Chapter One Hundred and Five: Project Report, Part Two

The people from the Phoenix Workshop, whether it was the presenter on stage or the others seated below, could not possibly tolerate the enormous insult of being accused of copying the F-16 under normal circumstances. But now that a large sum of funding was at stake, and the other side was a foreign investor, they had no choice but to swallow it.

They could only pretend they had heard nothing and keep speaking from the stage, thick-skinned and unshaken.

“Our new aircraft shares some aerodynamic similarities with the American F-16, but it has actually been developed from the J-7. We have been studying this aerodynamic configuration for many years, so any resemblance to the F-16 is entirely coincidental. Still, this only proves that the new aircraft has excellent aerodynamic performance. In the future, it can also fully replace the Pakistani F-16 two-seat trainer, and in training pilots for third-generation fighters, it will definitely exceed the fifty percent requirement set by the Pakistani side.”

He was still claiming that the project had grown out of the J-7. How could that be possible? It was simply unbearable to listen any longer. Madad turned to Nieli beside him and said, “This new aircraft clearly cannot train J-7 pilots. What use is it to us? I think there is no need to keep hearing this proposal. Let’s move on to the next one.”

Nieli had not expected the Pakistani side to be so blunt. Less than half an hour had passed, and they were already ready to discard the project. What on earth was the Phoenix Workshop doing?

He had initially wanted to persuade Madad to listen a little longer, but Prince Sultan, hearing that Pakistan did not need such an aircraft, naturally agreed. The main purpose of Saudi funding in this project was to pave the way for a much larger one later on, so the performance requirements had to be centered primarily on Pakistan’s needs.

Prince Sultan nodded in support of Madad’s opinion and said, “Yes, we do not need this kind of two-seat fighter. What we need is a trainer. There is no need to keep wasting everyone’s time by listening to this.”

Seeing that even the foreign investors were dissatisfied with the proposal, there was naturally no reason to continue. He stood up and went over to explain the situation to Marshal Nie.

“Father, the foreign side is very unhappy with this proposal. They believe the Phoenix Workshop’s plan cannot train J-7 pilots, so they are requesting that we move directly to the next presentation.”

Hearing that the foreign side was very dissatisfied made things troublesome, especially for the bureaucrats from the Aviation Ministry. They were very satisfied with the Phoenix Workshop’s design, and they naturally understood the workshop’s little calculations. Who among them had not heard of Project Ten? Once they connected the dots, they understood everything. They had even admired the Phoenix Workshop’s cleverness before, but they had not expected the foreign investors to reject it. That made things difficult.

The minister from the Aviation Ministry craned his neck past several people, trying to persuade Sultan and Madad.

“You two should really hear this proposal out. We think it is quite good. In the future, it might even be modified into a fighter. Replacing the F-16 would not be impossible.”

Pakistan had never even entertained the idea of replacing the F-16 with this kind of aircraft. As for Saudi Arabia, they would want it even less. They were not short of money; for their main combat aircraft, they wanted performance. A fighter at the F-16’s level was not something Saudi Arabia would consider high enough. They wanted twin-engine aircraft. Single-engine fighters did not impress them. In later years, the aircraft in Saudi service were all heavyweights like the Typhoon, the Tornado, and the F-15.

Madad understood the bureaucrat’s meaning and immediately stated his position in a firm voice.

“No, if your side insists on choosing this aircraft, we will absolutely not invest. Our country has already decided to continue purchasing new F-16s. The main combat aircraft of the future will be the F-16.”

The Aviation Ministry bureaucrat continued to look at Prince Sultan hopefully, wishing to secure Saudi investment. Even if Pakistan’s one hundred fifty million dollars did not materialize, three hundred million from Saudi Arabia would still be acceptable.

Seeing the official’s expectant expression, Prince Sultan said calmly, “You should persuade the Pakistani side first. We were invited to invest by Pakistan.”

After hearing this, everyone finally understood. What more could be said? It was obvious that the Phoenix Workshop had no hope for this project. Now it all depended on Base 0011. Compared with the Phoenix Workshop, Base 0011 was of no account in the eyes of the Aviation Ministry, but if the money could be kept in hand, that was all that mattered. So they might as well wait and see Base 0011’s presentation.

With no other choice, they sat back down and gestured to the Phoenix Workshop on the stage, indicating that they could step down.

