Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 208 The Bidding Conference for Three Bombers

Inside a room at the guesthouse.

"Old Gu, they've all gone to find Qin Liang, let's go too!" Engineer Li said anxiously.

"Sigh, it's probably no use looking for it." Old Gu said, "Qin Liang is a boy with his own opinions. If he wants to support a project, he will definitely support it. If he doesn't support a project, no matter what we say, he still won't support it. Take our idea to improve the J-8 with a double delta wing, for example. He just didn't support it, did he?"

Everyone looked grim.

"This Qin Liang definitely has a problem with us. He's all smiles and friendly to other organizations, but he immediately puts on a completely different face when it comes to us! He asked us for a lot of money just for modifying the nose of the aircraft, but now, when we're modifying the trainer aircraft for Base 011, we haven't heard them ask for any money!"

They definitely wanted the money, but they deliberately ignored it, or thought that asking for too little money was insignificant.

In short, the conclusion is that Qin Liang has a prejudice against them!
"That's not entirely true," said Old Gu. "Qin Liang has his own ideas; he's just sticking to them."

"Oh, Mr. Gu, if you don't want to go, then forget it. We'll go over there."

"You're going to find Qin Liang?"

"No, let's go find Qin Liang's wife!"

Since Qin Liang is too difficult to win over, let's start with his wife! Prepare some things women like...

"Don't go! Do you know who Qin Liang's wife is? She's a foreigner, she's traveled all over Europe and America, she's seen all sorts of good things. Do you think the things you're giving her will even catch her eye? Besides, do you think she'll accept the gifts and speak well of us to Qin Liang, or do you think Qin Liang will listen to his wife on these matters?"

Old Gu's face darkened. Qin Liang was not the kind of person who would accept favors. Look at how well he made money; why would he care about the gifts we gave him? He certainly wouldn't support our project because of these gifts!
Everyone fell silent, and the night seemed to last forever.

The next day, in the conference room at the airport terminal.

"Distinguished leaders, the project we are developing at Institute 611 is an improvement on the J-8. As we all know, our J-8 has first-class high-altitude and high-speed performance. Looking at this era, many bombers follow the high-altitude and high-speed route. We have improved this aircraft based on the J-8, which can easily break through the enemy's air defense network..."

After all, 611 is the senior player in military aircraft development, so they were the first to report on the project. However... while Old Gu was reporting, he would occasionally turn around and glance at Qin Liang. It was unclear whether Qin Liang supported the project.

Qin Liang's influence in the Air Force is growing, and the Air Force will absolutely support whatever he says.

"Liangzi, you tell us!" Sure enough, after Old Gu finished his introduction, Old Lin started calling on people.

Qin Liang quickly waved his hand: "Old Lin, there are so many experts here, why did you pick on me right away? I'm just a sophomore, what kind of knowledge do I have? Besides, your Air Force leaders must have had their own ideas for a long time, right? If you don't say anything, are you going to make me offend people? I'm afraid I'll get beaten up when I get out of here!"

Hearing Qin Liang's words, the people from Shenyang were utterly disheartened. The implication was too obvious: Qin Liang didn't support them!

If I support this, will I go out and get beaten up?
Old Li looked at the back of Qin Liang's head with a complicated expression. He had to admit that he really had the urge to hit him with a brick.

"Good, with that, we feel more at ease," said Elder Lin. "Next, the second project, Institute 603, please introduce your H-7 project!"

"You... " Qin Liang shook his head helplessly. Old Lin, you're really a swindler!
Old Chen stepped forward: "Distinguished leaders, our H-7 project is a bomber with a maximum takeoff weight of 28 tons, powered by two Spey engines. Its biggest feature is its long range, exceeding 3,000 kilometers, and a maximum payload of 6.5 tons..."

The group of people from Shenyang felt their hearts sink.

The J-8 is designed for high-altitude, high-speed flight. No matter how it's modified, its payload capacity won't be very strong, with a maximum payload of no more than four tons. The H-7, on the other hand, has a payload of 6.5 tons, far exceeding its capabilities, and its range is unmatched. As for its high-altitude, high-speed capabilities…

Now that we're almost in the 1980s, who cares about high-altitude, high-speed capabilities?
What matters now is mobility!

