Chapter 1098 Global Hawk

"Unidentified flying object?"

This news immediately made the entire command and control hall nervous again.

In particular, the commander-in-chief of the manned space program changed his expression immediately.

The locations mentioned in the report are really no joke.

Just like when recovering a spacecraft or launching a rocket, in order to avoid danger, a range needs to be determined in advance as an air control zone.

And because the landing trajectory is much steeper than the launch trajectory, this range will be much smaller than that drawn during yesterday's launch.

It is basically a few hundred kilometers west of the landing area in central Mongolia Province.

After all, further west is foreign airspace, which is not suitable to be included in the scope of aviation control.

Of course, under normal circumstances, it should be enough.

But considering the 10km shift that happened to the Alliance TM400 spacecraft during its landing just five months ago, it would be a lie for everyone to say they were not worried.

As the first manned space mission, it would be best to eliminate any risk factors.

"What is the nature of the target?"

Shen Junrong, the second highest-ranking person present, quickly asked.

Thanks to the large sums of money that the Air Force has left in the aviation field in recent years, China has received several batches of S300PMU1/2 air defense missiles in advance and reorganized several anti-aircraft artillery regiments in key directions into surface-to-air missile brigades.

This unit, which belongs to the Jincheng Military Region, had just upgraded its weapons at the beginning of the year, but unexpectedly it came in handy now.

"According to the report of the ground-to-air missile force, it is speculated that it is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the US military. It is slightly smaller than the U2 or equivalent in size. However, the radar characteristics do not match any of the models that have been included. The target has not emitted any electromagnetic signals. They are closely tracking its movements..."

Hearing this judgment, the commander-in-chief was slightly relieved.

Americans are indeed troublesome.

But known troubles are always better than unknown threats.

Just as everyone was thinking about countermeasures, another correspondent hurried over:

"Report, the Jincheng Military Region Air Traffic Control Department has sent a message asking if the aviation force can take off now to monitor or intercept the target?"

Under normal circumstances, the use of China's airspace is fully managed by the Air Force.

Basically, it is others who give way to military aircraft, there is no such thing as military aircraft giving way to others.

But the priority of Shenzhou V was too high, and the target was hovering not far from the restricted area.

If you take off from several nearby airports, you basically have to cross the restricted area to reach the border.

Therefore, even the aviation forces have to have some concerns...

Time passed by minute by minute.

At this time, there are only about three hours left before the spacecraft is recovered.

And the more times like this happen, the calmer you need to be.

"If it is really a reconnaissance plane, then the other party's purpose is probably to monitor the process of our recovery of the spacecraft..."

After a brief silence, Shen Junrong was the first to speculate.

However, this statement is obviously not very tenable.

Therefore, someone soon raised a different opinion:

"But the return trajectory of the spacecraft is public, and there is nothing worth special investigation..."

"Besides, if they were really interested in this matter, then we should have discovered similar behavior during the previous missions, right?"

Clear and well-founded.

But this person also failed to put forward any more valuable points.

As a result, the speculation gradually began to become outrageous:

"Perhaps... our air defense equipment in the west was relatively backward and we didn't find the target?"

As for the space mission itself, Chang Haonan really had no chance to interrupt.

But when it comes to this, he is no longer sleepy:

"impossible……"

Chang Haonan shook his head decisively:

"The ground-to-air missile force reported that the target is slightly smaller than the U2, which means it is a large one without stealth capabilities. If it has appeared around us before, it is old equipment, and at most it cannot be accurately located, or it is interfered with and cannot be tracked stably. It is impossible that we cannot find even a trace..."

As for aircraft within the atmosphere, his judgment is still somewhat convincing.

Therefore, everyone's attention was focused on him.

The commander-in-chief even signaled him to continue.

Chang Haonan had just said it casually, but now he was in a dilemma and had no choice but to continue his analysis:

"Looking at the enemy's trajectory... including the current time period, it doesn't look like they are conducting pure optical reconnaissance. And the Air Force said the target didn't send out any electromagnetic signals, which means the synthetic aperture radar wasn't activated..."

