123: Dragon Country’s “reputation machine”!

Peng Lin scanned the auditorium, then looked up at the stage.

There were a total of seven seats, and Air Force Commander Liu Yufei and other key Air Force leaders were seated there.

"Commander!"

Peng Lin walked to the vicinity of the stage and saluted General Liu Yufei, the Air Force Commander.

"Chief Engineer Peng, you're here!"

"Please take a seat!"

Commander Liu Yufei immediately smiled upon seeing Peng Lin.

He then guided Peng Lin to an empty seat beside him.

The nameplate on the table at that position read: Chief Technical Consultant Peng Lin!

Not long after Peng Lin took his seat, all the seats in the auditorium were filled, and the main doors slowly closed.

The Air Force attached immense importance to this conference for the preliminary research and project initiation of a new type of fighter jet, with Commander Liu Yufei personally presiding over it.

After the secretary reported that all personnel had arrived, Commander Liu Yufei rose from his seat and stood at the main podium in the center of the stage.

"Comrades, today we gather in the Yan Capital Air Force Research Institute to work together for the Dragon Country Air Force to step into a new era!"

"On behalf of the Air Force Command, I extend the warmest welcome and highest respect to comrade experts from various aviation units across the country, including Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, and Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group!"

Commander Liu Yufei stood at the podium and saluted.

Below in the auditorium, there was a sudden burst of applause, which then instantly ceased.

Everyone's expressions were solemn, their gazes fixed on the stage.

At the same time, at the very front, the large screen lit up.

"Comrades, today, I am very excited to tell you that our Dragon Country has entered the club of world strategic nuclear powers; we now have a say in the world!"

"At the same time, I must unfortunately tell you that the development of world air forces has already entered the era of 'third-generation fighter jets', while our Dragon Country's newest 'second-generation fighter jet', the J-8, has only just completed its maiden flight!"

"Our Air Force fighter jets have not even entered service yet, but they are already lagging behind the world!"

Air Force Commander Liu Yufei said to everyone with a troubled expression.

USA put its third-generation fighter jet, the F-15, code-named "Eagle," into service in 1974!

This was a heavy air superiority fighter, possessing beyond-visual-range air combat capabilities and incredibly powerful maneuverability, hailed as the king of air combat!

In addition, USA also had the affordable and effective third-generation light multi-role fighter jet, the F-16, code-named "Fighting Falcon"!

This third-generation fighter jet possessed extremely strong low-to-medium altitude maneuverability.

If the F-15 "Eagle" was responsible for kicking down the door, then the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" was responsible for sweeping up!

With the combined cooperation of these two third-generation fighter jets, countries without air superiority wouldn't even have a chance to engage USA's ground forces!

Furthermore, Soviet Union's third-generation fighter jets, the Su-27 "Flanker" and the MiG-29, had also completed their maiden flights and were about to enter service!

Only Dragon Country's newest J-8 faced the embarrassing situation of being obsolete upon entering service!

"This year, our big brother, the Army, fought two tough battles for us, bringing stability to our northern and southern borders."

"However, in the East China Sea and South China Sea, our airspace is frequently intruded upon by foreign aircraft, constantly undergoing electronic reconnaissance."

"Our J-7's radar detection range is not even 100 kilometers, which is even less than the range of USA's F-15 fighter jet's air-to-air missiles!"

"This means our J-7 will be shot down by enemy aircraft before it can even detect them!"

"The Air Force has a huge generational gap with powerful enemies; without air superiority, where is our national security?"

"Therefore, with the approval of the Ministry of National Defense and the national senior leadership, the Air Force has been granted 500 million yuan in research and development startup funds for preliminary research on new fighter jets!"

"We must advance towards becoming a major air force, to develop a third-generation fighter jet that benchmarks USA and Soviet Union, a beyond-visual-range, high-maneuverability, multi-role fighter jet capable of countering the F-16!"

"Next, I hope all military industrial units will present their best design proposals and compete for the bid!"

Commander Liu Yufei said to everyone with a serious expression.

Peng Lin listened to Commander Liu's words and nodded silently.

Currently, armies of various countries are evolving towards joint three-dimensional operations involving land, sea, and air, making air superiority increasingly important.

In future wars, the Air Force will inevitably be the first to engage and kick down the door.

Correspondingly, the first part of a nation's territory to be breached will inevitably be its airspace.

Therefore, if Dragon Country wants to compete with superpowers, the development of its Air Force is imperative.

The approval of 500 million Dragon Country currency in startup funds for new fighter jets by the Ministry of National Defense and national senior leaders in one go demonstrates the importance placed on Air Force development!

Just as Peng Lin was lost in thought, in the first row below the stage, a middle-aged man wearing glasses stood up first.

Peng Lin glanced at the nameplate on the table in front of his seat, which clearly stated his position as Chief Designer of Institute 601.

Which was the Chief Engineer of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation!

"Esteemed leaders and comrades, several months ago, after receiving instructions from Air Force leaders, we at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, based on the J-8 platform, proposed an improved design for a J-8 fighter jet with a leading-edge extension wing layout!"

