181: Chapter 181 These carrier-based aircraft aren't cheap.

Chu Ge's joy was short-lived, and he nodded helplessly.

Seeing that the test personnel remained completely unmoved, Wang Wei and the others gave up on their "siege." Only when they turned around did they spot Chu Ge and Commander Li, and they hurried over to greet them.

"Commander Li, Academician Chu!"

"How is it? How did the carrier-based aircraft fly?" Chu Ge asked with a smile.

"Academician Chu, I am officially applying to join the aerospace carrier's carrier-based aircraft team. Flying Dragon One will be my partner from now on."

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

Wang Wei and the others expressed their affection for the carrier-based aircraft in another way. Chu Ge saw this and nodded with a smile.

"As for that, you'll have to go back to your unit to apply. The Heavenly Army has already begun training. The carrier-based aircraft were just developed, so you're a step behind. Once they are officially finalized, I expect the military will open up applications for you."

Chu Ge answered truthfully. The test pilots looked at him with such expectant eyes that he couldn't bear to refuse them.

"Alright, alright. Academician Chu is as busy as a spinning top; he doesn't have time to deal with these matters for you. Just apply through your base later; the official documents haven't been issued yet."

Commander Li stepped in just in time to save Chu Ge from the situation.

"I looked at your flight paths and saw that you performed a few sets of combat tactical maneuvers. How did it feel? I'm referring to the performance of the aircraft as well as your physical reactions."

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Chu Ge asked some questions more relevant to the testing.

"Tactical maneuvers for conventional fighter jets are too simple for these. As for physical aspects, there were no abnormalities. Even during high-speed maneuvers, there was no blacking out or dizziness from lateral G-forces. The flight experience was excellent."

After Wang Wei finished speaking, he looked at his two teammates, who also nodded affirmatively.

"That's good. The aerospace carrier's aircraft don't need too many tactical maneuvers. You can try to grasp them, and then just let the intelligent system execute them. If it exceeds the aircraft's structural limits, the system will automatically level out and return to its original state. You can rest assured about that."

"Oh, right. Below the stratosphere, your maximum speed must not exceed Mach 10. It's not that the aircraft can't handle it, but I'm afraid you pilots can't. This should be in your previous training manuals; just follow that."

In the end, Chu Ge didn't forget to remind the pilots to prioritize safety. When these rules were first established, Chu Ge felt the values were set a bit too conservatively. However, the military believed that safety should be the priority, and since this figure was sufficient within the atmosphere, Chu Ge didn't say anything more.

"Yes, Academician Chu! We will follow the regulations in the flight manual. Rest assured."

"Hmm."

"Alright, continue getting acquainted with it. Remember, I'm only giving you three days. Three days from now, I will return and watch your performance from the combat command center."

"Yes!" Wang Wei and the others saluted Chu Ge in unison. After returning the salute, Chu Ge turned to look at Commander Li.

"Commander, I have other matters at the Research Institute, so I'll be heading back first. See you in three days."

"Alright, Academician Chu, I'll see you off."

"No need. Go check on your soldiers. I think their eyes are about to eat you up, haha."

Chu Ge said to Commander Li with a smile. Commander Li turned to look at Qi Gang and the others, then shook his head.

"Fine. Soldiers shouldn't be bound by trifles. See you in three days, Academician Chu."

Chu Ge nodded and walked towards the motorcade with Captain Gong and the others. He couldn't stay here with these pilots for three days of test flights. Chu Ge just wanted to see what the physical form of his carrier-based aircraft looked like. Having seen it, it was time to go back and continue drawing.

After returning to the Research Institute, Chu Ge didn't go straight to his office but headed to Academician Chen's office instead.

Academician Chen was quite surprised when he saw Chu Ge.

"Little Chu, it's noon already. Why did you rush back? Commander Li is a bit stingy, huh? He should have at least let you eat before coming back."

"Old Chen, it was I who insisted on coming back. Are you on your way to eat? Let's go, we can talk while we walk."

"Alright." Academician Chen readily agreed.

"Little Chu, how did the carrier-based aircraft test flight go?" Academician Chen was anxious; as soon as the two stepped out, he asked.

"I don't think there are any problems. We can prepare to have the Armaments Department place orders with the factory. Of course, we still have to wait for the test data from the factory."

"Then, Little Chu, what do you estimate the cost of this carrier-based aircraft can be controlled at? The Armaments Department needs to have some idea."

"Didn't the factory tell the Armaments Department?"

Chu Ge was a bit puzzled. He originally didn't want to discuss these things with Academician Chen, fearing that Academician Chen might faint...

"The factory doesn't have time to worry about that. The military's order was so urgent that they mobilized all resources just to rush out these few prototypes. Once they are finalized, the factory can verify the specific unit cost based on production numbers."

Academician Chen had to explain the military factory's processes regarding this to Chu Ge; R&D costs are ultimately amortized into the cost of each aircraft.

Therefore, the factory cannot provide a specific quote right now. In the past, it was always done according to the process of project initiation, funding application, R&D, finalization, and actual cost.

"Approximately, approximately 2.2 to 2.5 billion huaxia currency."

"For how many?"

"Just one."

"..." Academician Chen didn't speak for a long time. After they got their food, Chu Ge sat down and began to tuck in, urging Academician Chen to eat while he did so, but Academician Chen didn't pick up his chopsticks for a long time.

"Little Chu, how many carrier-based aircraft were planned?"

"500."

"Can the aerospace carrier hold that many?"

"Are you kidding? It could hold twice as many. I'm not just laying them out on one level; there are three hangar decks."

Chu Ge continued to twist the knife while eating his chicken drumstick. Academician Chen didn't say anything. Later, when recalling this event, Chu Ge vaguely remembered that Academician Chen had been dazed all day and hadn't eaten a single bite of food.

Chu Ge, on the other hand, finished eating quickly, wiped his mouth, and prepared to slip away.

"Little Chu, why did you eat so fast? Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Our carrier-based aircraft is about to enter service; it needs a formal name, right? Go back and think about it." Academician Chen finally remembered the important matter.

"Me again? Actually, I think 'Flying Dragon' is pretty good... Fine, I'll go back and think about it some more."

Academician Chen put on a stern face, and Chu Ge immediately caved.

When Chu Ge went back, he completely forgot about the matter; the Moon Sister was his latest favorite.

Three days passed quickly. Chu Ge got up very early today, dressed himself up with a sense of ceremony, and set off for the Air Force base.

He attached great importance to the carrier-based aircraft's first appearance at sea.

The motorcade drove into the base right on time. Commander Li and the others were already waiting. Chu Ge had always wondered why the Commander and his team timed things so precisely.

After shaking hands warmly, they were led by Commander Li as the group headed toward the base's combat command hall.

On the airport runway not far away, Wang Wei and the others were already standing next to the carrier-based aircraft. The test personnel were conducting pre-flight checks, a routine they never deviated from.

The sun in Yanjing had just peeked over the horizon, and a sea-air confrontation was about to begin in this red morning sun.