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

Chapter 519 Airshow Preparations
The capital city, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC).

"Principal Qin, you've finally arrived! We weren't planning on going this time, but the French insisted and offered all sorts of preferential terms. It wouldn't be right for us not to go." Manager Liu said with a helpless expression.

As the saying goes, "Man fears becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat." Once we gained fame, the French started shamelessly coming after us!

Qin Liang smiled and said, "Yes, I know. Are they also strongly insisting that our fourth-generation fighter jet make an appearance?"

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. I think their invitation to us is just a pretense; their real intention is to steal our fourth-generation fighter jet secrets.” Manager Liu said angrily, “Actually, I personally don’t want to go. I can go to the Farnborough Airshow next year. Our relationship with Britain is much better than our relationship with France.”

Among the world-renowned air shows, there is not only the Paris Air Show in France, but also the Farnborough Air Show in the UK. These two major aerospace exhibitions are held in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years, respectively, so they are held at different times.

Because they upgraded the Typhoon fighter jet for the UK, their relationship with the UK is still very good.

The French? They clearly have their own ideas.

Qin Liang nodded: "That's exactly what the French are thinking. Since they want to see it, let's let them see it!"

"This……"

Manager Liu was somewhat worried: "Will the Air Force agree to this?"

"There are more than just the J-20 fourth-generation fighter jets."

"You mean...the projects at Factory 320 and the Northern Institute?"

There were three third-generation fighter jets initially approved: the J-20 from Factory 601, the Q-7 from Factory 320, and the J-35 from the Northern Institute! Now, is Qin Liang planning to market these projects?

The Q-7 is not suitable. It is a fighter-bomber with a large payload and strong penetration capability. If this thing were to enter the international arms market, it would obviously disrupt the existing international order. Needless to say, the West would be wary, and we ourselves cannot do so.

Is that the J-35 from the Northern Institute?

"Of the three fourth-generation fighter jets, the Northern Institute's development is the slowest. They should have just finished building a model by now, right?"

"That's true... They have the least technological reserves in fourth-generation fighters. In the last year or two, they've been helping the Germans with their projects and haven't had the energy to focus on this fourth-generation fighter project. Moreover, with the J-20's maiden flight, they probably don't have much confidence in their own project anymore."

Qin Liang nodded: "Yes, let them take that model away, but... the rear power system needs to be modified."

"How to change?"

The project at the Northern Institute was originally planned to use two medium-thrust engines to create a medium-sized fighter jet, aiming to differentiate itself from other projects. Now... Qin Liang wants to modify the power system?

"Two medium-thrust engines will be converted into one large-thrust engine."

"why?"

Compared to a single large-thrust engine, a medium-thrust engine is actually more advantageous.

The reliability of twin engines is guaranteed. If one engine fails, the other can continue to work. The thrust of twin engines is also greater. Take the Typhoon fighter jet as an example: one engine has a thrust of nine tons, and two engines have a thrust of eighteen tons. If a single engine is used, even with the planned project that incorporates Russian technology, the afterburner thrust would be at most fifteen tons.

So, besides being cheaper, single-shot phones don't have any other advantages. Aren't we putting the cart before the horse?
"Because only single-engine aircraft can be used to develop vertical takeoff and landing fighter jets. Our export version of the fighter jet is designed to have three variants to meet the needs of multiple users."

To put it simply, we want to seize JSF's market share!
As Qin Liang explained, Manager Liu felt increasingly familiar with the situation.

"Principal Qin, this seems to be a collaborative project you once had with Lockheed?"

When Lockheed Martin lost the bid for the fourth-generation fighter jet, Qin Liang used this same tactic to persuade them to develop a medium-sized fighter jet to compete in the global market. The original plan was to involve MIT and Northwestern Polytechnical University in the project, but…

The US military still disagreed. Later, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) worked on a typhoon for the British, which made Lockheed see no market prospects, so they gave up.

just now……

What will Lockheed think when we launch this project with great fanfare?

