On December 23, 1991, my country’s self-developed tanker based on the H-6 aircraft successfully docked with the F-8II aircraft and carried out aerial refueling.

This is the first time that my country has successfully achieved air refueling, and it is of strategic significance to the development and growth of my country's air power.

Sadness, in the beautiful and distant South China Sea

For a period of time after the end of the 1970s, China’s air power was faced with such a dilemma in actual use: tactical aircraft capable of executing air supremacy and launching ground-to-sea attacks were restricted by many factors and were unable to operate in our country. In the South my country Sea, patrols and other tasks are effectively carried out, especially in areas such as the Nansha Islands.

The formation of this dilemma is not only due to the range and stagnation capability of the aircraft itself, but also limited by geographical factors: my country's South China Sea has a vast area and there is a lack of large islands capable of building an aviation base for a long period of time.

In this scenario, if the tactical aircraft is required to perform cruise missions in the South China Sea under the premise that its mobility and other performance are not reduced, but only use its own fuel (which can ensure that the combat radius covers the South China Sea), it will be economically and technically. The above are quite unreasonable.

Aerial refueling technology is the only way to solve this dilemma. Therefore, since the early 1980s, the realization of aerial refueling has become one of the key goals of China's air power development.

The "protagonist" of China's aerial tanker platform was not H6 at first, but L10. The basic plan is based on the Yun-10 platform, supplemented by the pod-type hose refueling technology imported from the United Kingdom.

This design scheme is understandable: Yun 10 is designed with reference to the Boeing 707, and the Boeing 707 itself is a derivative model of the KC-135 tanker. In addition, the current mainstream hose refueling technology in various countries in the world was first successfully developed by the British Air Refueling Company and exported to the United States and other countries.

However, under the constraints of various factors, this plan did not finally land.

The final plan: independent research and development of bombing oil 6

However, the scientific research team did not give up, but replaced the tanker platform and planned two parallel platform routes to avoid risks.

1. Solutions based on foreign platforms

In the 1980s, the conditions for introducing relevant technologies and equipment from the West were relatively loose. Therefore, the country decided to use the imported Boeing 707 as a tanker modification platform, and cooperate with the Mk32 pod imported from the United Kingdom to achieve aerial refueling capabilities. But this plan was not realized in the end.

2. Program based on domestic platform

As the fuel receiving platform was mainly the J-8II aircraft at that time, after weighing various factors, my country finally chose the H-6 as the tanker modification platform. This is mainly based on the following considerations:

First of all, from the development history of aerial refueling technology, the conversion of bombers to tankers is the earliest mature type of modification program, which is more advanced than special-purpose model programs such as KC-135 or modification programs based on passenger aircraft/transport aircraft. morning. It is technically feasible to use the H-6 to modify the tanker.

Secondly, considering that the J-8 family can more accurately control the flight trajectory and attitude at a relatively high flight speed, the H-6 is a high-subsonic jet bomber, and its flight speed is the same as that of various domestic aircraft platforms at that time. (For example, Yun 8) has the most advantage. Taking into account the compatibility of the two, using the H-6 as a tanker platform, the success rate and safety of aerial refueling missions are more guaranteed.

Third, the modified H-6 tanker has a significantly higher fuel capacity than the largest tonnage transport aircraft that can be mass-produced in my country at that time. Therefore, in actual use, the H-6 was still the best modified platform for domestic tankers at that time.

In 1988, my country formally determined this technical route for aerial refueling technology: the receiver was refitted with the J-8II as the platform, named J-8D; the tanker was refitted with the H-6 as the platform, and the development supporting equipment was equipped with "air-to-air measurement". The “distance” function of the communication navigation system and weather radar, and reference foreign technology to develop refueling probes and refueling systems.

Looking back at history, the success of the aerial docking and refueling 30 years ago confirmed my country’s ability to independently develop aerial refueling technology and laid a solid foundation for the development of my country’s air power today.

Today, with the maturity of my country's new generation of large transport aircraft platforms, my country is becoming more proficient in the application and practice of aerial refueling technology. A large transport aircraft platform not only means a larger tonnage, can support more aircraft refueling, but also has a higher flight speed, better flight quality and control performance. The new platform is more compatible with oil receivers, and is also more excellent in terms of refueling success rate and safety.

This scheme of transforming a large-scale transportation into a tanker has been practiced in many countries around the world, and it is an ideal choice for a tanker program. For example, the Soviet Il-78 tanker was modified from the Il-76 transport aircraft. Due to its large maximum take-off weight, even compared with the "high-ranking student" KC-135 in the tanker industry, the maximum fuel supply is also large. At 18 tons, the ceiling is also higher. Thirty years have not stopped. Looking back on history today, when it comes to the choice of a new generation of tanker platforms, there is no plan dispute in my country today-the newer and better models developed independently have been "surging after the wave", and China is refueling in the air The era of "reborn" in terms of ability has come.