Great Power Fighting Falcon

"This aircraft was originally developed as a high-agility fighter. While controlling costs, the U.S. Air Force hopes to have an air superiority fighter that can compete with the Soviet Union in numbers and form an overwhelming advantage over the Soviet Union. Simply put, this aircraft It’s an air superiority fighter.”

"Based on the lessons learned from the Vietnam War and supported by a large amount of F-4 combat experience, the U.S. military made the decision to develop this type of fighter in response to the international military environment at that time. The original consideration was to launch it as a NATO-standard battlefield fighter. Installed. Later facts proved that they did this. Today, the total production volume is close to 5,000, which can be said to be a veritable world fighter."

Yi Xiaoyi talked eloquently. Their aircraft manufacturer obviously has in-depth research on various main fighter aircraft in the world. Typical third-generation aircraft like the F-16 are naturally the top priority of research.

"In fact, the F-16 is a typical representative of third-generation aircraft. Some standards for third-generation aircraft were formulated starting from this fighter aircraft." Zhang Chongming said solemnly, "It is no exaggeration to say that this aircraft defines third-generation aircraft. Our technical department There has been continuous tracking research on this aircraft for more than 20 years. We have some technical research directions that are based on this aircraft."

"We did a performance comparison at the beginning. The early J-10 was slightly inferior to the F-16. The avionics system of this fighter is very mature, especially the later modifications. They have a lot of actual combat data as support. The more they are modified, the better they become. The better it is, the more comprehensive its performance will be, and the latest model has strong capabilities in terms of range and ground attack."

Zhang Chongming laid out the performance data of the latest batch of F-16s, and everyone looked at it seriously. Almost everyone is familiar with the performance data of this machine, but this time they look at it in a different mood than before, and it seems that their feelings are also different. Everyone knew that the next step was to conduct a confrontation exercise with the friendly F-16C/D. Objectively speaking, everyone was more attentive.

Zhang Chongming looked at Li Zhan and other pilots and said in a deep voice, "Theoretically, from a performance perspective, the J-11's disadvantage to the F-16 is its instantaneous maneuverability. The latter's instantaneous maneuver is very powerful, and the Phantom - The 2000-5 is comparable. Everyone knows that the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft has very powerful mid- and short-range air combat capabilities. When the Eurofighter and Rafale were developed, the Mirage 2000-5 was the target to surpass."

Seeing that many people did not know much about the instantaneous flight capability, Li Zhan stood up and said, "We usually think that whoever points the nose of the aircraft to the opponent first can shoot first. We usually have two main principles in air combat training. The first is The first is to occupy the rear hemisphere position of the enemy aircraft, and the second is to point the nose of the aircraft towards the enemy aircraft. In fact, the two are closely related, and the former includes the latter. In short, everything we do in air combat is to point the nose of the aircraft towards the enemy aircraft. Aim at the enemy plane."

Li Zhan walked over and wrote the words "instantaneous turning ability" on the small blackboard, gestured with his hands and said, "Excellent instantaneous turning ability means a smaller turning radius and more sensitive nose directionality. When the two aircraft are fighting, My nose-first aim at you means that I can shoot at you before you aim at me, and the balance of victory is tilted to my side. Therefore, the instantaneous turning ability of a fighter plane is almost an important indicator in determining the air combat ability of a fighter plane. .”

He did not elaborate on novel attack methods such as off-axis shooting. Those present are all senior personnel, and there is no need to popularize them in an all-round way. The traditional air combat mode is an eternal rear hemisphere attack. With the emergence of combat missiles with large off-axis attack capabilities and the birth of helmet sights, modern fighters can even attack targets in the rear hemisphere. But one thing will never change - keeping enemy aircraft in the missile's no-escape zone.

In the F-16 fighter family, except for the conforming back fuel tank model that appeared in the later period, the other models with little change in aerodynamic appearance are not weak in air combat capabilities. Of course, this mainly refers to air combat within visual range, especially close combat.

The Su-27 family may not be able to defeat it. The avionics system plays an extremely critical role here.

Russia's shitty avionics technology is something no one wants to mention. If given a choice, the domestic military research and development department would not cooperate with Russia in relevant aspects even if they had to kill it, let alone purchase those stupid and bulky weapons and equipment. Some people are superstitious about Soviet and Russian equipment because for decades we had no second choice. Of course, it does not mean that these weapons and equipment are not good, but as Chinese people who pursue perfection, they are really unwilling to tolerate obvious shortcomings in the things in their hands.

