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

Chapter 436 Invitation to view the F-117 wreckage: Do you want to take it away?
capital.

Qin Liang came with his family. Now, his father, wife, and elder brother have all gone back to their hometown. He went to the airplane terminal with Old Song and Professor Liu.

Qin Liang had a bad feeling that he would have to keep busy this Spring Festival.

Princess Tomb, Airplane Building.

"Liangzi, you're finally here!"

Ahem, Professor Lin, there are so many of us here, why are you only calling me? Professor Liu and Professor Song, aren't they both of higher status than me?

Wait, there are other people in this conference room too. Professor Gu from the Northern Institute and Professor Lu from Factory 320 are both here…

The fourth-generation fighter jet bidding has ended, and the Northern Institute has no hope of turning the tide. They've come back; is there any chance of a reversal? A reversal should happen within the aviation industry system, not in the aircraft factory. The Air Force has always looked down on the Northern Institute.

"Old Lin, this is..."

"Here's the thing, we now have an opportunity to visit the wreckage of the F-117."

"Who invited you?"

"The invitation was extended by Olgakov, who is one of the Russians who places the most importance on information technology development. He strongly promoted this invitation. Of course, other design bureaus also helped, such as the Sukhoi Design Bureau, which also hoped to meet with you."

Everyone knows how the radar on the Su-27 came about; the next step is for both sides to negotiate!

"Everyone's been waiting for you, Liangzi. Our entire inspection team relies on you as our leader. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads. In terms of professional knowledge, they couldn't compare to Qin Liang, and in terms of international cooperation and exchange, they were even less capable.

"Also, this is a secret operation. If the Americans find out, it could cause trouble," Old Lin added a few more words of advice.

That night, a Y-10 special plane took off and flew directly to Moscow. When they arrived, the sun had not yet risen.

Moscow winters are truly bitterly cold! Even wrapped tightly in a military overcoat, you still feel a chill; the cold wind seems to penetrate right to your bones!
"Welcome, gentlemen, to Moscow!" A burly officer walked up to us.

Benjing, a familiar face who had visited Northwestern Polytechnical University many times, accompanied the officer with great enthusiasm: "Let me introduce you all, this is our Marshal Ogarkov."

This fellow actually came in person! It shows how much he values ​​the group from the East.

"Everyone, please get on the bus, it's warm inside."

A row of ZIM luxury cars, carrying guests from the East, drove into Moscow.

Having been reborn, this was Qin Liang's first time in Moscow. At this time, the east was already beginning to lighten, and he could see many sights along the way.

That cluster of pointed buildings is the famous St. Basil's Cathedral, and that white building with large columns is the Pushkin Museum... The Moscow River is frozen over, and the scenery on both banks has a unique Orthodox character. Of course, the most eye-catching is the Kremlin, and there are numerous attractions surrounding it...

The convoy passed the Kremlin without stopping.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the place we are going to observe today is Factory No. 30, also known as the Red Banner Factory of Labor. Our Soviet aerospace engineers are also waiting for you there."

Today, the leading giant in the Soviet aviation industry remains the renowned Mikoyan, as evidenced by its production facilities.

The Tupolev and Sukhoi design bureaus were headquartered in Moscow, but their production plants were located in many corners of the Soviet Union, which meant that they had to commute by plane every day.

Only the Mikoyan Design Bureau didn't use it!

In southeastern Moscow, the Lukhovice Aircraft Plant is Mikoyan Design Bureau’s No. 1 production base, mainly producing aircraft parts. Next to Frunze Central Airport is Mikoyan Design Bureau’s No. 2 production base, the Red Banner Plant!
The Mikoyan Design Bureau can design, produce, and develop new aircraft in Moscow, and then send them to Gromov, a city just tens of kilometers away from Moscow, for test flights. Being close to the source is the most convenient option!

Of course, in Nizhny Novgorod, the Mikoyan Design Bureau also has a Sokol plant, which is its third production base.

"Of course, before that, I need to take you all to have a meal, right here in Pushkin Square."

Taking these Asians on a long detour was really just to show off Moscow's prosperity. Now that the goal has been achieved, let's have breakfast first, and then head to our destination!

Labor Red Flag Factory, No. 4 General Assembly Workshop.

This is the most secluded workshop in the entire factory. All new aircraft are assembled here. The prototype of the MiG-29 was produced here. Now, a uniquely shaped aircraft is stored here.

