Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: A New Generation of Power
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July 1, 2005.
The indigenous fighter development program, known as KFX, was about to bear its first fruit today.
Four prototypes, born from a long development process, were on standby at Seongnam Air Base, preparing to take to the skies before the public.
Bbam-bba-ba-ba!
As the military band played, a motorcade carrying the President and key military commanders appeared at the air base.
It was a public event, and countless invited reporters unleashed a barrage of camera flashes. The President, having stepped out of his vehicle, walked straight toward the VIP section.
"Welcome, Mr. President."
I, who had been waiting in the VIP section, immediately approached to guide him to his seat.
He suddenly extended his hand.
He didn't say anything, but I understood it was a gesture of appreciation for all the hard work.
"I've thought this before, but it's a truly sleek machine."
The President exclaimed, his gaze fixed on the parked aircraft.
For someone who had only seen its frame, it was a natural reaction.
I began to explain the day's event schedule to him.
"Today's demonstration will focus solely on maneuverability. Weapons testing is scheduled for early next year, or perhaps unofficially by the end of this year, if we're fast."
"I'm aware of that. But have all the aircraft's special features you mentioned before been implemented?"
He was likely referring to its stealth and radar capabilities.
On that front, I was more confident than ever.
I nodded with a firm expression and replied.
"In recent tests, its radar cross-section without external armaments was measured at 0.001 square meters. That's the exact same low-observability figure as the F-22."
In that instant, both the President and the Air Force Chief of Staff standing beside him showed expressions of utter shock.
Their eyes showed they had a lot to say.
But no one spoke first, so I continued my explanation.
"Honestly, it's not that surprising. As I've mentioned before, we went through over forty design revisions to reduce its detectability and applied a completely new level of RAM."
"Incredible. And what about the engine performance?"
At his question, I glanced toward the runway.
The first prototype was just going through its pre-flight checks for takeoff. Turning my gaze back to the President, I smiled and said.
"For that, I think it's better to see it for yourself rather than listen to my explanation."
The President nodded and immediately looked at the runway.
*Shwoooosh!*
Following a brief announcement, the prototype's engines ignited.
It soon began to spew fierce flames, as if it had been waiting for this very day.
*Ruuuumble!*
The aircraft was airborne in an instant.
To demonstrate the engine's power, the pilot pushed the throttle to maximum. As soon as the fuselage lifted off, he pulled the nose sharply upward, and the jet shot skyward at a near-vertical angle with a tremendous roar.
"Ooh!"
Gasps of awe came from all around.
I glanced at the President; his eyes were still glued to the aircraft.
He looked startled as the jet leveled out, then seemed to falter in mid-air.
"Did it stall?"
"No, that's an intentional maneuver to simulate a stall-like condition. It's to confirm the flight control system is working properly."
*Whoosh!*
Just as I finished speaking, the aircraft, which had been falling as if in freefall, quickly stabilized. It then shot forward, accelerating again, and after a few rolls, pointed its nose to the sky. The heavy jet seemed to hang in the air for a moment before rocketing upward at an angle.
"Just how powerful are those engines...?"
The Air Force Chief of Staff, who was watching intently, let out another gasp of admiration.
No sooner had he spoken than the jet approached the airspace above the runway.
A moment later, it accelerated rapidly and produced a loud *boom*.
"It's broken the sound barrier."
As if to prove the President's words, a sonic boom phenomenon instantly occurred around the fighter.
This was the perfect opportunity to boast about one of the aircraft's features.
I leaned in closer to him and said in a hushed tone.
"As I mentioned before, the engines on that jet can sustain supersonic flight without using afterburners."
"You mean its supercruise capability."
Being an enthusiast, the President understood immediately.
It certainly made explaining things easier for me.
As I was about to offer a more detailed explanation with a smile, a chorus of "Wow!" erupted from the crowd.
"Ooh!"
I glanced up to see the jet performing a Cobra maneuver.
What was different was that it wasn't simply raising its nose and returning to its original position, but attempting a near-360-degree rotation.
This was a testament to the characteristics of its thrust-vectoring nozzles, the precision of its flight control system, and the sheer power of its engines.
"A pity."
The unexpected words came from the President, who had been applauding along with those around him.
Just as I wondered if he was dissatisfied with something, he smiled and spoke again.
"If only the internal weapons bay were complete, it would be worthy of being called a true 5th-generation stealth fighter, wouldn't it?"
"You can't call a jet a 5th-generation stealth fighter just because it has an internal weapons bay. However, in this aircraft's case, it's true that aside from the weapons bay, it is a perfect 5th-generation stealth fighter."
I replied with a smile.
The President returned my smile with one of his own and then asked casually.
"By the way, is the technology for internal weapons bays really that difficult?"
"It is quite difficult. There's the technology needed to enhance the aerodynamic performance of components due to internal mounting, but more importantly, it's tricky to maintain stealth capabilities when the weapons bay is open."
"So how do we plan to proceed?"
I had been waiting for that question.
Even the United States is strictly preventing any technology transfer in that area.
That means we have to rely entirely on our own development, which is no easy task.
In fact, that's why we decided to tackle that part in the Block 2 development phase.
"The current plan is to partially apply plasma stealth technology, but only to the weapons bay."
Plasma stealth was a method Russia touted during the development of the Su-57.
The concept is to artificially generate plasma, which has radar-absorbing properties, and envelop the aircraft to make it stealthy.
