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Chapter 107: Shen Huoyi’s Arrival

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Regarding Lin Chao’s mockery, Tang Rui didn’t take it seriously.

Next time, when he encountered drug traffickers again, he definitely wouldn’t use missiles; those things wouldn’t cause much suffering.

If there was a chance, he planned to get a flamethrower.

But those things were all trivial for him.

It was just making a missile.

Killing a few drug traffickers wasn’t a big deal.

The intention behind equipping Gao Yang with guns from above is also quite clear.

The missile was well made.

But next time, this couldn’t be done.

He arrived at the hangar.

As soon as Tang Rui entered the hangar, he saw only one Su-47 fighter jet left on the rack.

They disassembled it pretty quickly.

“President Tang.”

“President Tang, hello.”

When the employees saw Tang Rui, they immediately greeted him.

“Has the internal structure analysis been completed?”

Tang Rui nodded and asked.

“Not yet, but we have already organized the internal drawings.”

“Okay, you guys continue working.”

After saying that, Tang Rui went to the nearby computer and opened the database.

While dismantling the Su-47, they recorded simultaneously.

They used a scanner throughout the process to scan the internal structure. It made the drawings that they obtained very complete.

But to be honest, this set of drawings is only for reference and doesn’t have much practical value.

Everyone knew the situation with Russian electronic equipment.

Vacuum tubes and transistors are not on the same path.

If they were to reassemble it in the future, all of the avionics equipment on the Su-47 would need to be replaced, so these drawings only had some reference value.

The internal structure needed to be redesigned… But there was no rush for all of this.

Anyway, he didn’t plan to work on this in the short term.

Everything could wait until the new headquarters was built.

Tang Rui only stayed here for a while, looked at the relevant data analysis, and then went to play with drones.

In the afternoon, Lin Chao came to find Tang Rui again and told him that representatives from Shenfei had arrived and wanted to meet him.

“Shen Huoyi’s people want to see me?”

He was a bit puzzled.

What’s going on here?

He hasn’t had any dealings with Shen Industries, so why would they want to meet him?

“They didn’t say what it’s about.”

“Alright, where are they?”

“They’ve already arrived at the airport, in the multipurpose hall over there.”

“Let’s go, let’s go see them.”

They had come all this way.

He couldn’t just avoid meeting them.

Arriving at the multipurpose hall.

Tang Rui saw representatives from Shen Huoyi’s team.

“President Tang, this is Director Liu from Shen Industries.”

Director?

Tang Rui looked at Director Liu and was a bit unclear about his authority. After all, in our country, it’s hard to judge the rank of two positions.

One was a director, while the other, a secretary.

“President Tang, hello. I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Director Liu, no need to be polite. I’ve always wanted to exchange ideas with Shen Industries.”

After some pleasantries, they got down to business.

“President Tang, here’s the thing. We heard that you wanted to exchange all the technical data of the Su-47 with Russia, but they didn’t agree, right?” Director Liu asked.

“Yes, so 1 brought back a Su-47 and dismantled it for analysis myself.”

Tang Rui nodded. This wasn’t a confidential matter, so there was nothing he couldn’t say.

But he was curious about why they were asking about this.

“Tang Rui, actually, before you exchanged for the Su-47, you should have disclosed some information. You didn’t need to exchange with Russia. Shen Industries also has relevant technology for forward-swept wings,” Director Liu regretfully said.

That feeling… It seemed like he felt bad for Tang Rui.

But what was there to feel bad about?

A ten-million-dollar item in exchange for a Su-47 was a win-win situation.

“Shen Industries also has forward-swept wing technology?”

Tang Rui suddenly thought of a rumor. When Russia revealed the Su-47, there were people within our ranks who suggested making a forward-swept wing verification aircraft. But it was only talked about online, and there were no photos. So, everyone thought it was just a rumor.

Unexpectedly, Director Liu was saying that Shen Industries had forward-swept wing technology. Didn’t that mean that the verification aircraft from back then was indeed developed by Shen Industries?

“Yes, we did develop a verification aircraft back then, but we encountered the same problems as Russia, so it was shelved.”

Director Liu said and took out a folder from his bag, handing it to Tang Rui.

When Tang Rui opened it, he saw confidential documents from back then, with many photos inside. Indeed, there was a forward-swept wing fighter jet, but it was indeed a single-engine aircraft.

“Director Liu, what is this?”

Tang Rui glanced through it and put down the documents, asking in confusion.

What did this mean?

“No other meaning. We came here to ask President Tang if you still need the technology data for forward-swept wings. If you do, Shen Industries is willing to transfer the entire set of technology data, including all the data and the prototype aircraft.”

Tang Rui took a deep breath.

This surprise was quite big.

When did Shen Industries become so generous?

Could there be some ulterior motive?

“Well, Director Liu, let’s be honest. 1 do want the technology, but I want to know what you want in return.”

Tang Rui didn’t want to beat around the bush and asked directly.

“We would like President Tang’s help with something.”

“Help?”

H

Yes, President Tang, you’ll understand after reading this.”

Director Liu took out another folder and handed it to Tang Rui.

When Tang Rui opened it and read it, his eyes widened immediately.

What did he see?

Research data for the J-18 Red Falcon vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet.

Is the J-18 real?”

Tang Rui lifted his head and asked in astonishment.

The online debate about whether the J-18 existed had never stopped, especially from the American side. Not only did they affirm the existence of the J-18, but they also formed a special squadron, using the J-18 as the hypothetical enemy for specialized exercises.

It’s real, but it may never become a reality.”

“What do you mean?”

Director Liu didn’t say anything, just glanced at the folder.

Tang Rui immediately lowered his head and began to look through the documents in his hands.

After reading for a while, he understood why Shen Industries had come to him.

They really came to ask for his help.

As a fighter jet benchmarked against the F-35, the research and development difficulty was beyond imagination. Moreover, at that time, Shen Industries was determined to make it carrier-based. This made it even more challenging.

According to the information, this project was initiated in the last century and was launched after more than three years of theoretical verification.

In fact, this project was a continuation of a vertical takeoff and landing fighter project from the 1970s. However, in the 1970s, China was still very poor and couldn’t afford to research vertical takeoff and landing fighters. So, that project was abandoned. It wasn’t until the 1990s that vertical takeoff and landing was reconsidered.

At that time, China didn’t have aircraft carriers, so they needed a fighter jet that could perform vertical takeoff and landing as the main force of naval aviation. Since they couldn’t build real carriers, they had to have a fighter that could perform vertical takeoff and landing, even if they didn’t have catapults. So…

Two decades passed.

The J-20 had already been developed.

But the J-18 was still in development.

During this period, the project had faced the possibility of cancellation, but it was eventually saved by Shen Industries.

It was saved for real.

But it was almost impossible to successfully develop it.

Why?

It was simply too difficult.

With the technology available in China at the time, developing a vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet was like trying to leapfrog into a new millenium. It was simply impossible to achieve.

According to the information, the project was originally initiated in the 1970s as a vertical takeoff and landing fighter. However, China was very poor at that time and couldn’t afford to research vertical takeoff and landing fighters, so the project was shelved. It wasn’t until the 1990s, when China still didn’t have aircraft carriers, that they reconsidered vertical takeoff and landing.

At that time, the J-20 was already under development.

But the J-18 was still in the research stage.

During this period, there were even discussions about canceling the project, but it was ultimately saved by Shen Industries.

It was saved, but the chances of successful development were slim.

Why?

Because the difficulty was too great.

With the technology available in China at the time, developing a vertical takeoff and landing fighter jet was like trying to take a giant leap forward. It was extremely challenging..