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

Chapter 241 Cruise Missile Package
“What you’ve done is a bit too much…” Andy Grove began.

"Hmph, Germany is copying it too, and so are the Russians. If you treated them all the same and went after them, we wouldn't say anything. But you came specifically to us, which is clearly going too far, isn't it?" Qin Liang said. "I even gave you some advice that was enough to get you out of the crisis. Instead of thanking me, you want to keep causing trouble. So this is the only answer we can give you."

After saying that, Qin Liang stood up: "You'd better think this through. We at Northwestern Polytechnical University are upright and honest, and we're not afraid of anything! If you're willing to be pawns for others and damage our friendly relations, then we have no choice but to..."

After saying that, Qin Liang had already left, leaving a group of people looking at each other.

Grove took a deep breath: "Let's forget about this. When we get back, we need to determine if the plan to develop the chip industry in South Korea is feasible. If it is, then we should work with the Wall Street financial giants to defeat the island nation's chip attack. That's the most important thing."

After stepping outside, a gust of wind made Zhu Xianghua feel a chill all over his body.

"Qin Liang, thank you so much for coming to our rescue this time. By the way, our computer capable of performing ten million calculations has been designed! With it, the final problem of the airborne early warning aircraft project has been solved."

"Great! Excellent!" Qin Liang nodded in satisfaction. "Once this computer is out, we can design stealth aircraft..."

The surface of a stealth aircraft requires calculations by a supercomputer. Don't be fooled by its diamond-shaped nose and parallelogram-shaped air intake; these are things you can see at a glance, but their exact dimensions are crucial!

The 8086 computers we have are still too weak. Loongson chips can't be developed overnight. For the time being, we still have to rely on knock-off 8086 chips for scientific research.

"Qin Liang, Qin Liang!" Just then, someone called out to Qin Liang again.

Qin Liang turned his head and saw an old man. After thinking for a moment, he realized, "Director Wang?"

"Yes, Qin Liang, the small turbofan engine developed by our engine department has completed twenty hours of long-duration testing. This engine has been finalized! You..."

"Let's go take a look!" Qin Liang remembered that the leaders had talked about the WS-11 turbofan engine in the capital last time. He didn't expect that it would be developed here!

Engine test stand.

In recent years, the engine department has been continuously taking on cooperative projects, from initially developing knock engines for foreigners to later projects such as the WP-15 turbojet engine. As a result, the engine department has accumulated a lot of funds. Although the engine department's own building has not yet been built, the engine department's experimental workshop has been completed.

There are various metal smelting and processing equipment and various experimental devices here. The largest of these is this test bench. With it, durability tests and the like can be conducted on Northwestern Polytechnical University's own small plot of land.

"Qin Liang, this is our WS-11 turbofan engine. It has a diameter of 0.3 meters, a length of 1.26 meters, a weight of 60 kilograms, and a maximum thrust of 3.1 kilonewtons..."

Qin Liang asked curiously, "Lighter than the Americans themselves?"

"Yes, we designed the front fan and the cold-end casing to be made of carbon fiber, which saved some weight... and the cost didn't increase by much. We can control the cost of this engine to around 100,000 yuan per unit..."

Qin Liang nodded: "Yes, not bad. Our engine department will make a lot of money in the future! This engine is definitely a versatile tool. Putting aside everything else, it can be installed on the YJ-8 anti-ship missile to increase its range."

"The YJ-8 missile body is a bit small. After being mounted on it, the missile's range will only be increased to a maximum of three or four hundred kilometers..."

What?
Qin Liang's eyes widened. Three or four hundred kilometers!
In later generations, the short range of the YJ-81 missile caused some headaches for the navy. As a result, the YJ-82, which uses a small turbojet engine, was developed. The missile was also increased by more than one meter, and its range was increased to 120 kilometers.

However, the navy still felt it wasn't enough.

It is said that the Navy never had the YJ-82 in its inventory. It was designated C802 and began its export journey. It wasn't until the YJ-83, with a range of nearly 300 kilometers, that the Navy was satisfied and began to equip it in large quantities. However, by that time, many other missiles had also been developed.