"With a sweep angle of over sixty degrees, this design results in a very small aspect ratio for the aircraft, making it almost non-maneuverable."

"Its exterior has various sharp angles, which results in a lot of aerodynamic drag. It doesn't even have an afterburner at the rear, so it can only fly subsonic."

"Yeah, this plane... I really don't know what the Americans were thinking, it's utter garbage!"

"The worst of the worst!"

Faced with this most advanced aircraft in the world, the Russian engineers unanimously agreed that it was... garbage!
That's right. The Russians never paid much attention to stealth. Even with the fourth-generation MiG-1.44, the aircraft's shape didn't take stealth into consideration at all. Later, Sukhoi's Su-57 also lagged far behind world-class stealth standards, to the point that they didn't dare use it on the battlefield.

"Gentlemen, it is indeed inappropriate to focus solely on stealth. Take the aircraft in front of us, for example. If we consider stealth as the top priority, that would be going to extremes. However... stealth will also be an important indicator for the development of future military aircraft. Without stealth, we cannot win future wars!"

What do you mean?
Many people present looked disdainfully toward the entrance, where some Asian faces appeared. The one speaking was a young man.

"Didn't we still shoot down the stealth aircraft? It proves that this plane is useless!"

"Then can you tell me how you shot it down?"

"This……"

"Furthermore, the wing appears to have been damaged in a collision. Didn't your interceptor have any missiles on board at the time?"

No one spoke.

Ogarkov began: "At the time, our Su-15 interceptors used flares to illuminate the night sky and happened to spot this aircraft. After getting close, they found that neither radar nor infrared-guided missiles could lock onto the target. Later, to prevent this aircraft from getting any closer to our territory, our brave pilots decided to ram it."

"The significance of stealth lies in this: radar and infrared devices cannot lock onto it. To shoot it down, the only options are ramming or machine guns. Ladies and gentlemen, our aviation technology has developed for decades, and now we're going back to the era of machine gun dogfights. You still say that stealth is useless?"

"This aircraft relies entirely on stealth, resulting in very poor maneuverability. Can such an aircraft really be adapted to the battlefield?" Sergei Korotkov, an engineer from the Mikoyan Design Bureau, questioned.

"Everyone has their own specialty. This aircraft relies on its advanced stealth capabilities to sneak into the battlefield and drop bombs. As for aircraft capable of air combat... the Soviet KGB was so powerful, they should have known about the American ATF program, right?"

The Russians fell silent.

"Qin, can you introduce yourself to us?" Ogarkov asked.

“Every time, the Americans develop a brand-new fighter jet before you do. In the field of third-generation fighters, their requirements are high maneuverability, engines with a high thrust-to-weight ratio, advanced avionics, good visibility, and so on. These are all indicators that third-generation fighters must meet. And fourth-generation fighters…”

Qin Liang knew these guys were trying to get information out of him, but... he was here to deceive them, so of course he had to say some things, both true and false. "Fourth-generation fighters have four important indicators, among which stealth is the most important. With stealth, you can approach the target silently and avoid being locked on. On the battlefield, this is the magic weapon for defeating the enemy!"

"Four indicators? What about the others?"

"Besides... cough cough, we came here to see the F-117, right? Shouldn't we be entitled to observe it up close?"

"Of course! You're welcome to join us in this research!"

Simonov spoke!
The Mikoyan Design Bureau can raise all sorts of objections, but the Sukhoi Design Bureau staff should be more polite, since they still need to discuss cooperation later!

hula la...

Easterners gathered around.

Actually, this fighter jet, which is specifically designed for attack, is not the kind of thing that Easterners like. The fourth-generation fighters that everyone is developing are stealthy, capable of air combat, and all-around capability is the most important. In later years, after the F-117 was retired, the task of dropping bombs was handed over to the F-35, which is also an all-around fighter jet, and it is also cheaper.

However, this was the first time they had come into contact with a stealth aircraft, so of course they couldn't let it go!

Whoosh! Someone pulled out a measuring tape and started measuring.

Whoosh! Someone pulled out a camera and snapped a picture!
Qin Liang didn't go up. He wasn't familiar with surveying, but the others who came were.

The Russians were completely baffled by the way the guests were operating the aircraft. Were these Easterners trying to copy this kind of plane?

how can that be!