It seems our project is destined to fail.

"Liangzi, what do you think of this project?"

Old Lin is ripping people off again!

Qin Liang glanced at him with a hint of helplessness, and then saw the concerned looks from Elder Lu and the others.

Qin Liang came back yesterday and talked to Old Chen and the others for a long time. I don't know what they talked about. Could it be that he supported the H-7 project?
"Ahem, I have no objection, it's up to the Air Force."

Old Lin smiled and said, "Alright, Old Lu, come up and introduce yourselves!"

"Distinguished leaders, our twin-engine Q-6 project utilizes variable-sweep wings to achieve excellent performance across all airspace, enabling both high-altitude, high-speed penetration and low-altitude, high-speed penetration. Regarding the engine, we have two options: if the military prioritizes range, we'll use the Spey engine; if the military prioritizes speed, we'll use the WP-15 turbojet engine."

That's it, now the 611 has even less hope. In terms of high-altitude, high-speed performance, the J-8 can't even beat the twin-engine Q-6! The Tomcat is equipped with the WP-15 turbojet, which can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.5. What can the J-8 be equipped with? It can't beat it no matter what it is!

The people from Shenyang are utterly disappointed. This time, they'll just be there to make up the numbers again!
"As for the cabin layout, we also have two options: either tandem two-seat or side-by-side two-seat."

In fact, with the advancement of avionics technology, the need for side-by-side two-seat configurations will become increasingly smaller. Look at later generations; fighter-bombers are all tandem two-seat aircraft.

The most distinctive feature of the latter layout is that it reduces the windward area. When two people sit side by side, the horizontal width is definitely large. Even if the front and back of this row are distributed at different heights, the windward area can be reduced through careful design.

However... whether an aircraft is good or not is not determined by the aircraft development unit, but by the users!
Just like some car companies in later generations, they hire people to boast about how great their cars are every day. Unfortunately, consumers don't understand cars. The only indicator of whether a car is good or not is how many units it sells! They are always immersed in their own world and don't study their customers. They will always be a niche brand with few customers!

The same applies to airplanes.

There's no way around it, the Air Force just likes side-by-side two-seaters. If we want the Air Force to invest, we have to meet their needs. They want side-by-side two-seaters, so let's go for it!
Sure enough, when Elder Lu said that, the eyes of the air force personnel present widened.

"Our aircraft will have a maximum takeoff weight of forty tons. With a curb weight of twenty tons, it can carry twelve tons of fuel and eight tons of ammunition..."

Eight tons, eight tons!
It's important to understand that the H-6 bomber, a dedicated bomber, has a maximum payload of only nine tons! Its normal flight payload is only about three tons. Now, a fighter-bomber has a payload of eight tons, which is absolutely incredible!
"How is that possible?" Old Li couldn't help but ask, "Even the Tomcat's maximum takeoff weight is only thirty-three tons. Your twin-engine Q-6 is just a copy of the Tomcat. How could it be improved by so much?"

"Ahem, we did refer to some Tomcat design ideas during the research and development process, but it was definitely not copied. It is a completely new product developed by us. Our research and development goal is to provide the navy and air force with an advanced fighter-bomber! We will provide whatever the navy and air force need, rather than just giving them whatever we have on hand."

The people from the north turned pale; these words were practically a sarcastic remark directed at them!

Old Lu said this to help Qin Liang out of his predicament. If he wanted to be jealous, he should be jealous of our Factory 320. We are absolutely not afraid. There is no need for Qin Liang to incite hatred.

"Old Li, keep going!"

"Our aircraft will be equipped with advanced avionics, a high-power radar installed in the nose with terrain mapping capabilities, and fly-by-wire flight control, which will allow for coordinated operation during ultra-low-altitude penetration and a pull-up mechanism when encountering obstacles, greatly reducing the pilot's workload."

The J-8 is hydraulically driven, the H-7 has a simple stabilization system, only the twin-engine Q-6 uses fly-by-wire control, which shows that they have thoroughly understood the Tomcat's design!
"We will also strengthen the airframe structure, giving it a 9G overload capacity..."

