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

Chapter 274 Phased array radar + vertical launch system, this is an enormous pie!
When the second slide was shown, everyone's eyes widened after just one glance.

Those are... design drawings for a four-sided phased array radar and a universal vertical launch system!

The warship has only an outline, with four phased array radars distributed in four directions, and vertical launch systems that look like chocolate cubes... It is definitely the epitome of the world's most advanced air defense system!
The American Aegis system uses this approach, but it's only because the US Navy had to rack its brains to come up with an interception solution to face saturation attacks from Russia. This system is still under development. If we start developing it now, wouldn't we be on par with the US?
In comparison, the British Sea Dart is utter garbage!

"Our first domestically produced phased array radar is the SJ202, which has a detection range of only 115 kilometers, a tracking range of 80 kilometers, and a guidance range of 50 kilometers. Our sister units are also working on improvements to enhance its performance. It is said that the improved search range can be increased to 200 kilometers. However, we feel that this is still insufficient for the Navy. Therefore, we suggest changing the band to the S-band. This way, with the same power, the search range can exceed 300 kilometers, which will meet the Navy's needs."

A phased array radar is a radar whose antenna remains stationary, but whose direction is changed by altering the phase of the radar beam.

This could be a future active phased array radar, equipped with a large number of T/R modules, each of which can transmit and absorb echoes. Northwestern Polytechnical University is also researching this, but it is still far from practical application. It could also be a passive phased array radar.

It doesn't require gallium nitride or gallium arsenide; it's still a radar tube emitting electromagnetic waves. In front of it, a ferrite phase shifter is used to change the phase. Although it's a bit heavier, it can achieve the same function.

In 1958, Dongfang developed the SJ202 passive phased array radar, not much later than the West. There was also a larger one, the 7010 long-range early warning radar, which was installed on a hillside for strategic early warning. Dongfang also accumulated a lot of technical reserves in this area.

Therefore, when the HQ-9 was being developed, this modified version of the radar was naturally chosen as the missile's guidance radar, following the same technical route as the Patriot and S-300 of that era.

However, the C-band also has its drawbacks. The search range is almost limited to 200 kilometers. Therefore, the American Aegis system and the Russian Sky Sentinel system both use the S-band. When the navy is at sea, it cannot get support from other long-range early warning radars, so it is very important to switch the antenna to the S-band.

The HQ-9 is an active radar guidance system that does not require target illumination. It only needs a C-band command transmission device. In later generations, the navy transitioned to active phased array radar in one step, which is to integrate a small C-band array on a large S-band array.

Now, C-band radar can be installed specifically for this purpose, so let's solve the problem of the four-sided phased array radar first!

The naval leaders were stunned. Our navy actually has a professional air defense destroyer with four phased array radars just like Aegis. This is something we never dreamed of, even in our best dreams!

"Northwestern Polytechnical University isn't familiar with radar technology, so we can leave the development to the relevant departments and integrate it ourselves. After all, we need four radar units to form a complete system, not just four separate phased array radars. We will use advanced Loongson processors to perform a large amount of data processing..."

The Americans' Aegis system is the most famous, but the Russians also have something similar. Starting with the fourth ship of the Kiev-class, they equipped it with the Sky Sentinel radar, which was developed based on land-based phased array radar. Unfortunately, with the Russians' weak electronic technology, they simply couldn't integrate it. These four radars each had their own responsibilities!

On the surface, it seems fine that one radar is responsible for a 90-degree area, but what about the area where two radars intersect?
The American Aegis system has each radar covering an area of ​​over 100 degrees Celsius. This means that the area where the beams of two radars intersect can simultaneously illuminate targets appearing in that area, and through data processing, they can be identified as the same target.

This is like a relay race. A target flies from the front of a warship to its side, and the Aegis system records its complete trajectory. For the Russian Sky Sentinel radar, it means knowing that a target flew in from the front and then disappeared, and then a target suddenly appeared on its side...

Between the two, Aegis is definitely better, and it has been tested in countless battles. As for Sky Sentinel... it has hardly ever been used.

