In 165, on the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Skira Republic, a Kisaa federal journalist aimed his camera at the sky. Five years later, the Republic once again invited federal journalists to participate in the Air Force parade. Five years ago, the QX-5 made its debut, and there is a high probability that new news hotspots will emerge this year. Sure enough, after the flying performance team pulling colorful cigarettes, a new undisclosed fighter group emerged
In the 155 Sino Japanese War crisis, the M-5, as a product of a hasty emergency, was considered a successful fighter jet at the time due to its excellent performance and low cost. But because her body is too small, compared to the big sister of the Federal PX-3, she is like a little lolly, so her shortcomings of short range and low payload are particularly prominent. After the signing of the peace treaty, the Miyanki Design Bureau believed that there was a lack of research on the demand for new aircraft in the short term, and that the Mi5 prototype did not undergo much upgrade after leaving the factory. There should be more room for upgrade, which is enough to cope with it for a period of time. So they privately proposed the idea of M-5X to upgrade its performance - increasing the body volume, adding wing slats, and adjusting the wing size. They eagerly observed the performance of the imagined M-5X in the virtual simulator, and then appreciated how the M-5X crashed from the sky to the ground. In the subsequent blueprint design, in addition to this issue, there was also a interceptor like maneuverability, which even raised doubts about whether the designers were from the Federation. They finally realized how bad the foundation of the Mi 5 was, which is completely beyond the control of the current design bureau. In response, the already collapsed design bureau decided that the current M-5 was sufficient to deal with the Federal Air Force. So at this point, their attitude is actually biased towards negativity. As a result, in 161, the Naval Design Bureau kicked open the door to the era of third-generation aircraft with a new aircraft blueprint.
JS-10 (AP) carrier based aircraft, quasi third generation fighter jet, equipped with new electronic screens, radar, and a series of new designs such as the improved edge wing design. This epoch-making fighter jet has opened up the eyes of the Republic's top management, leaving Miyanki with question marks all over his head: Why did you suddenly come up with such a thing? The key point is that virtual testing of this fighter jet shows that its maneuverability is completely above the M-5 of the second-generation aircraft.
The high-level officials of the Republic can't sit still here. Soon, they brought the Miyangki Design Bureau into the 125 program and they also wanted to design a new type of aircraft. How unreasonable! The Air Force also needs electronic screens! We need sidebar wings! We need new weapons! We need new planes! We can't even take out a plane that's in our hands, how can we maintain the sovereignty of the Republic and the happiness of the people? Therefore, the high-level officials of the Republic require them to design a new aircraft, with a maximum speed of at least 1.8 Mach, a maximum flight altitude of 18000 meters, and a maneuverability requirement of a somersault diameter of around 500 to 550 meters. They have put forward many requirements, but the most important point is that the combat radius and payload must be larger than the M-5!
The senior management made numerous requests to the design bureau, which made them a bit confused. They have not yet figured out how to design. But when the senior management suggested that the modification of the Mi 5 fighter jet could also be done, they suddenly expressed that they had an idea (although they had not started at all). Unexpectedly, the senior management was overjoyed and requested that this aircraft be produced in four years and participate in the 20th anniversary parade of the founding of the Republic.
Four years is not really a long time, and the requirements raised by the senior management are mainly about the performance of the body, not the functionality. So what is installed on our third generation machine? Therefore, after internal discussions, the planning team has finally determined that the third-generation fighter jets must be equipped with new weapons and electronic screens. Meanwhile, it is said that the new electromagnetic interference weapon is still being tested, and the planning team believes that as a third-generation aircraft, ECM must also be equipped. The above standards later became part of the basic criteria for judging whether it is a third-generation machine. Other military industrial units will handle weapons; In terms of power, the new BJ engine is being designed, reportedly breaking through the combination of vector and afterburner. And the body design is completed by the Miyangji Design Bureau.
Due to time constraints, the 125 program's airframe cannot adopt too many immature designs, especially during the military parade, and there is no risk of malfunction. So the overall design is more traditional, and the plan is to use a single engine fighter jet with a main wing and horizontal tail design. However, the horizontal tail adds a lower angle, and the main wing uses edge wings to increase maneuverability. At the same time, a moderate leading edge sweep angle is used to ensure supersonic performance. However, one important point is that in addition to the indicators required by the Republic, the design bureau also places special emphasis on an indicator that will not change in any era during the design process.
Although it is uncertain what the performance requirements for third-generation machines are, low cost is often more popular at any time. This is also one of the reasons why Mi-5 can become a successful fighter jet. Therefore, how to lower the cost price is also considered by the design bureau. In addition to the design related to the body, they adopted an abdominal intake duct to reduce maintenance costs. However, due to the fact that this design occupies the landing gear position they were accustomed to before, where to place the landing gear suddenly became a problem. After intense discussion, they decided to adopt wing landing gear similar to piston fighter jets. It sounds a bit retro, but it does work.
Soon, they designed a blueprint in 162 and conducted virtual simulator testing. As the weapons and engines were not yet ready, they temporarily used the configuration of a second-generation aircraft. To the surprise of everyone, this aircraft exhibits unparalleled maneuverability, with a maximum overload of even 55G - the maximum overload of the M-5 is approximately 30G. Moreover, the estimated cost is slightly higher than the M-5, which can be said to balance high performance and low cost. Soon, they submitted the project to the top management of the Republic.
The high-level officials of the Republic can say that they are both happy and sad when receiving blueprints and test data. I am glad that the performance of the new aircraft has satisfied them very much; Sadly, pilots may not be able to withstand such high overload, and if the current anti G suit design were to turn it into pilot sauce. But when they saw the cost, they realized that they had to use this plane. Anyway, there are still three years left, so there should be time to study anti G drugs.
In 163, the first prototype machine left the factory with its own code: M-12. After the test pilot signed the life and death resolution, they piloted the prototype for their first flight. The test results confirm that this aircraft can indeed ascend to the sky - the anti G suit has not yet been manufactured and cannot be subjected to maneuver testing. However, regardless, the first flight of the M-12 was confirmed in 163. In 164, the scientific research department finally developed a new type of anti G suit. After testing, specially trained pilots were able to perform dog fights under a 60G overload. At the same time, ECM electronic countermeasures equipment and new weapons are also ready.
After the second test flight, the test pilot gave her a high evaluation of her performance, stating that it was the most maneuverable plane he had ever flown. As a result, the high-level officials of the Republic ultimately decided to purchase this fighter jet and gave it the official code name M-12A
The M-12A, the first true third-generation fighter jet, combines high maneuverability and economy, with excellent single machine performance and ease of mass production. In terms of range and load capacity, she has greatly improved compared to her predecessor, the Mi 5. The airborne mount includes: SA-3A infrared combat missile, PK-5A semi-active missile, and LT-3A active missile. Ground mount includes TH-6B missiles and KD-8A guided bombs. At the same time, she can also mount WS-1 electronic countermeasures equipment. You may ask why there is no high-speed performance, as the new BJ engine has not yet been built, so we still use the old model with only vector engines.
After six months of training, in 165, seven M-12A fighter jets formed a formation and flew over the parade, causing a sensation at the time. She is not a perfect fighter jet, and soon there were new and improved models, but it is undeniable that she was a groundbreaking figure - she created a new era, both for the Republic Air Force and for all those who aspire to the sky. Her name is forever engraved in the history of human flight.