"There are three core improvements!"

"First, aerodynamic upgrade, adopting a large swept leading-edge extension wing layout to enhance transonic maneuverability, with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.85, instantaneous turn rate of 22°/second, performance comparable to the F-16!"

"Second, avionics optimization, replacing with a new 204 fire control radar, with a detection range of 70 kilometers, compatible with the PL-8 short-range dogfight missile!"

"Third, rapid mass production, continuing to use the WP-13 engine, capable of rapidly forming combat capability within 1 year, with a cost of only 40% of a brand-new fighter jet!"

"This plan can bridge the generational gap between our military and the F-16 fighter jet with minimal cost!"

The Chief Designer of Institute 601 presented their design proposal to all attendees and Air Force leaders.

"A detection range of 70 kilometers, still using short-range dogfight missiles?"

"This fighter jet probably falls far short of third-generation fighter standards; it can only be considered a second-and-a-half generation!"

Upon hearing this proposal, Commander Liu Yufei couldn't help but frown deeply.

One must know that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation was the cradle of Air Force fighter jets, the face of Dragon Country in the aviation field, possessing the nation's most excellent fighter jet designers and technological accumulation.

But the new fighter jet proposal put forth by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation had such a huge gap with the world's most advanced fighter jets?

"Are there any other proposals?"

Commander Liu Yufei asked.

After his words, Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group's Chief Engineer Zhang Zhenguo stood up.

"Esteemed leaders, Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group, based on the Q-6 attack aircraft platform, proposes an improved design for a new multi-role fighter-bomber."

"In terms of main features, first, enhanced ground attack capability, retaining the Q-6's armored cockpit and heavy payload capacity, capable of carrying 4 tons of ammunition, but with the addition of a variable-sweep wing structure, increasing high-altitude speed to Mach 1.8!"

"Second, multi-functional integration, can be equipped with a new type of anti-ship search radar, balancing anti-ship and air combat, but the mechanical hydraulic system is complex, and the estimated failure rate will increase by 40%!"

"Third, it also has rapid production capability, continuing to use the WP-15 engine, can be mass-produced within 2 years, but beyond-visual-range capability requires subsequent upgrades!"

Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group's Chief Engineer Zhang Zhenguo said.

His proposal, however, also caused Commander Liu Yufei and other Air Force leaders to shake their heads repeatedly.

Next, dozens of military industrial units from across the country began to present their research and development proposals for the new fighter jet requested by the Air Force.

Peng Lin sat above the stage, diligently recording the design proposals of each military industrial unit.

He found that at this time, the major aviation research institutes in Dragon Country, when faced with the Air Force leaders' request for a new generation of fighter jets, almost all their initial ideas and design proposals were based on improving existing fighter platforms.

And the existing fighter platforms were almost all imitations of Soviet Union and other countries.

In other words, Dragon Country currently did not possess independent research and development capabilities for new fighter jets!

After an entire morning, the Air Force leaders and General Liu Yufei, after listening to the reports from numerous military industrial units, couldn't help but be greatly disappointed!

The Army and missile forces had achieved great success in advanced technical equipment, even catching up with USA and Soviet Union!

This naturally made the Air Force leadership ambitious, wanting to advance towards becoming a major air force!

So they repeatedly guaranteed the Ministry of National Defense and the national leadership, securing an astonishing 500 million in research and development funds!

But who knew that the result would be like this!

They suddenly realized that Dragon Country's aviation industry and technical foundation were simply too poor, and at this stage, it was impossible to develop a third-generation fighter jet!

This was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads!

"Second-generation aircraft, even second-and-a-half-generation aircraft, are simply not worth developing; what we need are third-generation aircraft!"

"If there is no suitable plan, our Air Force would rather give these 500 million funds to our big brother, the Army, or the missile forces!"

Commander Liu Yufei faced everyone and said helplessly.

Below the stage, the scientific researchers from many aviation military industrial units also exchanged glances, revealing helpless expressions.

They had already put forward their best solutions, even incorporating many bold designs and technologies.

But with the technical foundation as it was, they had no other options.

After attending the entire meeting, Peng Lin also generally understood the current development status of Dragon Country's aviation industry.

The Air Force's idea of advancing towards becoming a major air force and initiating the development of the third-generation fighter jet J-10 was a good one.

However, there was nothing to be done; Dragon Country's technology and aviation industry foundation were simply too poor at the moment.

Even since the founding of the nation, it had never independently developed a fighter jet, always following the path of imitation!

Now, suddenly asking various military industrial units to independently develop one of the world's most advanced third-generation fighter jets was indeed somewhat impossible!

After all, according to Peng Lin's memory, the J-10 only entered service with the Air Force in 2004!

However, this also explains why the J-10 fighter jet was called the Air Force's "aircraft of pride"!

"Commander, I also have a new fighter jet design proposal!"

"I'd like to present a report to everyone!"

Peng Lin suddenly stood up and said to the crowd.