Qin Liang smiled and said, "If they don't want to do it, we have to. They can only blame themselves for lacking courage. What does it have to do with us? Our cooperation with Lockheed is still progressing smoothly, isn't it? For example, converting that high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft into a drone..."

With Lockheed and other collaborations, if they start spouting nonsense, those collaborations could be terminated at any time!
Northwestern Polytechnical University now has the confidence to do so!

Manager Liu nodded: "Since you've made up your mind, let's do it this way. By the way, this airshow is a bit rushed. What are you planning to bring?"

The fourth-generation fighter jet has been confirmed to be brought along by the Northern Institute's model, and it will definitely be promoted internationally. I wonder if it will get any orders. Since it's going to be brought over, it must be more than just this one model; there must be other aircraft as well!
"The JF-17 Thunder fighter jet is our main export-oriented fighter jet, so we definitely have to bring it with us."

Fourth-generation fighter jets are good, but they are expensive. The international arms market is still dominated by third-generation fighter jets.
"With the increase in third-generation fighter jets, all countries have a demand for advanced trainer aircraft. If we bring our JL-9 and JL-10 trainers with us, we will definitely be able to sell a batch."

Coach 9 is a modified version of Super 7, which is the Mountain Eagle of later generations, while Coach 10... is what those guys across the river have been longing for!

Manager Liu was somewhat worried: "If the coach is sold, what if... those people on the other side of the river learn the technique?"

"The sales contract should clearly state that it cannot be transferred to a third party, and there should be technical restrictions. If they dare to secretly transport it to the other side of the river, the system will be locked directly, and the flight control program will be self-deleted. Let's see how they can use it then."

"Ok."

Since Qin Liang has made preparations, let's listen to him.

"As for helicopters, we can also bring our Z-20. After all, it is an advanced 10-ton class helicopter, and the secrecy requirements for helicopters are not high. Selling it can also promote the continued progress of our helicopter industry."

"it is good."

"We can also bring a batch of various missiles with us, including those purely for export, so that the world can see our strength."

The full name of the airshow is the Aerospace Exhibition, which includes both aviation and aerospace!
There must be military applications, and there must also be civilian applications!
"We'll also take our C929 passenger planes with us. So what if the French are on their home turf? Our planes are cheaper, of top quality, and much better than Airbus. We can definitely bring back an order!"

"Uh-huh."

"The colleagues from the Aerospace Academy can also bring the data on the Long March series rockets. If they can secure international space launch contracts, that would be even better."

"Yes."

Now that you mention it, the Paris Air Show is definitely a must-go!

"Principal Qin, would you like to stay in the capital for a while? After all, there's still a lot of preparatory work that needs your guidance..."

"it is good."

Qin Liang nodded.

The very next day, people from the Northern Institute rushed over.

"Principal Qin, thank you for bringing our project over, but changing from a dual-launcher to a single-launcher has greatly increased the workload..."

"Don't worry about stealth or aerodynamic design. As long as the appearance is acceptable, that's fine. It's all about mixing the real and fake to avoid leaks. You can even make repairs to the original model. What's there to worry about?"

ah? That's it?

Li Gong and the others opened their eyes wide.

They were excited to learn that they would be taking the J-35 to the exhibition, but modifying the engine... that's a huge undertaking!
While they were still worried, Qin Liang provided the answer: simply find a few carpenters to make some modifications! They didn't even need to touch the original fuselage; just reshape the tail section!
Such a simple and straightforward change can be completed in three days!

"However, how should we introduce the airplane?"

The second question!
The thrust provided by two engines is definitely greater than that of one!
"Our main selling point is that this aircraft has three variants: a conventional land-based version, a shipborne version, and a more specialized vertical takeoff and landing version," Qin Liang explained enthusiastically. "For the vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet, we use a design with a tail-mounted main engine and a front-mounted lift engine."

"The Yak-38 proposal?"

"That's one way to think about it, but for this lift engine, we use a drive shaft to drive the lift fan, which can prevent the engine's exhaust from scorching the ground."

