Genius is just the threshold for me!

[Beep! Beep beep—]

A large, well-disguised strategic radar station in the east, which has just been commissioned.

Suddenly, a glaring red warning popped up on the otherwise unremarkable radar screen: an unusual target was rushing toward them from the southwest at high speed!

"Holy crap—a Mach 10 target? What kind of UFO is this?" the core technician in charge of debugging exclaimed, and hurriedly checked the specifics of the signal.

"What Mach 10 target?"

Because it was a core strategic radar, Chen Changming, who had come to the site to provide on-site guidance, instinctively came over to inquire after hearing this exclamation.

"Our newly installed and debugged gallium nitride radar has detected an abnormal Mach 10 aircraft coming from the southwest. I'm checking if it's a false alarm, because the original radar system didn't provide any warning..."

The core technician quickly replied, then pulled up the radar's backend data and began checking the situation one by one.

Although an unusual hypersonic aircraft was discovered, the technicians were not too alarmed.

Because this thing flew in from the southwest, not from the east or south.

After all, on the southwest side, it could be either a radar malfunction causing a false alarm, or it could be one of their own...

As for the other major Eastern power to the southwest, they do not yet possess this technology.

"From the southwest? A Mach 10 aircraft?"

Chen Changming frowned: "What are the height and dimensions?"

"30,000 meters, dimensions... due to the influence of the plasma sheath of the Mach 10 aircraft on radar waves, it cannot be measured precisely, but it is most likely no more than 12 meters."

The technician quickly reported, then suddenly paused, looked at the data on the radar screen, and said strangely, "It turned a corner, it's starting to go back..."

"Then we don't need to worry about it."

Chen Changming walked over and carefully looked at the data. When he saw the trajectory that turned 800 kilometers from the coast, he seemed to have thought of something and said something.

"Didn't General Zhang explain that this is a natural atmospheric phenomenon? The recent climate changes have been quite abnormal, and it happens more often in the evening."

"A natural atmospheric phenomenon?"

The technician froze, staring at the radar data in front of him, blinking hard, his mouth agape in utter bewilderment.

Although he works with radar, he knows that atmospheric fluctuations have a significant impact on radar detection.

For example, atmospheric waveguide effects, atmospheric turbulence, and atmospheric gravity waves can all significantly affect radar detection and radar imaging.

But there's a problem.

Whose atmospheric phenomena have such a clear and regular pattern in their data and trajectory that affect radar?

However, the next moment, he glanced at the original gallium arsenide radar system next to him, which was connected to the identification system but had not yet been removed, and quickly entered the password to open the original radar's interface.

Upon seeing that the target was also displayed above, but without any warning, a sudden realization dawned on his eyes…

So, Chief Engineer, the atmospheric phenomenon you're describing is actually man-made?

"Confidentiality Regulations".

When Chen Changming saw that the technician had discovered it, he gave a warning, stepped aside, and took out his secure phone to make a call.

beep--

The phone rang twice before being answered. Chen Changming got straight to the point: "Engineer Wang, was your test flight application kept confidential?"

"What test flight application?"

Wang Xingguo's voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding annoyed: "Old Chen, are you questioning Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group's (CAC) sense of secrecy? We at CAC have already applied for dedicated personnel and dedicated data links for our relevant test flights..."

"How dare I question Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group? Just don't question our CETC's technology," Chen Changming retorted irritably.

This guy, he kindly reminded me, and he still has this terrible attitude.

"That's fine then. I don't have time to chat now, but I'll come find you for tea at the electronics department sometime..."

"Don't come any closer! Wang Xingguo and his dogs are not allowed inside the CETC building now!"

Chen Changming retorted, then hung up the phone. Looking at the gradually disappearing target on the radar screen, a hint of amazement and surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Mach 10, they can actually build this thing... Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group is really crazy. No wonder this guy dares to grab business every day. He has made great contributions and achieved great results. He is really amazing."

As he continued, Chen Changming's expression immediately turned sour.

He wasn't against Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAC) rushing to accelerate R&D and grab business, since CETC didn't lack R&D business; as long as the production tasks were still handled by CETC, that was fine.

He was annoyed that Wang Xingguo not only stole business from him, but also acted shamelessly and insisted he was in the right.

Laboratory No. 78.

Hearing the phone call end, Wang Xingguo thought for a moment, then walked over to Lin Dong and whispered, "Our Hot Shot No. 4 won't be detected by the enemy flying like this, right?"

Mach 10 is too loud. Wang Xingguo knew that the domestic radar couldn't hide it, but as long as the foreign radar could keep it a secret, it would be fine.

"Godfather, don't worry."

"We didn't go to sea, so the enemy couldn't have discovered us."

Looking at the parameters on the flight interface, Lin Dong replied with a calm smile, "Unless they get incredibly lucky and have a low-orbit reconnaissance satellite that our BeiDou system hasn't detected."

Moreover, the reconnaissance satellite happened to be flying overhead and happened to spot the Hotspot; otherwise, the probability of this discovery would have been zero.

The laws of physics dictate that there are only three ways to detect the Hot Hot: radar waves, optical detection, and infrared signatures.