Now, by replacing the YJ-8 with one of our own engines, its range has suddenly increased to three or four hundred kilometers. The naval leaders will be laughing in their sleep!
“We still think that we should design a new missile based on the shape of the Tomahawk missile, increasing its diameter to 0.52 meters and its length to over six meters. This way, the range of our missile will be at least 1,500 kilometers.” Professor Liu chimed in, “The aerospace department is also very interested. If we were to launch this project, Northwestern Polytechnical University could develop it on its own. Moreover, we could also jointly establish a university-run factory to produce this product.”

Seeing that other departments were enjoying their food with gusto, these departments started to get anxious!

Missiles have always been a specialty of the aerospace industry. Even if a cruise missile flies close to the ground, it still falls under their jurisdiction!
Once this product is developed, it will have a great market prospect, whether for domestic use or for export!

If it were just about developing the WS-11 turbofan engine, there wouldn't be any need to call Qin Liang over. The key issue is the next project! Without Qin Liang's approval, they can't make the decision on their own.

“Great, of course no problem!” Qin Liang nodded immediately: “The modification of the YJ-8 will be handled by the relevant units. We will only provide the engine. This way, we can free up our resources to research new cruise missiles. We need three types of cruise missiles.”

"Wait, Qin Liang, let me make a call and call the people from the Aerospace Engineering Department over!"

Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) established its Department of Aerospace Engineering in 1958, making it one of the earliest aerospace departments in China. The Dongfeng-2 missile model displayed on the NPU campus is the proudest symbol of the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Back then, this missile, which had completed its static test, was transported from the capital to NPU, and it has been inspiring NPU students and staff to pursue their dreams in space and dedicate themselves to scientific research.

Unfortunately, despite the booming development of Northwestern Polytechnical University in the past two years, the Department of Aerospace Engineering hasn't benefited much. Even the air-to-air missiles were developed by the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Electronic Engineering, leaving the Aerospace Engineering Department out in the dust. They weren't even involved in the air-to-air missile factory!
They're waiting eagerly!
Now, the opportunity has finally arrived!
With a whoosh, a whole bunch of teachers from the Department of Aerospace Engineering arrived at the Engine Department's experimental workshop.

"A diameter design of around 520 mm is very reliable and can be launched from our 533 mm torpedo tubes. So, this size can be settled. As for whether to increase the diameter to 527 mm like the Tomahawk, it depends on whether our wing and tail fin folding technology is up to par and whether it can be completely inserted."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was because they had noticed these details that they conservatively chose a diameter of 520 millimeters.

"As for the missile's length, it can remain the same as the Tomahawk missile, around 5.5 meters long. With the addition of a solid propellant, it can be increased to around 6.2 meters. Its range must exceed that of the Tomahawk. At Northwestern Polytechnical University, we either don't do it, or we do it to be number one in the world!"

Everyone was very excited.

"This cruise missile will have three different models. The conventional model can be built according to the Tomahawk standard, mainly for export and foreign exchange earnings."

Earn foreign exchange through exports!

Everyone's eyes widened, and Professor Wang Tao couldn't help but ask, "Would the higher-ups allow us to export such an advanced missile?"

"No, no, this is just the most outdated model. It only has a longer range than the Tomahawk, but that's nothing."

This is still outdated! Then what is advanced?
"The second type involves modifying this missile. Simply put, it means retaining the rear half of the missile body, leaving the front part completely empty, leaving only an outer shell, and installing a new supersonic anti-ship missile inside, thus creating a combined subsonic and supersonic anti-ship missile."

This idea... is brilliant!

Everyone stared wide-eyed as they looked at Qin Liang's design drawings of the YJ-18 anti-ship missile, a design for what would become known as the YJ-18.

By directly utilizing a portion of a cruise missile, the aim was to increase range. Flying at supersonic speeds throughout the entire flight resulted in high drag and a short range. However, flying at subsonic speeds throughout the entire flight offered weak terminal attack capabilities. Therefore, this combination of subsonic and supersonic technology became a powerful anti-carrier weapon in later generations.
"We understand the concept, but this supersonic anti-ship missile..."

