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

Chapter 226: Has the East broken free from imitation and is now able to design fighter jets independently?

David Country, IAI Aircraft Company.

A row of computers manufactured by Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) were placed in the computer room. By connecting them to hard drive enclosures, the research and development results from NPU could be utilized.

Ovadia Harari, who had spent a few days in jail, felt no guilt whatsoever. In their eyes, it wasn't theft; Easterners didn't deserve such advanced technology, and the best things in the world should belong to them, the Davidians.

Of course, those are all ideals. The most important thing now is to build the airplane!
"The design drawings are complete, and we can start building the prototype based on them!" Harari sighed again. "Unfortunately, we've lost access to cheap processed products from the East, so we have to ask the United States for help."

“Yes, we’ll contact American aircraft companies immediately; there’s bound to be some willing to manufacture for us.” Roots nodded. “However, to make it more intuitive, should we build a wooden model based on the design drawings?”

“We should build one!” Harari nodded. “Let’s get a visual impression first.”

Time flies when you're working, and finally, the wooden prototype of the Lion fighter jet was built in the IAI company's factory.

With its slightly flattened nose, pitot-style air intakes, and bubble-shaped cockpit, the forward fuselage easily evokes the image of an F-16 fighter jet. However, the canards below the cockpit and the large delta wing at the rear reveal its distinct identity.

This is an advanced fighter jet with a canard configuration!
“Excellent, truly beautiful!” Roots nodded in satisfaction. “Old Dassault once said that a good plane must be a beautiful plane, but none of the Mirage planes are good-looking. Our Lion fighter jet is the most beautiful in the world!”

"Yes, it's really beautiful!" Harari's eyes were full of amazement, as if the fighter jet in front of him was more beautiful than his wife who worked in Mossad!
"Report, the chief engineer of General Dynamics is flying to our Great David Country. Air traffic control can't arrange an airport, so they want to coordinate a landing at our airport in IAI!"

"Really? That's wonderful! We welcome you!"

David's country is small, and its civil aviation airport is not very large, making it difficult to cope with temporary increases in flights. IAI Company manufactures airplanes and has its own runways, and occasionally helps to temporarily receive civil aircraft, especially private planes from other aircraft companies.

So when Chiralk got off the plane, he saw the engineers from IAI.

"Mr. Chiralk, welcome to the Kingdom of David! As a renowned fighter engineer and the founder of the Fighter Mafia, would you be so kind as to take a look at our self-developed Lion fighter jet?" Roots extended an invitation.

Chiralk had originally planned to go straight to Raphael's company, but there was no need to rush such matters, so he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's go take a look."

In the workshop.

Upon seeing the Lion fighter jet model for the first time, Chiralk was furious: "How could you copy the nose design of our F-16?"

In the military industry, there has never been such a thing as patent rights. If something is copied by skill, how can you pay patent fees?
"Ahem, this is not plagiarism. When we were developing this brand-new fighter jet, we completely broke away from the shadow of the Kfir. In order to find a new aerodynamic layout, we selected different wing and air intake layouts and spent tens of thousands of hours in the wind tunnel to get this shape. It can only mean that we arrived at the same goal by different means."

Harari quickly explained, "Besides, the back is completely different. We use a canard aerodynamic layout, while you use a conventional layout."

For an aircraft, the most important part is not the nose, but the wings! The wings directly determine the overall performance of the aircraft!

“Our aircraft design is complete, and the next step is to produce a prototype. Due to the limited production capacity of our aircraft factory, most of the parts need to be manufactured in the United States. If you are interested, you can help us produce the fuselage and wings,” Roots quickly added.

Chiralk breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course, that's no problem. Just send us the design drawings, and we can help you with production."

After the F-16 completed its development, various modification projects followed.

In the mid-1970s, General Dynamics converted an F-16 into a CCV (Continuous Control Vehicle) demonstrator by installing two fully movable canards under the fuselage air intake.

Indeed, the canard below the air intake looks quite unusual. It's unclear what the designer was thinking. It's likely that the F-16 has a strake wing that creates vortices, so this canard was only used to improve handling. As for its effectiveness, it probably wasn't very good. It was only tested 87 times, for a total of 125 hours, before being hastily terminated.

In the 1980s, the F-16 also test-flew the XL demonstrator with a double delta wing layout. The results of this test flight were quite good. The large wing area greatly increased the fuel carrying capacity, the ferry range was up to 4,000 kilometers, and some performance was also improved. Unfortunately, it still lost the competition with the F-15 and was never put into production.

Now that they have the data on the canard configuration from the United States, General Dynamics can also try modifying the F-16 to adopt a canard configuration. Chiralk was certainly willing to help with the research and development.

"Okay, then we'll give you the design drawings for the parts that need to be produced."

What? Chiralk was stunned: "You already have the complete set of design drawings?"

David's military industry sounds impressive, but in reality... for such a small country, it's absolutely impossible to develop a complete system. Take aviation technology, for example; they don't even have a wind tunnel. They can only patch up existing fighter jets, let alone develop entirely new ones!
"Yes."

