Babylonian Empire

Page 476

The final analysis results showed that the compressor blades of the single-rotor M53 engine had early fatigue. This was not because of poor maintenance, but because the M53 engine was not suitable for the chaotic conditions in the Middle East. In the hot climate, when they were experimenting, they did not consider the weather conditions in the Middle East. Therefore, they inhaled air that they had not considered, and they became acclimatized.

However, the blades of the compressor did not break, which shows that the engine stopped in the air this time, not because of this reason. In the end, the eyes of Iraqi experts pointed to the common problem of compressor blade stall and surge.

In fact, the French technicians have already thought of this. They know that their engine, because it is a single-rotor engine, has this congenital defect, but it has been restricted by the fly-by-wire system, and this time, the aircraft did not How could such a phenomenon occur in the process of level flight when entering complex air combat?

The engine is the heart of a fighter plane. Since the engine problem has not yet been concluded, the Mirage 4000 fighter jets equipped by Iraq have been temporarily grounded.

After repeated discussions, experts from the Iraqi side argued hard and finally came to a result: the accident was due to the fact that the Mirage 4000 engine had not been adjusted to adapt to the climate in the Middle East, which resulted in early fatigue of the engine’s compressor blades. It's not very powerful, but it has already caused the engine to work unstable. When the accident happened, the Mirage 4000 fighter just encountered a vertical airflow during cruising, although the telex system adjusted it spontaneously. , however, due to the significantly reduced flow into the intake port, however, it still caused the engine to experience a terrible surge and finally, an air stop.

The second air start was successful, but it stopped again because of a problem with the compressor blades.

The solution is either to change the engine blades and make adaptive improvements at the same time, or to change the engine!

Improving the engine blades and improving the adaptability will make this fighter plane grounded for at least half a year to a year, because after the engine is improved, the test flight and other work have to be re-tested, which is a long job.

However, this plan has been recognized by Dassault, because Dassault has no candidate engines.

However, the Iraqi side will definitely not be satisfied with letting their powerful fighter planes stay on the ground for such a long time, and, on their land, an excellent aero engine is being produced: F404, the maximum thrust of this engine, only It is several hundred kilonewtons smaller than the M53, but in terms of weight, the F404 is lighter, and it should be very suitable for installing on the Mirage 4000. Compared with the M53, the fuel consumption of the F404 is very low. Although the M53 is called a turbofan engine, However, the channel ratio is not very high, and the fuel consumption rate is even higher than that of the advanced turbojet engines of later generations.More importantly, the use of the F404 engine on the F20 fighter jet in Iraq has confirmed that this engine can fully meet the climatic conditions in the Middle East.

Moreover, in this case, the Mirage 4000 and F20, which are light and heavy, both use the same engine on Iraq's main fighter jets, which is very beneficial for logistical support.

Therefore, the Iraqi side proposed to use the F404 engine to replace the unreliable M53 engine. All Mirage 4000s produced on the Iraqi production line adopt this configuration.

This plan was strongly opposed by Dassault.

Originally, the Mirage 4000 production line for export did not include the engine production line. Of the 4000 Mirage 500s ordered by Iraq, the first ten were produced in France, the middle twenty were assembled from incoming parts, and the last fifty were assembled by Dassault The company only provides engines and electronic equipment, and the rest are produced in Iraq.Among them, the price offered by Dassault for each set of engines and radars is 200 million. If Iraq does not import engines, then Dassault will lose at least [-] million in profits for each set. Billions of dollars in profit!

Therefore, Dassault Company firmly disagrees. The arms sales project to Iraq is the largest contract since the establishment of their company, and they will never give up this opportunity to make money.

The two sides couldn't hold on, and they were finally reported to Qusay.

Looking at the report, it coincided with Qusay's original idea. He put in a lot of effort to introduce the F404 engine production line. He had this idea at the beginning. Now, the Gauls' fighter engine did have problems. They But I don't want to give up this opportunity, and I never agree to change to American engines. It seems that I have to put some pressure on them!

Qusay immediately asked his secretary to contact the French side. He needed to communicate with Mr. Marcel Dassault about the Mirage 4000 issue in person. Originally, this matter could be handed over to the project leader. However, Qusay’s doing so can show that His emphasis on the project.

After two hours, Mr. Marcel Dassault finally came to the telephone. The long-distance call from Iraq made him feel very ominous. He already knew that the engine of the Phantom 4000 this time, Something went wrong in the Middle East.

In fact, Dassault also attaches great importance to the Mirage 4000 project in the Middle East, because the Mirage 4000 has received funds from the Middle East to allow this project to continue and reach the point where it can be equipped with troops.

