Chapter 1319 It’s our turn to sail freely!

A few hours later.

Western North American continent, central and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Inside the CIC of the Jincheng destroyer, Captain Colonel Zhang Xudong was keeping a close eye on three US destroyers about 1.5 nautical miles away through the optical aiming equipment of the main gun.

The leading ship, the Mustin, with the hull number "89", was signaling this way with its lights.

"Captain, the other side asked about our intentions and said that we are close to the warning waters they announced in advance, and hoped that we would abide by relevant regulations and international practices..."

Guan Tongchang came to report.

Zhang Xudong sneered when he heard this:

"Reply to them and tell them that we are conducting fleet sailing training in the high seas and have not affected any foreign ships or aircraft. We hope that they will respect the right of free navigation guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and not interfere with the normal activities of our fleet!"

These words made him feel proud.

Although the atmosphere was somewhat tense, both sides were quite conservative in their sailing maneuvers.

The Chinese side did not plan to continue to advance inward, and the other side simply formed a column to maintain a isolation line, with no intention of driving them further away.

To put it politely, it means "professionalism and restraint."

If they weren't flying different flags, these seven ships would even look like the same fleet...

In fact, after participating in the large-scale sea and air exercise two years ago, Zhang Xudong had already gained enough military merit and should have been promoted to deputy commander of the destroyer detachment at the beginning of this year.

It was only because of this sudden ocean-going mission that the superiors considered the need for an experienced captain, so the transfer order was shelved for half a year.

This also led to the rare appearance of ordinary destroyer captains with the rank of colonel.

However, Zhang Xudong himself had no objection to the postponement of his promotion.

Or rather, I feel very fortunate.

After all, not every captain has the opportunity to lead a warship across the central Pacific Ocean and come to a place closer to the North American coastline than the Asian coastline.

If the transfer order is issued, he will need to study in the advanced command cadet class for half a year before taking up the post, and he will inevitably miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Whether from the perspective of personal development or witnessing history, that is something that one will regret deeply.

In comparison, a promotion half a year or even a year later is not worth mentioning at all.

"I say, Lao Lu, no wonder Americans always like to do free navigation..."

Zhang Xudong turned to Political Commissar Lü Yuanjie, who was sitting next to the electronic chart table:

"It's really nice to feel like others know we're causing trouble, but can't do anything about it..."

Since last night, the corners of his mouth have not been bent down, which made people worry that his facial muscles might be stiff:

When Lu Yuanjie heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times.

Logically speaking, what the captain said is not glorious enough.

If it were under normal circumstances, he would probably remind the other party to pay attention to the political impact.

But today, Lu Yuanjie was not prepared to say that.

because……

He felt pretty good too.

Even if we conduct a hundred pre-war mobilizations, the effect of boosting morale will not be better than the more than ten hours when the three enemy warships approach and follow us.

This form of ocean-going training is very good and I recommend doing more of it in the future.

"Report to the Captain."

The radar operator's voice suddenly sounded from behind Zhang Xudong:

"The radar just captured a target, heading 205, altitude 16200 meters, speed 750 km/h, determined to be a B52 bomber... From the flight path, it seems to be doing a zigzag evasive maneuver."

For targets the size of traditional bombers, the detection capabilities of the Type 346 radar are incredibly large, and it is usually the curvature of the earth rather than the strength of the echo signal that limits the detection distance.

"Can the B52 fly to 16200 meters?"

The trainee captain Xu Wei next to him was a little puzzled:

"I remember that even for the early models, the practical ceiling was only about 15000 meters..."

Zhang Xudong has become accustomed to the trainee captain's somewhat unconventional thinking:

"Perhaps it has been specially improved... Anyway, we are not going to shoot it down this time, so it doesn't matter if it is higher or lower."

He withdrew his gaze from the radar screen and looked back at the image captured by the camera.

It seemed that because of the appearance of the bomber, the three destroyers in the distance were turning and approaching them.

But the closing rate is still very slow, and it is obvious that the colleague over there is also a cautious guy.

Seeing how cautious the other party was, Zhang Xudong decided to take the initiative to help them, so as not to scare them out of the test:

"Notify the fleet to adjust the course to direction 30."

Lu Yuanjie was a little surprised by this order, but after a moment of hesitation, he did not stop the communicator from conveying it. Instead, he leaned over to the captain and whispered:

"Wouldn't that be equivalent to being away from their testing area?"

"Just need to stay a little further away..."

Zhang Xudong nodded:

"The mission area designated by our superiors is very wide, which means that moving a little further away will not affect the signal received by 409. On the contrary, it can lower the other party's vigilance. By the way, we can move these destroyers further away to give 409 enough safety range."

Contrary to many common perceptions, due to the limitations of equipment levels and operating sea areas, until the first few years of the 21st century, the Navy's submarine forces rarely had direct encounters with surface ships of other countries, and their understanding of the anti-submarine capabilities and tactics of their main opponents was relatively insufficient.

Therefore, for the sake of safety, the anti-submarine capabilities of the combination of Arleigh Burke destroyers and Seahawk helicopters should be respected.

Please...collect 6...9...books...!

Sure enough, after the Chinese fleet made this small turn of about 10 degrees, the other side seemed to have exonerated itself. While the three destroyers followed, the bombers in the sky also adjusted their direction and resumed their straight flight along the length of the test area.

"The other party has taken the bait!"

Lu Yuanjie's frown just now relaxed.

In fact, this cannot be entirely blamed on the simple thinking of Americans.

The main reason is that the plan to transform a submarine into a radar receiving station is too wild. It is difficult for people who have not seen it to follow the idea, and it is impossible to consider the possibility of luring the tiger away from the mountain.

……

And at the same time.

About 250 nautical miles away on the other side of the test area.

A huge black shadow quietly emerged from beneath the sea, tearing a crack in the originally calm water surface.

In the command cabin under the hull, Captain Han Xiangjie raised the search periscope and finally confirmed the situation in the surrounding sea and airspace.

Only after he was sure that there was no target in sight did Han Xiangjie give the order:

"Drain the ballast tanks and prepare to surface!"

A few minutes later, with splashing waves and a white wake, a submarine without any visible markings appeared on the sea.

"Check the working status of each system..."

"Open missile launch tube No. 8!"

Two consecutive orders.

In fact, Han Xiangjie had never issued this order as the commander of a strategic nuclear submarine.

Today is the first time in my life.

As his orders were given, the prototype barrel cover on the left side of the fourth row from front to back on the towering turtle back of the Long March 9 opened to the side, like a slowly opening gate of hell, revealing a light green pressure cover underneath.

Fortunately, this time it was not a matter of launching missiles.

"Raise the antenna!"

When giving this order, Han Xiangjie even felt a little weird.

Although technological development has dragged warfare into the information age, submarines still retain the habit of fighting alone due to the strong blocking of radio signals by sea water.

To some extent, the biggest advancement of modern submarines compared to sixty years ago is neither active or passive sonar nor guided torpedoes, but nuclear reactors that can maintain long-term high-speed diving.

If it is a conventional submarine, then its fundamental combat strategy is no different from that of World War II.

Such characteristics have resulted in the submarine force being overly cautious and accustomed to making independent judgments.

And now, he was actually going to erect a huge antenna array on his submarine to receive signals sent by destroyers hundreds of kilometers away.

For any submarine commander, this is a unique and novel experience...