Dominate South Asia

Now the Tomcats produced in Pakistan have been completely replaced with F110 engines, with a maximum afterburner thrust of 120 kilonewtons, and this engine imported from the Soviet Union has a maximum afterburner thrust of 142 kilonewtons, without afterburner. , is also as high as 84 kilonewtons, while the Tomcat fighter prototype, the TF30 engine, has a maximum afterburning thrust of only 93 kilonewtons.

Therefore, after installing this engine, theoretically speaking, this fighter jet will be able to have supersonic cruise capabilities! An important indicator of the fourth-generation aircraft is supersonic cruise!

This is also related to the aerodynamic layout of the aircraft. If it is a conventional aerodynamic layout, it must have an engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than 10 to be able to cruise at supersonic speeds. The Tomcat is a variable-sweep wing fighter. After skimming, the resistance is greatly reduced, which is very suitable for fast sprinting. Therefore, supersonic cruise can be carried out under the condition of limited engine power!

Supersonic cruise! This means that the fighter plane can quickly reach the battlefield and evacuate the battlefield quickly when leaving the battle. It is not advisable to rely on engine afterburner to enter supersonic speeds like the MiG-25. When afterburner is used, the fuel consumption rate of the engine increases sharply, making it impossible to maintain long-term continuous flight.

"Chief Engineer Yang, aren't you in charge of a new project in China?" Mhammad asked Yang Wei.

"The project has been developed." Yang Wei said to Mhamad: "The two-seat fighter has completed a comprehensive test flight mission and has been successfully finalized. Now, our task is to fully develop our own fourth-generation aircraft. This I mainly asked for the sub-supersonic cruise test. By the time this test is completed, we should be able to determine the selection of our fourth-generation aircraft.”

Fourth generation machine! China's Chengdu Aircraft hopes to develop a dual-issue large version based on the J-10, while Pakistan's proposal is to develop it based on the Tomcat. The two plans are still in the demonstration stage, but now, the results will be out soon.

"Okay, we have selected the model. We can then enter full development." Mhamad said.

Although the variable sweep wing makes the space under the wing unusable and pylons cannot be installed, otherwise a collision will occur when the wing is swept back, the fourth-generation aircraft wants to maintain good stealth performance. The built-in bomb bay must be used, so this is no longer a disadvantage.

Under the attention of everyone, Kamal walked up to the fighter plane. Over the years, Kamal grew into an excellent test pilot and served as the captain of the test flight group. Testing supersonic cruise was an ordinary task for him. But it is an extraordinary mission. This is an ability only possessed by fourth-generation machines!

"Reporting to the President, Pakistan's First Flight Test Group is preparing to conduct a test flight of a modified fighter. Please give instructions, Captain Kamal." Kamal said to Mhamad.

"Scientific and rigorous, you are the releasers of war eagles and the heroes of Pakistan. I wish you a successful return." Mhamad said to Kamal.

"Yes." Kamal replied loudly and stepped onto the fighter plane.

behind him. The radar operator followed him onto the plane, and the two of them made preparations for takeoff in an orderly manner.

With the roar, the two engines at the rear were started, and light blue flames emerged from the tail nozzle. Kamal's mood surged, and he seemed to feel that the engine was about to propel the fighter plane into an extraordinary flight.

After confirming that all data was normal, Kamal turned on the afterburner and released the wheel. Suddenly. A strong pushing sensation came from my back, it was like ejecting from an aircraft carrier!

The two AL-37F engines output nearly 300 kilonewtons of thrust, pushing the Tomcat fighter jet to slide quickly on the runway. It was only about 200 meters before the front wheel had already left the runway.

marvelous! Kamal was experiencing this exciting acceleration. If all engines were replaced with engines of this thrust level, then when taking off from the aircraft carrier, the power of the catapult would not need to be adjusted to the maximum, and it would be able to take off with a full load!

Two hundred meters! The most powerful F-22 in later generations also needs a take-off distance of about 200 meters, and it is the result of having a vector nozzle! However, the current Tomcat does not carry missiles, which is also an important aspect of shortening the take-off distance.

After taking off, Kamal pulled the control stick backward, and the fighter plane climbed upwards quickly. It can be felt that after the new engine was installed, the climb rate of the Tomcat fighter jet has also been greatly improved, surpassing all third-generation aircraft currently in service!

Generally speaking, cruising will be at high altitude. After all, the air at high altitude is thin and the air resistance is small, making it easier to reach high speeds. The maximum speed of all aircraft is reached at the ceiling.

After climbing to an altitude of 15,000 meters, Kamal leveled the fighter plane and looked at the clear sky around him. Kamal was in a good mood. He calmly reported on the radio: "We have reached the predetermined altitude and are ready to start the test!"

