Chapter 178: Division of Labor and Cooperation

It cannot be said that the Air Force's requirements are problematic, nor can the Navy's requirements be deemed problematic either. These divergent demands stem entirely from the different combat environments, operational missions, and military doctrines of the two major services.

It is certainly impossible to satisfy the needs of both the Navy and the Air Force simultaneously. The base currently lacks the capability to develop two different combat-role aircraft concurrently according to the distinct requirements of both branches.

Such a feat might become achievable twenty years into the future, where different combat missions can be selected via flight control software—a capability already realized in Sweden's JAS 39. However, for the current Super 7, such a notion is completely out of the question.

To accommodate the differing needs of the Navy and the Air Force, there is only one solution: separate their requirements and develop two distinct versions of the Super 7 with different focal points—one tailored for the Navy, and the other for the Air Force.

Taking advantage of the temporary recess, Yang Hui voiced his thoughts, preparing to discuss them with the leaders who had come from the base.

"Leaders, everyone has witnessed the conflicting demands between the Navy and the Air Force. We must resolve this issue properly right now. If we fail to reconcile these conflicting requirements, our Super 7 risks repeating the same disastrous mistakes made by the JH-7 back in the day. That truly would outweigh the gains."

Mentioning the precedent of the JH-7 instantly sobered up the base leaders. Initially, they had still been trying to find ways to secure orders from both the Navy and the Air Force, but now it appeared they had been somewhat naive.

Having calmed down, Chief Designer Yu came up with a solution that happened to coincide precisely with the idea Yang Hui was about to propose.

"What Yang Hui says makes a lot of sense. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the JH-7, which means we now need to give up on one side. It all comes down to whether we abandon the Navy or the Air Force, and this requires careful deliberation on our part."

Choosing between the Navy and the Air Force now meant committing to that path until the very end. Abandoning either side was bound to offend people, so the pros and cons had to be carefully weighed.

As everyone was busy weighing the options, Yang Hui realized time was short and they could not drag things out any longer, as the project evaluation meeting was about to resume.

"I believe we can abandon the Air Force's requirements and focus on building a multi-role fighter for the Navy. The reason is simple: our future Super 7 will have to face foreign customers. The domestic military is our foundation, but overseas fighter jet orders are the path to our prosperity."

Abandoning the Air Force's requirements was a decision Yang Hui had deliberated over for a long time. Since he now had a method to avoid offending the Air Force and perhaps even secure some benefits for them, he naturally chose the Navy without hesitation.

"If our fighter jets must be exported to achieve prosperity, then we need to carefully consider the demands of our buyers. The countries purchasing our fighter jets are generally lacking in funds. They require doing as much as possible with the minimum amount of money, which means they need something heavily focused on multi-role capability. This happens to coincide perfectly with the Navy's requirements."

Nodding in agreement with Yang Hui's analysis, they decided that since this was the case, they would build a multi-role aircraft for the Navy.

"Now, how should we respond to the Air Force? This requires a bit of tact, so I will be the one to break the news. Let the offense fall on me."

With that, under the admiring gazes of the other base leaders, Chief Designer Yu walked back toward the conference room. Yang Hui hurried after him, whispering into his ear for a moment, after which Chief Designer Yu nodded approvingly and strode into the meeting room with absolute confidence.

When the discussion returned to the conflicting demands of the Navy and the Air Force, the base was expected to provide a definitive stance and present a concrete plan.

The rest of the base personnel naturally knew the decision that had been made, leaving Chief Designer Yu to step up and handle the unpleasant task.

Guided by Yang Hui's advice, Chief Designer Yu had prepared a proper approach. He first thanked the Navy and Air Force leadership for their trust, then swiftly shifted the topic to the reasons behind the JH-7's failure, ultimately concluding that the base could not satisfy the demands of both services simultaneously.

Chief Designer Yu's responsible attitude won unanimous praise in the conference room. What people feared most was not a lack of sufficient capability, but rather someone lacking the ability yet putting on airs and stubbornly biting off more than they could chew.

