Chapter 363 The Power of Role Models and the Influence of Benchmarks

The so-called hero is stumped by a penny. In this real society, to a certain extent, if you have money, you can do whatever you want, and with a certain amount of force, you can basically walk sideways, at least in a certain area.

So does the country.

It has more money than Saudi Arabia, but if it lacks military force, it still lacks all-round status.

There is not only one United States that has both money and fists, so they can do whatever they want. They set standards and then change them at will. They set rules and then change them at will. As long as it is beneficial to themselves, they don't care.

National interests are above all else, and this is true for any country.

But once even the basic security of the army becomes a problem, polar bears will also get into trouble and will not hesitate to sell their valuable belongings in order to make money to survive.

The Russians maintained their last dignity and pointed at the Su-35 and said, this is our best mass-produced fighter, and you will definitely spend money to purchase it. I guarantee that the introduction of this fighter will greatly improve your combat capabilities.

Everything else is negotiable.

The so-called external force but the internal force is nothing more than this.

The pilots studied the visit carefully, and the maintenance and technical staff studied the visit and even participated in the guarantee. There was no bottom line. They agreed to it all just to promote the business as soon as possible.

Others are not considered by rough guys like Li Zhan. His mission is to figure out the actual combat capabilities of the Su-35. Of course, when it comes to buying and selling, you can't just believe what the seller says. You won't know until you use it to see if it's good or not.

Vasily naturally became Li Zhan's temporary instructor. Li Zhan sat in the cockpit and listened to Vasily standing on the boarding ladder introducing the functional division of the cockpit. He asked questions from time to time, and Vasily answered them very actively.

At the end of the day, Li Zhan basically figured out the situation of the Su-35, and came to the conference room on time that night to report to the brigade leaders.

"Commanders, let me talk about my personal feelings first. The Su Sanwu aircraft can be said to be the modernized version of the Su Liangqi. Overall, the biggest change is to improve the shortcomings of the Su Liangqi. The strength of the airframe structure, the overall The counterweight and the optimization of the aerodynamic layout. From the data, the performance of this aircraft has exceeded the generally accepted standards of third-and-a-half-generation fighters."

"The second aspect is several important changes in this type of aircraft. The engine and avionics system are what they are most proud of. Especially the engine. The takeoff of Su Sanwu in the collaborative exercise a few days ago proved this, with greater thrust. The acceleration is faster, which has a great impact on air combat. As for the avionics system, I personally think their air combat decision-making assistance system is more bright, and the others are just so-so."

…

Li Zhan gave a detailed report from big to small for more than half an hour, and made a detailed analysis of his personal understanding and preliminary evaluation of the Su-35.

With billions of dollars in procurement contracts involved, test flight reports submitted by the grassroots will affect the decision-making of higher-level leadership agencies, so brigade leaders attach great importance to them.

Fang Chenghe looked serious, looked at the preliminary report written by Li Zhan, and asked, "In the final analysis, you have to fly to know. Are you sure about the test flight tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Li Zhan nodded affirmatively.

Bao Guanhua said, "Tomorrow's flight will be different from usual. You can no longer take it easy."

Li Zhan said, "Political Commissar, I think it's just the opposite. Tomorrow's flight will be more intense. Only by approaching the limit infinitely can we master the full performance of this aircraft."

"This is the subject he wants to test." Fang Chenghe handed Bao Guanhua a piece of paper with more than a dozen subjects written on it.

Bao Guanhua had only flown the J-6. Not long after refitting the J-7, he switched to political work and has never touched the joystick since. But of course he knew the military training subjects very well, and he also knew which flying maneuvers were high-risk and difficult and which ones were more common.

After reading it, his brows furrowed and he raised his head and asked Li Zhan, "All the stunts, crossing the Beiku Canyon, ultra-low altitude flying, extreme altitude and extreme speed. Do you want to complete these subjects in one day?"

"Yes." Li Zhan nodded affirmatively.

Bao Guanhua stopped talking and looked at Fang Chenghe.

Li Zhan said, "They only gave me one day, so I could only focus on all the subjects to fly tomorrow."

Obviously, the more subjects you study, the more comprehensive your understanding will be. However, there is no doubt that the leaders present here know that it usually takes at least five flying days to complete these subjects. The intensity of flying in one day can be imagined.

Brigade Chief of Staff Yang Jingshan looked at the expressions of the brigade commander's political commissar, then looked at the faces of the other deputy brigade commanders and deputy political commissars, and said, "Li Zhan, how many flying hours do you plan to spend to complete these subjects?"

"Six hours, excluding the time to return to the field for fuel replenishment and maintenance, the actual flight hours are five." Li Zhan said.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to handle flying high-risk and difficult subjects for five hours straight," Fang Chenghe said in a deep voice.

