Legendary Captain

Chapter 382 Air-to-air missiles replace anti-ship missiles

The status display next to the Flying Shark missile in the simulated wing image showed that the missile was still locked. No wonder, no matter how he selected the Flying Shark missile, it didn't work. Xu Xian checked the ordnance switches again to confirm that the safety switch on his aircraft was disengaged.

Even if the safety switch on the aircraft is in the safe position, the weapon system mode on the left digital display should be in analog mode, but what is currently displayed is the safety switch off state.

Whether it's the actual weapon switch position or the safety status displayed on the digital display, it indicates that the weapon safety on the aircraft has been disarmed, so the problem isn't on our side.

If it's not a problem with the aircraft, but the missile is still locked, then the safety mechanism on the missile must not be disengaged!

Xu Xian gasped. If the safety mechanism on the missile wasn't disengaged, the Flying Shark missile would remain locked, making it impossible for him to launch or even operate the missile.

Xu Xian was stunned. He had never encountered such a situation before, or even considered it. It was highly likely that the bomb loader on the ground had made a mistake and failed to disengage the missile's weapon safety.

"103, weapon ready!" At this critical moment, Qin Qing had completed the setup of the Flying Shark missile and reported it. Xu Xian, however, remained silent.

What can he possibly say? He can't even operate the Flying Shark missile on a computer, so how can he prepare the weapon?

After waiting a while, Lü Ping, who still hadn't received any information from Xu Xian about the completion of weapon preparation, felt a little strange: "104, what's going on? Is the weapon preparation complete? Or is there some problem?"

At this point, a slight ripple of unease stirred within Lü Ping. Preparing weapons wasn't a particularly difficult task, so the fact that it wasn't finished yet suggested something might be wrong.

Sure enough, Xu Xian's words the next moment confirmed Lü Ping's thoughts.

"Captain, my anti-ship missiles are locked," Xu Xian said, forcing a smile. "It's very likely that the bomb loader didn't disengage the missile safety while we were on the ground."

Lu Ping's voice suddenly became shrill: "You said the weapon safety on the Flying Shark missile wasn't disengaged? Could it be that your main armament switch isn't disengaged? Check it again!"

"Captain, the main armament switch is right in front of me! Am I blind? Don't I know what state the main armament switch is in?" Xu Xian was extremely frustrated. "Captain, what do we do now?"

Lu Ping was completely dumbfounded. If Xu Xian still didn't know the status of the main weapon switch, then he might as well go home and farm. But assuming Xu Xian was telling the truth, and the weapon safety on the missile hadn't been disengaged, then there was truly nothing he could do.

The missile's own weapon safety system is independent of the aircraft's weapon system, and no operation from the cockpit can affect this independent weapon safety system. This is why there is a bomb loader; a third-party operator is required to perform additional operations on the bomb, as the pilot in the cockpit cannot operate the bomb's own weapon safety system.

"No." Lü Ping was extremely flustered at this moment. If what Xu Xian said was true, then this anti-ship demonstration would be a disaster. Luckily, it was happening under the observation of the fleet commander: "Are you really sure that the missile's weapon safety was not disengaged? Don't get it wrong!"

While Lü Ping was insisting on whether the missile weapon's safety mechanism hadn't been disarmed, Xu Xian did begin to consider how to remedy the situation.

"Captain, let's change the attack order! 103 will go first, and I'll go second," Xu Xian said, his tone surprisingly calm.

"Change the attack order? What are you trying to do? Didn't you leave the missile weapons on hold? What's the point of changing the attack order?" Lu Ping asked curiously.

Xu Xian said calmly, "My Viper missiles can still be launched."

"Viper missile?" Lu Ping was taken aback. "The Viper missile isn't an air-to-air missile; it's infrared guided. How did you lock onto the target ship?"

The Viper missile is a typical infrared-guided air-to-air missile. Before launch, the fire control system must lock onto the target's infrared heat source. Fighter jets have obvious heat sources from their engine exhaust, making them easy to lock onto. But can target ships also be locked onto using heat sources?

However, at this moment, Qin Qing seemed to understand Xu Xian's idea. She asked over the radio, "You want to use the explosion flames after the initial attack as a heat source for infrared guidance?"

"That's right! The explosion that followed the initial attack was a huge heat source signal, which can serve as a guiding source for the Viper missile!" Xu Xian said.