On June 3, 1981, in the Yellow Building at Gongzhufen, Qin Liang was giving the Navy a long and enthusiastic presentation on the world-class regional air defense system, which was practically like... bragging! The kind of bragging that goes to the sky!
"Once our active phased array radar technology matures, the later data processing part can be retained, and the front-end radar system can be replaced, which will further enhance our combat effectiveness..."

This is just another empty promise.

The existing radar system definitely needs to be replaced, after all, it's a generational leap!
However, the technologies that can be used later will not be wasted, and the technologies developed in the early stages will be upgraded, resulting in stronger performance.

Qin Liang talked about radar for more than half an hour, and then moved on to vertical launch systems.

"Currently, the US MK41 vertical launch system has a diameter of only 635 millimeters. We believe that this size is definitely insufficient to meet the needs of various long-range attack weapons. Therefore, we believe that the diameter of the vertical launch system can be increased to 850 millimeters, and the depth can be in three types: five meters, seven meters, and nine meters. This would facilitate the use of various weapons..."

This vertical launch system, of course, is based on the dimensions of later generations. This thing doesn't involve much technology. Hot launch means it has a smoke exhaust duct, and cold launch means it has a gas generator. It can be directly transplanted from land-based systems. The key is the weapon interface.

The American MK41 vertical launch system is ostensibly designed for cross-platform compatibility, but in reality, the weapon interfaces are not interchangeable. If a system originally designed for Harpoon missiles were to be upgraded to the standard version, the corresponding weapon interfaces would also need to be changed, resulting in a significant workload. However, these issues are merely barriers between different American military research and development units.

If we want to develop our own, the weapon interface can also be programmed to achieve universality. At worst, we can install an 8086 chip in a launch tube, and these things will become cheaper and cheaper in the future...

"Regarding the launch method, we can combine both cold and hot launch. Cold launch is easy; we just need to leave enough space for the gas launcher. As for hot launch, although our launch device doesn't have a dedicated exhaust duct, we can use concentric circles to allow the gas to be released directly between the inner and outer cylinders..."

The American MK41 is a hot-launch missile with a dedicated exhaust duct, while our HQ-9 uses a cold-launch missile with a gas generator underneath that produces high-pressure gas to push the baffle and eject the missile. I originally thought these two were incompatible, but I didn't expect that they could be combined!
This idea is brilliant!

"All weapons must conform to a unified firing procedure, and data communication must be completely consistent, so that they can be used more interchangeably. As for the weapons used on it, the first one is the HQ-9..."

The Lightning-20 is not suitable for conversion into a long-range ship-to-air missile because its wings are too large and inconvenient to fold, and its overload is only 17G, which is obviously not enough to undertake the mission of long-range air defense. Fortunately, relevant units are already developing the HQ-9, and have also received great help from Northwestern Polytechnical University.

The HQ-9 missile system can shoot down both aircraft and missiles. Although many later accounts claim that the HQ-9 has a minimum firing altitude of 500 meters, it was not long before the Navy used the HQ-9 to conduct experiments on intercepting anti-ship missiles that penetrated the sea surface at extremely low altitudes.

The Type 052C destroyer only has the HQ-9 air defense system, and if that fails, it only has the Type 730 close-in weapon system. So how could it not be capable of intercepting low-altitude sea-skimming anti-ship missiles?

However, having only one type of missile is a drawback. Therefore, the Type 052D destroyer was later equipped with a universal vertical launch system, which allows it to carry other air defense missiles, making it capable of handling long, medium, and short-range attacks.

"Sigh, of course we have high expectations for the HQ-9, but the development of this weapon is too difficult. To this day, its finalization and commissioning are still a long way off. Our navy can't wait! That's why we plan to purchase the Sea Dart." A naval leader said.

From the HQ-2 to the HQ-9, from the first generation of air defense missiles to the third generation, the time span is too large. Even with the aerospace institute gathering countless outstanding talents, plus Northwestern Polytechnical University, there will still be a series of problems to solve.