Those presenting on stage could naturally see the expressions below very clearly, especially those in the front row. They could even make out some of the foreign conversation. They knew the foreign side was not optimistic about the project, but they had not expected them not even to listen at all. And when they saw the top Aviation Ministry official who had supported them telling them to step down, what else was there to say? They could only feel like crying without tears. The past two years had truly been unlucky. Two consecutive bidding projects had failed. What would the workshop do in the future if it had only the J-8 to rely on?

Seeing that they were still standing there dazed, even Marshal Nie could no longer watch. It was one thing for the bid to fail, but what did it mean to remain on the stage and not leave?

“To the comrade on stage: since the foreign investors are dissatisfied with your proposal, come down. Go down and reflect on it properly. There are still other proposals to be presented.”

Only then did the dazed presenter react. Thinking of the consequences of returning to the workshop after this failed presentation, he walked down in a daze.

Seeing the Phoenix Workshop’s proposal cut off right from the start, the Base personnel were pleased, but they were also somewhat worried. If the Phoenix Workshop had been eliminated so quickly, what on earth would happen to the two proposals from the base?

Yang Hui, however, was not worried about the two proposals he was about to present. In fact, what he felt was more a kind of lament for the Phoenix Workshop’s stubbornness. Yes, stubbornness.

The Phoenix Workshop’s J-13 had been shelved, and then the country launched Project Ten. In that project, the other design institutes all took out their own old remedies and repackaged them in new bottles, and the Phoenix Design Workshop was no exception.

Hongdu brought out an upgraded and improved proposal based on the retired Q-6; the 0611 Institute produced the canard aerodynamic layout, which it had already studied back when it was working on the J-9; and naturally, the Phoenix Workshop produced an aerodynamic improvement proposal based on the J-13.

How could a conventional layout like the J-13 possibly triumph through novelty? And it was similar in aerodynamic arrangement and size to the F-16 as well. Was that not courting death? Same aerodynamics, same size. If they wanted to beat a representative third-generation fighter like the F-16, they only had to look at the country’s industrial foundation. Who knew where the Phoenix Workshop got its courage.

Most important of all, at the very beginning of Project Ten, around 1982, the Phoenix Workshop’s project was not favored. Instead of reflecting seriously on what had gone wrong, they were still stubbornly trying to bring it back from the dead and carry on. That was obviously impossible. The Pakistanis had advanced materials, technology, and an F-16 built with their own engines and manufacturing capability. Why would they want a second-rate product made with second-rate materials, second-rate technology, and second-rate engines?

After thinking all this through, the point was clear: the Phoenix Workshop had chosen the wrong place. Such respectable, middle-of-the-road designs would be very hard to achieve anything great with in a republic that was, industrially speaking, lopsided.

It was now time for Yang Hui, as the base representative, to present the design proposal. He walked ahead carrying his presentation materials, while behind him the institute director carried a model in one hand as they moved forward.

Director Bai placed the presentation model before Marshal Nie in the front row and before the foreign side’s Sultan, explaining that it was the model for the base’s design proposal. Then he turned away, but not before giving Yang Hui a look of encouragement.

Sitting off to the side, Nieli was the most astonished. When he first saw the list of presenters, he had not imagined it would be this youngster. Though the name was similar, he had never expected that the people from Base 0011 would truly have the courage to send such a young researcher to present. Could this be the same little fellow he had seen several times before?

He lowered his voice and asked Marshal Nie, “Father, is this young man really... really the Yang Hui adopted by Uncle Li?”

Marshalled Nie had expected this question and replied with a smile, “That’s right, it is him. I looked over his file on the way here. When the chief designer asked me to come, he even mentioned him specially and said Yang Hui was an interesting fellow. So I went and read his materials, and it really was him. Everything matched up. If you do not believe me, you can ask Vice Director Yang from your science and industry commission.”

It was clear that Marshal Nie knew Yang Hui’s background thoroughly. In truth, Yang Hui had met him when he was still very young, around eight or nine years old. Later, the old man grew older and was no longer even fit to serve as a secretary, so he retired. After that, Marshal Nie had been persecuted, and they had not met again.

Hearing her father confirm that the man on stage was indeed that Yang Hui from years ago, Nieli became interested in the Yang Hui of more than a decade later. To be so young and still be entrusted with such important work by his unit suggested that he must be quite extraordinary. At once, she said no more and prepared to listen to Yang Hui’s presentation.