Lu Ping's pupils contracted slightly. He hadn't expected Xu Xian to come up with a solution in such a short time. If there was no infrared-guided heat source signal, then they would create one!

On the island superstructure, with the help of binoculars, Fleet Commander Cai Guangming could clearly see that the three-aircraft formation was approaching the target ship.

Suddenly, one of the fighter jets launched a missile. After being launched, the solid rocket booster at the tail of the Flying Shark anti-ship missile accelerated the missile to over Mach 0.75 in less than three seconds.

In the initial phase of flight, the missile cruises at an altitude of less than 800 feet. Upon approaching the target ship, it dives directly to an extremely low altitude of several meters above sea level to evade enemy radar detection. During this process, the solid rocket booster detaches, and the single-shaft turbojet engine takes over the propulsion system, continuously accelerating the missile to near the speed of sound.

After flying at such a low altitude over the sea, when it gets close to the target ship, its three-axis strapdown inertial attitude reference instrument and digital computer will transmit signals to the tail control system, guiding the missile to rise rapidly. Finally, it draws an arc in the air and quickly dives down above the target ship to strike it.

The first missile struck the target ship with perfect accuracy, triggering a massive explosion. The blast was so powerful that it could be clearly seen from the island superstructure even without binoculars.

Commander Chen Cheng, the overall commander of the carrier strike group, watched as the missile accurately struck the target ship, and somewhat boredly put down his binoculars. This level of anti-ship target practice was really nothing to watch; after seeing the first missile, he had no desire to continue.

Chen Cheng put down his binoculars, but Cai Guangming continued watching. A routine anti-ship target practice wasn't anything special, but Cai Guangming, being a man of his word, wanted to see it all through. Since he was there to observe, he naturally wanted to see everything.

Cai Guangming originally approached it casually, since routine anti-ship target practice didn't offer much to study, and its technical content wasn't particularly high.

Regarding the topic of anti-ship warfare, what is truly worth studying is how to break through the enemy's air defense and reconnaissance network. However, such penetration training exercises are generally large-scale and require a lot of resources. Cai Guangming can't possibly add an extra anti-ship penetration exercise just to see Xu Xian; that would be going too far.

After the first anti-ship missile was launched and hit the target ship, the second missile was launched. However, this second missile did not perform a low-altitude sea-skimming penetration like the first missile. Instead, it flew straight across a diagonal line and headed straight for the target ship.

Cai Guangming frowned slightly, but shortly after, the second missile also hit the target ship, but its power was visibly less than that of the first missile.

At this point, the target ship was already half-sunk and was deemed incapable of combat. Two missiles directly rendered a missile destroyer incapable of combat, making this demonstration quite impressive.

Since the first two missiles had achieved their operational effect, the planned third missile was no longer needed. Therefore, Lü Ping switched the fighter jet out of air-to-ground mode and into navigation mode, preparing for its return flight.

Having observed everything, Cai Guangming put down his binoculars and said to Chen Cheng with a smile, "Wasn't today supposed to be just routine anti-ship target practice? You've even prepared some special events?"

Chen Cheng was taken aback: "A recurring program? What do you mean?"

Upon seeing Chen Cheng's expression, Cai Guangming was also taken aback for a moment: "That was the second one! It's alright, it was quite interesting! Haha!"

Cai Guangming smiled and patted Chen Cheng on the shoulder: "We've seen the anti-ship target practice, let's go."

The original plan was for Cai Guangming to come here for an inspection, and the observation of the anti-ship target practice was just a side trip. Now that he has finished watching, it's time to get down to business.

"Now? Oh!" Chen Cheng and Cai Guangming first turned out of the command room, and before the others could catch up, Chen Cheng quickly seized the opportunity to ask Cai Guangming, "Master, what exactly did you mean by the 'reserved program' you mentioned earlier?"

Now that there were no outsiders around, Chen Cheng spoke frankly and directly. He was quite confused by Cai Guangming's earlier mention of a "reserved program."

Although Cai Guangming said he was fine, Chen Cheng had been keeping it in mind. He had to find out the truth, otherwise he would feel like he had a thorn in his side or a fishbone stuck in his throat, and he couldn't hold back his words.

Of course, Cai Guangming didn't say it explicitly just now, probably because there were outsiders present and he couldn't say it directly. Now that others haven't caught up yet, Chen Cheng can ask him directly.