"Yes, so we need to make provisions for our vertical launch system to facilitate future shipboard deployment. Before the HQ-9 is successfully developed, we can test the medium-range air-to-air missile modified from our PL-10 medium-range air-to-air missile. With the addition of a booster, its range can reach seventy kilometers."

Originally, this air-to-air missile, after using a dual-pulse engine, could have a maximum range of 70 kilometers. On a ship, adding a large booster would have allowed it to reach that range.

Just like the Aster missile in later Europe, the normal missile is the Aster-15, and with a large booster it becomes the Aster-30. The former has a range of 30 kilometers, and the latter has a range of more than 100 kilometers!

“If the PL-10 can reach a range of seventy kilometers… then we really don’t need to purchase Sea Darts,” Engineer Pan said.

The Sea Dart, with its rocket booster and ramjet engine, is large but weak, and it can't actually intercept highly maneuverable targets. Its overall performance isn't necessarily better than the ship-to-air missiles modified from the Phoenix. As for the PL-10, it's a highly maneuverable medium-range air-to-air missile with an overload of at least 35G. It can shoot down aircraft and missiles, making it an all-rounder!

Even Engineer Pan, who had been pushing hard for the 051S program, has now given up! The naval leaders nodded repeatedly: "That's right, the navy can absolutely follow the technical route of Northwestern Polytechnical University! But..."

"However, this set of equipment will be much heavier, so the hull platform of the Type 051 is definitely not enough. To accommodate these systems, the displacement of the warship must be at least 6,000 tons, preferably around 8,000 tons."

The trend of increasing destroyer displacement is inevitable.

Now, the 051, with a displacement of over 3,000 tons, is definitely a destroyer. In future generations, frigates will have a displacement of over 4,000 tons, or even 5,000 tons. As for destroyers, they will naturally have a displacement of over 10,000 tons, otherwise they would be called 10,000-ton destroyers.

The naval leaders were stunned.

You little brat, are you trying to bankrupt our navy? With the navy's meager budget, how could we possibly build warships with a displacement of over 5,000 tons?

“If we increase the displacement, I’m afraid we don’t have a suitable engine.” Engineer Pan continued, “Currently, we only have shipboard boilers and steam turbines. Although they can make the Type 051’s speed exceed 35 knots, it’s probably not enough for a warship of more than 6,000 tons.”

The Type 051 is definitely a super missile boat, the best quality produced in Shanghai, and it can even reach a high speed of 37 knots during sea trials!

However, if the displacement is doubled, the speed will not meet the requirements. Moreover, the boiler and steam turbine are already outdated.

"Since Engineer Pan has asked, I'll conclude my introduction to the weapon systems. Next, I'll introduce the Spey modification. As we know, after inventing the Spey, Britain made various improvements, including the SM1 gas turbine for ships, which enabled British warships to be entirely powered by gas turbines. Now that we have the Spey, we certainly can't waste it."

The initial purpose of importing them was to solve the power problem of fighter jet engines, but it was found that they were weak at high altitudes, which no one liked. Until the Qin Liang came out, twin-engine Q-6, Y-10, H-6 and others have all used them. Now, it is time to consider shipborne use!

According to Qin Liang's memory, the Spey ship modification officially started in 81. Now that he has brought it up himself, it should be a sure thing.

"This gas turbine has low fuel consumption and high pressure ratio, making it ideal for retrofitting. Considering our own lack of technology, we don't insist on the power output of the British SM1. Fifteen megawatts will be sufficient."

In later years, after the East initiated the Spey ship modification, it also introduced the LM2500, but unfortunately, neither project was successfully completed. In the end, it was only after obtaining 25,000 gold bars from Er Mao that the warship's power problem was finally solved.

Looking at the neighboring island nation, they insisted on choosing the SM1 gas turbine, which is used in the Murasame-class, Takanami-class, and Akizuki-class destroyers.

Right now, the Spey Custom is the best choice!

"Fifteen megawatts? That's still a bit low!" Engineer Pan frowned. "Two of these would be enough for our three-thousand-ton destroyers, but if we put this on a six-thousand-ton destroyer..."

