mesbooks Chapter 446 Seahawk 1 and Seahawk 2
Chapter 446 Seahawk 1 and Seahawk 2
The lights in the conference room were bright, and everyone was sitting in a circle around a long conference table with a pile of blueprints and technical drawings on the table.
As a top student who returned from White Eagle, Zhao Dehai attended a special meeting on missile development as a technical consultant for the first time today.
He was wearing a neat grey suit, his glasses reflecting the light, and his expression revealed a bit of confidence and excitement.
He gently pushed his glasses, cleared his throat, and said in a loud voice, changing his usual low-key tone:
"Let's start with the power unit. Ladies and gentlemen, our factory's research on solid rocket motors is, without exaggeration, quite mature. We can come up with solutions for various applications, whether it's rockets, missiles, extended-range artillery shells, or individual RPGs."
He tapped the drawing on the table with his fingers and pulled out a folded diagram:
"This is the 'dual-chamber supercharged' solid-propulsion solution that our factory is currently testing. It has a stable combustion rate and a relatively mature manufacturing process."
He paused here, his expression slightly serious:
"However, everyone should pay attention to a fatal flaw. Solid rocket motors can only ignite once, and after ignition, the fuel will burn out quickly."
The meeting room suddenly became quiet.
Zhao Dehai glanced around and continued:
"Even if we optimize the aerodynamic structure of the missile, its maximum range is only a dozen kilometers. In other words..."
He pointed to the number on the drawing and said, "It went away with a puff."
A suppressed laugh came from the corner, and several engineers couldn't help but wink at each other, obviously amused by his vivid metaphor.
At this time, Lao Gao nodded slowly, but waved his hand to interrupt him.
"I know about that," Lao Gao said, taking a sip from his teacup in a steady tone. "But based on our current combat requirements, the initial range target for the new air-to-ship missile is fifteen kilometers. A rocket engine is more than sufficient for this range."
He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the steel group representative next to him. "Besides, this engine has a simple structure, is easy to produce, has a short combustion time, and doesn't require high heat resistance from the material. It only needs to withstand high temperatures for five or six seconds, right?"
The technical expert was a middle-aged man with an oily face and slightly swollen cheeks. He nodded immediately after hearing this:
"No problem. Once we adjust the furnace temperature and change the mold, our workshop can produce a bunch for you in a month."
Zhao Dehai didn't intend to give in. He immediately continued the conversation, his brows sharpening:
"That's right. But we can't just focus on the present. The future combat environment will become increasingly complex. We must be aware that both the White Eagle and the Japanese ship-borne air defense radars have a detection range of tens or even nearly a hundred kilometers, not to mention our own radars."
"If the missile's range remains at 15 kilometers, our carrier aircraft will be exposed before they even enter range, giving the enemy time to react. Forget launching missiles; we'll already be marked and tracked before we even get close to the enemy carrier battle group."
Several Air Force officers in the conference room exchanged glances and nodded slightly.
Zhao Dehai continued to exert his strength:
"Even if our missiles have supersonic penetration capabilities, the carrier aircraft itself is not. Compared to fighter jets, the B-25's flying speed is just a slow, fat guy. If it's intercepted, there's no way to escape!"
These words made everyone feel nervous. Although Zhao Dehai did not clearly point out who the imaginary enemy was, the defense industry talents present knew clearly where the greatest defense pressure of the Anmin Army would come from in the future.
After all, for the few large ships left in the Japanese Combined Fleet, it would be easy for them to enter the deep sea area. However, if they entered the coastal areas of the South China Sea, the attack aircraft of the An Min Army Air Force would swarm in and make them suffer a lot with air-launched torpedoes and dive bombing, and there would be no need for such high-tech equipment as air-to-ship missiles.
Zhang Chi became interested as he listened, sat up straight, and tapped the table lightly:
"Xiao Zhao, tell me about your plan. After all this talk, it seems like you already have a plan in mind."
When Zhao Dehai heard the boss calling his name, an expression of uncontrollable excitement appeared on his face. He was going to make a splash today!
He snapped open the briefcase he had brought with him and pulled out several pages of paper filled with diagrams of turbine structures.
"When I was studying at Princeton, I researched gas turbine technology, and I also participated in the design of turbojet engines. Compared with solid-propeller engines, this type of engine has a lower instantaneous thrust of the same size, but it has better endurance and controllability."
As he spoke, he walked to the blackboard and quickly drew a simplified diagram of a turbojet missile:
"At launch, the missile takes off at maximum thrust, then accelerates and reduces power to cruise at high altitudes where the air is thinner and the resistance is lower, saving fuel. In the final stage, the radar guidance system is activated, the missile locks onto the target, and then it dives with maximum thrust to attack."
"The missile is about the size of an air-launched torpedo, with a warhead in the front, fuel in the middle, and an engine in the rear. Its range easily exceeds 40 kilometers. The stable detection range of White Eagle's current ship-borne air defense radar is roughly that far."
He glanced at the naval staff:
"That is, by the time the enemy's radar detected our plane, our missiles had already been released and the carrier aircraft was returning, leaving us no time to intercept!"
"If we enlarge the missile, although we can't carry it on a carrier aircraft and can only launch it from the shore, the range can be further increased to over 100 kilometers. By then, if the enemy ships are attacked, they won't be able to find where we hit them from."
The naval staff officer's eyes lit up when he heard this conclusion, and he excitedly pounded his fist on the table: "Great! This is what we call protecting our pilots' lives to the greatest extent possible!"
Another engineer frowned and said, "Engineer Zhao, your design... sounds like a small airplane? And one that doesn't require a pilot."
There was another burst of laughter in the conference room.
Lao Gao also laughed and nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Your idea is a bit similar to Hans's V-1, both of which fly out and cruise in the sky. However, the V-1 is a single-pulse jet, and the engine structure is much simpler than a turbojet."
He paused, his tone slightly grave. "Your plan is indeed good, but it's too difficult. Forget about anything else. Just the turbine blade material alone would put our steel mill through a lot."
Sure enough, at this time the technical expert from Nanhua Iron and Steel Group looked at Zhang Chi for help.
Whether it is nickel-based alloys that can withstand ultra-high temperatures for a long time, high-strength nickel-chromium-molybdenum steel, or the precision casting and forging technology and production lines required for turbine blades, Zhang Chi provided them to Nanhua Steel Group through the industrial exchange vouchers in the system.
However, these high-tech technologies cannot be mastered instantly, and production efficiency and yield rate cannot be improved in a short period of time. If anti-ship cruise missiles are really developed, the pressure on Nanhua Steel Group will be huge.
Zhang Chi touched his chin and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the wisdom of contemporary people should not be underestimated.
In fact, what Zhao Dehai was talking about was the cruise missiles of later generations. However, as the range became longer, it posed greater challenges to a series of issues such as guidance and flight attitude control.
Moreover, the most crucial thing is that the Anmin Army has not yet developed a reliable turbojet engine.
After changing his mind, Zhang Chi made a decision instantly:
"Xiao Zhao has a good idea, but we have to take things one bite at a time. As our first self-developed missile, we shouldn't be too ambitious. Let's just go with a rocket engine. As a weapon, the most important thing is that we can mass-produce it and be able to launch it."
"As for the idea you proposed, Xiao Zhao, take note of it for now. We'll discuss it later when there's progress in the development of the turbojet engine."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Chi said, "I think we should codename this air-to-ship ballistic missile project 'Sea Eagle'. The one that uses a rocket engine and performs sea-skimming attacks will be called Sea Eagle 1. As for the one you proposed, Xiao Zhao, let's call it Sea Eagle 2."