The engine's afterburner had been turned off. Kamal pushed the throttle to the maximum, swept the wings back, and the fighter began to sprint forward quickly, getting faster and faster.

The Mach meter in front was constantly turning, Mach 0.6, Mach 0.7, Mach 0.8... Kamal, who was wearing an oxygen mask, had no expression on his face and kept staring at the meter with the corner of his eyes.

When reaching Mach 0.9, a special white airflow appeared at the front of the nose. Then, suddenly, these airflows flowed backwards, and the nose pierced the middle of the airflow and turned into a cone shape! It has exceeded the speed of sound!

The fighter is still accelerating.

1.1 Mach, 1.2 Mach, and finally, it stabilized at 1.3 Mach!

Just like in the computer simulation, after replacing the AL-37F engine with a static thrust of 84 kilonewtons, the Tomcat fighter can reach a speed of 1.3 Mach without turning on the afterburner!

The radar operator in the rear cabin was also paying attention to the screen in front of him. At this time, the screen showed the information of fuel consumption.

Supersonic cruise is not only able to reach supersonic speed without turning on the afterburner, but also needs to maintain this state for at least 20 minutes! This is practical. If you can only cruise at supersonic speed for a few minutes, it is useless.

How long it can be maintained is mainly determined by the fuel consumption rate. The MiG-25 is also a fighter that can cruise at supersonic speed, thereby achieving rapid interception capability, but this capability is exchanged for a huge fuel capacity. The MiG-25 has a fuel capacity of up to 16 tons in its huge fuselage! It is almost heavier than an F-16 fighter with a full load of weapons.

Now, the Tomcat fighter is completely realized by the low-fuel-consumption turbofan engine. The Tomcat fighter is cruising at 1.3 Mach at an altitude of 15,000 meters. If it is a conventional aerodynamic layout, this engine will not allow the fighter to achieve supersonic cruise!

Yang Wei on the ground kept listening to the report in the air. The attitude was normal and the fuel consumption rate was only 10% higher than that of the F110 engine. He had already made a choice in his heart.

The technology of the Tomcat fighter has almost been fully mastered. Developing on this basis seems to be better than the twin-engine enlarged version of the J-10! After all, supersonic cruise means that the fighter can quickly reach the battlefield. For China, which has a vast land area, this ability is even more important. It can completely reduce a large number of front-line airports, reduce the size of the air force, and replace it with a high-quality and capable air force!

The Chinese Air Force has a large fleet, and the number of J-6 fighters is as high as thousands at its peak. But what about the actual combat effectiveness? The simulated air battles with Pakistan showed that the Chinese Air Force had no chance of winning against the Pakistani Air Force.

Now, after many hardships, Chengfei has finally successfully developed the third-generation J-10 fighter, greatly shortening the gap with foreign countries. However, the United States has already started to develop the fourth-generation aircraft! China must continue to develop the fourth-generation aircraft so as not to be left behind.

Stealth and maneuverability are both important, but supersonic cruise capability is also a necessary factor for the fourth-generation aircraft! Although President Muhammad has never conducted professional studies on aircraft design, he is standing at a very high altitude and overlooking it. Every time he puts forward an opinion, it turns out to be correct.

It seems that after I go back, I suggest to Mr. Song that the fourth-generation aircraft should adopt the Pakistani plan!

The test flight in the air is still continuing. Time passes slowly, and the fuel in the aircraft is also slowly consumed.

A total of half an hour of supersonic cruise! This will be recorded in the aviation history of Pakistan! Kamal said to the radio excitedly: "The supersonic cruise test has been completed. Please conduct a maximum speed test before returning!"

"Okay."

Hearing the voice from the headset, Kamal turned on the engine afterburner.

The push back feeling came again, and the speed of the fighter was increasing rapidly.

1.6 Mach, 1.7 Mach, almost soon, it exceeded Mach 2, and continued to accelerate, 2.2 Mach, 2.3 Mach!

In the past, 2.3 Mach was already the maximum speed of this fighter, but now it has exceeded 2.3 Mach. The powerful engine pushed the fighter to continue to accelerate.

2.4 Mach, 2.5 Mach!

"Attention, the speed should not exceed 2.5 Mach!" The voice of the ground commander came from the headset.

"Received." Kamal carefully turned off the afterburner and prepared to return.

Mach 2.5 is the dividing line of the thermal barrier. When the speed is less than Mach 2.5, aerodynamic heating is not serious. Even the temperature of the nose is only over 100 degrees. However, when the speed exceeds Mach 2.5, the temperature of frictional heat will increase sharply. When the speed reaches Mach 3, the temperature will reach 350 degrees Celsius! (~^~)