Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1290 Entanglement in the Sea and Sky (4k)

"geography!"

? ? ? ! ! !
Gao Zhendong was dumbfounded on the spot. This turn of events was a bit too abrupt. He thought for a long time and realized that he really didn't know much about geography. Even though he had helped find a lot of bauxite in Chongyi, Qianshan, it was more of a geological job than a geographical one.

Seeing Gao Zhendong's astonished expression, the naval comrade laughed and said, "Comrade Zhendong, don't be modest. Our presence in the Arctic is thanks to your geographical research."

Ah, so that's what it is. But Gao Zhendong thinks this matter is more of a history than a geography; the naval comrades seem to have gotten it a bit wrong.

However, whether or not things go wrong is no longer the most important thing. Here it comes, let's hear what the Navy has to say. If it's really important, even if we don't know it ourselves, we can find a way to let them know.

As for the misunderstanding that I am very knowledgeable about geography, I couldn't explain it any further, because in other people's eyes, being too humble is not a good thing.

"Oh, is that so? Let me take a look at the problem, but I can't guarantee I'll get a result," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

The Navy didn't think Gao Zhendong was making excuses. For anyone, even if it's something within their own job scope, no one can guarantee a result.

"Of course, we are also trying to gather opinions as widely as possible. Here is a map of the islands and reefs of the South Reef Islands. This is our plan, our idea, which is to ask comrades who are more familiar with the geography to judge whether our plan is reasonable."

In truth, this matter has little to do with Gao Zhendong, since the praise is a bit far-fetched. However, Gao Zhendong has indeed had outstanding performances in geography. If it were someone else, the matter would probably have been forgotten, mostly attributed to luck or coincidence. But these experiences are a bit different for Comrade Gao Zhendong; he is the kind of person who cannot be judged by common sense.

When Gao Zhendong heard this, he laughed. "You know what? I actually know a little about this."

He took the plan and drawings and looked at them for a while.

We actually have a very comprehensive understanding of the distribution of islands and reefs, since this has been our territory since ancient times. Therefore, apart from Heping Island, the comrades have given very careful consideration to the islands and reefs that seem important at first glance. They have considered not only their size, but also their shape, location, fresh water, and future berthing conditions.

After looking at it once, Gao Zhendong pointed to several reefs on the map. These reefs were relatively large but not the largest, and they were partially above the water but not very large.

“I recommend upgrading the program for these three reefs.”

Although we have a long history of understanding these reefs, in the past, due to limited conditions, fishermen and merchants could not have conducted quantitative or even qualitative surveys and records of some deep-seated, modern parameters.

This makes it difficult to assess the value of some reefs based solely on the latest aerial photographs and past records. For example, water depth is a factor; some reefs may appear very large, but are actually quite deep, which is not apparent from photographs. Even a small amount of depth, such as just one or two meters, can have a significant impact in the future.

In this respect, Gao Zhendong happens to be able to. He himself cannot judge, but he has a standard answer.

"These three? What are the characteristics of these three?" The naval comrade looked at the three triangular islands on the map and asked probing questions.

Gao Zhendong said, "These three reefs have the potential to become islands when the conditions are right."

The three reefs he marked were exactly the "miraculous work of nature" that everyone knew from his past life. For him, there was no need to consider the answer to this question.

While the selection of these three islands was partly due to the limited number of islands and reefs under our actual control at the time, there's a reason why we prioritized controlling these reefs given the difficult conditions and limited options available back then.

There may be better answers, but this one is definitely not wrong.

"Ah..." The naval comrades seemed to understand and carefully examined the islands and reefs.

If what Comrade Zhendong said is true, then looking at it this way, the more you look at it, the better you feel that these islands and reefs were chosen.

The islands that are on the surface need no further explanation; the navy and other relevant units had already selected them. These are all standard answers, easy points, the kind that don't require much thought.