"We can leave it empty for now. Once the first cruise missile is sold and we have the money, we can continue with research and development."

"Oh."

"The third type, for use by the navy and air force, requires a redesigned shape to give it stealth capabilities. The missile's outer shell can be constructed entirely of carbon fiber to further reduce its weight..." Stealth!

Many people were stunned by these words.

"Qin Liang, what does this 'invisibility' mean?"

"Even when our cruise missiles fly at extremely low altitudes, they are still not perfect and are easily detected by early warning aircraft in the sky. Therefore, we need to modify their shape so that they disappear from radar screens."

Perfect timing! We're going to develop a twin-engine heavy stealth fighter next, so let's use this cruise missile to practice stealth technology first. With this, we'll be invincible for the next forty years.

As for others copying it? Hehehe, given the nature of our army, we'll definitely keep this trump card well hidden.

"Next, let's talk about the guidance system." Qin Liang didn't give anyone time to react and continued to drop the bombshell: "In order to guide long-range cruise missiles that can travel one or two thousand kilometers, our Department of Aerospace Engineering must develop a satellite navigation and positioning system!"

Early cruise missiles did not require satellite positioning systems and could be used with inertial guidance and terrain matching. However, as time went on, the error would become larger and larger, especially on the sea and in the desert, where terrain matching could not be used, and the error would be extremely large.

The Tomahawk bombers of later generations, which said they would pass through the left window and never the right, relied on satellite navigation systems. We need to have that too! Even a simple aerial bomb, with a GPS kit, becomes a JDAM bomb capable of precision strikes!

Developing a few missiles is nothing; developing a satellite navigation and positioning system is the most important project for the aerospace engineering department!
"Qin Liang, you mean you want to continue our Lighthouse Project?" Professor Wang's tone was excited. "Our Northwestern Polytechnical University also has some research projects under this project, but unfortunately, the project was taken over by higher authorities..."

Now it was Qin Liang's turn to be surprised: "Project Lighthouse?"

"You are the lighthouse, illuminating the ocean before dawn." Professor Wang hummed this oldest song, then his expression became complicated: "The Lighthouse Project was a project proposed by Qian Xuesen, but unfortunately..."

As a participant in the Lighthouse Project, Professor Wang recounted that unique period of history.

At the height of the US-Soviet rivalry, both countries considered outer space as an object of conquest. The Soviets were the fastest to advance, launching the first artificial Earth satellite, the first cosmonaut to fly into space, and so on until they became the first to land on the moon, at which point the Americans caught up.

As for what contributions the space industry can make to humanity, this is also a hot topic of discussion among those in the space industry.

In 1961, twelve interstellar navigation symposiums were held in China. In 1965, Qian Xuesen submitted a report specifying the uses of artificial satellites: geodetic satellites, communication and broadcasting satellites, early warning satellites, meteorological satellites, navigation satellites, reconnaissance satellites, etc. In April of that year, the development of the first artificial satellite was officially launched, codenamed Mission 651, which is the famous Dongfanghong-4.

In 1967, the Navy proposed the development of navigation satellites, and the following year, the Lighthouse-1 navigation satellite project was officially launched!
In Qin Liang's mind, he always felt that Beidou-1 was the earliest research in the field of navigation satellites by the East. He never expected that there would be a lighthouse satellite!

Like the Big Dipper, it symbolizes a guiding light hanging in space that will never fall, but unfortunately...

"What's the working principle behind Lighthouse No. 1?"

"It uses a twelve-meter-long gravity gradient rod with a horizontal dynamic damper at the top, similar in principle to the American Transit satellite..."

When it comes to satellite navigation, everyone knows GPS. This type of navigation satellite uses precise time synchronization. As long as the user can receive the time signals transmitted by the three satellites overhead and compare them with the standard time signal, they can know how long it took for the signals transmitted by these three satellites to arrive. Then, by multiplying by the speed of light, they can calculate the distance to the three satellites. Knowing the positions of these three satellites, they can use geometric knowledge to calculate their own position.

