Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1472 Arrested (4k)

Although he didn't intend to say much to Lou Xiao'e, Gao Zhendong still needed to find out the specifics of the situation.

The comrade in the back room led Gao Zhendong in and then saluted: "We only know that he is indeed a spy, but we don't know which side he belongs to or how he found out that he came here. It is said that he himself does not know."

Gao Zhendong nodded. It seemed that the people they caught last time were already on the periphery. These kinds of people don't even know who they are working for. They can betray themselves and others just because of the temptation of a little bit of profit.

"Single-line contact?"

"Yes, and the way he was developed was quite unique. He was developed by someone whose identity was unknown. The method was simple: he was lured with benefits. So this person didn't even know where the other party belonged. He just wanted him to find out about the recent situation in the courtyard."

"Then, the person who recruited him transferred him to a single-line upline with whom he never met?" Gao Zhendong laughed.

"Yes. Commander, how did you know?" The comrades in the back room were quite surprised that Gao Zhendong could guess so accurately. It seems that capable people are capable in everything they do.

Gao Zhendong laughed: "If we don't use this method, but instead develop his people to continue direct contact with him, then the first person he'll implicate after his arrest will be this superior. The enemy won't be that stupid; they'll definitely disconnect and then reconnect."

The only thing that needs to be guaranteed for these cannon fodder characters, which are not too painful to consume, is the information and donation channels. Everything else is irrelevant, so this method can effectively ensure their online security.

It seems the other party isn't stupid; they do have some business acumen.

However, the better your business skills, the more you can narrow down your options. After all, sometimes excellent business skills are like a light in the dark, extremely conspicuous.

For example, if S2 encounters a rather abstract agent, it's very likely that he's from Abwell. To put it bluntly, putting aside the hardware, in terms of professional skills alone, the two investigation bureaus under the Transport Captain are probably more proficient than them.

"Alright, I understand. You guys go about your business." Gao Zhendong got the answer, although it was practically no answer at all, but it didn't matter. There were comrades who were naturally paying attention to this.

"Goodbye, Commander!" The comrade in the back room saluted Gao Zhendong again and saw him out.
-
On the shore of the Bohai Sea, at a weapons testing ground.

The geographical characteristics reveal that the test subjects at this testing ground are different from those in Snow City. The former primarily involves land-based weapons, while this one is naturally related to water.

This testing ground is even more special because its testing objective is underwater.

"Report! Test model number 1 is ready. Please give instructions!" A comrade arrived at the test command center and reported to the comrades there.

"Let's get started then. There are many models, time is tight, and the task is heavy, so let's hurry up," one of the comrades said with a smile.

The other nodded and turned to the comrade who had come to report: "Let's begin."

"Yes!"

The comrade picked up the microphone and gave instructions.

"Load!"

Underwater at a certain point in the test site, there is a building that extends deep underwater. The building is not large, but it is very sturdy.

In one of the rooms, several thick steel pipes of varying diameters were installed on the wall, outside of which lay the waters of the Bohai Sea. These steel pipes were connected to various pipelines, some for launching signals and others for monitoring data.

The end of a pipe marked "53" has been opened, and the comrades are controlling the crane on the ceiling of the room to load a gleaming long cylinder into the steel pipe.

This is a torpedo, and a heavy torpedo with a diameter of 533 mm.

Unlike previous torpedoes, this torpedo has a short cylindrical container at its tail. A thin wire extends from the container and enters the torpedo's interior.

To be precise, this is a 533mm wire-guided heavy torpedo.

"Loading complete!" The soldiers acted quickly and soon closed the launch tube tail door.

"Inject water!"

In the deep sea, if water is not injected into the launch tube before launch to balance the pressure between the launch tube and the external environment, not only launching a torpedo, but even opening the launch tube opening would be a major problem.

However, this is not a problem for our comrades. After all, we already have submarines, so launching torpedoes underwater is nothing new to us. And today's test is not about that.

"power ups!"

"Self-check!"

"Open the launch tube!"

With each command completed, the torpedo was ready to launch.

In the command center, the comrades exchanged glances, and one of them said, "Let's launch!"

