar exposure is the most dangerous time for the aircraft.

If the relay guidance is handed over to the early warning aircraft, the stealth aircraft will completely become a missile carrier aircraft, fly over, launch missiles, and return. It's as simple as that, no need to refine it.

Duan Yi thought for a while, then shook his head: "This is very difficult to do. After all, the radar band of our early warning aircraft is completely different from the fire control radar band of fighter jets. We have no way to guide the missile. Conduct relay guidance, but if it is in a complex airspace, our data link may be insufficient in bandwidth and interfered with, causing the missile to miss the target."

Qin Tao nodded, knowing that his assumption was a bit taken for granted.

"However, in the future, maybe when the technology develops faster, our early warning aircraft radar can also be equipped with dual-band radar, maybe it can be done." Duan Yi said: "This is a development direction, and the early warning aircraft will also have combat capabilities."

"This is just my personal idea, don't interfere with everyone's thinking." Qin Tao said, the early warning aircraft of later generations do not have this technology, and he doesn't know if it will be successful. It's okay to talk about bragging, but if it is really done, there are still risks. of.

He didn't want to give the big guy the wrong route.Now these words should be regarded as bragging.

The catapult take-off after increasing the load in the afternoon was also very smooth. At night, another take-off with a full load was carried out. In this way, the catapult take-off was considered to be the completion of the experiment. The next step is to conduct more experiments to find the most suitable take-off and landing route.Apart from these, there is one last important item left: the ski jump.

"If our ski-jump test is successful, then our aircraft can not only test fly in Huangdi Village, but also go to the 001 aircraft carrier for real take-off and landing simulation. We can even train a group of pilots, and wait until the 002 aircraft carrier is built. , our pilots will mature." At the celebration banquet that night, Duan Yi continued to suggest to Wu Shengli.

"Yes, for the development of the navy, this risk is worth taking. I will continue to stay and watch our ski jump take-off experiment. If there is a risk, I will take it."

Wu Shengli's words are very risky, but for the development of the navy's carrier aviation, he went all out.

"For the sake of safety, we still take off with no load first, and at the same time, the engine power output is at its maximum." Duan Yi continued: "After that, increase the counterweight a little bit, and try it out slowly."

No matter how many times you calculate on paper, the risk of ski jumping is still very high.So, they have to take it slow compared to a catapult takeoff.

"Okay." Wu Shengli nodded.

The next day, the sky was clear and it was still a good weather for flying.

Delano was extremely excited when he knew about today's flight test project.

Ski jump and take off!Even the ace carrier-based early warning aircraft of the US aircraft carrier has not done this kind of experiment!
The U.S. Naval Engineering Experiment Center has verified that under the deck wind condition of 25 knots, the E-25C carrier-based early warning aircraft weighing close to 2 tons can take off on the 165-meter-long, 12-degree ski jump deck.Looking at these data, we can know that this was tested on Ah San's aircraft carrier. I don't know why this kind of test was carried out. Could it be that Ah San wants to purchase E-2 early warning aircraft?
Of course, this is already the beginning of the 21st century, and Ah San has to have Chaoriwang to experiment. Now, the American AWACS has no experience in ski jumping. After all, they have no conditions, unless they go to the British Invincible Test it, but it can only take off, not land, because the cargo has no arresting wire.

Yesterday's catapult take-off was already very eye-catching. After all, this is the first ship-borne fixed-wing early warning aircraft in China and the second in the world. It can take off and land successfully, which fully demonstrates that the Eastern Navy has officially entered the modern ship-borne early warning aircraft. Aviation stage.

However, if it can take off on the ski jump deck, it will be even more meaningful, and the existing aircraft carriers in the East can carry it!

Everyone was looking forward to it. Early in the morning, there was a neat line of vests of all colors, walking through the simulated deck repeatedly, confirming that the entire deck was very clean and fully met the needs of taking off fighter jets.Once the tire is punctured during take-off, there will be a major accident.

Near the front of the ski jump deck, fire trucks and ambulances are also in place. If it really doesn't fly up, but falls down, they will have to be dispatched urgently.

Although the height of the ski jump deck is not enough, the take-off speed is very high, which is the same as a car taking off on a highway, and the consequences are unpredictable.

Everyone was a little nervous, even Draenor rubbed his hands repeatedly, his eyes kept looking around, sometimes looking at the ski jump deck, sometimes looking at the direction of the hangar, and sometimes looking up at space, the damn reconnaissance satellite, When will it all pass?
"Draenor, why are you so nervous?" Qin Tao looked at Delano, very curious: "I don't need you to fly today."

"If it was me flying, I wouldn't be nervous." Delano said: "Today's flight is of great significance, but it's a pity that you don't let me participate."

"Do you want to fly? Completely change to flying early warning aircraft in the future?" Qin Tao asked.

Delano stopped talking. He just never saw the AWACS take off from the ski jump deck, so he was looking forward to it. If he was asked to fly the AWACS every day, he would be bored to death. After all, the AWACS is stable and cannot perform any maneuvers at all. Even if he is a mad dog, he doesn't dare to move. If he falls, he won't be the only one who dies, and he can't harm his companions.

At this moment, the hangar door opened slowly, and the early warning aircraft was dragged out again. Just like yesterday, the whole aircraft looked so beautiful and majestic.

The large plate of the E-2 early warning aircraft is flat, while the large plate of the early warning aircraft in front of us is bulging and looks more rounded. This is not only a streamlined consideration, but also has many needs such as heat dissipation and radar wave transmission.

Take off farther away.

Don’t even think about flying this kind of early warning aircraft from the two take-off points of 105 meters. The longer the take-off line, the better. The far point of 195 meters is the most suitable.

Seeing the AWACS parked there, everyone held their breath and waited quietly.

When it was in the hangar, the AWACS had already made all the preparations. Now, after being dragged out, it was ready to take off at any time. Just after it was aligned with the takeoff line, the engine started, and the roar became louder and louder. The rotation of the propeller is getting faster and faster, and it has entered the state of maximum power output!
Following the familiar movement of the two yellow vests, the KJ-600 slid forward. Looking at this momentum, it is no worse than using a catapult?
Flying bricks with great force, under the power output of 600 horsepower, the KJ-[-] is like a tiger descending a mountain, rushing forward swiftly, and the speed is getting faster and faster.

"No problem taking off," Delano said.

As soon as his words fell, the KJ-600 had already left the jump deck, and continued to fly upwards along the [-]-degree upward throw curve just now!

Get up, take it easy!