Empire Conquest-Chapter 818 - 80: Lost Opportunity in the East

This is a uniquely shaped bomber.

It adopts a flying wing structure with a wing-body fusion. The central part of the fuselage is obviously raised. In the middle part are two standard-sized bomb bays arranged in tandem, with engine compartments on their sides. In front of the bomb bay is the cockpit protruding from the leading edge, which is also the only slightly obtrusive part of the whole bomber. On the upper surface of the wing, behind the cockpit on the side, is the engine intake, covered with a grille. The engine’s nozzle is set above the trailing edge, shielded by the fuselage, and the trailing edge perfectly merges with the tail.

From a top-down view, this bomber looks like a boomerang with a stick placed at its central bend.

Judging just by the aerodynamic layout, the most prominent feature is the complete removal of the tail.

There is not only no horizontal tail; even the vertical tail has been removed.

To control direction, a set with more than 20 control surfaces is configured, making it the most complex flap and aileron control system so far.

In fact, this is the most unique aspect of the bomber or the biggest challenge faced in its design.

Without a vertical tail, it’s not only difficult to control the course, but it also encounters problems in maintaining directional stability, making the aircraft hard to handle.

In many aircraft, not only is a vertical tail added to maintain course stability, but also a piece or pair of ventral fins.

Even if a bomber is not a fighter and doesn’t need to perform intense maneuvers, stable flight is still necessary.

Relying only on flaps and ailerons to control direction, and adjusting aerodynamics to maintain stability, can only be achieved through the flight control system.

The key lies in the flight control system.

"War-10" was the first fighter globally to adopt a statically unstable aerodynamic layout and used this layout to attain agility beyond contemporary fighters.

Globally, no fighter can compete with "War-10" in terms of maneuverability.

Daring to adopt an unpilotable aerodynamic configuration and flying it successfully was made possible by a quadruple-redundant digital fly-by-wire control system.

This computer-based control system turned many impossibilities into reality.

"Attack-11" also took to the skies relying on this system.

Without the world’s most advanced digital fly-by-wire control system today, the Empire’s aviation companies wouldn’t have been able to design such an eccentric aircraft.

The last flying wing-layout aircraft was a test vehicle developed by the Tiaoman Empire during the second Global War.

Although it flew without relying on a digital fly-by-wire control system, it was a slow propeller plane, making it easier to maintain course stability and it didn’t completely abandon the vertical stabilizing surface, retaining some small rudders with the function of a vertical tail.

Yes, this is the "Hong-X" that has been wildly rumored in civilian circles for years.

All along, "Hong-X" has been the Empire Air Force’s top project, consistently ranked as the highest priority.

If "War-X" was to change the face of air combat, then "Hong-X" was set to change the face of war.

Don’t forget that the Empire Air Force originated from the Army Strategic Air Force, which rose by relying on bombers, placing the utmost emphasis on strategic bombing.

In Li Yunxiang’s words, an Air Force that doesn’t aim to attack has no value for existence.

For decades, the Empire Air Force has unwaveringly pursued an offensive strategy, consistently advocating the military thought of destroying the enemy on the ground, with air supremacy determining victory or defeat.

Moreover, the ultimate goal pursued by the Empire Air Force is to defeat the enemy through bombing, to win wars through bombing.

According to the Air Force’s theory, as long as the intensity of air strikes is strong enough, bombing to destroy the enemy’s infrastructure can achieve victory without ground warfare, or at least force the enemy to surrender, minimizing casualties suffered in war.

After the Boi War ended, this set of military theories proposed by the Air Force was highly favored within the Empire and influenced its military construction.

To speak of it, the third military reform after the war is related to this.

In this environment, the "Hong-X" project came into being.

To say it, all the "Hong-X" projects undertaken by the Empire Air Force in the past were for this ultimate goal.

For instance, after entering the jet age, the Empire Air Force believed that "Hong-9" could rely on an altitude ceiling of over 12,000 meters to break through the enemy’s air defense system primarily based on High-altitude Guns and completely decimate the enemy. However, during the period "Hong-9" formed combat capability, air defense missiles replaced High-altitude Guns, with altitudes exceeding 20,000 meters, rendering efforts to raise the maximum ceiling meaningless.

Later, the Empire Air Force also pinned its hopes on a Mach 3 strategic bomber, hoping to break through the enemy’s air defense system with speed. Unfortunately, due to overly advanced specifications and numerous technical challenges that couldn’t be resolved in the short term, the project was terminated after producing four engineering prototypes due to cost control failure, insurmountable technical barriers, and unclear tactical value.

Currently, these four bombers, codenamed "Thunderbolt," are the centerpiece exhibits of the Empire Air Force Museum and three other large military museums.

In fact, the Empire Air Force also had high hopes for the "Hong-10A," considering the potential of ultra-low altitude penetration.

Unfortunately, ultra-low altitude penetration was also a dead end.

As the bomber projects repeatedly encountered obstacles, with several projects being terminated for various reasons, the Empire Air Force was forced to turn to focus on ammunition.