Many countries have tried vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter jets, but only two have truly succeeded.

The British Harrier uses a single-engine design with exhaust nozzles at both the front and rear. The biggest problem with this design is that the engine has to be placed at the center of gravity of the aircraft, which is the middle!

The huge space behind the rear was almost entirely wasted. The F-32 used this design back then, which proved to be unreliable.

The success of the F-35 is largely due to the correctness of its vertical takeoff and landing technology, which utilizes a unique lift fan system.

The design originated from the Soviet Yak-38, with the main engine located at the rear and two lift engines on the pilot's back that spray downwards. The drawback of this design was that the engine nozzles pointed directly at the ground, causing the ground to overheat.

The ground can handle it, but the flight deck can't!
The Americans' solution was a lift fan, which uses a driveshaft from the rear engine to drive the front counter-rotating fan. This way, it blows down cool air without consuming too much fuel.

Of course, there are also many technical challenges. The drive shaft that transmits 20,000 to 30,000 horsepower, the matching gears, etc., all place high demands on the processing. Not to mention there is a clutch in the middle. Engaging or disengaging such a large amount of power is not easy!
But the Americans ultimately succeeded, and it proved to be a good idea, so...

Of course we can use it too!

If you use it like that, then you can only use single shots later on!
How does a dual-engine, mid-thrust engine drive the front lift fan? How are the two extended drive shafts connected to the front lift fan?
These are almost all unsolvable engineering problems, so... no matter how many self-media outlets boast about the vertical takeoff and landing version of the J-35, in reality... it's all nonsense!
Some even boasted about using electric transmission.

While a drive shaft places high demands on machining, it is at least lightweight and simple in structure. What does a 20,000-horsepower electric motor mean? Sooner still, a 20,000-kilowatt generator will be needed!
Li Gong and the others looked at each other in bewilderment; essentially, they felt this was unreliable.

In reality, the sacrifices made by fighter jets in pursuit of vertical takeoff and landing capabilities are significant. Even if the F-35B had achieved vertical takeoff and landing, its maximum takeoff weight, range, payload, and so on would have been greatly limited. With the advancement of our electromagnetic catapult technology, we have not followed this route.

However, we don't need it, but our customers do. As an export-oriented product, we have to think about what our customers want!
"Principal Qin, is this technique... feasible?"

"Of course!" Qin Liang said. "Don't you have any confidence?"

“As long as you have confidence, we have confidence!” Engineer Li said.

"Okay, then let's prepare the promotional brochures based on these technologies!"

"Principal Qin, our engine..."

A single engine can only produce relatively small thrust.

"We can simply increase the bypass ratio based on our existing WS-10 turbofan engine."

"That high-altitude, high-speed performance..."

"We can put this performance metric aside for now. For users, the hype surrounding the fourth-generation fighter is enough; there's no need for it to fly that fast."

For a time, countries were vying to break through in terms of speed, but as development progressed, everyone realized that maximum speed was not very useful, and most air battles took place in the transonic range!

Take the F-16 for example. It can fly up to Mach 2, but in reality, speed increases very slowly above Mach 1.6, and fuel consumption is very high. Almost no pilot would fly it that way.

As for the later F-35, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and no supersonic cruise capability, it still did not hinder the aircraft from selling very well.

The matching F135 engine, with a maximum thrust of 18 tons, is known as the most powerful fighter jet engine. In fact, it is achieved by increasing the bypass ratio!

The prototype F119 had a bypass ratio of only 0.3, which enabled it to cruise at supersonic speeds, while the F135 had a bypass ratio of 0.57, almost twice as large!
Everyone was stunned.

Years of experience have made them stubborn in their pursuit of high-altitude and high-speed performance. Now, to tell them that high-altitude and high-speed performance is useless is somewhat hard to accept. However, since Qin Liang has said so, they have to do as he says.

If we could open up the export market, what a huge pie that would be!

We must change it according to Principal Qin's instructions!
We had just seen off the people from the Northern Institute when the people from the aerospace department arrived.

