Chapter 338 Discovering Good Things

Ustinov immediately understood that they had generously brought Chinese personnel to their MiG Design Bureau factory, and after seeing everything here, they could no longer deny anything. And Belyakov in front of him certainly didn't know that what he was selling to China was the single-engine version.

"What models are these MiG-23s?" When the Chinese people saw this twin-engine MiG-23, their mouths widened. This variation of the MiG-23 looked much more beautiful!

"This is the MiG-23K, our professional carrier-based fighter." Andre hurried over to smooth things over. "This fighter has a ship hook at the tail, and the landing gear is also reinforced. All parts have been specially treated for corrosion resistance. Therefore, the maneuverability of this fighter is lower than that of the original model. In order to increase the stability of sea flight, our fighter has been changed to a twin-engine. We did not bring this fighter with us when we went to China last time."

I'm not lying to you, but because what was being promoted at the time was a land-based fighter, and this is a carrier-based fighter, so there was no introduction. Andre's explanation is completely reasonable.

"Yes, there is indeed a landing hook." He walked forward almost quickly and looked at the tail of the fighter plane. The position of the hydraulic actuator left between the two engines was obviously the landing hook!

And with the ship hook, it is a carrier-based fighter! Strengthening the fuselage structure, enhancing the landing gear, and various anti-corrosion measures have caused this aircraft to be much heavier than the prototype, and the weight increase can even exceed 10%, resulting in a serious decrease in maneuverability. Therefore, when a land-based fighter fights a carrier-based fighter, the land-based fighter actually has the advantage.

However, this disadvantage was offset by the improvement of the twin engines! After replacing the two engines, the thrust-to-weight ratio is much higher than before, so in terms of maneuverability, this twin-engine fighter has a greater advantage!

But of course, this advantage cannot be mentioned now!

"So that's how it is." Mr. Song walked around and said, "This improved engine is more than four meters long, one meter shorter than our Spey engine, so it's definitely not possible to replace it with a Spey. However, the thrust of these two engines should be greater than the original one, right? Moreover, they are turbofan engines, so the fuel consumption rate will also be reduced."

An expert can tell the engine structure of this aircraft at a glance. Now, there are several engines on the ground ready for installation. Just by looking at the fan in the front duct, you can tell that this is a turbofan engine.

Moreover, next to the engine, there was a number and nameplate stamped on it. As Mr. Song spoke, he leaned over and took a look. He immediately couldn't help but praise: "The intermediate thrust is 50,000 Newtons, and the afterburner thrust is 80,000 Newtons. These two engines can output a total of 160,000 Newtons of thrust! With half the fuel in the engine, the thrust-to-weight ratio can probably reach 1.4, or even 1.5, right?"

According to the technical manual provided by the Soviet Union, the turbojet engine used on the MiG-23 has a thrust of 130 kilonewtons, but now, the two turbofan engines have a combined thrust of 160 kilonewtons! This is equivalent to a quarter of the thrust of the prototype! And the maximum speed is probably Mach 2.5! You know, thanks to the advantages of the variable swept wing, the prototype of the MiG-23 can already reach Mach 2.35!

Damn it, if I had known earlier, I would definitely not bring these Chinese personnel to the MiG Design Bureau! If they were to come, they should have notified us in advance! Now, all the good stuff of the Soviet Union has been exposed!

The thrust-to-weight ratio of China's most compact J-7 fighter jet is no more than 1, while the thrust-to-weight ratio of the MiG-23 in front of us can reach an incredible 1.4 or more! Needless to say, the members of the Chinese inspection team present all know what this means! It can be said that this fighter is the most suitable for China's equipment, there is no other choice! Let that F-16 go to hell! The turbojet engine that fools people, not even an advanced turbofan engine, and they still say that it is highly reliable.

On the Soviet side, there are heavy fighters equipped with twin engines for them to choose from!

"This is the fighter jet that our air force needs most. We must import this fighter jet!" Zhang Tingfa's eyes lit up. He didn't want the original MiG-23 anymore. He wanted this fighter jet! Twin engines, turbofan, and such a high thrust-to-weight ratio!

"No, this fighter is our carrier-based fighter..." Ustinov obviously did not want to export this fighter. After all, this is the most advanced fighter currently available in the Soviet Union! It is precisely because of this modified MiG-23K that the single-engine MiG-23MLA can be exported to China. Now, China is not polite and actually came to the Soviet Union to ask for this most advanced fighter! This is an advanced fighter of the Soviet Navy. If it is given to China, China will collude with the United States and obtain all the technical parameters of this fighter. Then the Soviet Navy will suffer when fighting with the United States!

"This fighter uses a turbofan engine, which is very expensive." Hearing Ustinov's tone, Andrei quickly took over the conversation: "Even in the Soviet Union, there are only dozens of naval carrier-based aircraft. The Air Force and Air Defense Force are simply unable to replace them on a large scale. Excuse me, this modified fighter is really not suitable for your introduction. If you introduce a single-engine MiG-23, we can help you improve the original turbojet-7 production line, so that you can directly produce new engines. The price of the engine produced in your country will not exceed 5 million yuan, but if you equip it with our twin-engine modification, you can only import our engine. After all, many of the technologies in this engine are confidential to us and cannot be exported. The cost of each engine is about 3 million rubles, and two engines are 6 million. The price is too high, and you will definitely not be able to afford it."

"Please consider carefully. Our single-engine fighter jets have already beaten the American F-15 fighter jets to a pulp in the battle of Hokkaido. This advanced fighter jet, if exported to your country, will allow your air force to protect your skies. This twin-engine carrier-based aircraft is really not suitable for your equipment." Ustinov also realized that if he spoke too harshly and pushed these people to the Americans, it would not be good for the Soviet Union.

The first day of the inspection finally ended, and the Chinese group arrived at the guesthouse in Moscow with longing in their eyes.

"We want the twin-engine MiG-23, even if it means selling everything we have!" General Xu said firmly.