When his former apprentice asked so bluntly, Cai Guangming just smiled and said, "It's nothing. I can only say that your soldiers are very creative and interesting."

As he spoke, Cai Guangming patted Chen Cheng on the back: "Let's go, stop thinking about it, come for a walk with me."

"So, the missile that was fired wasn't a Flying Shark missile, but a Viper missile?" Chen Cheng stared incredulously at Xu Xian and Lü Ping in front of him, and was so angry that he laughed: "You're really something, using an air-to-air missile as an anti-ship missile."

No wonder Cai Guangming mentioned a "reserved program"; he must have noticed something amiss at the time. However, he probably assumed it was a specially prepared segment, like using air-to-air missiles for anti-ship purposes.

The flight trajectory of anti-ship missiles is extremely unique, quite different from that of air-to-air missiles. Moreover, the warhead of an air-to-air missile is much smaller than that of an anti-ship missile, and the explosive effects they produce are completely incomparable.

Any soldier with some experience can generally tell the difference after seeing the flight and explosion effects of the two types of missiles.

However, he found the first missile too boring and didn't watch any more; otherwise, he would have noticed the anomaly immediately. But even though he realized the problem, Cai Guangming didn't voice it on the spot. Could it be that Cai Guangming thought using air-to-air missiles as anti-ship missiles was permissible?

Chen Cheng raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Xu Xian: "Tell me, why did you replace the Flying Shark missile with the Viper missile?"

"Because the weapon safety on the Flying Shark missile was not deactivated, I had no choice but to find another way," Xu Xian explained.

"A different approach?" Chen Cheng's eyes widened. "Today is anti-ship target practice, not for you to do scientific research. If you want to study how to use air-to-air missiles for anti-ship purposes, that's your prerogative, but not in this mission. A different approach? You don't actually think you've completed the mission, do you? Should I praise you for your quick thinking?"

"Praise is definitely unnecessary," Xu Xian said. "However, since the requirement of inheriting the target ship has been met, I think it makes no difference whether it was hit by anti-ship missiles or air-to-air missiles."

Xu Xian is a typical results-oriented person. As for the methods used, as long as they are not morally reprehensible, they are acceptable. Of course, planning to use anti-ship missiles but actually using air-to-air missiles in the end is hardly morally reprehensible.

Xu Xian could tell that the commander of the carrier strike group was quite annoyed, but he would not change his mind because of other people's opinions.

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, said nothing more to Xu Xian, and turned to Lü Ping: "You knew he replaced anti-ship missiles with air-to-air missiles?"

Lu Ping had no intention of hiding anything or lying, and immediately answered loudly, "Yes, I agreed to his decision to replace the anti-ship missiles with air-to-air missiles."

"So do you think this is right?" Chen Cheng asked calmly, without revealing any emotional fluctuation in his expression.

Lu Ping pondered for a moment, his voice slightly hesitant: "I don't know if it's right or wrong. I only know that the mission must be completed first. As for the rest, I'm willing to accept whatever the outcome may be."

"Willing to accept any outcome?" Chen Cheng snorted, but the coldness in his expression vanished instantly. He looked at Xu Xian and questioned, "Seriously, you know you can use explosions to create a heat source signal for the Viper missile. Why couldn't you let the other two fighters capable of launching Flying Shark missiles attack first? If the first two missiles had sunk the target ship directly, wouldn't you have no need to try anti-ship missiles? Right? Should I say you're clever or not?"

Xu Xian and Lü Ping were taken aback, especially Xu Xian, who asked somewhat uncertainly, "Sir, you think I'm... right?"

"That's right?" Chen Cheng sneered, "If you want to play tricks, then at least be clean. Can an air-to-air missile's trajectory and explosion effect be the same as an anti-ship missile? Do you think Commander Cai can't tell? I admit you achieved your training objectives, but shouldn't you and that bomb loader be punished for causing this result?"

Xu Xian almost spat out a mouthful of blood: "Sir, how can this be blamed on me? On the ground, I only checked whether the weapons were missing. Before ejection, I didn't require checking the status of the loaded weapons."

On the ground, before boarding the plane, the pilot will check the weapons load list during the walk-around inspection to see if there are any errors in the load.

