Eagle Sauce: The 055 destroyer was launched into the sea just after the founding of the country?

In a military experimental base outside the imperial capital.

An inconspicuous gray building became Fang Yu’s new “battlefield”.

This is a temporarily converted materials laboratory specifically used for the development of stealth coatings for the J-20.

The laboratory was filled with various chemical reagents, metal powders and testing equipment, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of chemical solvents.

Fang Yu stood in front of the experimental table with a frown on his face.

The metal plate in front of them was coated in a black material, their seventh attempt at formulating a radar-absorbing paint.

A materials expert in a white coat carefully placed the metal plate into the test chamber and activated the simulated radar transmitter.

"The reflectivity is still surprisingly high,"

The expert stared at the instrument readings and shook his head.

“That recipe failed.”

Fang Yu sighed and recorded the experimental data in his notebook.

Stealth technology is the most core feature of the fourth-generation aircraft. Without it, the J-20 is just an ordinary fighter jet with a weird appearance.

However, developing truly effective stealth coatings was much more difficult than he had imagined.

“Conventional ferrite materials don’t work well enough,”

Fang Yu explained to the team.

“We need a completely new composite material that can exhibit extremely low reflectivity across multiple radar frequency bands.”

Professor Wang from the Institute of Materials frowned.

“It’s feasible in theory, but extremely difficult to implement in practice.”

“Even the Eagle Sauce may not master this technology.”

Fang Yu did not respond directly, but walked towards a small high-temperature furnace in the corner of the laboratory.

He flipped through a page of densely packed chemical formulas from his notebook, a modified design of a silicon carbide and ferrite composite material he had come up with based on his future memory.

"Let's change our thinking,"

Fang Yu said to the team.

"You can't rely on just one material to absorb radar waves; you need to design a multi-layer structure."

"The surface layer absorbs high-frequency radar waves, the middle layer handles mid-frequency radar waves, and the bottom layer handles low-frequency radar waves."

Assistant Zhang Gong looked at the multi-layer structure diagram drawn by Fang Yu in surprise.

“This… this requires the perfect combination of at least five different materials. The process is incredibly complex!”

"That's right, because it's difficult, even the Eagle Sauce hasn't made much progress on this path,"

Fang Yu's voice was firm and calm.

“But we can find another way.”

For the next two weeks, the lab was lit up all night.

Fang Yu led the team to try dozens of different material combinations and structural designs.

After each failure, they would analyze the reasons, adjust the recipe, and try again.

The calendar on the wall turned page after page, but breakthrough progress was still a long way off.

Late one night in the third week, Fang Yu stayed alone in the laboratory, repeatedly reviewing the previous failure data.

Suddenly, he noticed a strange phenomenon: although a certain failed coating material had high reflectivity, it showed an abnormal absorption effect on radar waves in a specific frequency band.

This is not a flaw, it is the key!

Fang Yu stood up abruptly and quickly flipped through his notes.

He thought of the future theory of metamaterials - through special microstructure design, materials can exhibit physical properties that do not exist in nature.

The next morning, Fang Yu excitedly gathered the team and announced excitedly.

“Instead of searching for the perfect absorber, we need to design a specific microstructure!”

He drew a honeycomb-like microscopic structure on the blackboard.

"The size of this structure matches the wavelength of the radar wave, and it can convert the radar energy into heat energy through resonance and interference effects."

Materials experts looked at each other in bewilderment. This design concept was beyond the scope of materials science in the 50s.

"But making this microstructure is a huge challenge,"

Professor Wang raised the most practical questions.

“We don’t have the nanofabrication technology.”

Fang Yu pondered for a moment: "We can use chemical self-assembly."

He quickly wrote down a series of chemical reaction formulas on the paper.

“Using the self-organizing properties of polymer materials to form desired structures at the microscopic scale.”

Over the next month, the team tried dozens of reaction conditions.

At first, they could only obtain irregular agglomerates, but as the process improved, the microstructure became closer and closer to the ideal state.

However, a second challenge soon emerged - even if the material could absorb radar waves, it would need to adhere evenly to the aircraft's surface and be able to withstand high-speed flight and extreme temperature changes.

"The J-20's fuselage temperature is close to 100°C during takeoff and landing, and may reach over 300°C during high-speed flight. The outer surface temperature may drop to -50°C during high-altitude cruising,"

Fang Yu explained.

“Ordinary adhesives would fail rapidly under these temperature cycles.”

This problem plagued the team for two full weeks.

Until an accidental experimental accident, an assistant accidentally mixed two compounds that should not be mixed together, resulting in an extremely stable polymer material.

The material has been tested to maintain adhesion and elasticity over a temperature range of -60°C to 350°C.

"This is an unexpected surprise," Fang Yu said as he checked the test data, his lips curled up slightly. "Sometimes, the greatest discoveries come from accidents."

Finally, four months after the research and development began, a metal plate coated with special stealth material was placed into the test chamber.

When the radar wave sweeps past, the reflected signal on the instrument is almost zero - the reflection area of ​​this metal plate on the radar is equivalent to that of a sparrow.

The whole laboratory erupted in applause.

Fang Yu stared silently at the metal plates in the test chamber, a gleam of victory in his eyes.

He knew that with this technological breakthrough, a true fourth-generation aircraft was no longer out of reach...

……

A few days later.

Liu Yadong was studying the latest military briefing in his office when a messenger hurried in and handed him an urgent telegram.

"Please review Team Leader Fang's latest notice."

"Got it. Put it over there. I'll take a look at it right away."

Hearing this, Liu Yadong nodded.

After the messenger left, he picked up the telegram and took a quick look.

However, the concise and clear text on the telegram made Liu Yadong's breath stop:

"Report to Mr. Liu, Canglong is in position!"

"Prepare for the first flight at 09:00 tomorrow morning. Invite the commander-in-chief and relevant personnel to come and provide guidance. - Fang Yu"

Liu Yadong held the telegram tightly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

Nearly one year and five months have passed since Fang Yu proposed the bold idea of ​​developing fourth-generation aircraft at the Military Commission meeting last year.

Many generals at the time thought this was a fantasy and that it was impossible to achieve such a technological leap in a year and a half.

"Immediately notify the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Equipment, and the aviation leaders of each military region to gather at the military region airport at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow and board a special plane to the Great Wall Military Factory."

Liu Yadong made a quick decision.

The next morning, the overcast sky contrasted beautifully with the solemn expressions of the officers.

Thirteen high-ranking generals in dark green uniforms boarded an Il-14 transport plane. Inside the cabin, conversations rang out.

"I heard that this so-called fourth-generation aircraft has a very strange appearance and doesn't look like an aircraft at all."

Wang Tiesheng, commander of an Air Force division, curled his lips.

"I think it's probably just empty talk."

"I trust Team Leader Fang's stuff."

Minister Zhong, Deputy Minister of Equipment, said in a deep voice.

"Didn't he also invent the JF-17?"

"But this time is different,"

Chief of Staff Li Mingyuan shook his head.

"No matter how advanced the JF-17 is, it is still an improvement based on existing technology."

"But a fourth-generation aircraft? That's a generation gap! The technological gap is too big."

Liu Yadong did not participate in the discussion, but just looked out the window quietly.

Fang Yu, you better not let me down.

The Eagle Sauce's F-15 has already started mass production, we can't afford to delay any longer...

Two hours later, the plane landed at the Great Wall Military Factory's dedicated airport.

After getting off the plane, a number of military green jeeps were already waiting at the runway.

"Hello, leaders!"

Fang Yu, wearing a gray work suit, stood in front of the convoy and saluted.

"The test flight field is ready, please follow me!"