Seeing that Deng Gong was about to nod, Muhamad finally couldn't help it: "You Shen Fei, aren't you going to develop a modification of Jian-8?" In my opinion, it is most appropriate to hand it over to Xifei, simply give up its own J-7 project, map and copy our Tomcat at full speed, and at the same time, combine part of the power of Chengfei to improve it, such as replacing hydraulic operation with fly-by-wire, so that the performance of this fighter is better. ”

Give it to Shen Fei? If it was handed over to Shen Fei, Mhammad would hardly have any hope. Later, Shen Fei began to transform the Su-27 by himself, boasting very awesomely, what three-axis and four-redundancy digital fly-by-wire operation, much higher than the prototype's three-redundancy analog fly-by-wire, but the result almost led to a flight accident, indicating that they did not fully grasp the control characteristics of the Su-27 at all, but only measured and controlled the signal of the fly-by-wire interface, and without a comprehensive reverse analysis, there was a problem with program writing.

In contrast, Mhammad still believes in Chengfei and Xifei. It is difficult for an enterprise to improve after the bad atmosphere from top to bottom is formed.

Hearing Mahmad's proposal, the minister of the Third Machine Department closed his mouth and did not speak again, Deng Gong thought about it for a moment and said: "This matter cannot be hasty, we need to have a safe plan." ”

The development of military aircraft, after all, is a heavy relationship, and Hammad knows that it is inconvenient for him to say anything, depending on what their decision is in the end, if it is set in Shenfei, then Pakistan will have no hope for anything.

In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of Mhammad's visit to Wèn, and on this day, Mhammad came to the 617 factory in Baotou.

Baotou is one of the heavy industrial bases of the Republic, and the main project is tank building, and with the intensification of pressure in the north, the 617 plant is also constantly improving, and has produced Type 59. Type 69, Type 79, Type 80 tanks.

In the shooting range north of Baotou, a tank was galloping rapidly.

Compared to the usual Type 59 tank, the appearance of this tank. The biggest difference is that it has changed from 5 large load wheels to 6 small load wheels, which looks closer to the Western tank form.

"This is the latest product of our military factory, the Type 80 tank." Deputy Liu, a military representative of the 617 plant, said: "Compared with the previous tank, it has a larger engine, and it also uses composite armor, and the suspension device is also very advanced. ”

Mhammad watched the tank gallop, not bad. After ten years of turmoil, Baotou's military industry is still developing, and this tank, when officially finalized, will become the Type 88 tank, but it is still in the development of the time, it has fallen behind. So instead of equipping the troops, the development of the Type 96 tank continued.

Type 96 tank. It is the tank that really catches up with the pace of the West, and the army of the Republic is also nearly twenty years behind the West at this time.

Deng Gong did not follow, and Muhammad was accompanied by General Zhang, Minister of National Defense, who was also a tiger general from the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Mhammad remembered to agree to the Germans' demands in Germany. Now, it's time to find an opportunity to bring this up.

"Tanks are the main battle equipment of the army, and Pakistan is now in the east and still faces the threat of the Indian army. India is already equipped with the T-72 tank and is developing a new tank. "Now, our country needs a new tank," Mhammad said. ”

"Our Type 80 tank is still being tested in a finalized form, and after it is officially finalized, it can be exported to your country." General Zhang said.

There is hardly any suspense in this, and assistance to Pakistan's army is the consistent style of the Republic.

After speaking, General Zhang looked at Mhammad, but saw that Mhammad shook his head: "No, the performance of this tank in front of me is still too backward." ”

"Yes, this is our second-generation tank, and at this moment, the third-generation tanks of foreign countries have been finalized and successfully equipped with troops." At the same time as Mhammad denied it, behind General Zhang, an old man with gray hair also sighed and said: "If we want to catch up with the West, we must make great strides forward." ”

Looking at the old man, Mhammad was in a trance for a while, as if he was very familiar, and then looked at it, one of the other party's sleeves was empty, and suddenly, Mhammad remembered a person! The one-armed chief division of 99 tanks!

This is a respectable senior, at the age of 66, he designed the third generation of tanks of the Republic from scratch, but he has more innovative research momentum than young people; At the age of 80, he still went to the front line of the tank, but he would like others to call him a "veteran" when he is famous!

He participated in the revolution at the age of 20, and as a military worker, he went deep into the front line of battle, creating and improving more than 20 kinds of weapons and combat equipment; At the age of 30, he lost his right arm due to the explosion of an artillery shell, but he was determined not to change his mind and was still groping for operations on the battlefield. When the 99 tank was reviewed, he was finally known to the outside world! The future of the republic is forged by such scientific and technological workers!

It is now 84 years, the development of the third-generation tank, just approved the project, the one-armed chief division followed General Zhang this time, just to see what kind of performance requirements the president has for the tank who has repeatedly created miracles in the South Asian battlefield.