Although this is the first trial, whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway, so you have to go through this process eventually.

"emission!"

With a command given, a compressed air switch in the underwater launch laboratory was turned on, and high-pressure air forced the connected water into the launch tube.

High-pressure air cannot be directly injected into the launch tube for firing. Doing so would generate a large number of bubbles and a loud noise, giving away the submarine's position. Furthermore, if the launch tube were filled with air, it would cause a shift in the submarine's center of gravity, adversely affecting its attitude.

Moreover, this compressed air is extremely precious and can never be directly released into the sea; it must be recycled.

As the retaining pin retracts, high-pressure water rushes into the launch tube, and the torpedo, carrying the wire, bursts out of the launch tube, its propeller spinning as it heads into the distance.

The launch system completely simulates the entire process of submarine underwater launch. After launching the torpedo, it systematically begins a series of actions such as gas recovery. As for closing the cover and draining water, that's a long way off. This is a wire-guided torpedo, and there's still a wire connected to the torpedo's tail.

Various instruments and equipment, as well as the torpedo itself, are constantly transmitting the torpedo's position information back.

The most important of these is the signal from the strapdown inertial navigation system. These signals can calculate the torpedo's position in real time and are the most important basic data for wire navigation.

On a display screen in the command center, two lines run side by side, and although they are divided into two rows, they are very similar in shape.

The comrades watched the changes in the two lines with a mix of worry and tension.

These two lines represent the guidance control signal output and the torpedo's actual trajectory. The higher the overlap between the two lines, the more accurate the guidance.

Everyone was a little nervous. This was the simplest and least technically demanding type of torpedo among this batch of new models. Although the other acoustic homing torpedoes received technical support from rocket-assisted torpedoes from Gaul, wire-guided torpedoes were still the least difficult to develop, and their control was the most reliable. Wake-guided torpedoes, on the other hand, were still under development.

After all, the level of difficulty varies, and the order of development also differs.

Wire-guided torpedoes, which are relatively easy to develop and highly reliable, are naturally the top priority and the fastest to be developed. As for accuracy, that's not a problem with the wire-guided system, but with the detection system. Even this simplest guided torpedo made our comrades hold their breath.

The torpedo travels at a speed of approximately 50 kilometers per hour, and it would take more than 6 minutes to reach its intended target. As for why it is so slow, that's another story.

This period of time was neither long nor short, but it was very agonizing for the comrades.

Seeing that his comrades were very nervous, one of them smiled and reassured them, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. At least I can guarantee that the line won't break. I have experience with anti-tank missiles from the army, so I'm confident in this."

The buoyancy of water and the vastly different speeds of torpedoes compared to missiles (one on the ground, the other in the sky) make them highly effective against wire-guided missiles.

"It's better to be safe than sorry. It's the first test, and many things can happen. If you can really guarantee that the connection won't break, I can guarantee that the torpedo will be guided to its intended target," another comrade said with a smile.

At this moment, the guidance signal and the torpedo's trajectory were still advancing on the screen. What reassured the comrades was that the two lines almost completely overlapped, which meant that the torpedo's guidance effect was very good and very stable.

"4 kilometers!" Unguided extreme range tests have been conducted before, but guided range and extreme range are two different things.

This 4-kilometer range means that the torpedo's guided range has reached at least 80% of the research target value, which is considered a minimum acceptable result.

"It's just one last push!" one of the comrades said.

The last kilometer, though it only took a little over a minute, felt incredibly long.

The good news is that the two lines still overlap, and even considering data errors, the image is perfect.

"Beep beep beep beep," a data receiving device with a red light on beeped.

"Hahaha, great, they've been caught!" one of the comrades laughed loudly.

The phrase "caught in the net" is quite witty.

This receiving device only receives one signal.

—A signal indicating that the torpedo has accurately landed in the designated area and entered the recovery device representing the predetermined target.

The main body of that recycling device was a large net, which is why the comrades said it had been caught in the net.

The comrades were all smiles, which meant that the first test of the 533mm wire-guided heavy torpedo was a complete success.