For example, the Su-27 series fighter jets have shitty avionics systems.

Li Zhan said, "The nose of the F-16 is very sensitive, which has been verified in the previous confrontation. Objectively speaking, the J-11 we use is a heavy air superiority fighter, and its main combat method is to use sight. Attack enemy aircraft from a distance. In fact, if forced into close combat, the J-11 is even inferior to the J-7 in some aspects. I once used the J-7 against the Su Liangqi."

He paused, returned to his seat, sat down, and said, "The advantage of the J-11 is..."

Starting from him, the topic began to turn to the aspect of J-11B versus F-16, and gradually moved closer to discussing targeted tactics. What pilots focus on is how to defeat the enemy. Pure technical analysis and comparison is not the ultimate goal. Theoretically, the F-16's counterpart should be the MIG-29, and the Su-27's opponent should be a heavyweight like the F-15.

The problem is that this is wishful thinking for pilots. They may encounter various opponents in combat, and it may not be surprising to encounter the F-22A. What they have to do is to give full play to their own advantages and target the enemy's disadvantages. attack. A purely literal comparison is of little significance.

However, what they are facing is such a paper comparison that the results are likely to affect the development of new aircraft models and the adjustment of troop combat tactics, so they have to pay attention to it.

"I believe that the J-11's avionics system will not be much worse than that of the F-16. The J-16 is a fighter-bomber after all, and its combat maneuverability is slightly inferior to the J-11. The speed at which the J-11 obtains energy It is faster than the F-16, and its climb rate, overload endurance and ability to perceive the battlefield situation are also slightly better than the F-16. I am personally very confident in the subsequent confrontation." Li Zhan ended his speech with this.

Some people do not agree with Li Zhan's point of view. They believe that the requirement of "excellent combat agility" was clearly stated at the beginning of the F-16 design. It can be said that this aircraft is not a multi-purpose fighter from beginning to end, but is designed for air combat. Born to fight. The reason why it has now become multi-purpose, and even the latest batches focus on ground strikes, is because the United States has lost its opponent since 1991, and it is also its only opponent.

When there is no need to consider air superiority, or when only the F-15 is needed to complete the air superiority mission, the F-16 should have other capabilities, so that it can extend its service life.

The F-16C/D equipped by friendly forces is an air superiority model and has very excellent air combat capabilities.

When talking about the Su-27, everyone's first impression is that it is the fighter with the longest range in the world, with outstanding maneuverability and the ability to perform Super Cobra maneuvers. The F-16 can barely do it, but a single Super Cobra maneuver cannot fully explain the problem. In fact, the Su-27 almost fully embodies the Soviet Union's pursuit of fighter maneuverability. Especially at high subsonic speeds, the Su-27 series of fighters defeats its old rival F-15 series.

Judging from theoretical data, the Su-27's instantaneous performance is slightly inferior to that of the F-16, so some people believe that the former cannot take advantage in air combat. However, pilots do not think so. They believe that the slight gap can be made up for or even surpassed by the pilot's technical performance.

The F-16 is a good aircraft, but the same aircraft is completely different in the hands of the US Air Force and the Indian Air Force. The latter is even better than Li Zhan at shooting down himself.

The more than two hours of discussion was full of useful information and came up with several rules of confrontation that Li Zhan thought were very useful. For example, the J-11B's better climbing performance can be used to create attack opportunities. For example, during dogfights, large overload maneuvers can be used to increase the pointing speed of the aircraft's nose. These codes are based on the strengths of the F-16.

Li Zhan and Chen Fei have fought against F-16s, and they believe that these codes are of great guiding significance in actual combat.

The next day, superiors approved the training plan for the pilot team of the military exchange group to Pakistan. Two combat-ready fighter jets at Duda Station were pulled out of the permanent hangar. They were two J-10A fighter jets, commonly known as sticks, and were immediately handed over to them. Li Zhan and Chen Fei.

They had to fly the J-10A to simulate the F-16 and have a two-by-two confrontation with Han Hongjun and Li Zixin who were driving the J-11B. Li Zhan once used the J-11B to suppress the J-10B of the Dahongying Division, but was finally shot down by Chengda. At that time, Chengda was flying a J-10B fighter with a vector nozzle, and its maneuverability was far better than that of the J-10B. -11B, defeated Li Zhan in a dog fight.

Cheng Da is also the only person who has shot down Li Zhan.

It can be seen how important the pilot's ability is. An excellent pilot can greatly make up for the lack of equipment and technical level.

