Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1456 Dismantling the Missile (4k)

"Food allowance? We don't seem to have that habit," the chief engineer said with a smile.

Although the chief engineer knew that Gao Zhendong was definitely not after those few meals, he could only say that for now until he understood Gao Zhendong's intentions.

"We don't charge money or rice; we collect intangible assets, like experience to keep for the future," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

"Intangible assets? What are those?" The chief engineer knew very well that sometimes intangible assets could be much more useful than tangible ones.

For example, Gao Zhendong's mind is full of intangible assets. Intangible assets that can interest him are undoubtedly very interesting.

Gao Zhendong did not explain directly, but instead brought up another matter.

"Boss, if I'm not mistaken, this pilot should be a naval pilot, not an air force pilot."

Gao Zhendong's assertion stunned the boss: "How do you know? The paint scheme isn't clear in the photo, is it?" For him, the only basis for distinguishing whether the other party was from the Air Force or the Navy was the paint scheme.

But he could clearly see the photo in the internal reference book and couldn't tell at all.

"Because this model of F-4 belongs to the Navy." Gao Zhendong was quite familiar with the F-4 model, and he knew that the first F-4 to enter that quagmire was the enemy Navy's carrier-based aviation force.

"You can see this clearly?" Chief Engineer Wei carefully examined the internal reference materials he had just received again, and really couldn't understand how Gao Zhendong could see it.

However, he knew that Gao Zhendong was right; the pilot was indeed the other side's naval carrier-based pilot.

"That aircraft has some rather distinctive features. My idea is to target the carrier-based pilots." Gao Zhendong didn't elaborate, vaguely glossing over the details.

However, the second half of his statement is true. It may be a bit early, but it's our habit to plan ahead.

"You mean... aircraft carrier operations? Isn't that a bit too advanced? We haven't even started planning that yet, let alone started. We're lacking everything—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

Even with the most imaginative visions of the future, the chief engineer hadn't envisioned this extent. Although the comrades had already hung up images of aircraft carriers on the wall back in the Northwest, those were at most educational materials. To say that they had any real ideas about aircraft carriers at that time, they probably didn't.

So it's no wonder that the Trade Union was somewhat surprised that Gao Zhendong suddenly set his sights on this; it was quite a bold move.

"What I mean is not that we should start working on this now, but rather that we should consider how to deal with it," Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

"beat?"

"Yes. I've analyzed it. Aircraft carriers have many unique aspects in their operation, and these unique aspects require certain conditions to be guaranteed. These guarantee conditions may be their weaknesses and our opportunities." Gao Zhendong knew a little bit about this in his previous life. At least the story of how the Japanese used bombs and torpedoes to switch around Midway during the S2 era, resulting in the loss of four aircraft carriers, is something that any military enthusiast could talk about.

Although Gao Zhendong didn't go into details, his line of thinking piqued the chief engineer's interest: "Hmm, go into more detail."

Gao Zhendong did not cite the Battle of Midway as an example, since that event had an element of luck and was not representative of the general situation, but he did know a little about the others.

"Let me give you an example. When the aircraft on an aircraft carrier are fully fueled and armed, the carrier often needs to sail against the wind to increase deck wind in order to ensure that the aircraft can take off. At this time, it is in a less than advantageous situation. Another example is how long it takes for the aircraft on the aircraft carrier to take off for an attack wave. This is also a very interesting question. These details involve the enemy's tactics and plans as well as our own tactics and countermeasures. I think it is still necessary to study them."

Gao Zhendong spoke in great detail, a departure from his usual practice of starting with top-level theories and working downwards. However, this made it easier for the chief engineer to understand: "Hmm, your idea makes sense. I'll let the relevant departments know and see if they're interested. If they are, it's definitely something worth preparing for in advance."

Having prior knowledge of how aircraft carriers operate means that even if you don't build your own aircraft carriers, it will still be useful for attacking them.

The most crucial point is that if we want to achieve our goals, we will most likely have to confront this thing. Even if we don't necessarily take action, there will at least be a standoff and entanglement. In this situation, the more we understand aircraft carriers, the more confident we will be in maneuvering.