"Use four units!" Qin Liang said. "A combined gas turbine and diesel engine, two units for low speeds and four units for high speeds. Most of the time it will be operating at low speeds, so we can alternate between them to extend their lifespan..."

This is the power system for the future 10,000-ton destroyer Type 055. The power output of the Spey-class destroyer is only half that of the 25,000-ton Type 055 destroyer, and its displacement is also half, which is perfectly fine! The navy can directly enter the era of all-gas turbine propulsion, and the problem of auxiliary machinery has been solved!

perfect!

The naval leaders gasped; the cost was going to go up again!

Boilers and steam turbines are the methods used since the beginning of modern ironclad warships. They are very old and primitive, slow to start and slow to accelerate, but have high power, are simple to manufacture and have low cost. To this day, they are still the only power source for destroyers in the Eastern Navy.

Looking at the international landscape, gas turbines have become increasingly popular. After a few seconds of startup, they can unleash their maximum power within a minute, eliminating the need for a slow boiler start-up and heating process. This makes them ideal for rapid response, which is why the world's leading powers have long since phased out boilers and switched to gas turbines.

Some use low-speed diesel engines and high-speed gas turbines, while others use gas turbines for both high and low speeds.

The future of Eastern naval warships will definitely involve gas turbines, but right now... it's too expensive!

The warship design proposed by Northwestern Polytechnical University is absolutely high-end. If it could be built, its combat power would be second to none. It's just that... the navy doesn't have the money!

The country needs to focus on economic development, and the military needs to be patient. Currently, after maintaining the daily operations of the military, there is not much left of the annual naval budget. How much money would it cost to build a warship of this caliber?
Navy leader Ye took a deep breath: "Comrade Qin Liang, your design from Northwestern Polytechnical University is indeed very good, but... this warship will probably be very expensive to build, and with so much new equipment being installed all at once, the displacement will also increase significantly. If we go all out, what if..."

If a problem occurs in any of the subsystems, delaying the finalization and commissioning of the entire warship, that would be a real problem!
"Distinguished leaders, hasn't the Navy always aimed to develop aircraft carrier capabilities? If we do have an aircraft carrier, then the escorting warships must also be able to protect it; otherwise, the aircraft carrier will be a sitting duck at sea. Such specialized air defense destroyers are a must!"

Qin Liang held a firm stance on this, arguing that if they are unwilling to build even such warships now, then even if they have aircraft carriers in the future, they won't be able to swagger across the oceans without armed escorts.

The naval leaders had complex expressions, and Old Liu's face was even more serious.

Yes, aircraft carriers are the ultimate goal of naval development. Even if we don't have aircraft carriers now, we should develop other escort warships first!

"Of course, the concerns of the leaders are understandable. So, we can proceed step by step. For example, we can start by developing the ship's hull. A hull with a displacement of 6,000 tons is essential; otherwise, the navy will never be able to move towards blue-water operations. We can build one or two ordinary destroyers with a displacement of 6,000 tons. They won't have four-sided phased array radar or vertical launch systems, but they can be equipped with twin-arm launchers to fire our easiest-to-modify PL-10 surface-to-air missiles. This will serve as a temporary transition..."

There's really no need to rush this. In later generations, the development of Aegis warships in the East was also a step-by-step process.

In the 1980s, the two 052-class destroyers with a displacement of 4,000 tons were a simple experiment. They used a lot of new equipment at the time. Later, because the United States cut off the supply of LM2500 gas turbines, they were forced to turn back and build a 051-class destroyer with a boiler, increasing the displacement to 5,000 tons.

Then, in the 1990s, the 052B, with a displacement of 6,000 tons, was developed—a Chinese-Russian Aegis destroyer. After all this accumulation, the 052C was finally built.

It's only the 1980s now. We can expand the ship's hull and develop other products first, and then wait a few years until the navy has enough money before starting construction on Aegis warships.

This arrangement is quite prudent.

"Yes, Comrade Qin Liang's suggestion is good!" Old Liu nodded.

(End of this chapter)