"How did you manage to do that? How could you guarantee the reliability of the aerodynamic shape without our help? And the design of the fuselage is not easy. Without top-notch design capabilities, the fuselage structure can easily have problems."

“We…” Roots took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth: “Our overall design relies entirely on the East.”

Chiralk's eyes widened: "Designed by Easterners?"

He hadn't expected that the East already possessed such advanced technology!
No matter how advanced the Super-7 is, it's still based on the MiG-21 with some modifications, which is fine. But the Lion fighter jet in front of us is different; it's a completely new design!
In the entire world, there are no more than ten countries capable of developing entirely new aircraft, and no more than five countries capable of independently developing third-generation fighter jets! The East's fighter jet development capability is terrifyingly strong!

"Yes, we worked at Northwestern Polytechnical University for a few months. Their R&D capabilities are very strong. They have top-notch computers and supporting design software. Once the shape is designed, the software can automatically calculate relevant parameters such as strength and aerodynamics."

"Do you have any on hand?" Chiralk was stunned again.

In this era, even the Russians design airplanes using drawing boards, with hundreds of people wielding drawing rulers in a large room—it's quite a sight! And now the East has already started computer-aided design?
"Have!"

Inside the computer room, Chiralk stared in awe at the rows of microcomputers. Almost all computer-aided design internationally now uses minicomputers, yet these Easterners were using microcomputers! The advantage of these machines was that each person could have one!
Everyone can participate in the design process, which will naturally improve efficiency. If the design can be automatically calculated after it is completed, that would be even better!

"Can we copy this program?"

This... America's best military aircraft design company actually resorts to piracy?
Harari frowned: "It's fine for you to copy it, but... this computer was made by the Easterners themselves. Although the chip it uses is very similar to the 8086 chip, we can't guarantee that the program will be compatible. The Easterners are very shrewd; if they tamper with the program, it will occasionally malfunction when ported to other computers..."

In aircraft design, a single error in a critical data point can mean the entire project has to be scrapped and started over!
Chiralk shook his head helplessly: "Alright, then we'll just buy directly from the East."

Roots nodded: "It would be best if you purchased from the East, but... after you bring them back, you can contact Intel. As long as you can confirm that the chip used is indeed the 8086, you can lodge a strong protest against the East's piracy, or even sue them in court."

The Davidians are the most cunning people in the world! They want to take advantage of others while also trying to cheat them! And on the surface, they do all this in accordance with basic world principles, since they set most of these principles themselves.

After a moment's thought, Chiralk said, "We can contact Intel. Whether or not to pursue the responsibility of the Asians for piracy is up to Intel's own choice."

In developed Western countries, patent laws are very comprehensive, but in the East, they simply don't exist! To file an appeal in a Western court and then have extraterritorial jurisdiction? This was the 1980s! The Americans' reach wasn't that far; they still had to extend a hand of friendship towards the East.

Before even arriving at Rafael Corporation, Chiralk suddenly lost interest. The advanced technology of the East had far exceeded his expectations! He now believed that the Easterners could indeed produce things like helmet-mounted sights and high-off-axis air-to-air missiles.

However... precisely because of this, it's even more important to put pressure on the Easterners through Raphael Company. The contract stipulates that it cannot be sold, and that's final! Even if they improve it, it's still David's technology!
In the computer room of the Fifth Department Building at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Zhao Xiaoxia excitedly said, "Qin Liang, you're finally back! We've completed the modification design of the J-8 fighter jet. They've already brought back the design blueprints from Shenyang to start building the aircraft. Our team..."

Below, pairs of eyes turned to them. Having completed two projects in a row, they were all exclaiming how satisfying it was, and now they really didn't want to leave. Were there any new projects?

"Next, we received an even more important research and development project," Qin Liang said. "This project may take six months to a year..."

"Long live!"

"I can stay at Northwestern Polytechnical University again!"

The students at the Capital Aviation Academy were incredibly excited.

"Qin Liang, can we use the research and development projects we've been assigned as our graduation thesis?"

"Qin Liang, can we postpone our registration until the time when we are assigned to our universities? No, no, we're not graduating! We're going to take the postgraduate entrance exam and go to Northwestern Polytechnical University!"

The teachers from the Capital University of Aeronautics and Astronautics had complicated expressions. Northwestern Polytechnical University's momentum had far surpassed theirs. Indeed, having projects was remarkable!

Professor Yu asked with a complicated expression, "Qin Liang, what's the next project?"

"We are developing a brand-new third-generation light fighter jet," Qin Liang said. "This aircraft is designed entirely to rival the F-16, featuring a large leading-edge extension and clipped delta wing layout, a single engine and single vertical tail, dual side air intakes, longitudinal digital fly-by-wire, and mechanical controls in other directions..."

Everyone's eyes widened.

Newly developed, third-generation lightweight aircraft!

This project is quite challenging, but... everyone loves it!

"Regarding the engine, we are currently tentatively set on the American-made F404, which is the engine used in the J-8. We have the technical data."

