Chapter 13 Integrated Circuits Are the Direction

Sometimes, the Soviets were quite stubborn. For example, they were indifferent to the electronic revolution in the West and continued to use vacuum tubes on a large scale. They were large in size, had few functions, consumed a lot of power, and even generated heat. However, they used vacuum tubes and racked their brains to come up with various ways to achieve breakthroughs in performance. This integration ability was quite powerful. If they had the same electronic technology as the West, they would definitely develop a more powerful system than the West.

In fact, the Soviet Union also had transistor technology. The Soviet Union had transistors in the 1950s. In May 1953, the Soviet Union established a special semiconductor factory NI-35, which was later called the "Pulsar" complex to mass-produce semiconductor devices. In 1955, a transistor production line was also established at the "Svetlana" factory in Leningrad. In the 1970s, the supercomputer Elbrus, which was made of integrated circuits, was invented.

However, the Soviets still believed that the electron tube must have potential. In 1953, the rod-shaped core vacuum tube appeared, which was greatly reduced in size and stuffed into the first artificial earth satellite. Its power far exceeded that of the American satellite using transistors.

Due to departmental interests, conservative electronics experts in the Soviet Union resisted transistors. There was also a view from the military that transistors could not withstand powerful electromagnetic pulses and could not be used in nuclear war!

Therefore, the Soviet military industry at that time was still dominated by vacuum tubes. Take the current MiG-25 fighter jet for example. Its radar is so powerful that its manufacturer is very proud of it. They claim that it can roast rabbits. In fact, it is just a big oven and is not as good as the American radar of the same period!

It is not too late now. If the Soviet Union realizes that transistors and integrated circuits are the real direction in the future and catches up in this regard, its electronic technology should be able to reach the same level as the United States, or even exceed it! After all, the Soviet Union has institutional superiority! In the planned economic system, as long as there is funding support from above, there is no need to worry about whether there is a market.

Now, most of the circuits on this American-made EP-3 are transistors and integrated circuits! This was also the first time that Soviet experts came into contact with the United States' specialized military electronic jammers, and they were surprised by what their American counterparts did.

Transistors and integrated circuits! Is that okay?

At this moment, a voice from behind made them turn their heads. They saw the comrade who came with the commander in the base, solemnly stating his views to them: "The electronic system composed of transistors and integrated circuits is much smaller and lighter than the circuit of vacuum tubes, and the energy consumption is also small. Moreover, it can realize more functions. Look at this EP-3 electronic reconnaissance aircraft of the United States. It can detect all bands of our Soviet Navy and Air Force and record various electronic information. If we use our own vacuum tubes to manufacture it, I am afraid that even an An-22 transport aircraft cannot be equipped with it. Integrated circuits, in particular, are the development direction of electronic technology. We should work hard on integrated circuits."

This circuit board provides signals for the output screen. The integrated circuit can easily perform D/A conversion. If it were done with a vacuum tube...this circuit board alone would require a large chassis to accommodate it.

"Andre, what are you talking about? Everyone here is an expert." Next to Andre, Kozhedub's face trembled and he said.

Isn't this just showing off one's knowledge in front of an expert? Andre is just a pilot, does he know so much?

Simonov's eyes lit up.

"What if there's a nuclear war? Won't all these circuits be destroyed?" a technician said.

"We are not afraid of nuclear war and we are prepared for it. However, I think a large-scale nuclear war is unlikely to break out. After all, if a nuclear war really breaks out, even if we win, what will be left is a doomsday world. We know this result, and so do the Americans." Andre said, "I guess future wars will be fought with high technology and electronic technology, not nuclear wars."

There will be no nuclear war? Will future wars be high-tech wars? Are the decision makers in Moscow all idiots? Suddenly, an engineer wanted to sneer.

"Like our current MiG-25, although the radar on the nose is very powerful, most of the power is converted into heat and consumed, and the remaining useful power is insufficient. Due to the limited processing power of the electron tube, our radar has very few functions, and even lacks the pulse Doppler capability, and is unable to filter out the signal in the ground echo." Andre continued: "As a result, our MiG-25 fighter can only intercept high-altitude targets. If the enemy aircraft penetrates at a very low altitude and at a high speed, we will not be able to detect it at all. Now, the Americans' latest Tomcat fighter, equipped with the AWG-9 radar, can already guide six missiles at the same time to attack six targets."

Vacuum tubes? How big would a computer made with vacuum tubes be? Integrated circuits are the way to go! The Tornado-A radar of the MiG-25 weighs half a ton and uses an inverted Cassegrain antenna with an aperture of more than 1 meter. Its functions are very simple, and its nominal peak power is as high as 600 kilowatts, but most of it is dissipated as heat. The detection range for a typical bomber target is only 100 kilometers, and it can only conduct simple air search with a single pulse system. After capturing the target, it can lock the target in single target tracking mode and guide the airborne missile to attack.

Andrei was absolutely right. The Mikoyan Design Bureau also knew the technical defects, so the Tikhmilov Instrument Manufacturing Institute began to help develop a pulse Doppler radar based on the MiG-23 high-altitude Skylark radar.

"Comrade Andrei, how do you know this?" Simonov asked with great interest. This time when he came to Sokolovka Base, he met such a pilot and felt like he had met a bosom friend. Thinking of the series of problems that the T-10 is facing now, maybe it's time to change his thinking.

"Before becoming a pilot, I attended electronics courses at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute," said Andrei. "In fact, influenced by my father, I have been very interested in electronics since I was a child. I even made a crystal radio on my own. After joining the Air Force, I collected information about air forces at home and abroad."

Andrei remembered that his father in this world was an engineer at a power station! With a deep knowledge of electronic technology, Andrei loved to tinker with things since he was a child. Now, the technical data of the American Tomcat fighter is no longer a secret, and the test of intercepting six targets at the same time has also been done.