Seeing only the exterior is not enough to replicate it; even measuring it with a tape measure won't work. What about the core? Without flight control data, you have to start developing it from scratch. Even if a tiny angle isn't measured accurately, it will only result in a poor imitation.

"Qin, among the other indicators, are there any advanced information technologies?" Ogarkov continued to ask.

"That's right, stealth aircraft can disappear without a trace in front of radar, but this also creates problems for stealth aircraft when attacking targets. If it wants to turn off its radar, it can only rely on the data link of the early warning aircraft behind it for command. After arriving near the target, it quickly turns on the fire control radar, launches missiles, and then makes a quick getaway..."

Stealth machines are for assassins!

"Then stealth aircraft don't need air combat?" Sergei Korotkov continued to ask.

"Of course not," Qin Liang said. "In certain situations, stealth aircraft can also get into dogfights, for example..."

Qin Liang looked at the unconvinced Russians and said, "When it is facing a stealth aircraft, the rear early warning aircraft cannot detect the opponent. Therefore, the stealth aircraft is forced to engage in close-range combat. After all, it is impossible for a stealth aircraft to achieve perfect stealth effect visually."

The Russians... had complicated expressions.

Stealth aircraft require melee combat capabilities, but this only applies when facing other stealth aircraft! Unless you're extremely unlucky, there will absolutely be no accidents.

The side possessing stealth technology has an absolute advantage!

"If you don't believe me, you can do a comparative experiment."

How do we compare them?

"Repair this stealth aircraft, then conduct various tests to see how much of an advantage your conventional fighters have."

“We…we wanted to repair it, but it’s made of composite materials.” The Mikoyan Design Bureau staff were a little embarrassed when they talked about it.

They are not capable of fixing it!

The MiG-29 still uses a conventional aluminum alloy fuselage. It wasn't until the modified MiG-29K was deployed to aircraft carriers that some composite materials were used to reduce weight. Even so, the proportion of composite materials used on the surface of the fuselage would not exceed 20%.

What about the F-117 in front of us? The composite materials used on the surface of the airframe are almost 100%!

"Well, this is nothing to Northwestern Polytechnical University. You've seen some of the civilian products made from carbon fiber materials produced by Northwestern Polytechnical University, such as bicycles and fishing rods, right?"

"Yeah, I've seen it."

"So, you can use a transport plane to send the wreckage to us, and we can help restore it to a flyable state!"

What?
Everyone was stunned.

We invited you here to observe, and you actually want to take the wreckage away?

Even the Asians who were surveying were excited.

Old Gu almost blurted out, "Comrade Qin Liang, let us handle it! That way, our Northern Institute will have a new project!"

"What? You're not willing? Then forget it. In any case, the repair work can only be carried out at Northwestern Polytechnical University. After all, there are many confidential processes involved in the construction of our composite materials that cannot be seen by outsiders, so we can't come here to help with the repairs."

Ogarkov swallowed hard. If they could repair the wreckage and start testing, it would be very important to them. But... sending it to the East for repairs... wouldn't the East have a large number of these planes in three to five years?

By then, the Soviet Union will also face the threat of stealth aircraft from the East.

"This kind of aircraft is too small, has a short range, and requires aerial refueling for long-haul flights. You don't actually think we'd copy this aircraft and then bomb Moscow, do you? That would require an intercontinental bomber with a range of tens of thousands of kilometers."

Qin Liang's words made the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

"This aircraft uses the F404 engine. When we supply parts to our customers, we can also get some spare parts, which will facilitate subsequent flight operations," Qin Liang continued, outlining his terms.

Getting a captured aircraft airborne again is no easy task. Just one hour of flight requires several hours of maintenance, especially the engine, where some vulnerable parts need to be replaced frequently.

The Russians couldn't find the matching parts, so they could only fly three or five sorties at most, which was like playing Russian roulette. But if they had parts from the East, they could fly multiple sorties!

"If you put it in our country, we also have our own self-developed stealth coating. After applying it, it should be able to achieve the same performance as the original version."

"What? You even have stealth coatings?"

This left the entire Russian team stunned.

"So, everyone, would you like us to help you fix it?"

"Okay, please help us repair this aircraft, but... we also need to send some technicians with us."

"Sure, but they can't be on-site to observe our work, as it's all top secret. As for the repair costs, it will be approximately twenty million US dollars, and you'll have to pay the full amount..."

“No problem!” Ogarkov nodded.

(End of this chapter)