The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Chapter 1433 The Chinese are going on board!

Essen's proposal is relatively obscure, but the implication is not difficult to understand.

"Let the Chinese come to help?"

Baram shook his head almost subconsciously:

"This is impossible!"

However, in reality, in this three-word answer, only the first two words are quite decisive.

When it came to the last word "impossible", the tone had become much weaker.

With the dim light of the emergency lighting, the chief engineer noticed that the captain was looking at him with a questioning look.

Obviously, I just said too much. Although I regret it now, I still need to step back.

"Cough-cough-"

He had no choice but to pretend to clear his throat:
"But now our long-distance communication capabilities are limited. The battery-powered emergency radio can only contact the Duqm Naval Logistics Base in Oman... You know, it is actually just a commercial port, without any naval ships or maintenance capabilities, and no senior commanders. If we wait for the notification to be received in China and then send the Wave Knight from the Persian Gulf, it will take at least 3-4 days."

Essen, who first proposed it, also chimed in:

"If we can't restore power and autonomous power for a long time, we can only follow the monsoon and ocean currents, and now it's summer..."

The lieutenant colonel's voice trembled a little, and he even paused for a moment before continuing:

"Under the influence of the Somali cold current and the South Equatorial Circulation, we are likely to be pushed to the east coast of Africa... If we run aground or run aground there, it will be the end of us."

Modern warships are not designed with much emphasis on hard protection in the form of stacked armor. European ships that have been in service since the 21st century have largely adopted civilian ship standards in order to save costs and improve the living environment. They are far inferior to their predecessors in terms of anti-sinking and damage control capabilities.

If a collision occurs in the underwater part, especially in such a remote place, the best result would be that the ship would be scrapped.

If you are unlucky, the ship may even sink on the spot.

The Courageous is a new ship that has only been in service for a few months. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the apple of the eye of the entire Royal Navy.

Now, if there is a malfunction in the ship's equipment, no matter how serious the problem is, it is always the fault of BAE Systems or Rolls-Royce.

But if the ship was sunk, Baram and Eisen would be held responsible in every way, and their only option would be to report to the military court.

Even if they don't end up going to jail, their careers will definitely come to an end.

This is what Essen is most worried about, and it is also the reason why he thought of asking Xingzhou for help immediately.

He does not have the psychological trauma that his captain suffered when facing the Chinese Navy.

"Um……"

In fact, Balam's initial refusal was purely impulsive. He had already figured out the connection as soon as he said that.

Now the two subordinates took turns to offer advice, and naturally they followed suit.

After pretending to hesitate for a few seconds, the colonel immediately made the decision:

"Deputy Captain, you will be responsible for contacting China... and of course the country. Chief Engineer, you will develop a specific implementation plan for connecting to the external power supply as quickly as possible... I will summarize the current status of each department on the ship to see if there are any emergencies that need to be resolved immediately, especially those involving weapons. There must be no mistakes..."

"..."

The only good news for the HMS Courageous is that the ship's signal lights are independently powered by batteries and manually operated by sailors, and will not be affected by a ship-wide power outage.

Therefore, a message for help was quickly sent out in Morse code.

In fact, more than ten minutes ago, the Xingzhou, realizing that something was wrong, had already turned its bow, and through further hydroacoustic detection, it was basically confirmed that the Brave had lost power.

But on the one hand, warships belong to territory in a broad sense, and it is not easy to interfere before the other party proposes it.

On the other hand, and more importantly, the movement trajectory of an unpowered ship is difficult to predict, and it is unknown when the other party will suddenly restore power. A rash approach would be very risky for both parties.

Therefore no further action was taken.

It was not until the Yingzhou saw the light signal coming from the bridge of the Courageous that it finally realized that the trouble the British were facing might be greater than it had imagined...

"Captain, the signal team reports that the Courageous has lost all power and electricity and needs external energy input to resume operation. They have also sent us a radio frequency, which should be used for emergency contact."

"Ouch!"

Lin Xi instantly perked up after hearing the news:
"Does this mean that the British are asking us for help?" With the increasing frequency of the Chinese Navy's ocean voyages, encounters with foreign counterparts are no longer uncommon.

But rescuing a foreign country's warship that had lost power was an unprecedented event.

Just based on this incident, Lin Xi's name will most likely be written into some corner of the navy's military history...

However, the political commissar on the side still considered more:
"But we didn't receive any information on the maritime emergency channel. Could it be a misunderstanding or..."

Since the other party sent a radio frequency band, it means that their emergency contact radio is still usable.