However, a fighter jet's engines alone cannot generate enough power to coat the entire airframe in plasma, and the technology to keep that plasma contained around the aircraft at supersonic speeds is on the level of needing to abduct an alien.
Because of that, Russia struggled quite a bit in that area, and I remember them finally succeeding just before my regression.
"Plasma?"
The President tilted his head as if the word were unfamiliar.
Just then, the test aircraft once again soared into the sky.
I used that moment to continue my explanation.
"Plasma has the property of absorbing radar waves. The Russians were the first to conceptualize its use for stealth, probably back when they launched Sputnik."
"Sputnik? You mean the rocket that launched the world's first artificial satellite?"
"That's right. At the time, Russian researchers were puzzled why the rocket sometimes didn't appear on radar. They discovered the reason was interference from naturally occurring plasma. Since then, they've been trying to use it to develop stealth fighters, but it won't be easy."
"Why is that?"
"Because generating enough plasma to cover an object the size of a fighter jet consumes an enormous amount of power, not to mention the technology to contain it doesn't exist yet."
As I said it, I was once again struck by how incredible Russia was.
Even if not right away, Russia would eventually succeed in developing that technology.
According to my memory, the U.S. also challenged that field later on, but I regressed before seeing the results, so I have no way of knowing what happened.
"If the technology is that difficult, won't it be hard for us as well?"
The President once again asked a question that cut to the core of the issue.
But that would only be true if the conditions were the same.
Our approach is different, and the scope of application is much smaller than theirs, so it's not exactly impossible.
"We've already secured the aircraft's inherent stealth capabilities through an optimal RCS design and RAM. Therefore, there's no need to cover the entire airframe in plasma; we only need to apply it to the weapons bay."
"..."
"In that case, the power generated by the engines is sufficient to create the plasma, and it's possible to contain the generated plasma over that small an area using electromagnetic forces."
"..."
The President's eyes shone brightly.
Just as I wondered what he would say, he gave a meaningful smile and nodded.
"So that's why our fighter's overall shape resembles the F-22 and not the Su-57. In short, you've combined the technological advantages of both the U.S. and Russia that are currently achievable. Is that right?"
"That's correct. To be honest, I'm quite fond of the Sukhoi's appearance. But if we had followed that design, we would have faced the same challenge as Russia: having to envelop and maintain plasma around the entire airframe. So, we decided to achieve overall stealth performance like the U.S., using RCS and RAM, and apply the Russian concept only to the weapons bay."
"Doesn't that mean it will actually be a stealthier fighter than the F-22?"
"Conceptually, yes. The F-22 still hasn't perfectly solved the issue of increased detectability when its weapons bay is open."
The President was silent for a while after hearing that.
But I could tell he was excited by his flushed face.
At that moment, I threw in something to get him even more excited.
"For your information, the AESA radar installed on that jet is capable of jamming incoming enemy missiles. This allows for electronic warfare capabilities on par with the F-22 in BVR combat."
"How? I was told that electronic warfare using radar isn't possible with hardware alone."
As expected, the President responded immediately.
"Of course. But one of our researchers has poured his heart and soul into building the algorithm."
I was referring to Choi In-bae.
His unrivaled talent in the software field grew over time, and a year ago, he finally developed a radar control algorithm on the same level as the F-22's. Test results showed that our AESA, with his algorithm applied, could be amplified to a level capable of burning out the electronic components of an actual missile seeker.
"Whoever he is, we must protect him well. It would be a great loss to lose someone of his caliber."
"I'm already treating him with the utmost care, as if he might blow away in the wind."
I responded with a joke and turned my attention back to the test flight.
Having completed all scheduled demonstrations, the jets gracefully landed back on the runway and taxied to the parking apron amidst a wave of applause.
"Chairman Jin, you've worked very hard. At this rate, there should be no problem starting mass production soon."
"Yes, we plan to apply for mass production as soon as armament control is verified."
The President nodded at my words and stood up from his seat.
The next item on the agenda was the press conference, a mere formality.
As he headed for the press conference, something occurred to me. I moved close to his side and spoke.
"I have something to discuss with you for a moment."
"Hm?"
The President paused.
He dismissed everyone around him except for his security detail and looked at me with a serious expression.
"Go on."
"It's about the development of a low-end attack aircraft. I was wondering what your thoughts are. Frankly, with the KFX nearing completion, isn't it time to consider replacing our aging low-end attack aircraft?"
"Hmm."
He wore a thoughtful expression for a moment.
Perhaps sensing the conversation would take some time, he immediately had his chief of staff postpone the press conference by ten minutes and continued talking with me.
"You're right, it is time to discuss that. Even for a low-end fighter, we can't keep relying on the F-5, which lacks a decent radar, forever."
"So, I was thinking, since the T-50 has already entered mass production, why don't we expedite the plan to develop a light attack aircraft based on it?"
"I've been thinking about that as well. The problem is the terms of the contract with Lockheed..."
The President's face was full of displeasure as he trailed off.
"I know. There's a clause stipulating that any light attack aircraft developed from the T-50 must have performance below that of the F-16. In effect, if we adhere to that standard, we'll be forced to operate a rather ambiguous aircraft as our low-end fighter."
"It's a bit unfair, isn't it? We've already developed high-quality radar technology and armaments, but we can't use them."
"Of course it's unfair. But what if there was a way?"
The President tilted his head at my words.
Then, as if he'd realized something, his expression brightened, and he looked at me.
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right. The F-16 has already begun a major upgrade program. Which means we can now set the contractual baseline a little higher."
"..."