Chapter 1337: Seeking Inspiration from the Army

Zheng Liangqun didn't know at this moment that Chang Haonan had already found a way to hang a hypersonic missile on the centerline of the J-11's belly, thus completely defining this uninterceptable thing as a "tactical weapon" and greatly lowering the threshold for its use.

Whether it is tactical, technical or political.

But even if he really got the news, he probably wouldn't have time to be happy in a short period of time.

Because the Air Force is organizing the first multi-service live-fire confrontation exercise at the division and brigade level since its establishment in the Northwest region.

There is no height difference limit for the air combat part, and no penetration height limit for the low-altitude confrontation part. It can be said to be the simulation method that is closest to actual combat.

In fact, as early as 20 years ago, someone suggested that we could consider referring to the US military's "Red Flag" series of military exercises to improve the training and combat readiness level of our Air Force, and it was also common sense to form a blue army force that simulated the imaginary enemy.

However, in that era when the average annual flight time of pilots barely broke double digits and those who could fly at night as a whole were considered elite units, this kind of training content was simply unimaginable for the Chinese Air Force.

Even in daily training, all kinds of outrageous flight accidents occur. If we really were to engage in unlimited confrontation, the number of planes crashed each year would probably be more than the number of new ones installed.

It was not until the beginning of the new century that, with the improvement of equipment and training levels, as well as the continued success of Operation Bat Hunt and Operation Dam Building, related training was able to continuously break through the original boundaries and gradually move towards actual combat.

Zheng Liangqun, who experienced the painful period in the 1980s, 1990s and achieved the first results on the eve of the new era, is the main driving force behind this change.

To some extent, it can even be said that the process of expanding the scope of the Air Force's actual combat training is the process of his own promotion from regiment commander to chief of staff of the service.

Therefore, it is reasonable and logical that this milestone joint exercise should be entrusted to Zheng Liangqun for coordination.

But the results of the exercise made him look a little ugly.

Everything went smoothly in the first half of the air combat simulation, and both the second-generation and third-generation crews decided their respective winners.

Although we haven't decided yet whether to award any title or trophy as souvenirs, it was still an exciting match.

Some units that did not perform well also learned from their mistakes and decided to work hard to make a comeback next year.

The problem lies in the second half of the ground-to-air simulation confrontation.

The fighter-bomber units relied on air-to-surface missiles with a range of 150km to frantically test the edge of the exercise area. The defender's S300PMU2, which had a long range and used TVM guidance, could disengage the system by simply lowering its altitude beyond the horizon. The Hongqi 9, which used an active radar, did not have enough range and could be thrown off by simply changing direction.

What should have been a fierce confrontation turned into a one-sided provocation. In the end, the missile brigade commander, unable to bear the humiliation, gave up protecting the target and, referring to the experience of his predecessors in dealing with the U2, led a battalion to use close and fast tactics, and barely achieved a counterattack.

The price is the complete failure of the protection mission.

Of course, even if he didn't do this, failure would be inevitable sooner or later.

Before the exercise began, superiors provided each unit with a certain amount of ammunition. In order to ensure the hit rate, the air defense missiles had to fire at least two salvos in each round of firing.

The air force can decide whether to launch weapons based on the situation.

In fact, when the brigade commander decided to lead the team to fight guerrilla warfare, they only had three launch vehicles with a total of 12 spare ammunition left.

This is obviously different from what we had expected.

In addition to its tactical value, this exercise also carries out the task of verifying some tactics and equipment.

As expected, the rhythm of the ground-to-air confrontation part should be short and graceful. Everything will happen in a flash, and it will end with the pilot successfully using the terrain or the radar soldier successfully finding a flaw.

But in the end it turned into a long and boring war of attrition.

What made Zheng Liangqun feel even more painful was that his reason told him that this might very well be the true form of ground-to-air confrontation on future battlefields.

Compared to the past, the development of combat aircraft and air defense weapons has reached a certain balance, resulting in a confrontation that can only end when one side runs out of ammunition reserves.

"Looking at it from a positive perspective, this at least proves that the comrades are really thinking about actual combat, rather than focusing on our directorate."

The military chief Qiao Chenqing who came to observe the event was quite open-minded:

"As the first in a series of exercises, I am satisfied with the results. Even if there are still some problems in the details, they can be corrected later."

This sentence sets the main tone for the evaluation.

But Zheng Liangqun is not worried about these:

"I was thinking that the results of the exercise showed that even if the technical levels were equal, the defenders in air-to-ground confrontations were always at a huge disadvantage. This is not good news for us..."

Of course Qiao Chenqing understood what he meant.

Although the enemy situation has improved over the years, China is still on the strategic defensive in terms of the overall situation.

"This is not surprising. There is a saying that goes, 'Air defense, air defense, nine out of ten defenses are useless... No one can gain the initiative through defense, so our predecessors established the concept of 'active defense'."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, then changed the subject and said comfortingly:

"And from a tactical point of view, being able to drive away enemy aircraft and intercept the ammunition fired by the enemy is already the basic task of the air defense force. As for offensive air control... that should be the job of the aviation force."

These words undoubtedly benefited Zheng Liangqun, who was a pilot:

"However, it would be better to continue to extend the effective attack range of air defense missiles..."

At this moment, another voice came from behind:

"Excuse me, this is very difficult..."

The two turned around and found that it was Shen Fangzhong, chief engineer of the Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.

The purpose of his visit was to collect feedback from the front line and prepare for the next improvement of the Hongqi 9 model.

But he just heard a request that almost made his heart and lungs stop, so he quickly explained:

"Because of the limitations of the power form and the size of the missile, the effective range of 48km for the 6N2 or Standard 200 is basically the limit. Although the newer 40N6 or Standard 6 can extend the paper data to between 300-400km, it is only a theoretical ability to dive and attack low-altitude targets at the far end of the range by replacing the active radar seeker. It is difficult to hit maneuverable targets..."

"..."

Zheng Liangqun and Qiao Chenqing looked at each other.

Finally, the former asked:

"Chief Engineer Shen, you have seen what has happened over the past two days. Is there any way to solve... or at least alleviate this passive situation?"

Shen Fangzhong gave a bitter smile:

"This is the biggest challenge faced by our peers all over the world... It's not that easy..."

After a brief sigh, he replied seriously:

"If I have to say, there are currently two mainstream routes."

"First, we make large long-range missiles and small medium-range missiles compatible in the same system, increasing the number of firepower channels and the continuity of firepower. For example, you should have seen the 9M96 series of air defense missiles and the 48N6 series of air defense missiles launched on the S300 system. This is equivalent to changing the idea from focusing on intercepting the launch platform to focusing on intercepting the ammunition itself."

Zheng Liangqun thought for a moment and shook his head:

"The exchange ratio is still not cost-effective, and it will only make the attackers more reckless and even shorten the launch distance of air-launched weapons. It can be used as an alternative plan, but it can't solve the problem... What about the second route?"

This answer did not surprise Shen Fangzhong, so he immediately continued:

"Even the most advanced standoff air-to-ground weapons currently have a range of 300-350 kilometers. Therefore, if long-range air defense missiles can have the same maneuverability and hit probability at the end of their trajectory, there will be a chance to intercept enemy aircraft before they enter the launch position."

"Before I came here this time, I heard that the Army has come up with some interesting new things in the field of propellants. If we can invest some research and development resources, then it might be worth looking forward to..."