Li Zhan smiled and said, "Brigadier Commander, our brigade often engages in ultra-high-intensity training. We have tried flying for seven or eight hours a day. There is no problem at all for flying for five or six hours."

Bao Guanhua said, "The ultra-high-intensity training you engage in is for a single subject, and at most two or three subjects are connected. Now you have to fly all high-risk and difficult subjects, how can you ensure safety? This is someone else's plane after all. If you break this or that, things will be difficult to handle.”

A deputy brigade commander said, "The manufacturers said they don't have many prototypes left, and each one has a heavy test flight mission. It took a lot of effort to come here to participate in military exchanges."

In the final analysis, they were still affected by Li Zhan's reputation, but the paradox was that they did not believe that anyone else except Li Zhan could complete this test flight mission. If it is your own aircraft, it will not be difficult to make a decision. The test flight work required in the process from the emergence of a new aircraft model to its entry into service is itself full of high risks. Test pilots have to risk their lives to fight back, so everyone is mentally prepared. But it was someone else's plane, and if it broke down or crashed, it would involve a series of problems.

After pondering for a long time, Fang Chenghe asked the deputy brigade commander who spoke, "What is the attitude of the Russian side? Does it agree to our high-intensity test flight?"

The deputy brigade commander shook his head helplessly and said, "I showed them the flight test subjects. The manufacturer's representative said, it can fly, but if the aircraft breaks down, we will buy it. They offered a price of 100 million US dollars. Maozi is really poor and crazy. ”

Everyone was stunned at first, and then laughed, but they couldn't laugh anymore when they thought of asking for 100 million US dollars.

"The manufacturer means that it can fly for a few laps and a few hours. In this case, if there is any problem with the aircraft, it will be their fault. But if you fly according to the subjects set by Li Zhan, they will not be responsible." The deputy brigade commander said with a wry smile, " Andrevkosky pointed directly at these subjects and said that this was even more powerful than the final test flight, and they couldn’t possibly cover up.”

Isn't that right? No new model can be finalized without crashing a few aircraft during test flights. Most of the standards for the subjects that Li Zhan wants to fly are based on the flight envelope of the Su-27, so the risk factor is definitely high. But on the other hand, if the No. 03 Su-35 survives Li Zhan's torment, it means that this aircraft is much better than the Su-27.

For us, who are very likely to be the first and perhaps the only overseas user of Su-35, this is a dilemma.

"The brigade can't decide whether to fly or not, but the brigade must come up with a unified opinion and report to the superiors." Fang Chenghe said, "Let's talk about it."

Yang Jingshan is an old man, even though he is only the brigade chief of staff. He pointed at Li Zhan and said with a smile, "If Li Zhan is confident, I will support him. I believe in Li Zhan's ability."

He was from Xue Xiangdong's era, so he felt no pressure at all to say this. If it weren't for his lack of qualifications, I'm afraid the position of brigade commander would belong to him. He needs a diploma, a diploma, military qualities, and military qualities. All his abilities are there.

Yang Jingshan has no complaints. The deputy regiment has passed a big hurdle. The road ahead will only become smoother. At least it will be no problem to be the deputy commander of the senior colonel. To carry the star, not only must Ability also depends on luck, which is something not everyone can hope for. There are so many lieutenants of a major colonel, and you can count the number of people who can join the ranks of generals.

Yang Jingshan knew very well how all this came about. It was not brought about by the young captain in front of him. Before that, he was still the pilot of the Falcon Brigade.

Speaking of which, Li Zhan should be the one to complain. In terms of merit and contribution, there are only a handful of people who are superior to him in the entire army, but he is still a major and camp commander until now. There is nothing wrong with that. After all, he is only a young cadre who has been in the army for three years, and he has already made rapid progress.

But Yang Jingshan knew that the last time Li Zhan contradicted Director Lin had some bad effects on Li Zhan's promotion, even though Director Lin made things right for Li Zhan.

Precisely because of this, Li Zhan became more and more respected and loved by the officers and soldiers in the brigade, and his prestige was even higher than that of Yang Jingshan, the chief of staff. The title of captain has become exclusive to Li Zhan in the 101st Brigade. When the officers and soldiers mentioned the captain, they must be referring to Li Zhan. If they were other captains, they would definitely have their full names and positions. Subtle changes better reflect the real situation.

Therefore, when Yang Jingshan said this, several leaders looked at Li Zhan. Maybe they were just waiting for a word or an attitude, but one thing was consistent - they were all willing to believe that Li Zhan could give them and this army stronger confidence.

This is the power of role models and the influence of benchmarks.

Li Zhan seemed to be prepared. He spoke clearly, "Commanders, I am confident that I can complete the test flights of these subjects within one day, but I cannot guarantee a safe landing."