In this case, the standard operation should be to establish a call on Maritime Channel 16 and indicate the situation, rather than using light language, which is less efficient and reliable.

But Lin Xi could understand the thoughts of the British colleague a mile away, and waved his hand to interrupt him:
"The Courageous is a new ship that has just been commissioned. Such a serious malfunction is a serious scandal. Channel 16 is a public channel. If we ask for help there, merchant ships on nearby routes may receive it, and the impact will be impossible to control... If the matter gets out of hand and spreads internationally, it will be like a naked millstone, going around in circles and being embarrassed!"

When he said the last few words, the captain even knocked on the edge of the chart table to emphasize the word "shame":
"It's embarrassing to ask us for help now, but considering the generally friendly relations between the two countries in recent years, the superiors should not publicize it in a big way. This way, they can leave more room for maneuver later..."

Li Wanbing still felt a little uneasy, but what Lin Xi said was indeed reasonable, and it would be difficult to just stand by and watch if a "friendly" ship had problems during the joint exercise.

So he relaxed his tone:

"Okay, I agree to communicate with the other party... But there are risks in providing assistance to an unpowered ship, so before making a decision, we need to report it and ask for the opinions of the fleet and even the decision-makers..."

Since it concerns discipline, Lin Xi certainly does not dare to be negligent.

However, as a commander on the front line, he still has some room for free play:
"Notify the aviation department to prepare. After we get through to the other side, send a helicopter to do some close reconnaissance... and observe the situation."

After saying that, before the other party could react, he added:
"Also, remember to have the crew bring a camera. Regardless of whether this matter can be made public immediately, at least record the video footage to prevent the British from denying it later..."

……

Soon, a silver-gray ship-borne helicopter took off from the rear deck of the Xingzhou and circled around the Brave, which was already drifting.

From the bridge of the Courageous, one could even see the helicopter's left hatch open, with a Chinese soldier in a blue uniform leaning halfway out, holding what looked like a camera in his hand.

The scene of allowing a Chinese aircraft to move freely above its own warships almost triggered Balam's PTSD.

But I was the one who invited him, and it felt like a thorn in my throat.

It feels like a poor man who, forced by life, takes the initiative to invite the yellow-haired man to his home to meet his wife.

In order to ease the awkward atmosphere, Balam had to talk about something else:
"Thanks to those French guys, the Chinese were able to get such a beautiful helicopter."

The appearance of the Z-12 is almost identical to that of the NH90, except that the size of the engine compartment has become significantly larger due to the change of power.

Although there has been no official statement to prove the relationship between the two so far, anyone with a discerning eye can basically tell what is going on.

Of course, if we really talk about "aiding the enemy", then Rolls-Royce, which directly handed over some parameters of the F135 engine to the Gaofa Group, is the best.

But for Baram, an Englishman, it is never wrong to blame France first when he is in doubt.

Sure enough, the extremely depressing atmosphere in the bridge was eased a lot as a result.

However, the good times did not last long.

Ten minutes later, Lieutenant Colonel Essen, who was in charge of emergency radio contact, reappeared in the bridge:

"Captain, Colonel Lin Xi of the Xingzhou said that in principle they can provide us with assistance, but considering that our ship has lost control, they require that the two ships must maintain a distance of no less than 3 chains to allow enough reaction time to deal with emergencies..."

For the Brave, the other party's willingness to help seemed to be good news.

But Baram quickly noticed the details:
"3 chains... How are they going to operate at such a long distance?"

The warship originally had an external power interface for power supply in port, so the plan formulated by the engineering department was similar to marine replenishment, that is, a set of cables were sent from the Xingzhou and then connected to the Brave, using the energy provided by the former to restart the electronic control system and the diesel engine, and then decide whether to return or continue the mission based on the inspection results of the gas turbine.

However, the distance for lateral supply is generally less than 0.5 chains, or 90 meters. The two destroyers do not have dedicated hangers, and the effective distance that can be delivered by projectile is even shorter. It is impossible to directly deliver the cable beyond 3 chains.

"The other party's suggestion was to use a helicopter to deliver the other end of the cable to our rear deck, and then enter the interior of the ship through the hangar."

Essen replied:
"But this operation process relies heavily on manual labor and involves a series of transfers, so..."

At this point, he suddenly seemed a little hesitant:

"So the other party requested that several technicians be sent to assist in the operation and to enter the area below our ship's deck to ensure that the entire restart process would not have any adverse effects on the power output end..."

(End of this chapter)