Gao Zhendong said, "I do have another suggestion."

"Okay, go ahead and tell me, I'll pass it on."

"I suggest selecting a group of experienced and outstanding pilots to switch their major!"

"Changing majors?" Changing careers would be understandable, since pilots eventually get old and have to retire. But changing majors is baffling. Why not stick to your original profession and just waste the money spent on training pilots?

“Yes, the commanding officer of the ship at sea!” Gao Zhendong said.

"Isn't this... a bit of a waste of the funds used to train pilots?" Training a qualified fighter pilot costs a fortune.

"What I'm thinking is that, within a certain timeframe, we need a group of versatile individuals who are proficient in both flying and navigation to directly confront the enemy's carrier-based aircraft units. Such people, who are knowledgeable in both areas, are better able to seize opportunities and make fewer mistakes in decision-making. It's unlikely that a captain can become a pilot due to the high physical requirements for pilots, but the reverse—a pilot becoming a naval navigator—is possible because the physical requirements are compatible and the age restrictions are not as strict."

This isn't exactly a new thing—a flight captain class—but it's quite unconventional these days.

After pondering for a while, Chief Engineer Wei admitted that Gao Zhendong's words made sense, but he was still unsure whether it was the right thing to do. After all, there were many situations that seemed reasonable but were actually not ideal.

"Okay, I'll pass this suggestion on to the relevant comrades. The specific decision will depend on the situation." Fortunately, the responsibility and authority to decide this matter didn't lie with the chief engineer; he only needed to relay the message truthfully. Gao Zhendong laughed on the other end of the phone: "Okay, that's my suggestion. How to proceed depends on the specific circumstances. It's more appropriate to let those who are more familiar with the situation decide. I'm just providing a suggestion."

After saying this, Gao Zhendong breathed a sigh of relief. The cockpit was now completely complete, and Gao Zhendong was somewhat proud of himself.

There were actually some very minor issues, such as the oxygen supply problems that caused several Raptors to lose their seats. However, Gao Zhendong felt that these were not major problems. He estimated that his comrades would use very simple methods to solve these issues. Although they seemed crude, they might sometimes be more effective than sophisticated technologies such as molecular sieves, at least they wouldn't knock the pilots unconscious.

If all goes well, there should be fewer first-class cases. You know, what the families of air force personnel worry about the most is hearing about first-class cases.

As for starting to train flight captains, the main purpose is to serve as advisors to actual captains. After all, if everything goes smoothly, these trainees simply won't have enough time to grow into captains. Providing some suggestions and ideas for reference to those responsible for navigation is already quite worthwhile.

"Oh, right, speaking of which, I haven't had a chance to convey the comrades' gratitude yet." Gao Zhendong initiated the call, so he led the conversation until he had almost finished explaining his own affairs, at which point the chief engineer remembered this matter.

"Huh? What kind of thanks?" Gao Zhendong thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

"We've verified that the system that damaged the aircraft and caused it to crash was our newly developed close-in weapon system, and it worked extremely well. According to the comrades who participated in the test, this system demonstrated extremely high tactical value, effectively engaging targets from high altitudes and intercepting low ones, firing cannons at bombs and shooting arrows at aircraft—it was incredibly efficient." The chief engineer couldn't help but blurt out a line often heard in the classic Chinese novel *Water Margin*.

Gao Zhendong really didn't expect it to be this; his comrades were quite fast.

"No need to thank me. I only mentioned it briefly and didn't do much practical work. If you want to thank someone, thank Professor Liu from the university and the comrades at the Institute of Missile Research. They did much more concrete work."

The chief engineer laughed: "Being too modest won't do. Be realistic. If you did it, you did it. I've heard that you set the overall technical roadmap for this cheap and reliable missile, as well as the powerful 625mm cannon."

If the overall plan goes smoothly, it will take much less time than the actual implementation, especially for someone like Gao Zhendong who simply copies the answers; the time required will be even shorter.

