J-9A - 1965
The development of the J-9 fighter was officially launched in 1965. The technical specifications of the early J-9 fighters were a maximum Mach number of 2.4 and a maximum ceiling of 21,000 meters. In addition, at the time, the design of the Shenyang Aircraft Design obtained the wreckage of the American-made F-4B fighter on the Vietnam battlefield, and then designed the air intake on both sides as a breakthrough.
On April 12, 1965, the Third Ministry of Machines issued the “Notice on Carrying out the Scheme Demonstration and Design Work of the J-9 Fighter Jet” in Sanyuanzi No. 585, requiring the scheme demonstration and comparison in two aspects. In the specific deployment, the Sixth Institue proposed to strive to come up with a plan in June. In accordance with the spirit of the above notice, the Sixth Institue immediately started the program demonstration work and put forward a preliminary plan on time. Option 1 mainly focuses on combat performance, taking into account interception operations and dealing with low-altitude and high-speed targets. The maximum Mach number is about 2.3, the ceiling is about 20,000 meters, the range is large, and the combat radius is greater than 450 kilometers. Option 2 focuses on interception performance and considers combat operations. The maximum Mach number is 2.4 to 2.5, the ceiling is 21 to 22 kilometers, and the combat radius is 350 kilometers. The total weight of the two plans is required to be controlled at about 14 tons.
The 601 Institute at Shenyang submitted four drafts during 1965, each of them with a different aerodynamic layout, such as wing configurations, leading-edge angles and the arrangement of the air intakes (ventral or lateral):
- 50° delta wing (sweep wing)
- 55° delta wing (sweep wing) with tailplane
- 50° double delta wing
- 57° delta-wing
The initial concept was known as "draft A" ( J-9A) with the four different configurations. The J-9A-IV was similar in appearance to the later improved J-8B (J-8II) with a leading-edge angle of 55°. Further wind-tunnel tests in the fourth quarter of 1966 and early 1967 led to the conclusion that the agility of the new fighter was deficcient, as these configurations were unstable at certain airspeeds. This led to the concept designated "draft B" (J-9B), or configuration V, with a full delta configuration J-9B-V. But this also produced problems with lift at certain airspeeds and complicated the placement of lift control devices. The J-9B-V was tailless delta, similar to the contemporary Mirage III, with a leading-edge angle of 60° and a wing surface of 62 m2.
By this time the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution impacted the program, and the development and construction of the J-9 Project was completely stopped by March 1968. After a further conference it was decided to resume work on the J-9B-V in 1969, with the goal to achieve the first flight to 20th anniversary of the People's Republic of China on 01 October 1969. Supporting that decision were conclusions drawn from the Vietnam War and combat experience in the Middle East, which placed new demands on the PLA Air Force.
In order to make it possible for Shenyang to concentrate parallel on the further development and manufacturing of the J-8 it was decided to shift responsibility for production from Plant 112 to Plant 132 Chengdu Aviation Company. The Ministry of Defense once again changed the performance requirements to: "good agility" / combat radius 900-1000 km / maximum weight 13 tons / load factor of +9 g / service ceiling of 25,000 meters and maximum speed of Mach 2.5 (the "double-25-requirement") and later to the "double-26-requirement": Mach 2.6 at 26,000 m.
This required a return to the draft J-9B-V again and development further to the draft J-9B2 or now called J-9B-VI. It was decided to continue the development of the "new" J-9 as a delta-canard with either one ventral or two lateral air intakes. Possibly this study with the single ventral air intake formed the basis of the subsequent Chengdu J-10A.
It was planned to use the 12.5 ton turbofan J-9. The shape is actually very close to the later J-10. The air intake on both sides was initially adopted. Later, the model of the abdominal air intake was also studied. The front wings of the J-9 cannot be moved, and it is statically stable. Layout, empty weight 9.8 tons, normal take-off weight 14 tons, basic range greater than 2000KM, maximum flight speed Mach 2.6, altitude 23000 meters, combat radius greater than 600KM, installation of detection range 60-70KM 205 radar, the main weapon is 2 4 medium-range air-to-air missiles.
On October 10, 1969, the aviation industry leadership team decided to continue the development of the J-9, and decided to test-produce the normal layout of the delta airfoil scheme on both sides, the J-9 IV scheme, and arranged the trial production at the 112 plant, requiring a first flight by the end of 1971.
The 910 engine was the first time to design a high-thrust engine in China. Its design is a dual-shaft internal and external culvert hybrid afterburning turbofan engine with a designed maximum thrust of 70.6 kN, an afterburning thrust of 121.5 kN, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 6. Said to be a very advanced high-thrust engine. At that time, China had obtained some F-4 wreckage from Vietnam, and in September 1964, it copied the structure of the British Speyer engine at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain. These important reference materials became the 910 engine. The 910 engine was initially designed in October 1964. At the same time, the aviation industry also made adjustments to the development of the J-9.
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