Legendary Captain

Chapter 379 Anti-ship!

"The fleet commander is coming? No way, it's just a routine anti-ship target practice, is it really necessary for the fleet commander to come and observe?" When he heard the information from his superior, Xiao Nian, Lu Ping, the squadron leader of the first carrier-based aircraft squadron, felt his scalp tingle.

There haven't been any particularly important military exercises lately; it's mostly been routine training within the fleet. Anti-ship target practice, for example, is as simple as eating and drinking for the carrier-based air force.

Soon after, according to the training schedule, their first squadron would indeed have an anti-ship target practice exercise. The only difference from the usual training was that the target ship for this anti-ship exercise was no longer some random piece of junk, but a real, recently decommissioned guided-missile destroyer.

While it's not common to use recently decommissioned warships as target ships, it shouldn't attract the attention of a fleet commander. It's just a guided-missile destroyer; Lü Ping has heard of using an 80,000-ton decommissioned aircraft carrier as a target ship—that's truly "unprecedented." A guided-missile destroyer isn't worth the attention of the South China Sea Fleet commander. What's so interesting about bombing a guided-missile destroyer?

To be honest, Lü Ping felt embarrassed to have a high-ranking officer come here just to watch his squadron bomb a decommissioned missile destroyer.

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Xiao Nian glared at Lü Ping. "Anyway, I'm just giving you a heads-up. You know what I mean."

Lü Ping chuckled: "Captain Xiao, there's something I don't understand."

Xiao Nian snorted: "Ask whatever questions you have. Don't be all smiles and jokes. We're talking about serious matters. This is making things very unserious."

"Well, our squadron's main combat focus is air defense, so why were we assigned to the anti-ship target practice demonstration this time? Why not the fourth squadron?" Lu Ping said.

The carrier air wing has a total of four fighter squadrons. The first and second squadrons are mainly engaged in air combat, the third squadron is mainly engaged in ground attack, and the fourth squadron is mainly engaged in anti-ship attack.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the First Squadron can only undertake air defense missions and won't take on ground attack and anti-ship missions. It's just that each combat squadron has a different focus. If every squadron were the same, to put it nicely, they would be all-rounders; to put it bluntly, they would be extremely mediocre.

Perhaps sensing that his words would make him appear cowardly before even engaging in battle, which wouldn't be good, Lü Ping quickly added, "Captain Xiao, I'm not afraid, I just want to demonstrate my best anti-ship skills to our commander."

Xiao Nian raised his voice slightly, glanced at Lü Ping, and said calmly, "Lü Ping, stand at attention."

Seeing that the regimental commander was serious, Lü Ping dared not continue joking around and quickly stood up straight, awaiting Xiao Nian's instructions.

"What do you mean by showcasing the best anti-ship technology? Although your First Squadron isn't primarily focused on anti-ship operations, when you're truly needed for an anti-ship mission, you can't back down in the slightest. Are you being picky about the assignments? You're a fighter squadron leader, not a vendor in a market haggling over prices!" Xiao Nian snorted. "However, since you've asked, I might as well be frank. This time, your team is tasked with conducting an anti-ship live-fire demonstration mission; it's the higher-ups' decision. The fleet commander specifically requested it. Do you have any other ideas, hmm?"

"The commander called roll?" Lü Ping immediately dropped his frivolous demeanor, his face becoming extremely solemn: "What merit do I, Lü Ping, possess to warrant the fleet commander calling roll?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nian sneered, "You're really mistaken. This has nothing to do with you."

"So they came straight for me?" Xu Xian's expression turned thoughtful. He asked Lü Ping uncertainly, "Captain, is this a blessing or a curse?"

Lu Ping rolled his eyes: "The fleet commander personally called out the names. Is that a blessing or a curse? This is an immense blessing, don't you understand?"

"Oh, I get it, I get it!" Xu Xian laughed heartily, "When I saw you come in, Captain, your face was as black as the bottom of a pot. I thought I had done something wrong. You scared me half to death."

Lu Ping's lips twitched, and he nudged Xu Xian: "How about we make a deal?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Xu Xian asked curiously.

Lu Ping laughed and said, "Xu Xian, after this anti-ship target practice, I'll give the higher-ups a report and ask if I can move you to a different location? The environment for the Second Squadron is similar to this one, so you should be able to adapt quickly. The Third Squadron is for land operations, and the Fourth Squadron is for anti-ship operations. Which one do you prefer?"

