Chapter 484

Chapter 484: Only Because I’m Here in This Mountain

“The Russians really look embarrassed this time. Did you see their expressions? They look so resentful!” Chen Haiqing pointed at the nearby exhibition area of other manufacturers, reveling in their misfortune.

“Who told you to set such harsh conditions? How could they possibly authorize the AL-41 to you? You’re thinking too optimistically,” said Lin Mo dismissively.

For Lin Mo, he had little regard for the AL-41, as he had something better. The two F119-PW-100 vector thrust engines had been partially modified by Lin Mo, and since they were owned by him, he had enough authority to make adjustments. He replaced the two-dimensional vector nozzles with five-dimensional vector engines, which were not as versatile as the F-35’s omni-directional nozzles, but better suited for the “monstrous” afterburner performance.

“I’ve always had a question about ‘Dragon Knight’,” said Qiu Zhengjun, an engineer from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, as he approached Lin Mo and Chen Haiqing, his clothes stained with oil. “How did you suddenly boost the speed of the ‘Eagle Falcon’ to over 2.4 Mach yesterday?”

“How did you find out?” Lin Mo was taken aback, realizing that the gold coin had modified the black box, and he thought he was foolproof.

He hadn’t expected that Qiu Zhengjun would notice something unusual; detecting the aircraft’s speed at such high velocities showed his keen insight.

One must understand that the J-14 ‘Eagle Falcon’s’ afterburner performance was not particularly obvious. After infrared suppression, and through the bypass ratio of the turbofan and hot/cold air flow adjustments, one could only see the bluish tail flame directly at the nozzle. From the side, only the light distortion of the airflow would be visible.

Though the J-14’s high fuel consumption might be fierce, it was well concealed; it would be incredibly hard for non-professionals to notice, and even the guest invited by the television station did not catch on.

However, Lin Mo felt slightly caught off guard by Qiu’s sudden inquiry; after all, he didn’t interact with the J-14 daily. The fighter jet extensively used composite materials, and even with the gold coin trying to assist, he could easily miss something. If he spoke carelessly, he would eventually expose himself for having taken shortcuts.

“Hey, ‘Dragon Knight’, you have some tricks up your sleeve! Admit to your mistakes, or I’ll have to penalize you at year-end bonuses!” Young Master Chen exclaimed, his eyes wide. Lin Mo had uncovered secrets about the J-14 that they didn’t even know about. No wonder the two Shiyuan-30 missiles had been tailing the ‘Eagle Falcon’ like two dead dogs but failed to catch up; it turns out the reason lay here.

Chen Haiqing pulled Lin Mo’s arm, refusing to give up, and turned to engineer Qiu Zhengjun from Shenyang. “Alright, Qiu, you guys at Shenyang must have some Easter eggs. No wonder you didn’t let us touch the engine; turns out there’s a secret hidden inside.”

“Shh! Keep it down! This is a public place; stay discreet!” Qiu Zhengjun said quickly, putting his finger to his lips. “This is an order from above. It’s not that we don’t want to tell you; this module isn’t just on the J-14. It’s also on the J-20, mainly used for tuning the WS-15X engine. Don’t go spreading this around; it’s a state secret.”

He then asked Lin Mo, “Did you discover this through the operation control system? You didn’t leave any backdoors in the system, did you?”

“Of course not! I just had a hunch!” Lin Mo responded, taking advantage of Qiu Zhengjun’s assumptions to smooth things over.

“It seems we’ll need to update the J-14’s records again. With a pilot like you, this fighter is indeed lucky! If we can manage fuel consumption and lifespan well, it will absolutely not be inferior to the American engines.”

Qiu Zhengjun sighed, impressed by Lin Mo’s knack for miracles. He cast a glance at the disgruntled Indians, Russians, and Japanese, realizing that top pilots who had participated in actual combat truly were extraordinary.

“I also look forward to it. If we could get two engines even more powerful than the F-35’s B variant, with a maximum thrust of at least 500 kilonewtons, that would be ideal.”

Engine technology faced strict international limitations, and while finished products could be acquired for reverse engineering, the time and costs involved wouldn’t save much compared to a complete redesign. Lin Mo’s “monstrous” aspirations still lacked the current engines to meet the original target parameters.