If the technical route is unknown, then various complex layouts must be proposed first, and then an optimal solution must be found, which will waste a lot of time.

Now, without needing to compare, we can directly take the aircraft design schemes from later generations and design according to these schemes, which will save us a lot of detours and work! Completing an aircraft design in one year sounds incredible, but it is entirely possible.

Moreover, after several projects, they have gained a wealth of design experience!

"This project is led by Professor Sha. At the same time, our Department of Northwestern Polytechnical University will also add several graduate programs. All senior students who work here can be recommended to graduate programs in our Department of Northwestern Polytechnical University."

So-called graduate students are nothing more than disguised slaves. Once you're in graduate school, you hardly attend classes anymore; you're almost always working on projects. Most of the projects assigned by your advisor are done by the students, and it's no different now. As for choosing Professor Sha…

After all, Professor Sha was the main force behind the development of the double delta wing. He put in a lot of effort to improve the performance of the J-7, so of course this light fighter project should be handed over to him.

"No, let Professor Yu do it!" Professor Sha immediately said, "Professor Yu once led the development of the new machine, he has the most experience."

This time is different from the previous times; it's a completely new development!

Previously, it was all about patching things up. Even the J-9 project was based on the research and development experience of Institute 611 for many years!

Since we lack experience and are conducting entirely new research and development, we need to find someone who has led projects before to take the lead, and Professor Yu is the best choice.

Professor Yu quickly waved his hand: "Old Sha, this is a project from your Northwestern Polytechnical University, and you have the most extensive research and development experience. Moreover, we old colleagues have been here for quite some time, so next... we should go back and take back all the experience and technology we have learned here!"

The Capital Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is indeed outdated; the technology here is the most advanced! These teachers can no longer contribute to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

After Professor Yu finished speaking, he looked at Qin Liang.

"Qin Liang, we have observed that our biggest weakness is still the lack of engines. The high-thrust engines have already been handed over to relevant units for development, but as for the medium-thrust engines... our Capital Aviation Academy wants to take on that!"

They're leaving, and they want to take the project back with them!

The J-7, J-8, and JF-17 all require medium-thrust engines! Currently, they rely entirely on foreign purchases, while domestically they still have to use outdated turbojet engines! Even with advanced turbine blades that increase thrust, fuel consumption and other issues remain major problems!

"This..." Qin Liang was momentarily speechless. Although Northwestern Polytechnical University has money, we can't just hand it over to you for research and development! Please ask the relevant higher authorities to approve the project?

"We will apply to the relevant higher authorities for project funding, as this is urgently needed in China. We just hope to take all the data on RB199 and F404 from Northwestern Polytechnical University."

"Of course, no problem." Qin Liang nodded, thinking they wanted money, but it turned out they just wanted the information!

"However... how do you plan to solve the funding problem?"

"The WS-6 project has been cancelled, and a new large-thrust project is underway, requiring preliminary research at each level. The WS-6 R&D team at Factory 410 seems to have nothing to do. We plan to collaborate with them so that we won't have to worry about funding."

Qin Liang's eyes widened: "How did you come up with this idea?"

"I learned it from you! You should definitely take advantage of the deals in Shenyang!"

Qin Liang certainly remembered that after the WS-6 project was cancelled, the original R&D team had nothing to do. Without projects, the team would fall apart! So, they set their sights on replacing the engines of the J-7 and J-8 fighters and proposed the WS-14 project.

Just like they did with the WS-6 engine, they started assembling the engine, using the low-pressure compressor of the WP-13 turbojet engine, combined with the high-pressure compressor of the scaled-down Spey engine, along with the combustion chamber, turbine, and afterburner of the WS-6 engine. They assembled it in two years and put it on the test bench in 1985.

Then came the troubleshooting process. The mismatch between the high and low pressure compressors alone plagued them for years until they finally designed a completely new fourth-stage compressor, which solved the problem. It took until 2002 for the design to be finalized. However, the military dared not use an engine with only aircraft parts!
The world's most powerful turbojet, codenamed Kunlun, has always remained in the laboratory and has never been installed on an aircraft!

Now that those people have nothing to do, the Capital Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics has obtained world-leading technology for medium-thrust engines from Northwestern Polytechnical University. If we work together with them, they will definitely agree!
After several months of study, the students at the Capital Aviation Academy have mastered top-notch technologies. Upon returning, they will certainly utilize advanced methods such as computer-aided design, which will facilitate smoother research and development. However, considering the current state of China's aviation industry...

"If we're focusing on domestic production, the RD33 engine used on the MiG-29 should be the best model to copy," Qin Liang said. "After you go back, you can also submit a report to the relevant departments to see if they can bring the RD33 back."

If the materials and processing technology are substandard, it will be difficult to imitate Western engines. Qin Liang is not omnipotent and cannot possibly bring all the technology with him.

The RD33, being large and robust, should be easier to replicate. Furthermore, by utilizing Western technology for improvements, such as modifying the combustion chamber, it would no longer emit black smoke.

　PS: Two unconventional F-16 modifications.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)