Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1256 A Blessing in Disguise (4k)

Moreover, this is at sea, where you can't even find a shell, let alone replicate it. The prerequisite for replication is to have the actual object, and also to have the same level of technology as the actual object.

Otherwise, in Gao Zhendong's previous life, we wouldn't have had to wait for the Russians to finish their imitation of the Rattlesnake before we could produce it, and even then, we would have developed quite a few problems.

Of course, that's a matter for later. At this moment, the only surviving enemy plane made only one move—it turned and ran!
The scene before him terrified him. He hadn't even seen the enemy plane, yet he had inexplicably lost 75% of his teammates. He could only vaguely see the incoming missiles, since at this distance, the missiles would have long since run out of fuel and would be difficult to spot.

Decades later, filmmakers no longer like to shoot long-range aerial combat, or they film it haphazardly regardless of the actual situation. One reason is that they genuinely don't understand it, and the second reason is that even if they did understand, they couldn't film it realistically. It's simply not as visually exciting and thrilling as close-quarters combat; instead, it's incredibly boring, and audiences don't buy it.

In reality, the hit rate of the Thunder-2 missile in actual combat at this distance is not very high. After all, outside the no-escape zone, the missile's unpowered maneuverability is not that great.

However, the enemy aircraft, unaware of the incoming missile attack, was still flying at full speed as if cruising through the streets, making no attempt to evade the missile. At this point, the hit rate of the Thunder-2 outside the no-escape zone becomes a point of contention.

He ran backwards as fast as he could, desperately calling out over the radio.

"They've all been shot down! They've all been shot down!"

Upon hearing the news, the enemy command post near the target area was overjoyed: "Good! We'll recommend you to our superiors!"

After being suppressed by the other side for several years, I finally got my revenge today.

It seems the other side isn't any better. The 21-0 scoreline was only because they hadn't faced our aerial champions. Now that it's a real battle, they've shown their true colors.

This emotion even made them overlook the fact that the pilot had not called using the prescribed code, and also ignored the other party's obviously agitated tone.

The enemy command post was overjoyed, but their joy was short-lived. Panic-stricken cries came through the radio: "We have only one of our four planes left! Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements! I am maneuvering to the rear to seek another opportunity to fight!"

What? "All shot down" means all of our side's units were shot down?

The enemy felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their head, chilling them to the bone.

The pilot's words sounded very heroic, but the meaning was very clear: "maneuver backwards and look for another opportunity to fight." How is this any different from the old slogan "annihilate 100 million enemies and retreat to the island"?
At this moment, their radar station reported: "Report! Radar shows that the signals of three of our targets have disappeared, and the enemy aircraft is maneuvering to the west while its altitude is decreasing!"

Oh no, it seems it's true! If they were still clinging to the hope that the pilots were hallucinating, the radar station's report and the pilots' words now corroborate each other, revealing a fact that is enough to give them a heart attack—these three planes are probably dead.

The enemy commander quickly made a decision that puzzled everyone else.

"Notify all nearby airports that aircraft preparing for reinforcements should proceed forward after takeoff, but do not advance more than 40 kilometers from the coastline! At the same time, notify all bases in the central and northern regions to be on high alert for any unusual movements by the enemy!"

"Sir, what are you doing..." The communications soldier standing nearby was dumbfounded when he heard his order.

"You know nothing! The enemy's air combat capabilities are so strong. Our most important task right now is to protect the safety of our own important targets! Within 40 kilometers of the coast, even if the enemy flies at extremely low altitudes, our aircraft can still fight using shore-based radar, so there's still a glimmer of hope. If it's any further, and if the enemy is just opening a trap for us... then based on the results of the previous battle, I'm afraid no matter how many we throw in, it'll be a bottomless pit!"

A commander is a commander; his mind is very clear.

His concern wasn't how to salvage the reputation of having three planes shot down, but rather how to protect this important objective.

