Chapter 171: Refueling Tankers Are Necessary

Chief Designer Yu proposed a fairly feasible plan—one of the easiest designs for the base to implement. It involved converting the Super J-7 trainer back into a single-seat fighter, positioning it as an escort fighter. This could meet the Navy’s requirements, and since the base specialized in fighters, developing such an aircraft wouldn’t pose significant technical difficulties.

Escort fighters? Protecting heavy bombers while they carry out attacks. On the surface, this seemed like a reliable approach, but accomplishing it was quite challenging and, at the same time, the most uneconomical method.

This configuration had numerous vulnerabilities, and in fact, the Navy had long considered this scheme.

“This won’t work. Even if you manage to design a qualified escort fighter, our bombers won’t meet our needs. What we require is rapid response. Although there is a naval version of the H-6 bomber, the H-6 is simply too large and cumbersome to maintain, not to mention the impracticality of being ready to scramble at any moment,” the naval representative argued.

At this time, the role of the Republic’s Naval Aviation was primarily defensive—supporting surface vessels, intercepting reconnaissance aircraft flying in from the sea, and providing air defense for naval formations.

Such demands required the Naval Aviation to have quick reaction capabilities. By the time a bomber received orders, prepared, and flew to the incident site, whatever happened would have long since concluded. Arriving late would only mean watching oil slicks on the water.

These issues rendered bombers unsuitable as the main force, so ultimately, the responsibility had to fall on multirole fighters, or heavy fighter-bombers, with attack aircraft as another option.

However, the Navy had yet to see any hope for the JH-7 to be fully developed and operational. Funding for the JH-7 had effectively been cut off, though the team in Xianyang was still self-funding to keep it alive. As for attack aircraft, there seemed to be no solution for upgrading the aging Q-5 into a more capable platform.

Continuing to oppose Chief Designer Yu’s proposal, the naval side said, “So this method won’t work. We have thought this through carefully. Tactical simulations have included the approach you mentioned, but the drawbacks are too many for us to adopt it.”

At the same time, Yang Hui also harbored concerns about the suggestion to convert the new aircraft into an escort fighter. Could it truly provide effective escort? It was important to note that the Blue Fox radar lacked reliable interception capability against low-altitude targets—a significant vulnerability. If enemy fighters approached at ultra-low altitude over the sea, it would spell serious trouble.

Even if the new aircraft were equipped with medium-range missiles, they wouldn’t be very helpful under such conditions. Moreover, did the Republic even have medium-range missiles at this stage? That was a major question.

It was time to stop being reserved and share his own ideas. Yang Hui had his own plan to meet the Navy’s requirements.

“If you want long-range anti-ship capability, perhaps I can think of a way. Whether it can be realized depends on how urgent the domestic need really is.”

Though hope for this small aircraft to satisfy the Navy’s needs was slim, hearing there was a potential solution made everyone willing to listen.

“Alright, then speak up. No matter the issues, we’re just here to gather opinions,” the team said, focusing on Yang Hui, awaiting his answer.

“My plan is simple: convert our Super J-7 trainer back into a single-seat model, tentatively called the Super J-7, or ‘Super Seven’ for short.”

The name sounded fitting—the trainer was the Super J-7, and transforming it into a multirole fighter named the Super J-7, or Super Seven, was straightforward and clear.

While Chief Designer Yu and the Navy thought along those lines, Yang Hui had his own vision. The Super J-7 project needed to be revived to make up for past regrets.

“Our Super Seven will carry anti-ship missiles but cannot simultaneously carry enough fuel due to insufficient engine thrust. This limitation is unavoidable. Improving thrust is currently beyond our capabilities. Naturally, to conduct anti-ship missions, we cannot load full fuel tanks. However, this fuel issue is not without a solution.”

Yang Hui’s plan still relied on the large H-6 platform, but in this scheme, the H-6 would take on a purely supportive role—essentially acting as a ‘nanny’ to supply fuel to the Super Seven.

“So we need an aerial refueling tanker. By breaking through aerial refueling technology, the contradiction between range and payload will be resolved.”

Aerial refueling technology had been studied long before World War II, yet the Republic had no such capability and this gap had long hampered its air forces.

Now, as the Republic transitioned from a traditional defensive air force to one capable of both offense and defense, the lack of aerial refueling was glaring.

Hearing about the use of aerial refueling technology was a breath of fresh air for the Navy. If this technology could truly be developed, it would be immensely beneficial. But…

“Aerial refueling? That’s indeed a promising approach. If we can master aerial refueling, that would be ideal. The problem is, we currently have no aerial refueling tanker program, which is a major obstacle.”

Without aerial refueling, development is stalled. This is a crucial hurdle the Republic’s air and naval forces must overcome—it’s an inevitability.

“Aerial refueling is an urgent capability for us. It can broadly solve the ‘short-legged’ problem of our military’s fighters. Even the J-8, with the longest combat radius, is still considered short-legged. Our need for tankers is very pressing.”

Yang Hui’s words struck a chord. The fighter with the furthest combat radius, the J-8, was still limited—its range was only large compared to other domestic fighters.

In the previous era, the Republic’s aerial refueling project began in the early 1980s but was relatively late. By the time the military had aerial refueling capability, island conflicts had long passed.

Now, Yang Hui needed to propose the tanker project early and complete it before 1987, so by 1988 it could be operational—providing a satisfactory answer for the entire nation.

In fact, the Republic had been paying attention to aerial refueling since the early 1980s, spurred by classic wars from that decade.

In the Middle East wars, the formidable Israeli forces were masters of long-range raids, striking in ways and along routes their enemies least expected—all made possible by strong logistical support from aerial refueling tankers.

These realities brought aerial refueling back into focus, and naturally, the Republic’s military took great interest. Other nations in need had already researched or purchased such technology long ago.

Under the watch of the chief designer, the Republic’s air force began a lengthy “study” of aerial refueling in the early 1980s. This was genuine research, not yet development.

In fact, this research mostly preserved the project team through funding. The Republic had captured tanker equipment wreckage during the Vietnam War and attempted some tanker equipment development in the 1970s, but political reasons prevented completion. Thus, some foundation and a development team existed.

By 1984, no news of tanker equipment had emerged. It wasn’t until 1988 that the Republic decisively introduced British technology, motivated largely by the naval battle in 1988.

These were all thoughts of Yang Hui, the hindsight strategist. After hearing his ideas, the Navy also began to consider researching aerial refueling technology. Perhaps this project truly held promise.

“I will convene my colleagues to thoroughly study this aerial refueling project. If feasible, the Navy should join the development efforts to accelerate progress. The air force has long lacked sufficient funding and is still dragging its feet.”

(to be continued)