Traveling Back to the 1960s: The Entire Internet Teaches Me How to Build Missiles

Captain Shi's expression turned serious.

"Hey, this pilot got lucky this time, almost hitting the bullseye! If he'd flown a fraction off course, he would have flown right over our base!"

Zhou Yunxiao nodded, "Maybe next time we come, we'll be able to take real photos of the Dongfeng base."

Xu Haifeng typed furiously on the computer, gritting his teeth. "Heh heh, this is the U-2 spy plane's first and last chance to get close to the truth. Send them to meet their maker!"

At this moment, the plotter, wearing headphones, loudly reported:

"Enemy aircraft have entered within 100 kilometers! They are heading towards our position!"

Captain Shi grabbed the walkie-talkie and instructed, "Everyone stay calm! No one is allowed to turn on their phones or aim without permission. Get your combat maneuvers in order, and we'll take it down in one smooth motion!"

The atmosphere became extremely tense.

Everyone waited silently for the coordinates of the U-2 reconnaissance plane to come within range of the surface-to-air missile.

Xu Haifeng and the calculators and plotters were working up a sweat, not daring to be distracted for a moment.

The key to the "blitzkrieg" tactic lies in whether the fire control radar can quickly acquire and track enemy aircraft within the short 80 seconds of being turned on.

If the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft's flight path is miscalculated, resulting in a significant waste of time just locking onto the direction after startup, then the blitzkrieg will lose its initiative.

Zhou Yunxiao was also helping with the calculations.

However, he wasn't calculating alone.

[Stop sending emojis! Quickly resend the parameters the plotter just reported, they've been wiped out by your spamming! I've already built the extended Kalman filter matrix equation, which is just right for filtering Gaussian white noise from this old-style radar!]

Dr. Xu is still using the least squares method, which connects two points to a line; the formula is outdated. For the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft at an altitude of 20,000 meters, the Earth's rotational deflection force must be taken into account, requiring a nonlinear regression equation…

Watching them sweat profusely as they fiddled with the abacus, I silently glanced at my 5090 graphics card... Streamer, isn't this considered bullying an elderly person?

[Even with 60 coordinate points, let alone 60, it can be solved with just one line of Python script.]

[Hey anchor, I've got it! Quick, copy the answer! Based on the 60 points we just calculated, I've run the optimal kinematic model. After T+20 minutes and 50 seconds, aim at this location and activate the fire control radar—azimuth 271.8 degrees, distance 30 kilometers, altitude 20150 meters!]

Programmers and math gurus in the live stream eagerly joined in to help calculate the trajectory of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.

And finally, an accurate predicted coordinate is obtained.

Zhou Yunxiao immediately stood up, walked to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, marked the spot, and pointed it out to Captain Shi, saying:

"I've calculated the result. The fire control radar can be activated 20 minutes and 50 seconds after the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft enters the detection range of the early warning radar! The time is almost up."

"Have the launch squadron verify the distance and angle using these coordinates, input the firing parameters, and then wait for the enemy to engage!"

Xu Haifeng and several calculators looked at each other in disbelief. This guy's calculation speed was too fast. How did he do it?

However, seeing Zhou Yunxiao's confident demeanor, the others no longer had any doubts. Captain Shi grabbed the walkie-talkie and gave the order to determine the firing data and adjust the aiming direction according to the new coordinates.

Time ticked by, and the distance reported by the plotter got closer and closer.

U-2侦察机从100公里、80公里、50公里，接近到40公里的位置。

It is about to enter the range of the Hongqi-1 missile.

On the makeshift field position, missiles on three launchers were ready to be launched, and the soldiers of the squadron were tense, waiting for the order.

These warriors, armed with incredibly powerful cutting-edge weaponry and sworn to defend the base's airspace, stood ready for battle. But those few seconds of frozen time felt like centuries had passed, making everyone impatient.

Finally, Captain Shi, who had been gripping the walkie-talkie tightly, gave a stern order:

"Target has entered the kill zone, prepare for a three-round salvo—"

"Fire control radar activated!"

The next second, the soldiers ripped off the camouflage of the position, and dozens of heads popped out. Following the procedure that had been rehearsed countless times, the countdown began.

The fire control radar hummed as it turned on, and a high-powered energy beam immediately shone into the sky, locking onto the large U-2 reconnaissance aircraft with almost no effort.

The radar operator's delighted report:

"Target captured!"

"Automatic tracking is stable!"

