Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The Q-6 was a project that Factory 320 already had. Lu Meng's mission here was to introduce the Q-6, so everything went smoothly. Even Pellehac would never suspect anything.

The model, data, and information were all so complete that it looked like it was developed in-house, with no connection to the Tomcat fighter.

"Your Q-6 is truly a product of that era's thinking," Pellehac said after listening to the introduction. "However, I've been listening for a while, and I keep hearing about the single-engine Q-6, which seems different from the one you're test-flying now."

"Yes, we mainly introduced the single-engine Q-6 to you. This is all declassified information. As for the twin-engine modified Q-6 that's flying now, it's the final product and highly confidential, so we can't give you too many details."

Lu Meng had completed his mission, and now it was Qin Yang's turn to bluff.

"Highly confidential? So, you can't tell me anything?" Pellehac's expression turned gloomy again.

"Of course, we can't tell you specific secrets. We can only say some simple things," Qin Yang said. "What do you want to know?"

"What engines do you use?" Pellehac began to ask questions.

He had been to the East several times, was most familiar with it, and knew what the East lacked most.

"What engines can we use? We use whatever we have," Qin Yang replied bluntly.

"Spey?"

"Actually, the Spey is also suitable for your Tomcat upgrades, at least more reliable than the TF30," Qin Yang cleverly changed the subject.

Everyone who had contact with the Tomcat praised it as a good plane, but unfortunately, the engine was not powerful enough. Grumman also knew this, and there had always been plans to change the engine.

The British were indeed very good at aero engines. The American Allison Company also introduced the Spey that year and used American technology to improve it into the TF41, which was used on the A7 attack aircraft. Grumman also took a fancy to it and wanted to use the afterburning version on the Tomcat.

However, this project did not materialize. The biggest problem was that the Spey engine was weak at high altitudes, and one of the Tomcat fighter's main missions was long-range interception.

Now, as the US Air Force's third-generation engines gradually matured, Grumman planned to use the F110 to improve the Tomcat, calling it the F-14D. This model not only freed the Tomcat from the problem of not being able to control the throttle at will, but also gave the Tomcat more powerful performance, providing a thrust-to-weight ratio of more than 1 in air combat, allowing the Tomcat to be comfortable in close-range dogfights.

Qin Yang's suggestion was useless to Grumman, but it had already served to change the subject. Pellehac no longer dwelled on the engine and continued to change the question.

"What material is your wing box made of?"

"I don't know," Qin Yang looked at Lu Meng. "Engineer Lu, what wing box does our Q-6 use?"

"The Q-6 uses stainless steel." For Lu Meng, this was not a secret. The Q-6 had already been canceled, so what couldn't be said?

"Stainless steel? I'm afraid this will add a lot of weight to the plane, right?"

"What can we do? We don't have advanced materials. Besides, many of the old Maozi's variable-sweep wing fighters use stainless steel. It's fine as long as it works."

The East obtained a MiG-23 through some means, which was not a secret. Many of the Q-6's technologies came from the MiG-23.

The old Maozi was willing to use titanium alloy to make submarines, but was unwilling to use titanium alloy to build airplanes. The MiG-25 was stainless steel, and the MiG-23's wing box was also stainless steel.

Pellehac relaxed. The wing box was the key to the variable-sweep wing. If the Easterners used stainless steel, the plane's dead weight would be very large, and they were also using the Spey engine, which lacked thrust. Therefore, even if the appearance was the same as the Tomcat, it would not have the Tomcat's performance.

"What about the variable-sweep wing control system? I saw the wings sweep back after the plane took off. Is it controlled by a computer with stepless adjustment?"

"How is that possible? We don't have that kind of technology," Qin Yang shook his head. "I can be sure of this. I've been in the cockpit. There's a variable-sweep wing adjustment knob inside, fixed in several different positions. What you saw must have been the result of the pilot's manual adjustment."

"What about the avionics system?"

"Qin, I really want to take a look. Can you think of a way for me?"

"I'm afraid of losing my head. Let's go. I'll take you to taste the local specialties. There are many delicious things here. Engineer Lu, please inform my wife."

Nie Xiaoqian had actually been waiting nearby all along. If there were any unexpected situations, it would be convenient to save the situation. She didn't expect Qin Yang to easily fool Pellehac. The other party no longer dwelled on the matter of imitating the Tomcat, so it could be considered over.

Next, she would go with Brother Yang to eat good food!

Soon, the group arrived at a restaurant.

"Boss, bring us steamed pork with rice flour, stir-fried artemisia selengensis with cured pork, and a bowl of rice noodles for each person."

Brother Yang was indeed amazing. It was his first time here, but he was already familiar with the local cuisine.

Steamed pork with rice flour didn't look like much, just a pile of meat chunks covered in flour. However, with one bite, it was fatty but not greasy, and the aroma of the meat lingered in the mouth. Pellehac gave a thumbs up, delicious!

Next was the stir-fried dish. When it was served, Pellehac looked at the green plant stems in the dish: "I seem to smell the scent of aquatic plants."

"That's right, this artemisia selengensis grows in Poyang Lake," Qin Yang introduced. "In the past, it was first eaten by fishermen, and later it became a local specialty. The fresh, fragrant, and sweet artemisia selengensis is combined with lean cured pork, and the taste is very unique. By the way, I'll take you to Poyang Lake for a tour this afternoon."

Finally, the mixed noodles were served. Looking at the noodles in the plate, Pellehac nodded: "These noodles look pretty good."

"Mr. Pellehac, these aren't noodles. These are rice noodles. They're made by grinding rice into powder. In our south, we use rice noodles instead of wheat flour."

Pellehac was surprised. The Easterners were really extensive in their research when it came to food. Rice could even be eaten as noodles!

The delicate and tender rice noodles had become very soft after being boiled in water. After being mixed with soy sauce, scallions, and other seasonings, the rice noodles absorbed the sauce. Taking a bite, the taste was really good.

Nie Xiaoqian quietly ate her food, enjoying the wonderful life with Qin Yang.