The eyes of the Air Force leaders kept shining.

In terms of payload, the H-6 bomber would be sufficient. However, the H-6 is a large aircraft with no self-defense capabilities. Without fighter jets accompanying it, it wouldn't dare to go to high-risk areas. Now, the twin-engine Q-6 is not only a bomber with an amazing payload capacity, but it can also transform into a fighter jet at any time, dropping its bombs and protecting itself! 9G overload capability, how many aircraft in China can do that?
Even if the engine is not powerful enough to give this big guy a thrust-to-weight ratio of more than 1, it still has excellent horizontal maneuverability thanks to the advantage of variable sweep wings. It can fight enemy aircraft in the horizontal direction and protect itself!
This dual-engine, high-performance 6 is the most suitable choice for us!

After the three design firms presented their projects, it was time for discussion.

"Based on the performance comparison of the three options, I believe that the twin-engine Q-6 is the best one. Whether it is the payload, penetration capability, or self-defense capability, it is first-class. Moreover, there is also a side-by-side two-seat option, which should be our best choice!"

"That's right. The performance of the twin-engine Q-6 has reached world-class level. Our air force should fully support this project and make up for our regrets as soon as possible!"

Everyone was full of praise.

"Gentlemen, the twin-engine Q-6 has good performance, but we also need to consider whether we can develop such a bomber with our current aviation industrial base. Not to mention anything else, can we even manufacture that wing box?"

Old Li stepped forward. He wanted to tell everyone that setting overly high technical targets was unrealistic and like launching a satellite!

If you can't build it, it's all for nothing!
These words poured cold water on everyone in the meeting room. Yes, slogans alone are useless; we have to actually create them!

However... we have the engine, the radar, and the avionics, but it seems like all we're missing is this wing box.

“We use stainless steel,” Mr. Lu answered decisively. “Our aircraft is similar in shape to the Tomcat, but it weighs a ton more because we cannot master the processing technology of titanium alloys, so we need to use stainless steel. At the same time, this can also greatly reduce the cost of our aircraft.”

Tomcat's titanium alloy wing box is its most classic design, for which vacuum electron beam welding technology was specially developed. Although it is light, it is expensive. One or two tons of titanium alloy, how much does that cost? One or two tons of stainless steel, that's just a few dollars!

The Americans made the Blackbird out of titanium alloy, and only a few dozen were ever produced. The Russians, on the other hand, made the MiG-25 out of stainless steel, and they produced them everywhere!

The biggest problem with the twin-engine Q-6 and other aircraft is its cost! Therefore, Factory 320 must find a way to solve this cost problem, and stainless steel is a very good solution!
"Of course, we have also decided to use composite materials in some parts of the aircraft, such as some skin panels, to reduce weight. Twenty tons is our design target, and our final product may be even lighter than that," Mr. Lu continued.

Old Li fell silent.

"Fly-by-wire flight control is a new technology, and we don't have similar technology in China yet. Will using new technology rashly prolong the development cycle of this product, or even cause it to fail due to excessive technical difficulty?"

“Yes, fly-by-wire flight control is new, but it is an inevitable trend in the development of the aviation industry. If we want to have first-class aircraft, we must adopt fly-by-wire flight control.” Old Lu said, “Fortunately, Northwestern Polytechnical University is already conducting preliminary research. We can take advantage of Northwestern Polytechnical University’s efforts and directly transplant their fly-by-wire operating hardware. As for the software, we can write it ourselves.”

These are not new technologies; Northwestern Polytechnical University has already conducted preliminary research on them!
"Yes, we have faith in Northwestern Polytechnical University's research and development capabilities. Right now, without fly-by-wire controls, an aircraft really can't go out and greet other countries." Old Lin nodded.

What other shortcomings does the twin-engine Q6 have?
A group of people racked their brains but found that they simply couldn't get it out!
"Alright, now, on behalf of the Air Force, I announce that the twin-engine Q-6 is the best choice for the Air Force's ground attack aircraft!" Old Wang said, "The project has been officially approved and will now enter the specific development phase. The Air Force will write a report to the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry and allocate ten million yuan to you."