Suddenly, an idea flashed upon him:

"So... maybe the Americans saw the program we just broadcast, so they want to monitor our communication signals?"

Shen Junrong had a look on his face that said, "Are you kidding me?"

"The two receiving stations you set up are in Beijing and Gaojing. Even if the Americans have more advanced technology, it is impossible for them to receive satellite signals aimed at 2,000 kilometers away in Central Asia, right?"

He also looked at the effective coverage area of ​​the Qingluan constellation.

While maintaining communications, the farthest point would not cross the central part of the Tianshan Mountains.

"In fact, I can't..."

Chang Haonan replied:

"But the decision-making cycle of our entire plan is very short. Specifically, the Americans may only have a few hours of analysis time, so they may think that the Shule Measurement and Control Station is playing a role, so this behavior now is very reasonable..."

The commander-in-chief was obviously hesitant at this moment.

The main reason is that the opponent's flight routes are completely outside the country, and even if the air force takes off, they cannot really intercept it.

"So... the other party's reconnaissance will not yield any results?"

"If the target is the communication situation of the Qingluan constellation, then I can guarantee it."

Chang Haonan gave a firm answer.

After hearing this, the commander-in-chief lowered his head again and paced back and forth a few times:

"Have the ground-to-air missile force continue monitoring, and the aviation force... stand by for the time being!"

……

at the same time.

West coast of the Persian Gulf.

Al Dhafra Air Base.

Colonel Ted Lynch flipped through the flight log with one hand and held the joystick tightly with the other, carefully controlling the plane's route to gradually deviate to the east.

It seems that his job is no different from that of other pilots.

However, he was not wearing any flight gear.

Not even in a cramped cabin.

Instead, I face a keyboard, six screens, and a table large enough to hold a coffee cup.

Apparently, this is a drone ground control station.

As an old pilot who retired from the RC135, Lynch did not switch to a purely administrative position or teach at a flight school like most of his peers after he died, due to his rich experience in reconnaissance flights.

Instead, he passed the selection and became a drone ground operator.

Although I no longer have the thrill of being in the sky, at least I am still able to stay in the ranks of pilots in another form.

The model he is responsible for is the RQ4A Global Hawk, which was put into service just two years ago.

It is also one of the first nine aircraft in the block 10 batch.

Strictly speaking, they can only be considered prototypes, and even each one is different.

I was forced to serve because I was in a hurry to play a role.

Compared to the RC9000, which is huge in size but has a range of only about 135 km, the Global Hawk has an exaggerated range of 26000 km and a maximum airborne time of more than 40 hours.

And, thanks to the well-developed satellite communication network, it is also possible to fly to locations thousands of kilometers away from the control station.

Except for the fact that its payload is not comprehensive due to its take-off weight, it can almost take over most of the tasks of traditional reconnaissance aircraft.

But at the beginning, the automatic flight systems of these aircraft were not perfect.

Fortunately, Lynch, who was a veteran pilot, was not one of those newbies who only knew how to drive automatic equipment. Instead, he preferred the feeling of being able to control it with his own hands.

Even after the system upgrade, he still retained the habit of manual operation as much as possible.

Just like now.

According to the original plan, they only needed to circle 50-60 kilometers away from the border to receive the target's satellite signal.

But the equipment operator nearby said that apart from a few known signals with clearly identifiable characteristics, the aircraft did not make any valuable discoveries.

Therefore, he had to shift his route further east.

There is a working S-band signal source on the ground, which should be a 64N6 series radar, but as long as their aircraft do not cross the line, there is no threat.

Of course, the drone's control accuracy is slightly poor, so this behavior definitely involves some risks.

And his actions seemed to have paid off.

Just as Global Hawk entered its 14th reconnaissance cycle, a never-before-seen S-band signal suddenly appeared on the screen of the equipment operator nearby.

It is consistent with the frequency of general space-to-earth communications.

"Caught!"

The operator perked up and quickly operated the keyboard in front of him:

"Maintain the course... for at least five minutes!"