"Well, that makes a lot of sense, and it's clear this has been thoroughly considered. So, which direction are you planning to focus on?"

Hearing the question from General Zhang of the Air Force, Chief Designer Yu had no choice but to abandon the Air Force in accordance with the predetermined plan. Fortunately, a method had already been devised to compensate for the Air Force's loss.

"Here is our thought: our base will undertake the Navy's multi-role fighter project. As for the Air Force's requirements, we have a suggestion to offer purely for reference. Using the same airframe, the Air Force's requirements could be assigned to the Chengdu side. Perhaps the current J-7III project can be halted, and 0611 can take on this project instead."

Abandoning the older J-7 and fully developing the new Super 7 was a feasible path. Since the new Super 7's core components—the engine, avionics, and radar—would either be imported or independently localized, there would naturally be no fear of foreign chokeholds. On the other hand, only by ramping up the production volume of the Super 7 could manufacturing costs be driven down, enabling mass procurement by the military once the price became affordable.

A fighter jet with a low manufacturing cost, heavily equipped by the Republic—one of the world's five major powers—would naturally sell much better on the export market.

Chief Designer Yu's proposal essentially redirected the Air Force toward 0611. Entrusting this project to 0611 was also the result of careful deliberation by Yang Hui. The emergence of the Super 7 would inevitably impact the J-7III.

If the J-7III were to be scrapped now, what would factory 0611 and research institute 0132 live on in the future? The fighter jets designed by 0611 in the future would be extraordinarily powerful, so it was best to stay on good terms with them.

Upon hearing Chief Designer Yu's suggestion, the Air Force representatives' eyes lit up. This truly was a great idea; it allowed the somewhat redundant J-7III program to be canceled while avoiding pushing 0611 into a corner. After all, 0611 was still undertaking another long-term, major project, and their feelings still needed to be properly considered.

"Well, what you say is not unreasonable; our Air Force will give it serious consideration. If we agree to this plan, how will you and the 0611 side cooperate? Will you directly hand over the documentation, or is there another arrangement?"

Regarding the cooperation plan, Chief Designer Yu had long since prepared an answer: "This question is also quite simple. We will hand over the documentation retained from the Super JJ-7 for the Super 7, and then divide the labor on common areas for the subsequent phases. We will be responsible for the Super 7's refueling system, while the landing gear will be assigned to 0611, maximizing the utilization of both sides' technological capabilities. The other differing aspects will be tackled independently by each side to accelerate the R&D progress of both Super 7 variants."

Dividing the labor to jointly research the common elements of the Super 7 was the most efficient method Chief Designer Yu could conceive. This was hardly a time for mutual suspicion; what was needed now was to quickly produce results and avoid dragging things out. Any excessive delay might cause the authorities to lose patience, allowing voices calling for the project's cancellation to gradually gain the upper hand.

Likewise, both the Navy and the Air Force were very satisfied with this responsible attitude from the base. If all aviation research institutes and manufacturing plants could work together with such single-minded purpose, it would naturally be for the best. However, recalling some of the other domestic facilities made one's heart rather heavy.

With such a high-efficiency proposal on the table, the Air Force naturally had nothing more to object to. They could now summon the representatives from 0611 to gauge their opinions.

While Yang Hui and his team were reporting on the Super 7 project in Beijing, far away in Hongdu, Shi Ping, the team leader for the new primary trainer project, was making preparations. Hearing that Base 0011 had secured an exhibition booth at the Farnborough Air Show, Hongdu felt that as the primary trainer was co-funded and co-developed by Hongdu and Base 0011, it seemed like a good opportunity to go out and see the world.

Hongdu was not the only one preparing to head to Britain; Changhong needed to go and sign a radar import contract to boost Marconi's momentum; the military was planning to send personnel to Britain to make contact regarding Sky Flash; and even a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Electronics Industry intended to use this opportunity to inspect Britain's chip industry.