Once on board, the weapon loadout status will be verified on the weapon loadout management page on the digital display. However, the safety mechanisms for the bombs and weapons remain open until just before catapult launch, meaning this check cannot detect errors by the bomb loader.

The bomb loader will not release the weapons safety until just before takeoff. After that, there is no procedure requiring the pilot to check the weapons status again.

As a result, Xu Xian felt that he had been completely innocent victimized. While the bomb loaders were certainly partly responsible, flaws in the pre-flight procedure design were also a contributing factor.

Anyway, no matter how you look at it, he's not going to take the blame.

Lu Ping, who was standing next to Xu Xian, subtly nudged Xu Xian, signaling him to stop talking. This was the first time he had ever seen someone talk back to the commander of a carrier strike group.

"You think you have absolutely no problem?" Chen Cheng chuckled. "Whether there's a problem or not depends on the investigation results. During the investigation, you shouldn't fly."

The determination of responsibility for this incident will certainly not be based solely on Xu Xian's words; it will require a thorough investigation. For example, it needs to be determined whether it was an operational error by the bomb handler or a structural problem with the weapon safety device of the Flying Shark missile.

As is customary, the person involved will definitely be grounded during the investigation. This is the same in civil aviation. Xu Xian, however, showed sufficient understanding regarding this.

Chen Cheng raised his eyes slightly: "Lü Ping, you need to stop too, and there's another wingman, I think it's Qin Qing! Your three-person formation will be grounded for a while. During this time, you must unconditionally cooperate with any investigation that requires it. Understand?"

Lü Ping immediately nodded: "Understood, we will definitely cooperate with the investigation."

"Hmm!" Chen Cheng hummed in agreement, then suddenly smiled and looked Xu Xian up and down: "Judging from how you argued so earnestly just now, you seem to be in pretty good spirits! Very good, very good!"

"Huh?" Xu Xian frowned, not understanding what the commander of the carrier strike group meant.

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "With such good energy, it's a shame you're not cleaning the deck. The logistics department is really short-staffed lately. Seeing that you're in such good spirits, why don't you clean the deck during the grounding period?"

"Sir, what did you say? You want me to clean the deck?" Xu Xian was completely dumbfounded. "Isn't this still under investigation? How come the punishment has already been decided?"

Xu Xian thought that cleaning the deck was Chen Cheng's punishment decision, but didn't Chen Cheng just say that this incident still needed to be investigated? How come the punishment result was released while the investigation was still ongoing? This is unfair!

"Who said this is a punishment?" Chen Cheng laughed. "It's just a regular task assignment order. You don't need to overthink it."

"An order?" If it was an order, Xu Xianzhen would have no choice but to accept it, but there was one thing he couldn't understand: "Am I the only one here?"

Xu Xian's meaning was simple: even if there were three people carrying out anti-ship target practice together, how come he was the only one cleaning the deck? Where were the other two?

"Aren't you full of energy? The capable should do more, right? You shouldn't have any objections, should you?" Chen Cheng said.

Xu Xian really wanted to say that he had a lot of objections, but feeling the threatening look from Chen Cheng, he had no choice but to shut his mouth and said helplessly, "I have no objections."

"It's best if you have no objections." Chen Cheng smiled and waved his hand. "You guys go ahead and do your work."

Xu Xian sighed, turned and left the room, but Lü Ping hesitated and stayed. He said hesitantly, "Sir, I am his captain. Xu Xian's actions were with my consent, so I should be punished as well."

Chen Cheng waved his hand: "You don't need to take responsibility for him! The main responsibility for this matter is indeed not his, but he has too many ideas in his head, and he needs to be tempered a bit. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"

Hearing Chen Cheng say this, Lü Ping felt relieved. However, he was still concerned about something else: Chen Cheng had mentioned that Xu Xian's use of air-to-air missiles instead of anti-ship missiles had been discovered by Cai Guangming, the fleet commander who was observing at the time. He wondered if this would cause any problems.

"Is there any problem with Commander Cai's side?" It was supposed to be an anti-ship target practice, but they used air-to-air missiles instead. Although the goal was achieved, it still felt like they were playing games with the fleet commander. Lu Ping was quite worried about this.

"He didn't say it outright, so he probably didn't care much," Chen Cheng sighed. "He has a very high opinion of Xu Xian! Man can conquer nature. Man can conquer nature."

(End of this chapter)