Chapter 1051: Dealing with aircraft carriers, discovery alone is not enough

As a technician in the aerospace field, Li Lianheng does not have a deep understanding of the navy.

At most, I have heard some general information.

For example, the U.S. Navy has a total of 12 aircraft carriers.

a lot of.

In terms of quantity, it accounts for more than half of the world's total.

Not to mention the tonnage.

But to be honest, a number alone does not bring a strong intuitive feeling.

But now.

Seven of them were concentrated in two sea areas.

Especially the three ships in the eastern Mediterranean were photographed simultaneously by Ocean No. 1 during the formation.

As for the "small boats" such as cruisers and destroyers around, although the main bodies cannot be seen clearly due to the resolution, the wakes left behind after sailing are still vaguely discernible.

He simply counted.

All together, there are at least 20 ships.

Even just looking at it from the satellite's overhead perspective made Li Lianheng feel a little scalp-tingling.

After calming down a little, the first thought that popped into his mind was——

"Are the Americans trying to stir up trouble in the Balkans again?"

Li Lianheng exclaimed subconsciously.

This judgment is natural for non-professionals.

After all, three years ago, the US military suffered its first major loss in the post-Cold War era in the Balkans.

Not only did the Allied action fail to achieve its objectives, but the stealth aircraft relied on for deterrence were also destroyed twice in a row.

The second time, even the pilot was arrested.

In comparison, Black Hawk Down in Mogadishu was barely a thing.

Now, it seems reasonable to speculate that the US military, which has regained its confidence through the Aiwuhan War, wants to regain its position.

However, He Mingkun obviously disagrees with this judgment:

"But there are four more in the Indian Ocean?"

Li Lianheng hesitated for a moment:

"The four ships are actually located quite far apart... One is in the north, two are in the east, and one has just entered the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean..."

Although an explanation was given, it was clear that the tone was not as firm as before.

He Mingkun seemed to be convinced...

In short, the two of them sat facing each other in silence, each falling into deep thought.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, an officer in naval uniform strode in.

He even forgot to knock on the door.

"Mr. Li, Director He."

He took off his military cap and tucked it under his arm, then greeted the two of them:

"I just received a report that Ocean No. 1 simultaneously photographed multiple targets that appear to be aircraft carriers?"

The man's name is Meng Dongchao, and he is the liaison representative of the Naval General Staff stationed at the National Remote Sensing Center.

After all, Ocean No. 1 is still in a civilian guise, and the focus is still on data accumulation and technical testing, so the Navy finally decided not to be responsible for its operation itself, and only sent a liaison office to be stationed here, responsible for regularly summarizing and reporting on remote sensing conditions.

"Yes, this is a satellite image. Staff Officer Meng, please take a look."

Li Lianheng raised his head and handed the reports in his hand to the other party:

"After eliminating duplicate signals, seven ships can be identified based on their locations and headings, three in the Mediterranean and four in the Indian Ocean."

"As for the rest... let's leave it to you professionals to judge!"

Originally, Li Lianheng felt that today's affairs should be almost over here.

According to the convention, the report is submitted to the Navy General Staff, analyzed, and finally fed back. This process takes about 1 day.

After all, it is mainly research-based, so there is no need to pursue timeliness.

And in fact, most of the photos in the current report were taken 18-24 hours ago.

In this case, whether the reaction speed on the ground is faster or slower, it will not have much impact.

There is no way, just one satellite.

Couldn't ask for more.

As a result, as soon as Li Lianheng finished speaking, a gleam of light suddenly flashed in Meng Dongchao's eyes.

"Seven?"

The latter quickly took the report and read it through one by one quickly.

Then, it seemed to get even more excited...

"Seven ships... we actually found them!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked the report, making a crisp "pop" sound.

Li Lianheng and Meng Dongchao were a little surprised by the other party's reaction.

Rather than being shocked, it was more like...

The previous speculation has now finally been verified.

"Staff Officer Meng, did you guys...know that the Americans had deployed these aircraft carriers?"

Li Lianheng asked in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Meng Dongchao put down the materials in his hand, but he couldn't suppress the upturned corners of his mouth:

"It's not that early."