If the other side wants to pull off a big move, sending a few planes as bait to lure all of our mobile air combat forces, including the four aircraft on duty just now, into an encirclement and annihilation battle, and then swarming in, that would be a real mess.

The enemy has always been known for its flexible and mobile warfare. Although the battle took place on land, no one can guarantee that they did not inherit this mindset and tactics in the air as well.

He wasn't afraid of a sudden, large-scale attack or even a decisive battle from the other side. Notifying the bases in the central and northern regions was merely a routine procedure and a precaution. An operation of that scale couldn't be concealed in advance, but whether they had set up a trap to inflict heavy casualties on their mobile air combat forces and, incidentally, gain an advantage by accumulating small victories into a major triumph—no one could guarantee that.

A commander must not act impulsively; he must always remember his true mission. In this respect, at least he is qualified.

"Understood, sir!"

"What exactly is their purpose?" Is it really just to shoot down a few planes and leave? That doesn't seem like their style.

His question was quickly answered.

On the electronic reconnaissance ship near the median line, right at the moment the "air battle" ended, the comrades on board happily reported to the command center on the coast and the fleet that had begun to withdraw.

"There are 4 enemy aircraft. 3 have lost signal, and 1 is fleeing eastward. The Seahawk formation is safe and can withdraw as planned."

After the missiles illuminated and hit their targets, the Seahawk formation turned around and retreated. This was a true victory retreat. The intelligence from the electronic reconnaissance ship only made them feel more at ease.

The coastal command center issued a new instruction: "Do not descend. Retreat at normal flight altitude and maximum cruising speed."

Low-altitude flights consume more fuel. Although the fuel supply may seem sufficient, it can be difficult to cope with unexpected events or sudden weather changes.

It would be better to have our comrades fly at medium to high altitudes and return via the most fuel-efficient and fastest route. This would be faster and safer.

As for the enemy's pursuit, after shooting down three enemy fighters, the enemy will probably think twice and probably won't dare to do it.

Moreover, they might not be able to catch up. They haven't seen any new enemy reinforcements yet, so they probably won't make it in time. The main reason is that the comrades executed this attack exceptionally well, maintaining low-altitude penetration and radio silence throughout. By the time the attack was launched, the distance was already very close, and the entire attack was extremely rapid—so fast that the enemy, apart from the four on-duty aircraft, had no time to react. Of those four on-duty aircraft, three were shot down.

The commander thought to himself, "Air combat is really different now than before."

But the main event is not over yet. These processes actually did not take much time. The real protagonist: four JXN-62K missiles are currently flying over the sea at an altitude of about 10 to 20 meters.

They had been flying for over two minutes without anyone noticing them. Although theoretically, ultra-low-altitude flight is ineffective within 20 kilometers, in reality, because this had never been considered, none of the radars in the target area were aimed at that altitude.

Targeting low, slow, and small targets is a highly technical task. Although these four missiles only fall under the category of "low," it is actually sufficient for this era.

On the outlying structures outside the target area, some enemy sentries heard a whooshing sound approaching from afar. Several dark figures swept past at extremely high speed, almost skimming the top of the breakwater several meters high, and entered the target area.

Actually, these missiles aren't considered fast by missile standards, but these days missile weapons aren't very common, and a speed of 270 meters per second feels quite fast if it's just passing by.

Before the sentries could even react to whether those were large seabirds, they saw a series of huge explosions erupt from the fleet ahead, with bursts of flame rising and debris exploding everywhere.

"Waaaaah~~~Waaaah~~~~"

Everyone seemed stunned. More than ten seconds after the first explosion, a piercing air raid siren sounded in the target area, and at that moment, the last missile had not even hit its target.

The enemy was thrown into chaos; some fled into tunnels, some operated anti-aircraft guns, some went to their posts, and many others simply fled in disarray. But all of this was now meaningless, a fact the enemy was unaware of.

The Be-6, which was circling in the air, quickly detected something. The radar operator excitedly said, "Explosion signals detected, a total of... three in total!"