This also means that, if everything goes smoothly, our submarines will at least have advanced underwater guided weapons at their disposal.

If the wire guidance is working properly, then whether it can hit the enemy depends on the capability of the sensing system. It's a technology with a lower limit that's as low as the Earth's core and an upper limit that's as high as the sky. As a safety net technology for underwater guided weapons, it's very effective.

"Retrieve the wires and close the drain cover."

"By the way, remember to send us the recovered wires. We need to analyze and record them," said the comrade who had assured everyone that the wires wouldn't break.

"Don't worry, there are several more points to come, enough for you to analyze and study for a while."

Comrades were beaming with joy – a great start!

With this successful start, they are not afraid of any problems that may arise later. At least this first test has proven that this path is feasible.

"Let's report the good news to our superiors."

"Yes, report! We can't stop working either. We still have to test the self-assembled acoustic homing torpedoes. Time is tight and the task is heavy."

The purpose of acoustic homing torpedoes is somewhat special. Although they have acoustic homing technology from Gaul, they are not directly assembled from CKD parts. Instead, they have been inherited and developed, and the testing tasks are also very heavy.

Gao Zhendong, who was proofreading documents in his office, received a call from the National Defense Industry Committee; it was the chief engineer calling.

"Hey boss, what good things can I do for you? Hahaha."

"What do you mean by 'take care of you'? Dream on! You should really be looking out for the committee when you have good fortune. But while there's nothing good to take care of you, there are a few things that are actually good," the chief engineer laughed.

"That's wonderful! What good news is it?" Gao Zhendong was overjoyed.

Something that would prompt someone to call you specifically for it must be either exceptionally good or exceptionally significant. Of course, there's also the possibility that the situation is exceptionally bad, but judging from the chief engineer's tone, it's probably not that kind of thing.

"Our 533mm wire-guided heavy torpedo and 324mm acoustic homing lightweight torpedo have both achieved success in their first full-state prototype torpedo test, reaching the expected technical level."

Gao Zhendong laughed heartily upon hearing this, for this was truly an excellent thing.

This means that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, our new and old submarines will be able to use guided torpedoes.

Military enthusiasts in the 21st century may think it's simple, but in reality, it's all a story of hardship and tears.

Not to mention guided torpedoes, we didn't even get the 450mm straight-running aerial torpedoes originally prepared for the Laogong-5 torpedoes sorted out properly. By the time they were barely usable, it was already the era of missiles flying everywhere.

As for underwater use, Gao Zhendong was not very clear about the specifics, but he was almost certain that until the 80s or even the 90s, the most reliable underwater torpedoes were still the straight-running torpedoes.

However, straight-running torpedoes are not entirely unusable. When John and the Crying Nation were fighting for the South Atlantic islands, John used a nuclear submarine to launch S2-level straight-running torpedoes to sink the enemy's cruiser, which was also at the S2 level.

They are truly a magnificent pair of opponents.

This news means that we finally have relatively reliable weapons available underwater.

Moreover, the chief engineer's words contained more good news than just this one: the 324mm acoustic homing system has also been initially successfully tested, which is no less impressive than this news.

Although the 324mm torpedo is a lightweight torpedo, it means that our surface and air anti-submarine forces now have something to use! This is also why Gao Zhendong suggested that we obtain the enemy's acoustic homing torpedoes from Gaul and then improve them ourselves.

Only ship-to-air anti-submarine mines with acoustic homing capabilities are usable. The warheads of the enemy's rocket-assisted torpedoes are too large and impractical for us, as helicopters cannot carry them. The best approach is to import them and combine them with the enemy's acoustic homing heads with our domestically developed 324mm torpedoes.

This news also brought another piece of good news.

—The warhead for the anti-submarine missile is here!

When Gao Zhendong was planning the solid-propellant anti-ship missile and vertical launch system, his original intention was to replace the anti-ship missile with a 324mm torpedo warhead and achieve a combined anti-ship and anti-submarine capability.

Now, with the assistance of the "old revolutionary base area" and the efforts of our comrades, we finally have good news.

(End of this chapter)