Now the Tomcat made in Pakistan has been fully replaced with the F110 engine, with a maximum afterburner thrust of 120 kN, and this engine imported from the Soviet Union has a maximum afterburner thrust of up to 142 kN, and the thrust without afterburner is also as high as 84 kN, and the prototype of the Tomcat fighter, the TF30 engine, has a maximum afterburner thrust of only 93 kN.

Therefore, after the installation of this engine, theoretically speaking, this fighter must be able to have supersonic cruise capability! And an important indicator of the fourth-generation aircraft is supersonic cruise!

This is also related to the aerodynamic layout of the aircraft, if it is a conventional aerodynamic layout, it is necessary to have an engine with a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than 10 to be able to carry out supersonic cruise, and the Tomcat is a fighter with variable sweep wings, when the wings are all swept back, the drag is greatly reduced, which is very suitable for fast sprints, so you can carry out supersonic cruise in the case of engine power limitations!

Supersonic cruise! It means that the fighter can quickly reach the sky over the battlefield, and when it is out of battle, it will quickly withdraw from the battlefield. Like the MiG-25, it is not advisable to enter the supersonic state by relying on the afterburner of the engine, and when the afterburner is used, the fuel consumption rate of the engine surges, and it is simply impossible to maintain a long-term continuous flight.

"Chief Engineer Yang, aren't you in charge of a new project in Huaxia?" Mhammad asked Yang Wei.

"The project has been developed." Yang Wei said to Hammad: "The two-seater fighter has completed a comprehensive test flight mission, successfully finalized, now, our task, is to develop our own fourth-generation aircraft, this supersonic cruise test, I mainly asked to come, and when this experiment is over, we should be able to determine the selection of our own fourth-generation aircraft." ”

Fourth-generation aircraft! Huaxia's Chengfei. It is hoped that on the basis of the J-10, the development of a double-issued large version will be carried out, but Pakistan's proposal is to develop on the basis of the Tomcat, and the two sets of plans are still in the demonstration stage, but now. The results will be coming out soon.

"Okay, we have selected the model, and we can enter the full development." Mhammad said.

Although the variable swept wing makes the space under the wing unusable, and pylons cannot be set, otherwise the wing will collide when the wing is swept back, however, if the fourth-generation aircraft wants to maintain good stealth performance, it must use the built-in bomb bay, so. This is no longer a disadvantage.

In the eyes of everyone, Camar walked to the fighter, over the years, Camar has grown into an excellent test pilot, serving as the captain of the test flight team, testing supersonic cruise, for him, is an ordinary task. But it is an extraordinary mission, which is an ability that only fourth-generation aircraft have!

"Report the president. Pakistan's 1st Test Flight Brigade is preparing for a test flight of a modified fighter, please instruct, Group Leader Kamal. Kamal said to Mhammad.

"Science, rigor, you are the flyers of the war eagles, the heroes of Pakistan. Good luck with your successful return. Mhammad said to Kamal.

"Yes." Kamal replied in a loud voice and stepped onto the plane.

Behind him, the radar operator followed the plane, and the two of them methodically prepared for takeoff.

With a roar, the two engines in the tail section were started. Pale blue flames erupted from the tail nozzle, and Kamal's mood swelled, as if he had sensed that the engine was about to push the fighter for an extraordinary flight.

After confirming that all the data was normal, Kamal turned on the afterburner, released the wheels, and suddenly, a strong feeling of pushing back came, almost like catapulting and taking off on an aircraft carrier!

The two AL-37F engines, with an output of nearly 300,000 N, pushed the Tomcat fighter and quickly taxied on the runway, almost only 200 meters, and the wheels in front had already left the runway.

That's great! Kamal experienced this exciting sense of acceleration, if all the engines of this thrust level were replaced, then when taking off on the aircraft carrier, the power of the catapult could be adjusted to the maximum, and it could take off with a full load!

Two hundred meters! The most awesome F-22 in later generations also requires a take-off distance of about 200 meters, or the result of a vector nozzle! However, now this Tomcat, which does not have missiles on board, is also an important aspect of the shortening of the take-off distance.

After takeoff, Kamal pulled the lever backwards, and the fighter quickly climbed upward. It can be felt that after the new engine is replaced, the climb rate of the Tomcat fighter has also been greatly improved, and it has surpassed all the third-generation aircraft in service!

Generally speaking, cruising will be at high altitude, after all, the air at high altitude is thin, the air resistance is small, it is easier to reach high speeds, and the maximum speed of all aircraft is reached at the ceiling.

Climbing to an altitude of 15,000 meters, Kamal flattened the fighter plane, looking at the clear sky around him, Kamal was in a good mood, and he calmly reported on the radio: "I have reached the predetermined altitude, ready to start the test!" ”

The afterburner of the engine was turned off, Kamal pushed the throttle to the maximum, the wings swept back, and the fighter began to sprint forward rapidly, faster and faster.