Li Zhan and Chen Fei had come into contact with the F-16, and they wanted to simulate the aircraft's performance in air combat. Han Hongjun and Li Zixin's ability to use the J-11B was somewhat representative. A confrontation between them can spark some sparks. On the one hand, it is a verification of the air combat code, and it is also an effective way to enhance the cooperation between the four people.

At nine o'clock in the morning, it was just getting dark. On the tarmac, under the blue sky and white clouds, the bare plateau mountains not far away looked particularly desolate. People on the plateau will have a strong feeling of "I can be so close to the sky." Li Zhan spent a lot of time at Duda Station many years ago, but he has lived in the plain area for the past few years, and he still regains the same feeling when he is there again.

Guo Beimu pointed to the J-10As with tactical numbers 12 and 13 and said to Li Zhan and Chen Fei, "These two J-10s were the earliest batch. They were aircraft of the 300th Division at the time. They were stationed here for training for a while. According to orders from superiors, two aircraft are left to serve as combat-ready aircraft for this field. They are usually flown out for routine training and are well maintained. You should take your time when using them. We only have so many fighter planes for this field."

"Li Zhan, did you hear what Chief of Staff Guo said?" Chen Fei reminded Li Zhan when he saw Li Zhan staring blankly at the stiffeners at the air intake.

Li Zhan said, "I heard it, old battalion commander, don't trust me yet."

"Of course I don't trust you. You are famous in the army." Guo Beimu said dissatisfiedly, "Don't take it seriously. There are only a few stations with fighter planes. You are one of the more important ones. The reason is that you You know, so you have to be careful.”

There are no planes at the station, only the aviation unit has planes. But the Duda station is very special. It seems that it has maintained a certain number of fighter aircraft since its establishment. The pilots who fly them adopt a rotation system. Elites are drawn from various aviation units to be responsible for their routine patrols. At the same time, they are also deployed around the clock around the clock. Four hours of combat readiness duty.

Li Zhan had often heard that so and so went to the plateau for rotation, and that was what they did.

"Chief, the aircraft has been inspected. Please check it for acceptance." The mechanic ran over and reported to Li Zhan. He was a captain with plateau red on his face.

"Get ready, I'll go to the tower." Guo Beimu waved his hand and jumped on the commuter bus and left.

The outfield of Duda Station is very large. The runway alone is more than 3,700 meters long. It is one of the longest runways in the Air Force Station. The altitude is more than 3,000 meters before taking off and crossing the line. The pilot cannot fly without wearing an oxygen mask. The thin air makes the engine efficiency decrease, which is the biggest obstacle.

Li Zhan and Chen Fei immediately started inspecting and accepting the aircraft.

Their acceptance method is very strange-interactive inspection.

In other words, the two of them first inspected Li Zhan's plane and then Chen Fei's plane. This was against the regulations but it was of great significance under special circumstances. For example, now, without pursuing time, no small problem with the two aircraft will escape such multiple inspections.

Before boarding the plane, Li Zhan joked, "Jian Shi and I are like a couple separated by our parents. Although I begged hard, I never got the chance. I finally managed to refit it last year, but I failed on my first solo flight." Something happened and the plane crashed. Later, I worked as an instructor for the Second Division, teaching them low-altitude penetration tactics, and I had the opportunity to fly the J-10 again. Driving the two-seater in the front and riding in the rear cabin went smoothly. Nothing happened. An accident occurred during the first training of a single aircraft, and a bird collision occurred. The J-10 looked really terrible, as if it had been hit by a shotgun, ugh."

"I said it's about to fly, can you say something auspicious?" Chen Fei said dissatisfied.

Li Zhan spread his hands and said, "It is indeed an injustice. I feel so much that I can't help but say a few words."

"Didn't your old battalion commander tell you to drive slowly when asked? In fact, you just have some bad luck, or you can say you are too lucky. In short... forget it, don't say anything unlucky. Already." As he spoke, Chen Fei found that he couldn't go on. What should he say?

At the take-off line of the runway, the J-11B twin formation of Han Hongjun and Li Zixin began to taxi. They taxied for more than 700 meters before raising their noses and leaving the ground. Their aircraft carried a lot of fuel, so they took off first and waited in the training airspace.

"Let's go, no matter what, let's see what the result will be when the stick fights with the J-11, and then we will simulate the tactics commonly used by the F-16."

Li Zhan controlled his excitement and boarded the cockpit of the No. 12 J-10A.

PS: First a big chapter, and I will update it in the early morning.