Take Off My Aviation Era

As one of the few fighter jets in the world that can reach a maximum ceiling of 30,000 meters and a maximum speed of Mach 3, the performance of the MiG-31 is unique in the world. Because of this, the investment of the former Soviet Union can be said to be negligible. At the price, otherwise it would not become the world's first combat aircraft equipped with electronic scanning phased array radar.

It should be understood that similar radars will not appear in Western countries until the end of the 1990s, and general equipment will not be realized until the middle and late 2000s.

The former Soviet Union implemented a large-scale deployment on the MiG-31 in the early 1980s, so this NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar is still very powerful.

In addition to the detection range of up to 200 kilometers, the semi-active radar air-to-air missile has a guidance distance of 90 kilometers, and it tracks 10 targets at the same time, and strikes against 4 of the most threatening targets. When necessary, it is equipped with NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning The MiG-31 of the phased array radar can act as part of the early warning aircraft function, command and guide one's own air force to coordinate operations.

For this reason, the former Soviet Union also made a special test, that is, using four MiG-31 fighters, separated by 200 kilometers from each other, and then turn on the NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar, which can effectively monitor the airspace of 1,000 kilometers.

When China was negotiating the introduction of the third-generation combat aircraft in Russia, the Russians brought out the MiG-31, and the army headquarters immediately became interested in the NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar. At the same time as the —27 fighter, six sets of NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar were purchased at a very favorable price for basic performance testing.

At that time, Russia, which had just inherited the Soviet family business, was just short of money. Seeing that a big country in the East was interested in the NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar, it thought that a big country in the East would like their MiG-31. One crunchy and crisp.

Very happy delivery of 6 sets of NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar.

The Air Force Headquarters' expectation for the six sets of radars is to take out two sets and allocate them to related research and development units for research, and the remaining six sets are on a certain type of aircraft, and strive to make a low-profile version of the MiG-31.

The first selected model is naturally the J-8II. After all, this fighter is a combat aircraft built with the core concept of high altitude and high speed. It is more inclined to interceptor in terms of mission capabilities. It has a similar mission to MiG-31 and is equipped with NIIPN007S-800. The electronic scanning phased array radar can obviously greatly enhance the combat capability of the J-8II.

It is a pity that although the NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar is good, the size is too large. The diameter of the optical phased array radar antenna is more than one meter, and the diameter of the nose fairing of the F-8Ⅱ aircraft is only 900mm. Don't go in.

Seeing this situation, it is not that no experts have proposed appropriate adaptations to the NIIPN007S-800 electronically scanned phased array mine, such as reducing the antenna size, replacing the core data processor, and so on.

With this idea in mind, the relevant domestic units began to conduct in-depth research on the Russian radar, and the result of this research was incredible. The relevant domestic experts were completely stunned by the Russians' simple and rude methods.

Except for the slightly modified shape of the radar antenna, the rest of the processor, power supply, and heat dissipation are all the same as the octopus. You have me in you, and you in me, messy and mixed together.

That’s all, it’s a big deal to rearrange it, sort it out, see which part can be replaced or improved, and proceed to deal with it.

It seems that the Russian designers are not prepared to leave a way for the upgrade. Not only is the interior messy, but the design of integrated circuits also makes people crazy. The integration should be separated, and the separation should be integrated together. As a result, domestic experts cannot start even if they want to improve, unless all the internal components are dismantled and a new radar is developed to barely meet the program requirements.

Until this time, domestic military leaders and related experts clearly realized that this radar, like its MiG-31 platform, was a unique piece of equipment specially built by the former Soviet Union for a single mission.

From design to research and development, we only focus on the purpose of interception, and the rest is not within the scope of thinking at all. This leads to the MiG-31 showing nobility from top to bottom, but also showing the loneliness and frustration that is fading away from the times.

It is important to know that both offensive and defensive capabilities are now the mainstream of the development of the Air Force. Multi-purpose combat aircraft are becoming more and more sought after by all countries, and the emergence and popularization of early warning aircraft has caused drastic changes in the Air Force’s combat methods and concepts.

In contrast, the MiG-31, which simply emphasizes interception capabilities, is obviously a bit outdated.

Because of this, even if the Russians exaggerated the MiG-31, the troops did not intend to try it. Now they see that the NIIPN007S-800 electronic scanning phased array radar equipped with it is also a one-shot deal. With the potential for improvement, this idea of ​​the Air Force Headquarters is firm.

But firm to firm, what should I do with the remaining four sets of radars? It can't just be wasted, the money is not wasted.

It just so happens that in recent years, the navy has used the improved An-26 to produce several support aircraft that have achieved good results. The Air Force says that it’s a fake. The problem is that the Navy’s combat environment and combat area are much simpler than those of the Air Force. It may completely copy the navy's supporting equipment.

After all, the situation at sea is too different from that on land or even on the western plateau, so that the same radar may perform well at sea, and it may be interfered by strong clutter when it is taken on the plateau. This is why the Air Force has looked at the support of the navy over the years. The root cause of all kinds of envy and jealousy of airplanes, but not getting started.

Now that there are four sets of MiG-31 phased array radars of the same model, can the Air Force also use a radar warning machine like the Navy to enhance its own strength?

This will not waste the four sets of radars; secondly, and most importantly, the NIIPN007S-800 electronically scanned phased array radar itself is developed by the former Soviet Union to defend the vast airspace ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ fully meets the air force's land The need for air defense.

As for the performance of this radar compared to professional early warning aircraft radars, the Air Force headquarters certainly knows, but the problem is that there is no special radar for early warning aircraft in China. If imported, it will not be possible for a while. Rather than waiting hard. It is better to use a radar system with a certain early warning function, which is better than the Air Force combat aircraft.

Therefore, this project of the Air Force is not only a "waste utilization" problem, but also a solution to the problem of existence.

In addition, the introduction of 6 sets of radars was originally an unplanned thing, which resulted in the Air Force’s very limited investment in this project, with only 16 million yuan in funding.

This money was considered a huge amount in the 1980s, but it was not enough in the mid-1990s. In particular, the development of an airborne radar warning aircraft with a certain early warning aircraft function is not enough to plug the teeth. .

Because of this, when the Air Force spread the news in the industry, there was almost no response. There was no way, and the funds were too small. The life of the aviation plants was not good at all. Could it be possible to lose money with the Air Force to make money?