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

Chapter 517 Shocking the World
United States, CIA.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the photograph that the photographer had captured by chance.

"Canard configuration? Why would they choose a canard configuration? It's clearly the worst aerodynamic configuration!"

"That's right, the best canards are on the enemy's planes!"

"No, look, this isn't an ordinary canard wing! Behind this canard wing, there are also strakes!"

Since it was taken at night, the photo wasn't very clear, so much so that many intelligence personnel didn't see it clearly.

Only after using technical means to make the photos clearer did they realize how advanced the aircraft's aerodynamic design was!

The American-style layout is something they disdain.

On the one hand, they have advanced aviation technology, and conventional solutions are enough to make their fighter jets reach a first-class level. Therefore, there is no need to use the unique canard layout, since they are the most skilled at using conventional layouts.

On the other hand, flight control systems for canard configurations are difficult to program because the control system is not linear. If you don't have a thorough understanding of aerodynamics, there may be serious defects.

Now, the Easterners not only use canards, but also leading-edge extensions. The programming of their flight control system is absolutely hellish!

Even the first American to develop digital telex was stunned at this point.

I knew that Eastern technology was advanced, but I didn't expect it to be this advanced!
Soon, the intelligence analysis report was submitted to the Pentagon, and engineers from various modern aircraft companies were summoned together again.

This is probably the fastest action the Americans have ever taken in history!

"Everyone, these are the latest design drawings of the Eastern fighter jet. You need to analyze them and see what the characteristics of this design are, and whether it's good or bad," Hunter Harris said, looking at everyone present.

No one spoke; everyone frowned.

So he started taking attendance.

"Ben Rich, you analyze this for everyone first!"

As the first unit to develop a stealth aircraft, and with close cooperation with Northwestern Polytechnical University, Ben Ritchie of Lockheed Corporation had an inescapable responsibility to conduct the initial analysis.

“I am very envious of the East’s expertise in electronic technology,” Ben Rich began. “We originally thought that the best canards were on enemy aircraft, because the canards are only responsible for generating vortices on the wings, so they have to be placed higher than the wings so that the vortices can act on the upper part of the wings. If that’s the case, it will undoubtedly increase the radar cross-section.”

"However, this aircraft clearly places the canard and main wing on the same plane. The main task of the canard is to act as a control surface. Because it is located very far forward, it has a large torque. Only a small area of ​​canard is needed to play a good control role."

This is a simple lever principle: the larger the lever arm, the less force is required!

European typhoons follow this pattern: long-distance coupling, resulting in small canard areas but almost no ability to generate vortices. French gusts are a contrasting example: close-distance coupling, which generates vortices very well but lacks control, hence the large canard areas.

As for the East...

This is practically using every available technology together!

Long-range coupling provides positive lift and excellent maneuverability; vortex generation is achieved through the leading-edge extensions of the wing...

This is just Ben Ritchie's initial guess. If he knew that the vortices from the canard could also act on the strakes, creating vortices on the main wing together with the strakes, he would be very surprised.

This was something they couldn't have imagined.

Easterners are the smartest people in the world!
"As for generating vortices, they used leading-edge extensions. The complexity of this design is beyond our imagination. In terms of aircraft aerodynamic design, the East has already surpassed us!"

Ben Ritchie had to admire them; even if Lockheed were given the project, they simply couldn't have done it. They could only design conventional layouts!

How stealth is this aircraft?

"I'm not sure about that, but what's certain is that the East has a strong grasp of stealth technology. Since this is their most secretive aircraft, its stealth capabilities are no worse than other aircraft. Its frontal radar cross-section should be around 0.01 square meters."

What about mobility?

"Maneuverability is definitely not a problem. As I just said, they designed such a complex aerodynamic layout precisely to give the fighter jet outstanding maneuverability. The canard configuration already has very high maneuverability..."

“No, I don’t think so,” said Graham Warwick, an engineer from Northrop.

Sandsky was still in the East, so he was the one who came to the meeting.

"You mean, the maneuverability of Eastern aircraft doesn't reach what Mr. Ben Richie said?" Hunter Harris asked excitedly.

"No, no, what I meant was that maneuverability isn't that important for fourth-generation fighters."

Their YF-23 might have acceptable performance in other aspects, but its maneuverability was truly lacking.

Seeing that the Eastern design clearly gives them much greater mobility than their own, and since they can't improve their own mobility, they can just claim that mobility is useless.

"What do you mean?"

"For stealth aircraft, the main combat method is to covertly approach the enemy under the command of the rear early warning aircraft, launch missiles, and immediately escape. Throughout the process, they will not get entangled with enemy aircraft. If I may be so bold, using powerful fighter jets for the most dangerous close-range combat is a pure waste."

The others present had complex expressions.

Graham Warwick may have a point, but...

Dude, the performance specifications were set by the Air Force. The 4S standard is a must. You are the suppliers. Your job is to meet the requirements put forward by the client, not to question the client's decision!

Sure enough, many people in the Air Force looked grim upon hearing his words.

