The level of military aircraft engine manufacturing symbolizes the level of development of a country in the industrial field.
The engine with high thrust is the highest benchmark in the industrial field, and the strategic bomber we see must be equipped with a high-thrust engine.
In today's society, Russia has the top high-thrust engine, the thrust of this engine can reach an astonishing more than 20 tons, Russia in order to ensure that this technology is not leaked, so it announced to the world that this engine will not be exported.
China, an "old customer", will not be able to buy a single screw from Russia.
The United States, a military power, has not been able to surpass Russia in this field so far.
NK-32 aero engine
As we all know in life, the most important part of the car is the engine, and in the manufacture of aircraft, the most core part is also the engine, and the engine on the aircraft is often called the "heart" of the aircraft.
Russian NK-32 aero engine, sought after by many countries, many countries want to buy this engine, but have been rejected by Russia, what kind of advanced technology does this engine have, in order to get so many countries sought after?
In the 80s of the last century, the NK-32 aero engine was created in the field of Soviet aviation.
The strategic bomber equipped with this engine can reach a maximum flight speed of Mach 2.05, a maximum endurance of 16,000km, and a combat radius of 8,000km.
The NK-32 aero engine, with a length of more than 6 meters, weighs 3.4 tons alone, and the maximum thrust of the engine is 7.3 times its own weight, reaching an astonishing 25 tons.
This engine can be installed on a strategic bomber at one time, and four can be installed on a strategic bomber at the same time, so you can imagine how amazing the speed of the bomber equipped with this engine can burst.
That's why Russia is reluctant to export this engine.
Russia also exhausted a lot of effort in order to study this engine, and at that time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many technical drawings about the NK-32 aero engine were lost.
In the absence of technical drawings, it was also difficult for Russia to carry out research work, and finally, by chance, the Kuznetsov company announced that it had found part of the technical drawings of the NK-32 aircraft engine.
Subsequently, Russia quickly launched the research and production of the NK-32 aero engine.
The most powerful core technology of the NK-32 aero engine is that it can be equipped with a variety of weapons, so this engine is unique to the world.
This engine has made a qualitative leap forward for Russia in the field of aviation, so it is so valuable that Russia may not intend to export it for 30 years.
Tu-32 bomber with NK-160 engines
The Tu-160 bomber is currently the world's largest strategic bomber and the most deterrent bomber in Russia today, the Tu-160 bomber can carry more than 40 tons of bombs at a time, and the maximum cruise speed can reach Mach 2.05.
Such a huge strategic bomber, which can reach a flight speed of Mach 2.05, is thanks to the fact that it is equipped with 4 NK-32 engines and a total thrust and gravity of an astonishing 100 tons.
Tu-160 bomber, which can perform tasks at an altitude of 12200 at an altitude of 12200, can easily perform tasks.
Although the American B1 Lancer strategic bomber looks much like the Tu-160 bomber, the Russian Tu-160 flies 80% faster than the American B1 and has a endurance of more than 35%.
In 2020, the Tu-160 strategic bomber, with an air tanker, flew continuously for 25 hours and 25 minutes, and the flight range reached more than 20,000 kilometers, creating a world historical record of non-stop flight of strategic bombers.
When the Tu 160 was designed, the designers took into account the survivability in the battle and designed a different engine system, which can ensure the safe completion of the bomber if the two engines fail in battle.
In practice, the Tu-160 has an excellent performance.
In 2008, Russia and Georgia had a short-term exchange of fire, when Russia directly sent Tu-160 bombers to bomb military targets in Georgia with precision.
The Tu-160 strategic bomber, this outstanding performance, let the world see, this fighter not only has a good-looking appearance, but also excellent combat strength.
This fighter is strategically important to Russia, and if it is leaked, it will have unimaginable consequences for Russia.
The United States has coveted this aircraft for a long time, and in order to obtain the design drawings of this aircraft, it has used many dirty means, but after several tosses, it has not succeeded.
China also wants to buy the Tu-160 strategic bomber to study the core technology of the NK32 engine, but Russia refuses to export not only to other countries, but also to the mainland.