The former is the most common method of tracking aircraft, but in China, this problem can be ignored, as the curvature of the Earth will directly block enemy radar detection.

Although the small area has deployed skywave over-the-horizon radar, which can bypass the curvature effect by reflecting radar waves through the ionosphere, extending the detection range to several thousand kilometers.

However, this type of radar has a resolution of 12 to 20 meters and is mainly used to monitor the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Moreover, it is unreliable. The Hot Hot doesn't even have a single pixel on this type of radar.

Optical detection is even simpler; just check the satellite timetable and the flight path to avoid reconnaissance satellites in the sky.

The final infrared signature is the primary means of monitoring long-range intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

A global, 24/7 monitoring network is formed by geostationary early warning satellites at an altitude of 36000 kilometers, tracking satellites in medium Earth orbit, identification satellites in low Earth orbit, and ground-based anti-missile radar.

When the Hot Aircraft flew at Mach 10, its fuselage temperature reached over 2,000 degrees Celsius, and it indeed turned into a torch, emitting an infrared signature.

However, compared to liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles with a takeoff weight starting at 150 tons, burning 1 to 3 tons of fuel per second during takeoff, and emitting an astonishing infrared signature, the infrared signature of the Hot Air was far too weak.

It's like the difference between a raging wildfire and a small candle.

When the former is launched, a strong signal can be detected across half of the Earth, while the latter's signal becomes weak and undetectable once it exceeds a thousand kilometers.

In this way, as long as the low-Earth orbit identification satellites are avoided, other medium-Earth orbit and high-Earth orbit geostationary satellites will simply ignore this weak signal.

"Qingling, bring me my notebook. Let's look at the satellite timetable and see if we can take a picture of Earth..."

After answering Wang Xingguo's question, Lin Dong looked at the remaining 4000 kilometers of range and turned to call out to Xu Qingling.

The top speed has already been tested.

Next, Hot Number Four's mission is to challenge the highest score.

"Photographing Earth?"

Xu Qingling's eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed the notebook next to her.

Lin Dong took it with one hand, glanced at the reconnaissance satellite's timetable, and began to calculate a suitable angle and time window in his mind.

The Hot 4 is rated for a range of 8000 kilometers at Mach 5, and it achieves a super-fuel start-up efficiency of 70%.

However, the aerodynamic drag at Mach 10 is also greater, and for the same flight distance, fuel consumption is still twice that of Mach 5.

After conducting this test, which took only about twenty minutes since takeoff, a little over one ton of fuel, 1300 liters, has already been burned.

soon.

Based on the satellite's timetable and the Earth's rotation speed, Lin Dong calculated a suitable angle and time.

Turn off the supercharger mode, pull the joystick back, and lightly press the rudder pedal.

The Hot No. 4, which was flying at level speed, suddenly slowed down and turned around in the sky, quickly returning to an altitude of 20,000 meters. Its speed dropped to Mach 9.6, and the nose of the plane pointed eastward again.

After waiting for more than ten seconds and seeing that the calculated time window had arrived, Lin Dong did not hesitate to turn on the supercharger mode again and push the control stick at the same time.

Boom!!!

The engine's exhaust plume suddenly surged to nearly a hundred meters, and the entire Hot No. 4 instantly transformed into a sharp arrow, shooting straight into the sky.

高度2.4万米，速度9.7马赫……高度2.8万米，速度9.7马赫……高度3.7万米，速度9.8马赫……

"Xiao Dong, what's wrong with you...?"

Seeing the skyrocketing height, Wang Xingguo thought of what Lin Dong had just said about taking pictures of the Earth, and his eyes widened suddenly as if he had just realized something.

"It will stall at altitudes above 6 meters!"

Jiao You saw this and called out anxiously.

Although theoretically the scramjet engine can reach an altitude of 80 kilometers, or 80,000 meters, in practice, it becomes unusable at 50,000 meters due to the thin atmosphere, and at 60,000 meters, it has a 99% chance of stalling.

"Just get to Mach 10 before shutting off."

Lin Dong kept the supercharger mode running, watching the real-time fuselage temperature displayed on the flight interface.

At 4 meters, the temperature on the surface of the fuselage began to decrease, and the plasma sheath, which had been like a torch due to the high temperature, became dull and weakened.

The next moment, Hot4 reached an altitude of 50,000 meters, the original engine diagram lit up red, and a red warning popped up.

[Beep—Insufficient engine air intake! Thrust reduction!]

Lin Dong ignored it, glanced at the angle of the flight path again, and kept the entire flight trajectory unchanged.

call--

In just three seconds, Hot4 reached an altitude of 60,000 meters, and a new warning was issued.

[Beep—Insufficient air intake! Supercharged engine stalls and stops working!]

The entire flight interface is now completely powered off, with the engine shut down and the system operating on stored electrical energy.

But Hot Slam No. 4 did not stop climbing; it continued to climb at an extremely high inertia at Mach 10.

In the critical airspace at an altitude of 6 meters where the atmosphere is extremely thin, it continues to maintain a speed of Mach 9, rushing wildly towards the outside of Earth and into outer space.