Xu Xian was taken aback: "Captain, are you looking down on me and want to get rid of me?"

"What are you saying?" Lü Ping laughed so hard he almost fell over, but the more Xu Xian heard his laughter, the more fake it sounded. Lü Ping's laughter grew even more unrestrained: "How could I look down on you? It's just that my small squadron can't accommodate a big Buddha like you."

Xu Xianyi pouted: "Isn't that just because they look down on me? Fine, no need for you to report, Captain. I'll talk to the captain myself."

Upon hearing that Xu Xian was going to speak frankly with Wu Yinian, Lü Ping immediately gave an awkward smile: "Just kidding, just kidding! Sigh."

Xu Xian knew that Lü Ping was just venting, but he didn't know why Lü Ping looked so worried.

"Captain, what are you worried about? It's just anti-ship target practice, it's not difficult at all, what's there to worry about?" In Xu Xian's eyes, anti-ship target practice really wasn't difficult. This wasn't Xu Xian being overconfident, but rather a conclusion reached after theoretical analysis; he genuinely believed it.

This anti-ship demonstration wasn't a drill specifically assigned to them by headquarters; it was part of a normal training program and wasn't particularly difficult. At least the target ship wouldn't retaliate.

Even though the First Squadron is not primarily responsible for anti-ship missions, this level of anti-ship target practice is not particularly difficult for them, so Lü Ping shouldn't be sighing like this.

"What are you worried about? It's you! You've only participated in a few anti-ship target practice sessions, three, right? The first time, I personally guided you. You've only actually operated on your own twice. Two training sessions, the risk is too high. In normal training, even if some problems arise, everyone can correct them and strive to improve. But with the fleet commander watching, how can we dare to have any problems? The risk is too great, I really..." Lu Ping had considerable confidence in the other pilots in the squadron; after all, they were veterans, and he knew their skill levels perfectly well. The only uncertainty now lay with Xu Xian, but it seemed the reason the fleet commander specifically requested the First Squadron was because of Xu Xian, so he couldn't easily replace him.

While in real combat, no one cares whether you're a novice or not, exercises or training are not real warfare, and some basic principles still apply.

Just like when Xu Xian didn't complete the entry assessment, he was not required to participate in military exercises in principle. Now, Xu Xian is certainly not a complete novice anymore, but in the field of naval carrier-based aircraft, Xu Xian's experience is very new; he is basically a novice.

Given his novice status, bringing him in for an anti-ship demonstration training, which was also observed by others, wasn't very meaningful. Under normal circumstances, Lü Ping might have requested that Xu Xian not participate in this anti-ship demonstration, and the higher-ups would most likely have agreed.

But this time the situation was a little different; the commander had directly named Xu Xian. Lu Ping didn't have the audacity to let the fleet commander name him directly. If he excluded Xu Xian, wouldn't that be playing a trick on the fleet commander? Lu Ping knew he didn't have the guts.

However, Xu Xian had only participated in three anti-ship training exercises. Admittedly, anti-ship target practice wasn't particularly difficult, but the number of sessions was far too few, making the risks rather uncontrollable. If something went wrong during training with the fleet commander, well, Lü Ping didn't even want to think about it.

"Don't worry!" Compared to Lü Ping's anxiety, Xu Xian was full of confidence: "Flying is all the same. I'm not a greenhorn. Although I've only participated in three anti-ship target practice exercises, that's more than enough. Captain, I'm an Air Force Captain, not a rookie! You have to have some faith in me!"

"Air Force Captain! You know you're an Air Force Captain, not a Navy Captain. Air Force ranks don't carry much weight here." Lü Ping snorted, but then thought about it and realized Xu Xian had a point. Xu Xian had a solid foundation in flying, and the anti-ship live-fire training wasn't fundamentally different from the air-launched missile live-fire training he had in the Air Force. It was just that air-to-air missiles were replaced with anti-ship missiles; there were some differences in the launch procedures and applicable ranges, but these differences weren't particularly significant, and the transition wasn't difficult. Thinking about it this way, perhaps his worries were unfounded?

