I have to admit that the Western media "speculated......

The Republic, which was scheduled to enter service at the end of December 2017, was postponed to early 201 because the development and production of the catapult, J-15B fighter and HJ2C0 police aircraft could not be completed as planned.

The most serious problem is the electromagnetic catapult.

The first mass-produced electromagnetic catapult was not manufactured until November 20177, followed by ground tests, and loading began in January 20118, which directly led to a four-month delay in the commissioning of the Republic. By the time the Navy received the "Republic", only No. 1 catapult had completed all the tests, and the other 2 catapults needed to be commissioned. That's exactly what happened, in the photo taken by the CIA with reconnaissance satellites, all carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft were ejected by Catapult No. 1!

Secondly, work on the production of the J-15B.

According to the first production plan, because the Air Force's J-15A is a basic model, it is less difficult to develop, so it will be mass-produced first, and then to the Navy's J-15B.

In the flight test stage, the J-15A also took the lead in completing the flight test test, and was officially finalized in August 2, and the production line was started in 1. As a result, by the end of 20177, the Navy reached an agreement with the Air Force to produce 24J-15B for the "Republic" as soon as possible. Chengdu Aircraft Manufacturing Company had to adjust its production line (the J-15A and J-15B have a common rate of 85% and are produced on one line), and mass production did not begin until early February 2018. By the time the "Republic" was delivered to the Navy, the total production of the J-15B was less than 1, of which it was used to train J15B pilots at the land simulation training ground of naval aviation.

At this pace, it will be until the end of 2018 that the Navy will be able to equip the "Republic" with J--15B.

Compared to the problems encountered by the J-15B, the HJ200 is more problematic.

Because the design of the "Republic" was redesigned, it was not until 2014, when it was decided to build a medium-sized aircraft carrier equipped with an electromagnetic catapult, that the Navy proposed to develop a fixed-wing carrier-based early warning aircraft.

The initial scheme was to install the KJ200 ground radar on a Class 20 small transport aircraft. By strengthening the fuselage structure, adopting folding wings, increasing the ejection capacity, etc. Development of a relatively simple carrier-based fixed-wing AWACS aircraft. As soon as the plan was proposed, it was rejected by the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Because there is no suitable ground carrier!

As a last resort. The Navy can only "start from scratch".

The development of the carrier aircraft and the development of the airborne radar were carried out at the same time. Both are not easy to develop.

Compared to the Air Force ground light transport aircraft. Carrier-based aircraft not only have higher requirements for structural strength. It also has very high requirements for the corrosion resistance of the aircraft, take-off weight, wingspan length, vertical height, and occupied flight deck area. When conducting a scheme demonstration. The Navy decided to develop a carrier-based aircraft with a take-off weight of between 30 and 35, an upper single wing, and a multi-vertical tail.

In 2015. The Navy adjusts its research and development program. It is clearly proposed to use composite batteries and superconducting motors.

That's right. The HJ200 ground-based aircraft is an all-electric aircraft.

Although the cost of an all-electric aircraft equipped with the above composite batteries is 1 times higher than that of an ordinary propeller aircraft, the performance of the all-electric aircraft significantly exceeds that of an ordinary propeller aircraft, which is more conducive to ship maintenance and is also of great help to the aircraft shape design.

Taking a combination of factors, the Navy made this very bold decision.

In the end, the standard take-off weight of the HJ200 carrier aircraft is 28, the maximum take-off weight is 39 tons, the wingspan is 24, the length is 188 meters, the height is 5511 meters, the wing area is 6424 square meters, the aspect ratio is 91, the main wheel base is 57 meters, and the front main wheel base is 74 meters; Equipped with a composite battery, driven by two superconducting propeller engines with a maximum power of 5,500 kilowatts, the maximum flight speed is 57 m/h, the maximum cruising speed is 550 km/h, the economic cruising speed is 480 km/h, the maximum flight altitude is 12,100 meters, the patrol flight altitude is 9,700 meters, and the maximum patrol time at 120 meters from the aircraft carrier is hours.

Overall, the performance of the HJ200 carrier aircraft is not bad.

The only drawback is the price, not counting electronics such as radars, the manufacturing cost of 24 is enough to staggering the Navy.

The problem of on-board radar and electronics is also serious.

Compared with shore-based early warning aircraft, ship-based early warning aircraft have smaller internal space and higher requirements for radar. In addition to having good ground detection capabilities, it is also required to have excellent down-looking detection and tracking capabilities (anti-ship missiles almost all fly at ultra-low altitudes), have strong information processing capabilities and automatic command capabilities (there are only 2 air commanders on carrier-based early warning aircraft, and many command tasks must be completed automatically), and maintainability must meet the demanding requirements of the Navy (the environment and maintenance capabilities of aircraft carriers are obviously inferior to those of air bases).

When the program was demonstrated, the Navy did not consider a "disc" like the E-2.

In the end, the "balance beam" scheme was adopted. In order to make up for the blind angle of the "balance beam" scheme at the beginning and tail, one phased array "blind" radar is installed in the nose and tail of the HJ200.

Fortunately, the development progress of the carrier aircraft is comparable to the development progress of the airborne radar, otherwise it would definitely encounter a big encounter.

In order to install the "blind patch" radar, the nose of the HJ200 appeared very bloated, and the position of the cockpit had to be moved back by half a meter and raised by nearly 1 meter, making the cockpit a "bubble" shape similar to that of a fighter jet. The tail structure of the HJ200 is also completely designed in accordance with the requirements of the "blind patch" radar, with 2 pieces of vertical

It is installed at both ends of the horizontal tail to avoid "grabbing space" with the radar, and the thickness gives people a very abrupt feeling.