However, the comrades who did the preliminary work were not very clear about the selection of reefs. Even with their best efforts, they could only do map work at present. If it weren't for the satellites and the Be-6 patrol aircraft, they wouldn't even be able to find an aerial photograph.

Therefore, there are still many limitations in terms of choices.

The three islands and reefs pointed out by Comrade Zhendong form a triangle that protects each other. Although they are located in the northeast of the South Reef Islands, together with the few known islands, they can completely cover the entire South Reef.

However, the "conditions are ripe" that Comrade Zhendong mentioned probably has little to do with natural conditions. Otherwise, these islands and reefs have been here for millions of years, and the conditions would have been ripe long ago.

"Comrade Zhendong, regardless of natural conditions or other conditions, and no matter how long it takes to mature, what kind of islands could these reefs become if the conditions are right?" He only talked about potential, without mentioning any specific conditions.

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "Based on the existing data, these reefs may contain freshwater lenses, which could solve the freshwater supply problem to some extent. Secondly, these reefs have the potential to become fully functional islands with airports, ports, and barracks..."

Gao Zhendong wasn't entirely sure whether there was a freshwater lens, since a freshwater lens requires a certain area of ​​land. But since we chose these islands and reefs in our previous life, there must have been a reason.

Although it is unknown how Gao Zhendong came to see these potentials from the existing data, Comrade Zhendong is known for one thing—that is, he never makes empty promises.

Don't worry about how he figured it out; the probability is pretty high once he opens his mouth.

"Good!" If that's the case, then the southern sea area, if used as a fortified sea area, will be impregnable.
-
The fleet was moving forward on the sea, but its speed was not fast due to the presence of landing craft and guided-missile vessels.

This also gave the electronic reconnaissance ships that were coming from behind the formation the possibility of catching up with it.

"The higher-ups have even sent an electronic reconnaissance ship; that's quite a show of force," the fleet commander said to the captain on a destroyer. "I heard this ship is here to protect us. They say it can significantly reduce the effectiveness of enemy radar."

"Yes, we also have this function on our ship, but in terms of effectiveness, it's probably not as good as this dedicated ship." The captain had a good understanding of the newly modified electronic warfare system on his ship, and now that a dedicated electronic warfare vessel was coming to support it, it was undoubtedly better than what was currently on the ship.

As the two were chatting and laughing, the radio crackled to life the voice of a Be-6 patrol aircraft: "An aircraft has been spotted 165 kilometers southwest of the formation, at an altitude of 7000 meters. Judging from its speed, it should be a Citizens seaplane patrol aircraft."

"Send fighter jets over there to drive them away."

Meanwhile, the crew of the Citibank seaplane also vaguely sensed that something seemed amiss. "Captain, we have detected a large number of ship-like targets 150 kilometers to the northeast. The exact number is unknown." This was a seaplane patrol aircraft that had departed from Cochinchina; seaplanes were still quite popular these days.

"A large number of targets?" Captain Citizen on the patrol plane immediately sensed that something was wrong. There weren't many large fishing boats in this area at the moment, so anything that could form a "large number of targets" was obviously related to the military.

He marked it on the nautical chart; these ships most likely came from Jiuxing Island. They had absolutely no reconnaissance capabilities on Jiuxing Island and weren't entirely clear on what had happened.

"Fly over and get a closer look." The distance is so great that, due to the clutter on the sea surface, the exact size of the "large quantity" is still unknown, and the specific type of ship is also unclear.

The sea patrol aircraft began to change course and flew towards our formation.

However, they soon discovered that this was not very feasible.

"Beep~~~~Beep~~~~Beep beep~~~~~"

Shortly after the aircraft changed course and flew for a while, a piercing alarm sounded and the radar lock-on warning light flashed red.

"They have fighter jets!" Although it's unclear what kind they are, there's no doubt they do.

These fighter jets were summoned by the Be-6, and their radars were at full power at that moment.