Why the NK32 engine was not sold to China
The performance of the NK32 engine has always been second to none in the field of aviation, why is Russia so resolute and would rather sell raw materials for nuclear bombs to China than NK32?
The NK32 aero engine is the "jewel in the crown" of the Russian aviation industry, with extraordinary performance and manufacturing technology, and the core technology is the manufacture of hollow blades.
The hollow blades made of special materials can make the engine run smoothly and efficiently in various harsh environments, and Russia attaches great importance to this technology, so it does not export to any country, including China, an "old customer".
Another of the most important reasons why Russia does not sell to China is that China's reverse engineering is too strong, and in recent years, the mainland has made tremendous achievements in the field of military technology by leaps and bounds.
In the 70s of the last century, the mainland recovered the wreckage of the American F4 Phantom fighter on the battlefield in Vietnam, and Chinese engineers immediately launched reverse engineering.
The American F4 fighter is one of the most advanced fighters in the 70s, and Continental aviation engineers have carried out a detailed study of the wreckage of the F4 fighter and uncovered the research and development technology behind the F4 fighter step by step.
Continental aviation engineers, through the gradual study of many materials in the wreckage of the aircraft, manufactured almost the same parts in China, and then through the aircraft structure, continuous repeated measurement and comparison, successfully studied the design of the fuselage.
From this pile of F4 ghost fighter wreckage, which is completely "waste" in the eyes of foreigners, more than 300 technologies in the aviation field have been obtained.
In 1961, Continental imported a number of MiG-21 fighters from the Soviet Union, as well as many parts of the fighters, and then through in-depth research on the MiG-21, Continental mastered the core technology of aero engine manufacturing.
Through repeated research and imitation, the mainland has finally gotten rid of the predicament of long-term dependence on imported aircraft engines.
At that time, Western countries blocked technology and did not want to see China develop in the aviation field, and the mainland was at a low point in the aviation field, and the acquisition of these valuable aviation technologies undoubtedly provided a solid and powerful foundation for the mainland's aviation industry.
Not only does it have superb imitation technology, but it also has a strong ability to learn and absorb, which makes Russia very worried that their NK32 technology will be copied by the mainland and further upgraded and manufactured.
Russia's NK32 aero engine, which is not exported to China, has formed a certain pressure on the mainland's development in the aviation field, but it has also greatly encouraged the mainland's independent research and development and cooperation in the aerospace field.
Through continuous independent research and development, China has carried out cooperation and innovation with other countries, and has gradually made greater gains in the development of China's aviation field, and is actively improving the technical level of the mainland and aviation engine manufacturing.
The United States has not been able to surpass it so far
The United States has always played a leading role in science and technology and military in the world, but with the development of globalization, many countries have continued to explore and research in the field of science and technology, and the United States is no longer a "leader" in the field of science and technology.
The United States, which once claimed to be the "world's largest power," also had an aircraft engine that could not be built, and this aircraft engine happened to be made by Russia, an old rival of the United States.
Russia has abundant titanium alloy resources, and the processing technology of titanium alloy is also at the top level in the world, and the core material of NK32 engine is titanium material.
The turbine disc and fan blades of the NK32 engine are made with a large amount of titanium alloy, which creates the NK32 engine blades, which are very lightweight, but still retain the strength of high temperature resistance.
On the other hand, the United States does not have such exquisite titanium alloy processing technology, and there is no rich titanium alloy material, and there is no information on the development of NK32 engine.
This led to the NK32 engine, which has been developed for more than 30 years, but the United States still cannot study the reason.
epilogue
Although Russia is reluctant to share the core technology of the NK32 engine with the mainland, in recent years, through continuous innovation and research and development, many new generation of advanced materials have been widely used in the field of continental aviation.
It has further consolidated the position of the mainland in the field of aviation and made the mainland a leading position in the field of aviation.
It is believed that in the future, the mainland will be at the forefront of aviation development and will continue to create more outstanding achievements.
It is believed that with the unremitting struggle of the whole country, the dream of becoming a strong country in the field of aviation will finally be realized.
Resources:
China.com - "Russia Rejects China's Request, This Technology Resolutely Refuses to Be Sold to the Outside World"