“500 kilonewtons? You’re really asking for a lot; that’s comparable to a rocket engine! Are you planning to build missiles? The WS-15X engine on your National Defense Star’s J-14 ‘Eagle Falcon’ barely exceeds 150 kilonewtons in maximum thrust. For your ‘monstrous’ design to reach Mach 5 cruising speed, it would have to fly in the rarefied atmosphere; otherwise, it would disintegrate at speeds exceeding Mach 4 in the troposphere.”

Rocket engines might achieve a million newtons of thrust, but for pilots, a slight deviation could mean fatal overload.

The MiG-25, made with a stainless steel frame, could reach Mach 3, but the cockpit’s temperatures could boil eggs—not a pleasant experience for pilots. Moreover, speeds above Mach 4 would create such intense friction that it could melt steel.

“Pursuing extremes is my goal,” Lin Mo replied somewhat dismissively.

“Alright, I won’t argue with you. I heard National Defense Star recently acquired some excellent alloy formulas. Perhaps you could filter some of these formulas to the special alloys smelting plant or the engine production company in Xi’an or Guizhou Liyang Aviation Engine Company for research over the next year or two. Maybe that could lead to a 200-kilonewton thrust engine. I know that some special alloy materials can achieve remarkable results for engine output. Material science has always been our nation’s weakness. If you have good formulas, it’s worth a try. However, I’m not particularly optimistic; you need technical and equipment accumulation, and it’s not something that can be accomplished overnight.”

Qiu Zhengjun was quite surprised at Lin Mo’s persistence and seriousness.

The F-22’s main engine, the F119-PW-100 turbofan, only achieves a maximum thrust of 173.4 kilonewtons, yet Lin Mo’s demanding requirements left Qiu Zhengjun astonished.

The upper echelons of the industry had long circulated the “monstrous” blueprints. To professionals, they mostly contained empty talk and inventive theories, as well as designs from aircraft manufacturers. However, the actual performance differed significantly from what was on paper. Estimates suggested a lack of necessary materials and the immense costs of mass production, leaving its performance inferior to even the J-10.

Given the current limitations in materials and processing technologies, achieving the original set parameters would require at least several decades.

“Thank you, Old Qiu. You’re absolutely right. That’s a good idea; I’ll consider it carefully.” Lin Mo mused, stroking his chin.

Unaware of the true nature of his aspirations, Lin Mo merely viewed himself as a soldier and not a businessman. With a golden opportunity before him, he had never contemplated the value of the endless alloy formulas from the gold giant dragon. Only after National Defense Star discovered their worth did he realize they had some value worth pursuing. However, he still hadn’t thought about applying those material improvements to the engines.

After all, Lin Mo specialized in aerodynamic design, not in materials or engine engineering; he operated on a practical basis, designing fighter jets according to the engines available to him.

Hearing Qiu’s words made Lin Mo suddenly see things clearly. Material enhancements significantly impact engine performance, which connected the dots for him.

Lin Mo planned to visit domestic engine manufacturers to try his luck; his only support came from local companies. Foreign engine manufacturers were out of the question. He had no hope of having the American Pratt & Whitney Group or General Electric customize engines for the Chinese, no matter how many times the price was offered.

If money could accomplish anything, the Japanese would have succeeded long ago.

“Hey, hey! I’m telling you, Qiu, your Shenyang may be large and powerful, but don’t set your sights on our little National Defense Star’s alloy formulas! We rely on them for our meals!”

Upon hearing Qiu Zhengjun mention National Defense Star’s formulas, Young Master Chen exploded with alarm. Why did everyone know that National Defense Star acquired a treasure? This news spread too quickly.

Chen Haiqing quickly gestured to Lin Mo, signaling him not to dwell on the alloy formulas, as the main party was right there. He couldn’t let Shenyang snatch it away. As an industry giant, Shenyang was far more powerful than National Defense Star, and this made him anxious.

Qiu Zhengjun paused briefly before bursting into laughter, saying, “Oh! You little worrywart! I’m just helping him out; it’s beneficial for young people to be hands-on. Even if it’s something unlikely to succeed, as long as they try, how far they can think determines how far they can go in the future. I’m even worried your little National Defense Star won’t be able to accommodate such a big dragon!”

To conclude, he couldn’t resist a small jab at Chen Haiqing.