He explained:

"At the end of last month, our superiors informed us that the U.S. military's warships were gathering in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and asked us to pay attention to the recent remote sensing results of Ocean No. 1... But I was worried about bringing unnecessary pressure to my colleagues in the aerospace department, so I didn't say anything."

"I didn't expect that the results would come out in less than a week..."

"..."

This time, Li Lianheng's curiosity was also aroused.

He thought about it and felt that since the matter had nothing to do with our army, it probably wasn't anything particularly sensitive:

So, he stated his previous speculation:

“Will the Americans not try to stir up trouble in the Balkans again?”

Unexpectedly, Meng Dongchao was stunned:

"Balkans?"

Then he suddenly realized it and replied with a smile:

“Although the Eastern Mediterranean is indeed very lively, it has nothing to do with the Balkans.”

"The Americans' target this time is still the Middle East..."

As he spoke, he looked around, then stood up and strode to the map hanging on the wall:

"Look, we're attacking from the sea in the west and south. Although the northeast is inland, the U.S. military has two air force bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This means we're attacking from three sides. Add in the ground forces on standby, and the situation is even clearer than before Desert Storm..."

When Meng Dongchao mentioned "Desert Storm", even the slowest person would know what it meant.

"But... didn't we fight once in 91?"

Li Lianheng's tone was full of confusion:

"Why do you want to fight again?"

He was thinking about the Balkans just now, and his mindset was indeed a bit stereotyped:

"Besides, the United Nations has not approved it..."

At this point, Li Lianheng's voice stopped abruptly.

It seems that the fact that the United Nations did not approve it is not a big deal for Americans.

Or rather, cases like Aiwuhan’s that were approved are extremely rare…

"Well... not to mention me, even my superiors haven't figured it out."

Meng Dongchao shook his head helplessly:

"Even several NATO countries, including France, clearly expressed their opposition last month, but the Americans did not slow down their preparations for war."

"In the images taken by Ocean One, the three ships in the Mediterranean are the USS Roosevelt, the USS Washington and the USS Truman. The three ships in the North Indian Ocean are the USS Kitty Hawk, the USS Constellation and the USS Lincoln. The last ship that just entered the Indian Ocean should be the USS Nimitz..."

This look of knowing everything made Li Lianheng suddenly feel a little frustrated:

"So... even without Ocean One, you would have known the movements of these seven aircraft carriers?"

Meng Dongchao quickly heard the disappointment in his tone.

"An aircraft carrier is such a conspicuous thing. Even if the mission itself can be kept secret, there are thousands of people on board. They always gather around the port before going out to sea. Their general movements cannot be concealed at all."

"But once they leave the port, if there is no satellite to provide timely information, we may have to wait for another half a month... or even longer to know where they are and in which sea area they are active."

"Imagine if their target this time is not the North Indian Ocean but the Western Pacific Ocean, then the time we gain will be extremely valuable..."

After some consolation, Meng Dongchao, who was still excited, looked at the satellite image in his hand twice again, then stood up and prepared to leave.

As a liaison representative, he certainly couldn't just hand these things over to his superiors as is and be done with it.

A complete report including situation analysis and forecast must also be produced.

As a result, he was stopped by Li Lianheng

"Wait a minute... there's some more here."

The latter pointed to the information box on the table:

"Although these are judged to be duplicates, we may be able to analyze them and find something useful. You can take them back with you..."

"..."

Li Lianheng stared at Meng Dongchao's hurriedly leaving back and fell into deep thought for quite a long time.

Until I was awakened by He Mingkun's voice.

"Mr. Li, do you think... there are still problems with the satellite remote sensing report just now?"

"Oh, that's not true."

Li Lianheng waved his hand:

"I was just thinking about the last sentence that Staff Officer Meng said just now."

"If these seven aircraft carriers are targeting us, then even if we discover their intentions in advance, what kind of response can we make..."

He Mingkun obviously didn't expect the answer to be like this, but he had to bite the bullet and keep the topic he had brought up, so he could only guess casually:

"This... I'm afraid we can only deploy defenses in key areas in advance, just like in previous years?"

"That's still too passive after all..."

Li Lianheng had some vague ideas in his mind, but he was an outsider after all, and in the end he still failed to grasp the key points, so he sighed and decided not to continue to struggle:

"Forget it... Let the weapons specialists take care of the problem..."