Although it was not the French Air Force that was first equipped, but Iraq in the Middle East, this further shows that this fighter has great vitality. Dassault is actively lobbying the French Air Force, hoping to equip it. , among other potential countries in the world, promote the powerful heavy air fighter that Marcel is most proud of in his life.

More exciting, more good books, all in

The best complete novels are waiting for you to read!

[Baidu:]

Book download official website

Marcel remembered the last time Qusay came to sign the contract. At that time, he thought that this person was an outstanding military commander, an outstanding politician, and at the same time, a shrewd businessman. Qusay knew what he needed, The suggestions put forward have brought the combat power of Mirage 4000 to a higher level. Such people are now dissatisfied with the engine of Mirage 4000, and the current weakness of Mirage 4000 is the engine!

"Mr. Marcel, the investigation results have come out regarding the engine shutdown accident of your Mirage 4000 in our country." Qusay talked to Marcel in English.

"Yes, we are actively improving our engines and providing solutions to use the environment in the Middle East." Marcel also replied in English.

"This will take a long time. Therefore, we hope that we can use the F404 engine that can be assembled and produced in our country for modification and production. All Mirage 4000 fighters produced on the Iraqi production line will use this engine." Qusai directly raised it .

"Sorry, Dassault has never been in contact with this kind of engine. We don't have various technical data. We can't modify it. Whether the engine matches the intake port, whether the fly-by-wire control system matches the engine, whether the flight envelope has been modified, if If this is the case, I am afraid it will take longer." Marcel said that although he is old, his brain is still very good, and he came up with these very reasonable excuses casually.

Chapter 532 The Sky Glitters

"If we invite Northrop and General Dynamics technicians to work together, the efficiency should be very high?" Qusay asked.

Qusay knew that what Marcel said were all excuses, fair excuses, because it was impossible for him to say that the Mirage 4000 was a French fighter jet, and it would never be equipped with American F404 engines. Find all kinds of excuses from the side.

However, Marcel did not expect that His Majesty Qusay would be so powerful. With the combination of these two companies, the technical problem of replacing the Mirage 4000 with the F404 engine would be resolved soon.

But in this case, is this fighter still developed by the French dúlì?It is equipped with an American-made engine!What France is most proud of is all kinds of weapons and equipment, all of which are independently developed, such as nuclear weapons, missiles, nuclear submarines, tanks, and fighter jets. France has withdrawn from NATO. The defense industry relies entirely on independent research and development. Therefore, although the M53 engine is backward , but it is the pride of the French aviation industry.

Both Northrop and General Dynamics are very happy to equip the Mirage 4000 with an American-made engine, because although the production line of this engine has been established in Iraq, the raw materials required for the engine still have to be imported from the United States. Iraq made the Mirage 4000 also equipped with this kind of engine, so they will have a bigger income, of course they are very happy.

At this time, the F404 engine has been equipped with Boeing's F/A-18 "Hornet", Lockheed's F-117 "Nighthawk" bomber, Northrop's F-20 "Tiger Shark" fighter jet, in addition to these , Sweden's Saab JAS-39 "Gripen", Singapore's A/TA4SU "Super Skyhawk" attack aircraft, and even the planned Israel Aviation Industry Company Cub C2 fighter and India's LCA fighter, all plan to use this engine.

This is an excellent engine. Now that Iraq's F-20 has been equipped, there will be no political and commercial obstacles to equip Iraq with a new fighter.

The only dissatisfaction, of course, is that Dassault is very reluctant.This will not only cause them economic losses, but also damage their self-esteem, although they know that the engine of their fighter is indeed not powerful enough.

"If we work together with them to tackle key problems, then they will understand the performance of our fighter." Marcel hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"If we don't change the engine, then we will cancel all the follow-up orders for Phantom 4000." Qu Sai said, his words are very intimidating. After all, the production line has already been imported. If he said no production, then , Iraq's own losses are also great.

The only difference is that Iraq can afford this loss, but Dassault cannot lose the order. If the Iraqi Air Force does not equip it, it will have a great negative impact on the subsequent export of Mirage 4000.

"If the engine is changed, our Iraqi Air Force will order another [-] more, and we will also sell this fighter to countries in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, we can have at least [-] additional orders, and Kuwait , Qatar and other countries.” Qusay said.

Hearing that there was still a large order, Marcel began to think quickly in his mind. Except for Iraqi equipment, the sales of Mirage 4000 to other countries have not been successful so far. However, Iraq has a lot of influence on other countries in the Middle East. If it is recommended by Iraq, this fighter can be successfully equipped to these countries. Although it is produced on the production line in Iraq, Dassault can also make a lot of profits, far exceeding the replacement The profits of these more than 100 engines, and the cooperation with American companies can also understand the technical performance of this engine, which is also of great benefit to the development of French military engines.