The Mach watch in front is constantly turning, Mach 0.6, Mach 0.7, Mach 0.8... Kamal, who was wearing an oxygen mask, had no expression on his face, and his eyes were constantly staring at the meter.

When it reached Mach 0.9, a special white air flow appeared at the front of the nose, and then, suddenly, these air currents flowed backwards, and the nose pierced the middle of the air flow and became a cone! The speed of sound has been exceeded!

The fighter plane is still accelerating.

Mach 1.1, Mach 1.2, and finally, stabilized at Mach 1.3!

As in the computer simulation, after replacing the AL-37F engine with a static thrust of 84 kN, the Tomcat fighter can reach a speed of Mach 1.3 without turning on the afterburner!

The radar operator in the rear cabin is also paying attention to the screen in front of him, which at this time displays information on fuel consumption.

Supersonic cruising is not only capable of reaching supersonic speed without turning on afterburner, but also needs to remain in this state for at least twenty minutes! This makes practical sense, and if you are only able to cruise at supersonic speeds for a few minutes, it is useless.

And how long it will be maintained depends mainly on the fuel consumption rate. The MiG-25 is also a fighter that can cruise at supersonic speeds, thus achieving a fast interception capability, however, this ability is exchanged for a huge fuel load, and the huge body of the MiG-25 has a fuel load of up to 16 tons! It's almost heavier than an F-16 fighter jet full of weapons.

Now, the Tomcat fighter is completely realized with a turbofan engine with low fuel consumption, and the Tomcat fighter is cruising at Mach 1.3 at an altitude of 15,000 kilometers. If it were a conventional aerodynamic layout, it would be impossible for this engine to allow the fighter to achieve supersonic cruising at all speed!

Yang Wei on the ground, constantly listening to the report in the air, his attitude is normal, and the fuel consumption rate is only ten percent greater than that of the F110 engine, and he has already begun to have a choice in his heart.

The technology of the Tomcat fighter has almost been thoroughly understood, and the development on this basis seems to be better than the double-hair large version of the J-10! After all, supersonic cruise means that fighters can quickly reach the sky over the battlefield, and for China, which has a vast land area, this ability is even more important, and it is completely possible to reduce a large number of front-line airfields, reduce the size of the air force, and replace it with a high-quality and capable air force!

The Huaxia Air Force has a huge fleet, and the number of J-6 fighters is as high as thousands at its peak. But what about actual combat effectiveness? The simulated air battles with Pakistan showed that the Huaxia Air Force had no chance of winning in front of the Pakistani Air Force.

And now, after going through hardships, Chengfei has finally successfully developed the third-generation Jian-10 fighter, which has greatly shortened the gap with foreign countries, but at this time, the United States has begun to develop a fourth-generation aircraft! Huaxia must continue to develop fourth-generation aircraft so that it will not be left behind.

Stealth and maneuverability are important, however, supersonic cruising capability is also a necessary factor for fourth-generation aircraft! Although President Hammad had never studied aircraft design professionally, he stood from a very high altitude and proved correct every time he made his opinions.

It seems that after I went back, I suggested to Mr. Song that the direction of the fourth-generation aircraft should adopt Pakistan's plan!

The test flight in the air is still continuing, time is slowly passing, and the fuel in the plane is also slowly being consumed.

A total of half an hour of supersonic cruising! This will go down in the annals of Pakistan's aviation history! With excitement in his heart, Kamal said to the radio: "The supersonic cruise test has been completed, and I would like to request a maximum speed test before returning home!" ”

"Yes."

Hearing the sound coming from the headphones, Kamal turned on the afterburner of the engine.

The feeling of pushing back came again, and the speed of the fighter plane was increasing rapidly.

Mach 1.6, Mach 1.7, almost very quickly, just over Mach 2, continue to accelerate, Mach 2.2, Mach 2.3!

In the past, Mach 2.3 was already the maximum speed of this fighter, but now, it has exceeded Mach 2.3, and the powerful engine pushes the fighter and continues to accelerate.

Mach 2.4, Mach 2.5!

"Be careful, don't go faster than Mach 2.5!" The voice of the ground commander came from the headphones.

"Roger." Kamal cautiously turned off the afterburner and prepared to return.

Mach 2.5, the dividing line of the thermal barrier, when the speed is less than Mach 2.5, the pneumatic heating is not serious, even if it is the head, the temperature is only more than 100 degrees, but beyond Mach 2.5, the temperature of friction heat will increase sharply, and when the speed reaches Mach 3, the temperature will be as high as 350 degrees Celsius! (To be continued......)