"All parameters are normal!"

Captain Shi, holding the walkie-talkie, excitedly pumped his fist and gave Zhou Yunxiao a thumbs-up not far away.

Xu Haifeng and the calculators and plotters put down their pens and paper, stood up from their chairs, and burst into enthusiastic applause.

Once the fire control radar locks onto the enemy aircraft, the mission is essentially half accomplished.

The U-2 reconnaissance aircraft itself has difficulty maneuvering to evade, so it can only be trapped and beaten!

The comrades in the launch squadron quickly completed a series of combat maneuvers, even a few seconds ahead of the originally planned 80 seconds.

"Report, all preparations complete..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Captain Shi's sharp retort:

"emission!"

"yes!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the ignition buttons on the three launch pads were slammed down.

Missiles No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 were launched simultaneously!

Immediately afterwards, a series of intense beams of light suddenly shone from the rear of the launch pad.

The chemical energy inside the solid rocket booster is ignited and released, and the fierce high-temperature gas propels the 2.3-ton Hongqi-1 into battle against gravity.

A series of thunderous roars echoed, shaking the sand around the position and making the chests of all the soldiers go numb.

Countless grains of sand and gravel were swept away by the missile's violent exhaust plume, skimming the ground and flying in all directions, creating a sandstorm that blotted out the sky.

Amidst the thick, brownish-yellow smoke, a silver-white missile, 10.8 meters long and 0.7 meters in diameter, rose into the air, carried by an orange-red flame!

It rose slowly at first, and then faster and faster.

The metal guide rail produced a series of sharp whistling sounds from friction.

Three Red Chess No. 1 rockets trailed thick, surging columns of grayish-white smoke, like a giant dragon swimming upstream, unstoppable as it rushed toward the horizon, smashing through the low-altitude gale and clouds.

Only a few seconds had passed.

The Hongqi-1 missile had already broken the sound barrier, exploding in the sky and creating visible sonic boom clouds.

Captain Shi, Zhou Yunxiao, Dr. Xu, and the calculators and plotters at the command post all eagerly crawled out of the building, shading their eyes with their hands as they watched the unstoppable advance.

boom! boom! boom!

With a series of crisp, muffled thuds, the solid rocket booster at the missile's tail was melted and separated by the high temperature.

The four tail fins trailed long plumes of gray smoke as it tumbled and plummeted toward the Gobi Desert, creating a spectacular sight resembling the Korolev Cross.

The slender projectile continued to ignite its second-stage liquid engine, spewing out a dazzling blue-white high-temperature exhaust flame before gradually disappearing into the distance at a speed exceeding Mach 3.

Everyone stared at it intently until it completely disappeared from sight, leaving behind three white ribbon-like wisps of smoke hanging in the sky.

Then everyone pricked up their ears, held their breath, and listened for the impending explosion.

Some people even started timing the U-2 reconnaissance plane with a twisted sense of humor: "10, 9, 8..."

……

The U-2 pilot who infiltrated for reconnaissance this time was still Robert Hale, who had previously fled in disarray.

He was unaware that a group of hunters, eager to pounce, were lying in ambush in the desert below.

And he was about to become the prey.

Ever since crossing the border, he would occasionally glance at the screen of the electronic early warning system to make sure that no fire control radar was illuminating him before he dared to openly turn on his camera and start snapping photos along the way.

Robert Hale couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed when he thought about how he had been scared away by the enemy.

Upon returning, not only did he fail to produce any valuable photos, but he also had his monthly bonus deducted, making all his efforts in vain.

Hale then volunteered to carry out the flight mission again, and cautiously increased the cruising altitude to 20,000 meters.

Even though the atmosphere here is thin and breathing is difficult, it's still safer than having a reckless J-5 suddenly appear out of nowhere.

He operated the giant camera that Hikvision claimed was the world's best, taking pictures of places along the way that resembled railway tracks and highway junctions.

Hale had a premonition that this flight was probably not far from the real secret base.

As long as these photos are brought back, no matter how well Dongguo disguises itself, the film can see everything clearly, not even missing a single blade of grass on the ground!

Just as he was thinking about how much the prize money would be, something suddenly poked him.

Robert Hale reached out and touched it, finding it to be a small, needle-like object, and immediately shuddered in fright.

Inside is a small needle coated with clam venom developed by the CIA at a cost of three million dollars.

If you just pinch it and gently prick it into the carotid artery, even if it only scratches the skin, the pilot will die instantly!