"Distinguished leaders, what can ten million even cover?" Old Lu exclaimed anxiously. How many billions did the J-8 project cost? And here we only get a mere ten million?

“Old Lu, your Factory 320 earns US dollars, and you have foreign trade projects. This R&D funding is just a drop in the ocean for you,” Old Lin said.

Qin Liang sat calmly to the side, knowing full well that the Air Force would do just that. After all, the Air Force in this era was truly poor. Lacking funds, yet wanting to undertake more projects, it naturally needed to increase revenue and cut costs.

"That's right, Lao Lu, you need to understand the difficulties of the Air Force."

Old Li laughed and said, "It's no big deal that we didn't win the bid for this project. Even if we had, the Air Force wouldn't have given us any funding anyway."

Wait, we failed the bid not because our project was not good, but because the Air Force did not want to pay. Of the three bidding units, only your Factory 320 earns foreign exchange. Since you have earned money, of course you have to subsidize the Air Force!
At that moment, they felt much more at ease.

"Once you develop it, the Air Force will purchase at least a hundred!" Old Wang said from above, "The Air Force won't let you suffer losses!"

"Then...then the Air Force must also agree to our request that our Factory 320 has the authority to sell this twin-engine Q-6 fighter jet we have developed!" Old Lu said. "The Air Force's order of a mere hundred aircraft is simply not enough to cover our huge R&D costs. Moreover, when the Air Force makes the purchase, they will try their best to drive down the price, reducing it to our production costs plus a small profit. We simply cannot cover our huge R&D costs."

They have become accustomed to market competition and know how to seek their own interests.

If the Air Force insists on secrecy and can only use it internally, then the Air Force will fully fund the research and development, and Factory 320 will not take that risk. If the Air Force does not want to give more money and only gives ten million as a token amount, then Factory 320 will have to sell the aircraft!
The air force leaders exchanged glances, then all looked at Qin Liang.

Did you come up with this idea, kid?

"Leaders, I don't know anything about this. Please don't wrong me!" Qin Liang said anxiously.

"Distinguished leaders, we only exchanged a few words with Comrade Qin Liang at the entrance of the guesthouse yesterday. Before we could even get to the point, Old Chen and his group intercepted us," said Old Lu. "This is the opinion of our Factory 320, and it really has nothing to do with Qin Liang."

The Air Force leaders' expressions softened.

"Okay, our Air Force agrees, but you have to guarantee that our version for internal use is better than the version for export, only then will it be acceptable."

"This can be restricted in the software. For exported aircraft, the terrain matching and other programs will definitely block it," said Old Lu. "What we use ourselves must be more advanced than what's abroad."

"Yeah, sure!"

Looking at the time, a whole morning has passed. To be able to make a decision in just one morning is already quite efficient.

and many more!

The people from Institute 603 didn't even refute it?

Just now, they were very quiet. When they heard that the Air Force was only willing to provide 10 million in research and development funding, they even breathed a sigh of relief.

Something's strange, there must be something strange!
Qin Liang was snatched away by the people from Institute 603, they must have given him some bad advice, right?
"Okay, it's almost time, let's go to the airplane terminal cafeteria together!"

Whoosh! Qin Liang was the first to rush out: "Leaders, you all eat, I'll go back and eat!"

This guy actually ran away?

"Old Lin, don't try to get Comrade Qin Liang drunk anymore. Look, he's got a psychological trauma from it!"

Old Lin chuckled. Psychological trauma? Hmph, he didn't believe it at all. This guy had something to hide!
Old Lin deliberately lagged behind the others, and sure enough, Old Chen came over.

"Mr. Lin, after lunch, do you have time this afternoon? We have a new project that we'd like to report to the Air Force."

"What project?"

"Yun-9".

Sure enough, Qin Liang is relentless in achieving his goals! He tried to sell the transport aircraft plan to the Air Force, but was rejected due to insufficient funding. Now, he's urging the 603 Institute to come over?
　PS: We're still hesitant about whether to get the J-8 and JH-7 carrying bombs. If you readers strongly request it, we'll get it working later as a low-cost naval and export bomber.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)