“Perhaps mobility isn’t that important, but it’s unacceptable to do without it!” an air force general said.

"Why? This is a complete waste."

"Because Easterners have it, we must have it too!"

This statement is made with complete confidence, and that's just how Americans think!

Whatever Easterners have, they must have too!
They cannot be inferior to those from the East!

Graham Warwick's face darkened, while on the other side, the Grumman employees became excited.

"When it comes to maneuverability, our Grumman project is absolutely the best! Whether it's Northrop or Boeing, their proposals are severely lacking in maneuverability!"

The chance to turn things around has arrived!
When it comes to maneuverability, variable-sweep wing fighters definitely have the advantage!

In the last bidding process, Northrop won the bid directly, while Boeing and Grumman are still in the comparison stage. If this continues, their proposals will definitely lag behind Northrop's.

Now, the Air Force has finally taken maneuverability to heart!

"That's right, mobility must meet the requirements, but other performance aspects must also be met! Your Grumman project fails to meet the stealth requirements!"

The meeting room erupted into another argument.

Hunter Harris is having a headache; these guys are always fighting amongst themselves and not very innovative!
Even Northrop Grumman, which they value most, has recently been secretly seeking help from Northwestern Polytechnical University! This is really infuriating the Air Force!
Now, Northrop has automatically exposed its lack of mobility. Why is there not a single reliable one among them?
His gaze fell on Ben Ritchie: "Ben Ritchie, how long would it take if we copied this fighter jet from the East?"

Counterfeit!

The U.S. Air Force has always been innovative. When did it ever need to copy other people's aircraft?
Ben Richie frowned and said, "I don't know."

"why?"

"We might be able to replicate the shape, since the fuselage is roughly similar to our previous design, except for the wings. However, the flight control system will take us a long time to develop, and there is even a risk of failure."

Everyone present fell silent. The United States, the world's leading technological power, had fallen behind just like that!

Europe, France, Dassault Systèmes.

Marcel Dassault looked at the blurry photo with a complicated expression.

"Is this really a fourth-generation fighter jet from the East?"

“That’s right, it was taken by chance by a photographer from a TV program, and the photo is absolutely real.” Sergey Dassault said in a heavy tone, “We should have guessed it long ago. Since the Easterners can design stealth aircraft for various countries, they must have their own stealth aircraft projects, and the technology of these stealth aircraft must be superior to that of other projects.”

The aircraft before them... gave Dassault Aviation a sense of immense pressure. The stealth design was one thing; they could understand that the East had always possessed a wealth of stealth technology reserves. But the aerodynamic design…

Dassault's specialty is the tailless delta wing layout, which has been used in almost all of the Mirage 3 and Mirage 2000 models. Even with the Rafale, which uses a canard layout, the canards are closely coupled, and the main wing is mainly used to generate vortices, while the control surfaces are still mainly controlled by the main wing.

It can be said that the Gust is also a continuation of the old tradition.

Looking at the layout of the East, it's simply... the culmination of all aerodynamic designs.

Dassault can only look, they can't copy it at all, they don't have such advanced technology!
"Yes, this level of technology is really impressive. If we were to manufacture a stealth aircraft, how long would it take?"

"I don't know. We have no technological reserves. It might take five or even ten years to see any results. If we want to quickly convert our Rafale fighter jets into stealth aircraft, seeking help from the East is the best option..."

"No, absolutely not! Since our founding, Dassault Systèmes has never asked anyone for help, let alone the East!"

Marcel Dassault has his own principles.

Are you kidding me? Dassault seeking help from the East?
How can Dassault continue to sell its fighter jets? Many of their customers are hostile to the East!

The Rafale hasn't even been officially finalized yet, and it's already becoming outdated... while international fighter jets have already entered the era of stealth aircraft!
United Kingdom.

In contrast to Dassault's worries, British Aerospace was filled with excitement.

We made the right choice in choosing the East to help us!

Look, the fighter jet developed by the East is simply a larger version of our Typhoon!
Yes, that’s it!

The British intuitively identified with this.

The development of this stealth fighter jet in the East has been underway for some time, so by modifying the design of this stealth fighter jet, it can be adapted to the Typhoon fighter jet!
Rounding up, the Typhoon fighter jet is definitely a fourth-generation fighter jet!

This stealth fighter jet from the East will definitely not be sold to foreign companies. If customers want to buy it, they can just buy the Eurofighter Typhoon from the European Union!

"Ladies and gentlemen, the East is about to officially announce this stealth aircraft!"

"Great! Book the tickets right away! Let's go to the East and cheer on the people of the East!"

They just want to get closer to the East, so they can really crack down on the French arrogance! What a crappy plane, and they're still calling it a fourth-generation 4.5! They shouldn't sell a single one; leave the market to our Typhoon!
The French weren't the only ones disappointed; the Russians were stunned too.

What do you mean?
Didn't we agree to take the plasma stealth technology route? You Easterners actually secretly developed a stealth shape behind our backs?