Although time was short, the comrades did not think that Gao Zhendong's contribution was insignificant. Being able to formulate a practical and high-performance technical route in such a short time was arguably more important than the implementation process itself.

After all, details can be changed gradually, but once the overall plan is finalized, the cost of modification is much higher. The person who finalizes the plan needs to be highly capable and have the awareness to take responsibility.

"Haha, I only mentioned it briefly. It seems that this short-range field air defense system is almost complete?"

"Yes, what you saw this time was a hot and humid jungle test, which can be considered a test in the name of war. However, various conditions such as plateau and snowfield are also being tested simultaneously, but without the conditions of this kind of test in the name of war."

The surrounding area is quite peaceful now. In places like the high plateau, there's simply no opportunity to make a move. We can only drag them up there and try it out ourselves. Compared to the tropical jungle where we can really get things done, it's still a bit lacking.

"By the way, the news from the Land Equipment Bureau is that the naval comrades are very envious of this thing and hope to have it loaded onto ships as well."

Gao Zhendong's attention was immediately drawn to this. What he had just said could be considered idle chatter, but this matter involved actual technical decisions.

“If that’s the case, my suggestion is that the navy should only use artillery, not missiles,” Gao Zhendong said.

"No missiles? Then the firepower density and strike methods will be reduced by half?" When it came to business, the chief engineer became serious and put aside his jokes.

Gao Zhendong's suggestion was somewhat unexpected. As far as he knew, Gao Zhendong liked to build up firepower. Or rather, that's how it was for people like him who came down from the battlefield back then. Regardless of whether the shots were accurate, at least the fighting had to be loud enough.

"Theoretically, that's true, but in reality, it's not like that. The space and weight for missiles are less than what you'd need to carry for artillery shells," Gao Zhendong said.

"Shouldn't missiles be much more flexible than artillery?" For people of this era, being able to get on a missile was something they absolutely wouldn't want to pass up.

Gao Zhendong laughed on the phone: "Boss, in my opinion, the requirements for short-range air defense are quite different for the Navy and the Army. The Army's approach is somewhat offensive, and it faces a variety of targets and ever-changing situations, so it's necessary to have a wider range of methods. The Navy, on the other hand, is different..."

Gao Zhendong explained in detail that the army would face tactical aircraft, bombs, helicopters, and even infantry and light armored vehicles if things got desperate. Moreover, due to the terrain, targets could appear very suddenly. For example, armed helicopters that were "competing for the height of a tree" could appear in front of them at any time.

"What about the navy?" Comrade Zhendong's question seemed to make some sense, after all, he himself came from the army.

"The navy's considerations are much simpler. As the last line of defense, its objective is very pure—self-preservation and intercepting enemy-launched weapons. And these weapons will ultimately be missiles."

"Then what's the difference?" The chief engineer understood that Gao Zhendong, as the proposer of this gun-missile integrated system and the overall architect of the gun and missile design, certainly had a deeper understanding of this aspect than he did.

"In reality, the chances of such semi-active radar-guided short-range air defense missiles being attacked by anti-ship missiles are limited during the window of opportunity. In terms of reaction capability and sustained firepower, they are really not as good as artillery shells. After all, artillery can correct itself while firing, but once a missile is fired, it's gone for good, and there is basically no chance to fire a second one. Moreover, the destructive power of the fragmentation warhead of a missile is not as good as that of the armor-piercing shells of a 25mm gun."

"That being said, missiles do have their advantages, and I reckon they're unwilling to give them up."

“That’s easy to handle. We’ll know when we do the experiments. Events are the standard,” Gao Zhendong said with a smile. “Moreover, when using the missile-gun combination at sea to protect high-value targets, there is a problem of mutual interference and disturbance between the missile and the gun. If we really want to use missiles, we might as well separate the missiles and install them as a separate system.”

In reality, although the White Bear extensively used the combined missile and gun system on its ships, the results were not very ideal, leaving it somewhat ineffective.

After all, close-in weapon systems at sea protect high-value targets, so it's better for some functions to remain purely functional.

(End of this chapter)