The Be-6 was tasked with search and rescue in this mission, but that doesn't mean it can only do that. Its proper name is maritime patrol aircraft. Although its radar is not an early warning aircraft radar, it is still quite reliable to detect the explosion with debris flying everywhere at a distance of only about 100 kilometers from the target area.

Our coastal command post was thrilled upon receiving the report.

"Comrades! Well done! Now you can all retreat according to plan."

This is the first time we have successfully completed a strike mission by breaking through the enemy's layered and systematic air defense network, composed of anti-aircraft artillery, fighter jets, and radar, deep within enemy territory and within their heavily fortified air defense perimeter.

The significance of this mission lies not only in our powerful response to the enemy's provocations and sabotage, but also in our effective attempt to conduct tactical strikes in the complex modern combat environment, validating our tactics and laying the foundation for future precision air strikes.

At this point, our aircraft was almost 100 kilometers away from the target area and was no longer under the threat of being pursued by enemy aircraft.

Whether we can catch up with the enemy aircraft pursuing us at medium to high altitude is another matter. We can send in reinforcements after we spot them. Besides, the four escorting Z-7 fighters can easily turn around and give the enemy aircraft a good thrashing. Sending them back at medium to high altitude is to conserve some fuel for emergencies.

If enemy aircraft were to pursue at low altitude to avoid detection, let's not even talk about whether they would be detected by the Be-6, since the Be-6 is already returning to base as planned and doesn't have eyes in the back of its head. The key issue is that at low altitude, the speed is even more pitiful, making it even less likely to catch up.

Therefore, our fighter jets and attack aircraft retreated in an orderly manner, awaiting a warm welcome from their comrades at the base.

Meanwhile, the three largest destroyers in the target area were engulfed in flames, and one of them had already begun to sink, as it was the only one that was unlucky enough to have taken two hits.

According to the pigeonhole principle, if four missiles hit three ships, one of them will inevitably be hit by two missiles.

In fact, when the Zhengxian-62K locked onto an enemy ship, its small radar on its nose could hardly distinguish which was which, as there were quite a few warships in the area!
At this moment, the 62K is like a person with decision-making difficulties facing a bunch of delicious food, wondering which one to choose.
Fortunately, Gao Zhendong had long since cured their indecisiveness. What to choose? The old rule: pick the biggest one!

Naturally, they chose three old friends – the "Yang" class destroyers.

The reason it is called an old friend is that for the Zhengxian-62K, these destroyers have long been its victims. The two South Peninsula destroyers sunk last year in our counterattack on maritime channel maintenance operations were of the same type.

The "Yang" class destroyer is none other than the Fletcher-class destroyer, a famous remnant of the US Navy's World War II fleet.

The four missiles, unable to communicate with each other, targeted three of the foreign-class ships, the three that are now engulfed in flames, while the ship that was hit by two missiles is slowly sinking.

Within the target area, some enemy officers and soldiers are rushing to carry out damage control work. In this state, there are not many personnel on duty on the warship, and it is impossible to rely on them to complete the damage control after being hit by a missile.

The foreign-class warship, hit by two missiles, had two large holes, each several meters square, in its hull, with seawater desperately pouring in. Equally fatal as these two holes was the fact that, for maintenance and other reasons, the watertight doors of the berthed warship were not properly closed!

The few personnel on duty on board had no time to close the numerous watertight doors, and the warship sank at a visible speed.

By the time a large number of damage control personnel arrived, the ship had already capsized, with only a small section of its port side showing in the water.

—Due to functional and geographical limitations, the target area is only about 10 meters deep, and it cannot sink any further.

At this point, the destroyer, which had been hit by two missiles, actually had a stroke of good luck; as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.

The seawater, flowing quickly and unimpeded into the cabin, extinguished the raging fire, preventing the situation from worsening after the ship capsized. Since it wasn't going to sink, a little flooding wouldn't hurt; it was already submerged, so what?

(End of this chapter)