"Principal Qin, this time we're going abroad to open up the international space launch market. Can you give us some ideas on how to make it even more spectacular..."

Even without Qin Liang's guidance, the aerospace industry still needs to go global.

After all, it's not sustainable for the aerospace industry to always be in the stage of state investment. In the context of the market economy in the East, the aerospace industry also needs to be able to make money!
In the 1980s, Liu Jiyuan, a veteran leader of the aerospace industry, proposed the policy of going global, which could both earn foreign exchange for the country and train the workforce.

In the autumn of 84, a launch service market group composed of ten pioneers in the aerospace industry was officially established. Soon after, a specialized foreign trade company, the Great Wall Industry Company, was established.

The person who appeared in front of Qin Liang and spoke was Wu Keli, the leader of the launch service market group.

At this moment, he and his team members were all looking at Qin Liang.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once we sign the first launch agreement, it will be much easier to continue launching," Qin Liang said. "To enter the market, we need to start by offering slightly lower prices. Once we've established a reputation, we can raise prices later."

"Yes, that's what we think too."

Qin Liang was a little embarrassed. These were common suggestions that people in the aerospace department could naturally come up with. Opening up the market with low prices was a common tactic for them.

You need to come up with something unique!

Just then, my phone rang.

"Sorry, I'll take a call."

Qin Liang opened his phone: "Hey, what? Our aerospace department is going to participate too? No problem! What, promoting Beidou-2? Great!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Liang suddenly had an idea.

"As long as you utilize our Eastern aerospace launch technology, you will be among the first users to receive BeiDou-2 terminal chips after the BeiDou-2 network is completed!"

What kind of incentive will they offer?
It's still related to aerospace, of course!

The first generation of Beidou, based on the principle of two-satellite positioning, was not accurate enough and could not cover high-latitude regions. Therefore, upgrading to a true multi-satellite global navigation system is the next task for the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Moreover, such a massive satellite construction project does not require any government funding!
The hot sales of Beidou-1 terminals have already brought huge profits to the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Northwestern Polytechnical University! They can easily raise funds on their own to develop Beidou-2!
This timing is excellent; since there's no other system like it in the world, we have to use BeiDou!
Even in Europe, the number of users has already exceeded 30 million. Even if each device only earns ten dollars, that's still a huge sum of 300 million dollars. Not to mention the Americas and the Middle East...

The number of users worldwide has exceeded 100 million!
Next, the second generation of Beidou will need to be put on the agenda.

With our accumulated strength, we might be able to complete the network before GPS does. At that time, the Americans will be completely dumbfounded!
The benefits of monopolizing satellite navigation are enormous. If all kinds of precision-guided weapons use Beidou terminals in the future, then we will have the final say on who can hit the target accurately and who can't!
Giving users the benefits of Beidou-2 is not only to help the aerospace sector expand its market, but also to help Beidou-2 monopolize the market!

After all, the users in the aerospace sector are definitely also involved in aerospace, and they will certainly be interested in Beidou-2!
Everyone from the aerospace department present became excited.

"Great! That's fantastic!"

"President Qin, thank you for the tremendous help that Northwestern Polytechnical University has provided us."

In everyone's eyes, this was indeed Northwestern Polytechnical University helping out!
Qin Liang smiled and said, "It's all what we should do. After all, the development of aerospace at Northwestern Polytechnical University is inseparable from the cooperation of domestic aerospace departments. We share the same fate."

Northwestern Polytechnical University is developing a liquid oxygen-methane engine, and will definitely be developing launch vehicles in the future. However, Northwestern Polytechnical University cannot build its own launch site, so it will definitely need the cooperation of domestic aerospace departments. Therefore, everyone is in a cooperative relationship!
"Yes, Principal Qin, we still have to thank you!"

For the aerospace sector, the excitement at this moment is beyond words.

"Yes, our aerospace department also needs to be prepared. We must be absolutely certain that everything will go smoothly. If the first launch fails, it will be very difficult to succeed in the future!"

(End of this chapter)