This is nonsense. Which flight can guarantee an absolutely safe landing?

He knew it was nonsense but still said it to remind the leaders that no one can guarantee that every flight will land safely. Anything can be discovered in the sky.

He said, "I don't think the subjects of the test flight can be changed. The subjects I want to fly are all supporting subjects of our military's combat tactics. If Su Sanwu cannot fly the best results with ease, then I think this aircraft is Not worth purchasing.”

A very strong reason. Isn’t that the purpose of test flights?

Fang Chenghe made a decision in his mind, looked around and asked, "Do you have any other opinions?"

"I agree with Li Zhan's plan." The deputy brigade commander who just spoke raised his hand.

Immediately afterwards, other deputy brigade commanders and deputy political commissars also expressed the same attitude. Bao Guanhua finally said, "I agree, but I still have to emphasize the safety issue. After all, we are a combat force, not a test flight institute."

Fang Chenghe said, "Okay, I will immediately ask my superiors for instructions in the name of the brigade party committee, and preparations will start overnight. The Russian side will leave the day after tomorrow, and we only have one day tomorrow. The arrow has to be fired. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to do this again." Good opportunity.”

As the former political commissar of the Second Division, Fang Chenghe cared more about the Su-35 than anyone else. After all, it was the old army where he had worked for more than ten years, and the feelings were extraordinary.

After a while, Fang Chenghe left Li Zhan behind and asked directly, "What do you think of Su Sanwu?"

Li Zhan understood what Fang Chenghe meant - whether our army should equip the Su-35.

"You should buy some." Li Zhan gave a vague answer. When he saw Fang Chenghe taking out some top draw, he said in detail, "Su Sanwu is the complete version of Su Liangqi. Even for this complete platform, you should buy it." There are about ten aircraft. Secondly, there is the engine. I heard Vasily say that there are two options for the Su Sanwu power system. He did not say the specific model, but I can feel that it should be the highest level in Russia. Finally, and the most important The reason is that we are short of fighters, especially advanced long-range fighters."

Fang Chenghe was still smoking and did not speak.

After a while he asked, "In which direction do you think the equipment should be?"

This is obviously because they are worried that the Su-35 will be installed in other troops.

Li Zhan expressed his judgment and said, "Second Division, the possibility is very high."

"reason."

Li Zhan said with a smile, "The Second Division is the unit with the most experience in using Su Liangqi. Although the Three Hundred Division was equipped with Su Liangqi more than a year earlier, their actual use time is not as long as that of the Second Division. On the other hand, The geographical position of the Second Division and the depth of our army's territorial air defense. The South China Sea covers an area of ​​more than three million square kilometers, and the distance from Xi County to the Zengmu Shoal is nearly 2,000 kilometers. Among the world's active fighter jets, except for the Su 27 series, there is no way to do this. To cruise the Zengmu Shoal. Vasily revealed that Su Sanwu's maximum combat radius reached 1,800 kilometers. Only the Second Equipment Division can fully exert the role of Su Sanwu."

"Another one, the Second Division has used flankers for more than ten years. The veteran pilots' Russian language, understanding of original Soviet fighters, etc. are not comparable to other units. I estimate that it only takes three or two months to form combat effectiveness. Even shorter."

Fang Chenghe said, “With the fourth-generation aircraft coming out, many people think that it is no longer necessary to purchase Su 35 aircraft.”

"If you don't buy the Su-35, you still have to continue to equip J-10s and J-11s. We are short of third-generation aircraft, and the shortage is huge. It will be difficult for fourth-generation aircraft to enter service within three to five years. Even if they are in service, it will take a certain amount of time to increase the number. Moreover, , in accordance with the deployment principle of tit-for-tat, after the fourth-generation aircraft enters service, priority must be given to equipping the Three Hundred Division. They are facing the powerful enemy's Raptor, and Su Sanwu has no power to fight back. The aircraft of these small countries around the South China Sea It's difficult to be able to get into the air, but Su Sanwu is actually pretty good at it."

After saying that, Li Zhan laughed.

Fang Chenghe couldn't help but laugh.

Li Zhan said, "The only thing I don't quite believe is that Su Sanwu is really as good as they say? Brigadier, it's a pity that the time is too short. Otherwise, if I have a few more days of test flight, I will definitely be able to take advantage of all the advantages and disadvantages of this aircraft." Fly out."

"Look at it this way, no matter how good it is, it is still a third-generation aircraft. Not to mention its stealth capabilities, I don't think the avionics system is as powerful as they boast." Fang Chenghe said.

After being slightly stunned, Li Zhan slapped his head and said, "I've been poisoned."

"What kind of poison?" Fang Chenghe asked confused.

Li Zhan smiled bitterly, "I was poisoned by Shen Hoy, but I originally wanted to become Luo Ma."

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