By adding a fourth satellite, you can know your altitude information. Since GPS has more than 20 satellites, it can ensure that there are always five or six satellites overhead, which fully meets the needs of navigation and positioning.

Before this satellite navigation system, the United States also had navigation satellites, namely the Transit satellites, which used the Doppler shift scheme, were in polar orbit, and there were only five or six of them in space. Their navigation accuracy was in the tens of meters, but the key problem was that it would take more than half an hour for them to fly over the top of the sky once.

There are similar navigation satellite programs in the East!

From its design in the late 1960s to the late 1970s, Lighthouse-1 had completed the model assembly and testing of prototype satellites, thermal control satellites, structural satellites, and electrical satellites. It can be said that all ground experiments had been completed, and it was just waiting to launch the satellite into space!

At that very moment, Project Lighthouse One was cancelled!
The reason is simple: the country needs to develop its economy, and many scientific research projects are too expensive!
It's better to buy than to build, and better to rent than to buy. After all, the US has GPS and free civilian signals. In the shortsightedness of the time, Lighthouse 1 disappeared like the Y-10, which is a sad story!

In the mid-1980s, Mr. Chen creatively proposed the principle of dual-satellite positioning and conducted experiments using Earth communication satellites and ground stations. However, his superiors refused to approve it!

It wasn't until 1993 that cargo ships were inspected at sea and GPS signals were blocked... The following year, the Beidou-1 project was launched!
The Beidou-1 dual-satellite positioning system had slightly lower accuracy and required ground station calculations. However, it was, after all, a satellite navigation system that we developed ourselves! Unexpectedly, with the Beidou-2 system, we had to cooperate with foreign countries again. After being tricked by the Europeans, we honestly came back to develop our own Beidou-2 system.

In such a crucial system, we cannot rely on foreigners; we can only rely on ourselves!
"If Northwestern Polytechnical University were to get involved, we could launch Lighthouse-1 into space right now... Qin Liang, Qin Liang?"

Qin Liang then came to his senses.

"Professor Wang, fellow teachers, the technology of satellites like the Transit satellite is outdated. We cannot launch a satellite navigation system that will become obsolete as soon as it goes into space."

"You mean, we want to develop a system like the American GPS? That's incredibly technically challenging! We don't have the atomic clocks on those satellites in China, and the costs are enormous! Over twenty satellites—that's a huge expense. Relying on Northwestern Polytechnical University..."

No matter how rich Northwestern Polytechnical University is, it can't afford to spend like this! The United States has a much stronger national power than any of our universities!

"Of course we should take our own path and use two geostationary satellites to build a regional satellite navigation system."

"Two satellites aren't enough! We need at least three, and they have to be arranged in a triangle..."

"We'll use Earth as the third satellite!"

What's the principle behind this?

Dual-satellite navigation uses the coordinates of two orbiting satellites as centers and the distance between the user and the satellites as the radius, thus forming two spheres. The user is located on the arc of the intersection of these spheres. The electronic elevation geostationary system at the ground center station is a non-uniform sphere with the Earth's center as the center and the height of the center above the Earth's surface as the radius. By using geometric methods to calculate the intersection of the arc and the Earth's surface, the user's location can be obtained.

During positioning, the user also needs to send a signal to the satellite, and the time difference is used to calculate the user's location.

This means that users will expose their location when positioning themselves, which is significantly less effective than GPS's simple signal reception. However, this also led to the development of new functions for the BeiDou satellite system: it can send short messages for simple communication!

During the Wenchuan earthquake, the first group of brave parachutes who jumped to safety carried BeiDou terminals, which were used to send signals! Many mobile phones in later generations can also use BeiDou for texting and calls. This is a navigation satellite system with unique Eastern characteristics!

After Qin Liang finished explaining the basic principles, a group of teachers from the Department of Aerospace Engineering looked at him as if he were an alien.

"Liangzi, your satellite navigation principle is absolutely unique in the world!"

"Yeah, proposing a completely new technological approach... how did you even come up with that?"

　PS: Diagram of Tomahawk missile and BeiDou positioning principle.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)