The Type 80 tank is still gradually improved from the Type 50 tank and the Type 69 tank, and the third-generation tank of the West has no chance of victory, so it is necessary to develop a new tank!

And in later generations, the innovation in the Type 99 tank exceeded 80 percent!

"Sir, you're right." Although Mhammad is the president, he still has great respect for this military worker, and the group he leads does not have the behavior of those eldest sons, for example, he handles tens of millions of scientific research funds every year, but he never invites guests, does not give gifts, and does not receive at will, for example, on a business trip, he made it clear in advance that this business trip has nothing to do with the third-generation tank, and all food, housing and transportation are paid for by themselves, and invoices are not allowed!

"Among the indicators of the tank, firepower, maneuverability, and the level of protection, are the three most important aspects." The one-armed chief teacher said: "Mr. President, what do you think of the relationship between these three indicators? ”

"Balanced." "The most suitable product is the one that is balanced, and only one aspect is highlighted, such as sacrificing armor protection and reducing weight," Mhammad said. To achieve excellent maneuverability, it is not desirable. ”

The one-armed master nodded, if it could be balanced, of course it would be the best, but...

"If you can't do all three, don't you think. Which one should be highlighted? ”

"Firepower!" Mhammad said firmly: "The tank is the king of land warfare, it is the offensive force, and its most important thing is firepower!" ”

"Yes, it's firepower!" The one-armed chief said excitedly.

In the process of developing the Type 99 tank, the one-armed chief division took into account the characteristics of all aspects and finally chose the domestically produced 125 mm tank gun. It has been going on steadily, and when it is finalized, the muzzle kinetic energy of the domestically produced 125-mm tank gun is nearly 45 percent higher than that of the Russian 2A46 125-mm tank gun, and nearly 30 percent higher than that of the 120-mm tank gun of the "Leopard" 2.

Firepower is the first element, which is also a matter of no choice, because of the backwardness of the domestic industry and the high-power engine. It has never been built, and it is equipped with a domestic 1200 horsepower engine of the 99 type. Compared with the 730-horsepower engine of the 80-type that is running now, it is indeed a lot better, but compared to the 1500-horsepower engine in the West, it is strictly backward.

Moreover, this 1200 hp engine. There are also defects in performance, so when Pakistan's foreign trade tanks MBT2000 finalized, Pakistan chose the Ukrainian 6TD series engine instead of the domestic one.

The backwardness of power. The combat weight of the tank was limited, in order to make the tank have good mobility, therefore, the combat weight of the Type 99 tank was less than 50 tons, and in later generations, it was not until the 1500 horsepower engine was developed that the 99 was changed, and the dead weight was increased to 52 tons.

There is no need to talk about the restrictions of domestic bridges, vehicles of more than 55 tons can not pass, those overloaded large trucks, often more than 100 tons of total weight, on bridges with a weight limit of more than 20 tons, except for the unlucky ones who collapsed the bridge, most of them are unharmed.

The backwardness of engine technology limits the full weight of the battle, and when it is impossible to take into account the performance of the three, it can only highlight the firepower first.

In fact, the Type 99 tank has indeed done it, the world's first firepower, but the observation and sighting system does not know whether it has kept up with the pace of firepower, not only to hit far, to wear deep, but also to hit accurately.

Now, hearing that Mahmad has the same point of view as himself, the one-armed chief engineer has a feeling of meeting a bosom friend, and he also knows that the domestic engine technology is backward, and the 1200 horsepower engine is already a big leap, and the development is difficult, 1500 horsepower, don't think about it.

"We in Pakistan are working with Germany to introduce a production line for the 1,500 horsepower engine of the Leopard 2 and produce it in Pakistan." Mhammad said.

Hearing Mhammad say this, the one-armed chief master suddenly knew the meaning of the other party's words, and couldn't help but be excited, and his body trembled.

1500 hp! 1500 hp! What does this mean? The Type 99 tank of its own design can amplify the total weight to more than 52 tons, or even 55 tons! The extra weight can make up for the lack of armor protection! Their current design is based on existing technology, and it has taken a big step, this 1500 horsepower engine, but I have never thought of it.

Happiness came so suddenly.

Pakistan has, the republic will also have, this is determined by the alliance between the two sides, there is no doubt about this, moreover, the problem of power is solved, the development of their own tanks, the progress will be faster, after all, the 125 mm artillery has almost been successfully developed, and the power is solved, only the hull remains, that is the best of their own!

(In this article, I pay tribute to those scientific researchers who are struggling in the development of military industry!) Zhu Lao passed away last year, but the main battle tank of the republic he left behind continues to protect the land of the republic! His meticulousness, hard work, and spirit of struggle in the front line of scientific research are worthy of our learning and respect! Deeply cherish the memory of the elderly! (To be continued......)