Although Qusay couldn't see Marcel's expression, he could guess what Marcel was thinking at the moment. He must weigh in his heart whether it was worth Dassault's job.

"You also know that the Saudi Air Force is preparing to buy American F-15 fighter jets. If Saudi Arabia buys the Mirage 4000 instead, you must be able to figure out the consequences?" Qusay has already stated all the conditions, and now he said, Just to add more fire: "Phantom 4000, this kind of heavy air superiority fighter, not just any country can afford it."

Qusay's last words obviously played a very good role. Not any country can afford to equip this kind of fighter jet. It must be a rich country with strong financial resources. Apart from the oil-producing countries in the Middle East, where can he find Kaizi? go?Even the French Air Force itself is reluctant to equip it.

Moreover, the Mirage 4000 defeated the F-15 and won an order from Saudi Arabia. This is also something that Dassault can make a big deal of. At this moment, Marcel has made up his mind.

The conditions offered by Iraq were too generous, and he had no reason to refuse. Marcel brought a large number of Although these orders were produced in Iraqi factories, some necessary parts for export made Dassault profitable until 87.Moreover, afterward, the modification of these fighters made Dassault another fortune.

"Okay, Dassault will try our best to solve this matter and cooperate with the United States to install the F404 engine on our Mirage 4000 fighter." Marcel finally agreed.

Qusay showed a smile on his face. In this way, the logistics and maintenance of the fighter plane will be much more convenient. The M4000 engine of the Phantom 53, the heart problem, will also be successfully resolved.And down, there is another problem, that is, the advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles!

Now Iraq has been able to produce fighter jets, and is working hard to increase the proportion of localization. In the end, all parts must be independently produced in Iraq. This is a huge project that will drive the improvement of the entire industrial level of Iraq, and will also Increase a lot of job opportunities.

However, until now, the missiles used by Iraqi fighter planes are still completely blank. The AIM-20 used by the F-7 and the Super Matra 4000 missile used by the Mirage 530. These medium-range missiles were bought by Iraq at a high price. .

Fortunately, the current air combat intensity is already very low. If the Iranian Air Force returns to the pre-war level, then the current air-to-air missiles in Iraq may have been almost exhausted.

Moreover, there is also a potential danger. If, like Iran, it gets stuck in the neck during the war, Iran's Phoenix missiles have been consumed a lot in the first year, which has led to Iran's powerful Tomcat fighter The dilemma of having to use only Sparrow missiles or even Sidewinder missiles.

Once any problems arise in the future, if Iraq affects the interests of the United States, as long as the United States no longer provides Iraq with Sparrow air-to-air missiles, the existing inventory cannot withstand too much consumption.Although the F-20 has been opened with a weapon interface that can mount Matra 530 missiles in an emergency, Qusay is not satisfied with the existing missiles in Iraq.

Whether it is the Matra 530 missile or the AIM-7E Sparrow air-to-air missile, they all use semi-active radar guidance. During the entire launch process of this missile, the carrier aircraft cannot make large maneuvers, otherwise, the missile will not be able to receive it. The radar wave emitted by the carrier aircraft and reflected by the target will be unlocked.

In future air battles, active air-to-air missiles are the trump card. Although limited by the size of the missile itself, active guidance can only be carried out in the final stage, but this also gives the carrier aircraft the advantage of restoring freedom in the final stage.Now, the AIM-120 missile of Raytheon Company of the United States is about to start its first test launch. In future air combat, this air-to-air missile will be a great threat.

If Iraq wants to catch up with the development of the times and gain a favorable position in future wars, then, from now on, it needs to consider active air-to-air missiles!

After collecting information from many sources and combining the knowledge of later generations, Qusay finally set his sights on the United Kingdom again. There, there is a Sky Flash missile that surpasses the Sparrow, Super Matra 530, R27 and other medium-range missiles of the same period!

This missile developed by British Aerospace Corporation is based on the AIM-7E-2 that was in service in the United States. It was finally successfully developed in 1978. It is the world's earliest third-generation radar-guided air-to-air missile with the ability to shoot down. The world's first medium-range air-to-air missile developed by Marconi using a single-pulse semi-active radar seeker, which has better anti-electronic jamming capabilities than the conical scanning seeker used by AIM-3E and guidance accuracy.Even compared with the AIM-7F, which was only in service in 1980, it has advantages in key performances such as anti-electronic jamming capability, guidance precision, and probability of killing low-altitude targets. The launch range is slightly inferior, because the AIM-7E rocket engine is still used, so the power launch range has not been improved.