Regardless of the appearance, the problem is understood

At the end of 20177, the first HJ200 flew, and its performance not only fully met the technical requirements put forward by the Navy, but also exceeded a lot.

In the simulated combat test, the maximum detection range of the HJ200J-1 class of light fighters with a frontal radar launch area of about 3 square meters reached 1 km, the maximum detection range of H-6M exceeded 650 km, the detection range of C-803 reached 320 km (ultra-low-altitude target), and the detection range of Z9 reached 370 km (ultra-low-altitude flight state).

In the case of simultaneous detection of almost 40 targets, the HJ200 is capable of simultaneously tracking 24 of the most threatening targets, and the air command is able to simultaneously guide 12 fighters to intercept missions. If there are more than 12 intercepted targets, the information can also be sent to the aircraft carrier's aviation combat command center through the tactical communication network, which will provide guidance information for other fighters.

Very complete and strong performance.

According to the Navy's estimates, the performance of the HJ200 is not comparable to the E-2D, and it will not be much better than the E-2D.

The fly in the ointment is that the total cost of the HJ200 is as high as that, surpassing the KJ200 and KJ2000 of the Air Force!

By the time the "Republic" was put into service, the Navy was "frugal" and only purchased one HJ200, and it was also a mass-produced model improved on the basis of the prototype machine.

According to the plans of the Navy, in 2018 a maximum of 1 aircraft will be purchased.

To equip the "Heguo" with HJ20C, it will take at least the end of 20199.

If the production capacity of the composite battery is increased, the price of the Class 8 composite battery will be reduced by half, and the Navy will not be able to purchase the HJ200 until early 20199.

This is also the key reason why the Republic has not put HJ200 on the export list.

With a price of nearly 30% more expensive than KJ2000 to buy a small AWACS aircraft, who will be the "wronged leader"?

In addition to carrier-based aircraft and catapults, the "Republic" itself had problems.

During the design, the basic design scheme of the "Republic" was revised three times, and each time the scope of the change was very large. Finally, when it comes to medium-sized aircraft carriers with a displacement of less than 60,000 tons, it is required to be an "attack aircraft carrier". The so-called "attack aircraft carrier" means that carrier-based aircraft are used as the main striking force, and the aircraft carrier is not equipped with additional offensive weapons.

On the surface, this leaves room for carriers to carry more carrier-based aircraft, but in fact it makes it more difficult to design.

Cramming 64 fixed-wing aircraft and 8 helicopters into an aircraft carrier of less than 60,000 tons, the "belly" of the "Republic" is indeed not small, and the accompanying problems are also very serious.

The main reason is that the hangar takes up too much space, and other important facilities have to be greatly reduced.

Excessive requirements for the number of carrier-based aircraft also lead to a high center of gravity and reduced stability. Because the ammunition depot and aviation fuel depot capacity are reduced, the "Republic" has only a sustained combat capability (the US Navy's large attack aircraft carriers have a continuous combat capability of at least 7 days). In order to reduce the weight of the structure above the waterline, the "Republic" is significantly inferior in its protective capability to that of large aircraft carriers, and its ability to resist strikes and survivability is seriously insufficient.

In addition to the ability to resist blows and survivability, other problems are exposed in practical use.

In fact, these problems were exposed when the "Republic" was still being built. When the design of the "Zhonghua" class aircraft carrier began in 2015, the Navy expanded the displacement from 6,500 tons to 75,000 tons, reached 77,500 tons when the design was finalized, reached 7,800 tons when construction began, and finally exceeded 8 when it was completed. It can be seen that increasing the displacement plays the most obvious role in improving the combat capability and survivability of the aircraft carrier.

When the "Republic" was commissioned, the construction of the first and second ships of the "Zhonghua" class had already begun at the Changxing Shipyard in Jiangnan and the Dalian Shipyard respectively, and the construction of the third ship undertaken by the Qingdao Shipyard would also start at the end of the day. It was only before the commissioning of the "Republic" that the Navy adjusted the construction schedule of the "Zhonghua" class, postponing the completion of the first 2 from 2021 to 2023, and the completion of the 3rd to 2024.

The reason for the delay in the construction schedule is simple: the Navy has no money.

Although the Navy's expenditure increased by 31% in fiscal year 2C177, the increase in naval expenditure in fiscal 2018 did not reach the expected 27%, only 18%, which is equivalent to a reduction of about 350 plus the service cost of the "Republic" exceeded the Navy's expectations, as a result, the construction expenditure for the "Zhonghua" class that year was reduced by 23% compared with the budget, and the three shipyards had to slow down the construction progress.

The problem of funding shortfalls also exists in the Army and Air Force.

The financial crisis has made the country's finances very tight, and the Republic cannot burn money everywhere like the United States. In order to ensure the steady development of the domestic economy, the financial budget has been allocated more to various infrastructure projects that are closely related to the readjustment of the industrial structure, and the funds for military construction have naturally shrunk by a large margin.

Willingly or unwillingly, one has to admit the fact that the rise of the Navy of the Republic is a very long one!

Although the commissioning of the "Republic" has given the Navy of the Republic the coveted ocean-going combat capability, it is far from the point of making the Navy of the Republic a global navy! (To be continued)

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