Lu Ping pondered for a moment: "You should practice the missile launch procedure on the ground these next few days. It would be a huge embarrassment if the procedure goes wrong."

Flying skills require a lot of hands-on practice. Otherwise, just talking about it is pure theory. However, programming is different. Programming can be practiced on the ground; in fact, Lü Ping believes programming should be practiced on the ground. Practicing programming in the air is truly a luxury.

Since Xu Xian has no major problems with his flight skills, and the only difference is in the anti-ship missile launch procedure, and since the procedures are fixed, more practice on the ground should be effective.

Thinking of this, Lü Ping felt somewhat relieved.

"Don't worry, Captain! I'll make sure the program is flawless." It's just a program; with my super memory, I'll figure it out perfectly. And to be honest, the missile launch program for anti-ship target practice is very similar to that for air-to-air missiles; it's really not difficult at all.

Seeing that Xu Xian was practically making a pledge to him, Lü Ping felt much more at ease. Xu Xian's words made sense; after all, he was an Air Force captain, not a new recruit. He knew he couldn't just make empty promises to his superiors, and since Xu Xian dared to make such a guarantee, there shouldn't be any problems.

Lu Ping also knew roughly what Xu Xian had done in the Western Air Force. After all, their South China Sea Fleet was one of the parties involved in the last trilateral exercise. Although Xu Xian had single-handedly defeated ten aircraft from the Guangdong Air Force, as members of the trilateral exercise, how could they possibly be completely unaware of such a sensational event as a one-against-ten fighter?

Initially, the Guangdong Air Force's fleet was reduced to only one aircraft, which then fled in disarray. The higher-ups ordered Xu Xian not to pursue the fleeing enemy, but Xu Xian stubbornly caught up and shot down the last Guangdong Air Force plane.

"I said I'd shoot down all eleven. If only one is left, then I've broken my promise!"

These chilling words were quite famous in both the Guangdong Air Force and the Southern Fleet. Moreover, Lü Ping heard that Xu Xian had traversed an extremely dangerous river valley to evade the radar detection of the Guangdong Air Force fleet, and then, like a tiger descending the mountain, he had utterly annihilated the Guangdong Air Force fleet.

At least during that three-way exercise, Xu Xian truly seemed like a god descended to earth, as if he were omnipotent. This made Lü Ping subconsciously feel that if Xu Xian could do it without problems, then he should be fine too.

It's understandable to have such thoughts, but it just shows that Lü Ping doesn't understand Xu Xian. Yes, Xu Xian is indeed an unprecedented flying genius, but from another perspective, he is also a "genius of gimmicks" who is unprecedented and probably will never be repeated.

The biggest problem is that a normal person would believe Xu Xian is definitely not the problem. Clearly, Lü Ping is such a normal person.

Lu Ping had been completely fooled by Xu Xian's almost chest-thumping assurances, and he felt relieved. He then cautioned, "Although the anti-ship target practice is scheduled for ten days from now, no one can rule out the possibility of it being moved up."

This type of routine anti-ship live-fire training is not considered a large-scale exercise, and even if it is moved forward, it will not have a significant impact. Unlike some large-scale military exercises, where changes to the timing involve too many aspects and cannot be easily altered.

Xu Xian laughed heartily: "Captain, you're overthinking it. It's just a routine anti-ship target practice. What rank is the fleet commander? Would they play these kinds of surprise inspection tricks on you? Impossible!"

"That makes sense!" Lu Ping was successfully persuaded by Xu Xian. It was already absurd enough for a fleet commander to come and observe a routine anti-ship target practice. For him to specifically come with their small carrier-based aircraft squadron for a surprise inspection was really unnecessary and highly unlikely.

Having heard this far, Lü Ping felt that Xu Xian was not only skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but also incredibly eloquent, speaking with a fluent and persuasive style that was quite convincing.

Just as Xu Xian and Lü Ping were enjoying a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, the door suddenly opened, and a communications officer entered. He saluted Lü Ping and said, "Captain Lü, we just received orders from headquarters. The anti-ship live-fire exercise, originally scheduled for ten days later, has been moved up to the day after tomorrow."

What kind of mischief will our adorable Xu Xian get up to in the upcoming anti-ship training? Take a guess! If anyone guesses correctly, the next climax will be a 10,000-word chapter for you!

(End of this chapter)