"Turn around! Turn around!" The captain in the Citizen seaplane immediately realized the situation was dire. This was a rare occurrence.

In any case, for a seaplane, being directly scanned or even tracked and locked onto by fighter jet radar is simply too exciting.

With only a few US dollars a month, why risk your life? The fact that a large fleet is gathering and sailing in that direction is itself a very valuable piece of intelligence.

At that moment, a Be-6 reported to the fleet over our formation: "The target, suspected to be a Citibank sea patrol aircraft, has changed course and is flying westward."

After gesturing on the map, an operations staff officer reported, "West of that position is southern Jiaozhi. It seems this plane is trying to escape back."

"Then let's leave it at that. But we need to be careful. They may not have the full details yet, but they should have some idea of ​​the fleet's presence and direction of movement. We need to be prepared for any potential friction or interference. This entanglement could continue for a long time before we complete our mission," the fleet commander told the operations staff, asking him to send a notification to all ships to raise their vigilance.

The Citizens sea patrol plane that was fleeing westward began reporting the situation to its base while still in flight.

"What? In the central part of the southern sea, there is an Eastern fleet heading south?"

"Yes, that's the intelligence our Albatross patrol aircraft just sent back."

"What is the exact size of that fleet? How many ships are there? What kind of intelligence is it? Do you know all of these details?"

"After spotting the fleet, the Albatross patrol aircraft attempted to approach it to enhance reconnaissance in that direction. However, they failed, and less than five minutes after their approach, they were scanned and locked onto by the airborne radar of fighter jets."

"This...it looks like a large-scale operation by the Easterners."

"Yes, I think we need to get more details, but their reconnaissance aircraft operations have been contained."

"Do you know the direction and speed?"

"Yes, due south, at a speed of approximately 14 knots."

"14 knots? They have transport ships in their fleet!" The Citizens were very experienced.

“But we can’t provide any more details,” said a Citizens general who appeared to be an Air Force officer.

"Deploy drones! Send out Firebee reconnaissance aircraft to scout the situation!" They won't be able to sleep well until they get to the bottom of this.

Ten minutes later, a C-130 transport plane took off from an airport in southern Koh Jiao and flew over the sea.

The C-130's primary purpose is as a launch pad. How far it can take the Firebee is not important for this mission, as it won't fly very far this time.

However, the difficulty of this mission is unrelated to distance.

"Report! Two targets have been detected 120 kilometers west of our fleet, at an altitude of 17000 meters! Judging from their signal characteristics and motion patterns, they should be two Firebee UAVs!"

"Firebees? They're really willing to invest." Our commander laughed. Sending two Firebees to the same target at once shows how much importance they're placing on it.

“Leave it to our Air Force. We have experience dealing with Firebees.” An Air Force comrade accompanying the flagship destroyer No. 203 said with a smile.

However, the captain of the 203 ship shook his head: "Let's leave them to the navy. The air force is ahead, but we don't have enough combat experience. Let's give these two Firebees to us. It's also the first time we'll use them to practice after the refit!"

The fleet commander nodded and smiled, "Yes, what the naval comrades said makes sense. We should create more opportunities for comrades who are not familiar with the equipment."

"Hmm... that works too. In that case, our Air Force comrades will fly over to check the situation and verify if it really is a drone. If it is, we'll leave immediately and hand it over to the Navy comrades."

Everyone knows drones are like film reels, so unless they escape, their reconnaissance effectiveness against us is practically zero. The navy should engage first; if they fail to take them down, the fighter jets on high alert in the air can simply follow up and shoot them down.

It's like the US provided a target practice machine for our young and inexperienced naval shipborne air defense force to conduct a live-fire exercise. The US is really thoughtful.

As combat orders were issued one after another, it wasn't long before the radio of the 203 ship came the excited yet slightly regretful report from the Air Force fighter pilot: "Visual confirmation, it's two Firebee UAVs!"

(End of this chapter)