Nikolai Nikitin immediately went to find Qin Liang, but unfortunately he couldn't find him; Qin Liang had already gone to Chengdu. So, he could only find Principal Luo.

"Principal Luo, what do you mean by this? You told us you would use plasma stealth technology, but you're secretly building this stealthy fighter jet?"

Principal Luo was having a bit of a headache. Qin Liang had dug a lot of holes before, and now he was the one to fill them all!
"Mr. Nikolai, you should know how many years it takes to develop an advanced fighter jet, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"We started developing this stealth aircraft seven years ago. At that time, Mr. Ben Rich first came to Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Comrade Qin Liang introduced the design concept of the stealth shape to them. After that, we began to develop stealth fighters. Our cooperation with you is a recent event, which took place in the last year or two. When we started cooperating with you, the shape of this stealth aircraft had almost completed all the design."

"So what? Why did you say back then that plasma stealth technology was the future?"

"Yes, this technology is the future, but we haven't even figured it out yet! Do you think we want to go through all this trouble? The stealth design severely compromises aerodynamics and has wasted so many of our brain cells!"

"What do you mean?" Nikolai Nikitin was somewhat confused.

"In other words, the early original design focused on stealth in shape, which has now been developed. However, once the more advanced plasma stealth technology is developed, the next generation of aircraft will return to conventional aerodynamics. Your project can be said to have skipped the fourth generation and moved directly to the fifth generation. Our collaborative project is a generation ahead of ours!"

We only have the fourth generation, you are the fifth generation, what else are you dissatisfied with?
"Furthermore, aren't we also developing engines together with you?" Principal Luo said. "Don't you believe in our sincerity in cooperating?"

Thinking about it that way, it seems to make sense!

After pondering for a long time, Nikolai Nikitin finally spoke up: "In that case, when this fighter jet is unveiled, could we also go and have a look at it?"

"Of course, I'll arrange it right away."

Soon, a large number of foreigners arrived in Chengdu.

Half of them were from intelligence agencies around the world, wanting to take advantage of the fact that the Easterners had publicly revealed this aircraft to spy on its specific details; the other half were from the media, all of whom were preparing to break this big news.

To date, the only stealth fighter in service worldwide is the F-117. Although it has good stealth capabilities, its other performance is too poor, and its overall shape makes it look like it can't even fly.

This fourth-generation fighter jet from the East is a full-featured fighter!

The advent of this aircraft signifies that fighter jet technology has entered the realm of fourth-generation aircraft!

In this field, Dongfang has achieved world-class status!

However, getting a chance to witness it firsthand was no easy feat. They tried every possible method, but only a few managed to secure the opportunity. The total number…no more than twenty!
three days later.

May 18, 1985, sunny.

On the tarmac of Factory 132, a circle was set up with caution tape, and inside the circle, there was a fighter jet covered with a red silk cloth.

Click, click!
Reporters who were allowed inside had already raised their cameras and started taking pictures of the covered object.

When they saw someone coming, they immediately surrounded them.

"May I ask when your side began developing a fourth-generation fighter jet?"

"May I ask, how did your company manage to acquire the capability to manufacture fourth-generation fighter jets in just a few years, starting with the modification of the J-7?"

"Excuse me, everyone, I'm just here to clean up. Please make way! Why are you throwing so many cigarette butts here..."

Looking at the scene, Tu Lao in the hangar behind was a little nervous.

"Principal Qin, you should go up, I..."

"Old Tu, this plane was produced by Factory 132. It's most appropriate for you to go out and introduce what we're going to introduce. As for other questions, whatever they may be, they involve classified information and cannot be disclosed. That's enough."

"Ok."

Old Tu straightened his chest and was about to walk out when he saw Old Lin and the others coming in from outside.

"Liangzi, what are you standing there for? So many people are waiting!"

"Mr. Lin, I..."

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean,' you'd better get up there right now!"

Old Tu felt a sense of relief instantly.

Qin Liang could only walk out helplessly. "I really don't want to go out and show off, but you guys insist on making me do it."

"Principal Qin is here!"

The foreigners swarmed around Qin Liang and his group as soon as they saw them emerge.

Fortunately, the security personnel were prepared and formed a human wall to protect Qin Liang and the others, and they made their way to the plane.

Standing on the platform, Qin Liang looked down at the people below.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this fighter jet is the most advanced fighter jet in our air force. It is highly classified. Unexpectedly, it was photographed by someone, so we are now showing it to the public. Ladies and gentlemen, the aircraft has many advanced technologies, so please pay attention to the contract terms you signed before entering. Anyone who violates them will be sentenced for espionage."

The foreigners were all taken aback.

"Okay, let me first introduce that in order to become a fourth-generation phone, it needs to have four characteristics, which can be described in English as 4S."

Want to see airplanes? Not so easy, you'll have to wait a long time!

However... these people are clearly patient, and their standards are also important!

This standard was proposed by Northwestern Polytechnical University!
(End of this chapter)