Chapter 148: We Must Do This

The formal meeting between the two parties took place the day after Chief Designer Yu arrived in Fucheng. This session was significant in scale: Hu Zhengxin, the incumbent director of the Changhong Factory, personally led a delegation of vice directors and the factory secretary to attend.

The presence of such a high-level leadership team, their faces glowing with excitement, gave Chief Designer Yu even more confidence in the partnership. He had previously worried that Changhong, having grown accustomed to the profits of the civilian market, might have lost interest in military radar, which offered lower margins. Now, it was clear those concerns were misplaced.

Excitement—that was exactly the right word. From the moment Chief Designer Yu contacted them and explained his intentions, the 0780 Factory, which had spent half a lifetime working on fire-control radar, was thrilled. They finally had an opportunity to return to their roots.

An enthusiastic Director Hu spoke first: "Chief Designer Yu, I didn't expect you to come in person. This collaboration is bound to go smoothly. However, I wonder if you have the specific data on the British Blue Fox radar? If you could provide some technical specifications, our engineers could conduct a detailed assessment."

Chief Designer Yu had brought the data along. He handed over the documents provided by the British side. Naturally, these figures omitted less favorable secondary metrics—though those were of little consequence. What he feared most was the concealment of critical data, a malicious practice the British had employed in the past.

When the Republic had imported the British Spey 202 engine, the British had boasted that it was capable of anything. While technically true—as the Spey had both air force and naval gas turbine variants—they had deliberately downplayed its poor high-altitude performance. This had deceived the Chinese side, as the British had installed the Spey 202 in the F-4 Phantom, an aircraft that prioritized high-altitude flight. Consequently, the Chinese side had confidently designated the engine for various domestic fighter projects. It was only after the first batch of domestically produced Spey 202s were manufactured that they realized the engine's high-altitude performance was abysmal—a fatal flaw for a fighter jet.

Having learned from this, they approached the Blue Fox radar deal with caution. They presented the British with a list of domestic performance testing requirements and asked them to "fill in the blanks." They demanded every critical data point, intending to examine them carefully later.

"These are the figures. While this radar isn't at the cutting edge of international technology, its performance and technical standards are significantly ahead of our current domestic airborne fire-control radars. Importing this system meets our new aircraft's requirements, minimizes technical hurdles, and facilitates domestic production."

Chief Designer Yu's assessment was echoed by the lead technician from Changhong's fire-control division. Upon reviewing the manufacturing technology, the department head was relieved. Although the radar had been finalized in Britain in 1981, the information showed that the manufacturing techniques were quite accessible and based on mature international standards.

"Chief Designer Yu is absolutely right," the technician noted. "These electronic components are quite standard, mostly reflecting international technology from the seventies. We are already working on breakthroughs for these parts. As long as we have the British technical documentation for the specialized components, we can achieve production. The only difficulty lies in the manufacturing equipment for these parts."

The production equipment for electronic components was indeed a challenge, one that Changhong would have to solve on its own; Ferranti would certainly not provide it. Ferranti itself did not manufacture all its components, sourcing general electronics from other firms, though they did produce certain specialized parts in-house—parts that were covered under the contract. Director Hu was already closely monitoring the progress on these general component projects.

Chief Designer Yu knew there was little he could do regarding the equipment, leaving it to Changhong. "We will have to rely on Changhong to resolve the issue of general components. We have every reason to trust your technical capabilities, especially since I heard the factory has already begun tackling these components."

Director Hu was understandably proud. He was full of confidence that the Changhong Factory had the ability to pull off this radar project.

"Rest assured, Chief Designer Yu. Our technical capabilities meet the requirements. Once the technical documents arrive, we can produce laboratory prototypes using some British-supplied parts within a year, and achieve full domestic production of the new radar within three years. We can guarantee this."

One year to a prototype, three years to full localization—this timeline perfectly aligned with the mass production phase of the new aircraft. By the time the contract-mandated supply of Ferranti-made radars was exhausted, they would be ready to install the fully localized versions.

Of course, mere promises were insufficient under the new development framework; binding contracts were required.

"There is no need for a military-style pledge," Yu said. "Since we are testing a new development framework for this aircraft, we must sign a formal contract. If the finished product is not delivered on time, there will be penalties."

Changhong was no stranger to contracts, having long operated in the commercial sector. They agreed immediately. "No problem. We are well-versed in contracts and are ready to sign whenever you are."

With a strong mutual desire to cooperate, the next step was to negotiate the distribution of benefits. The funding for the radar import was being provided by the base, and it was understood that Changhong's production would not be free. Chief Designer Yu, however, was not particularly adept at commercial negotiations. That task would fall to Yang Hui, who had just finished the aerodynamic design work.

Meanwhile, at the wind tunnel base, Yang Hui and his team of twenty had been working overtime for twenty days, successfully completing the transonic wind tunnel tests.

The remaining task was to aggregate the data from the hundred-day testing period to select the optimal aerodynamic design. In truth, completing an aerodynamic design for a new aircraft in one hundred days was daunting, but it was feasible in this case. The new design was based on the JJ-7, the team had prior research on the double-delta wing, and they had been given the green light at every turn.

Yang Hui led his team as they bid farewell to the mysterious base and the researchers who worked in silence deep within the mountains. As they drove away, the winding road felt like the tunnel they had passed through upon their arrival.

Back at the small hotel, the entire experience felt dreamlike, though the massive stack of test data proved it was real. Yang Hui had received a call from Chief Designer Yu while at the base and was now heading to join the negotiations with Changhong. He was thrilled—the prospect of discussing the distribution of benefits was exactly what he had been waiting for.

After settling his team, Yang Hui met with Chief Designer Yu. Yu summarized the technical progress, and Yang Hui prepared to take the lead on the commercial negotiations, already forming a preliminary plan that showed high promise.