Chapter 1351 "Xuanniao" Hypersonic Flight Verification Platform

after one day.

Under the vast night sky of the northwest Gobi Desert.

Four chubby twin-engine military transport planes were flashing their navigation lights, descending in sequence according to the pre-planned routes, and pointing their noses at the expanded special runway.

The amazing total length of 7700 meters and the one-main-one-secondary structural design allow the airport to take off and land up to four aircraft at the same time in an emergency.

This is certainly enough to make the average civil aviation air traffic controller's blood pressure go through the roof, but compared to other tests conducted in this base, it is not something particularly worth writing about.

But for the officers and soldiers of the 810th Brigade who spend most of their time on board the plane in the deep mountains and forests, this scene is not common.

Liang Yangang sat in the cabin of aircraft No. 01, slightly turned his body, and put his forehead against the tempered glass of the observation window, feeling the sand and gravel carried by the airflow raised by the engine hitting the side window glass.

He had seen this new transport aircraft named Y-9 in military newspapers and news a long time ago. However, because the Second Artillery's equipment was generally large and heavy, even if all the transport aircraft of the Air Force were concentrated, it would not be possible to transport a missile battalion in its entirety. In addition, there was no need for long-range rapid maneuvers, so he had not had many opportunities to cooperate with the Air Force in the past and had never had the chance to see the real thing.

Today, after I actually sat in it, I found that although it is a medium-sized transport aircraft, the perceived cabin volume is not much smaller than that of the Il-76.

It can even support three-door four-way skydiving like the latter.

"It's getting better..."

Liang Yangang sighed in his heart——

In fact, not only the 810th Brigade, but the entire 31st Base has not updated any main combat equipment after receiving the Dongfeng 51 around the turn of the century. To some extent, this can be regarded as a loophole in this round of technological innovation.

Now that I have dealt with other services, I can intuitively feel the rapid progress of the PLA's technological level in the past decade.

It was not until the roar of the engine beside his ears showed a significant change that Liang Yangang recovered from his thoughts and turned his gaze back to the side window.

As the plane gradually descended, the undulating earth seemed like solidified waves, surging towards him.

As a highly confidential military base, it is not brightly lit like a civil airport. There are only dimly flickering runway guidance lights, illuminating the edges and corners of every grain of sand around it.

"Comrades, please pay attention! We are about to land!"

Liang Yangang took a deep breath and shouted loudly to the dozens of people behind him:

"Check your seat belts. Also, pay attention to your sitting posture. Watch out for your butts!"

A burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the cabin.

As a veteran who has served in the army for more than 20 years, Liang Yangang has only conducted long-distance transfer training by plane a few times during training and further studies.

But he still believes that he knows a lot more than his subordinates.

According to his experience, the operations of air force pilots are generally more vigorous than those of civil aviation pilots, and the seats of military transport aircraft lack considerations in their design in terms of human-machine efficiency, so every touchdown is a test of the buttocks' tolerance.

It might be better to shift some of your weight to your feet.

Just as he was sharing his little tips with everyone, a sharp "squeak" sound came from under the cabin, accompanied by a slight shaking.

Then, there is the violent backward acceleration and the buzzing sound caused by the opening of the reverse thrust and speed brakes.

No violent shocks.

There was no impact that could cause a blow to the buttocks as Liang Yangang said.

Even smoother than a Boeing 737.

Dozens of eyes in the entire aircraft were focused on him almost at the same time.

"..."

Liang Yangang's voice stopped abruptly. He opened his mouth in confusion, and for a moment he couldn't think of how to make up for it.

Fortunately, the plane landed very quickly and the embarrassing scene lasted only about five minutes before the pilot's voice was heard over the cabin intercom, reminding everyone to prepare to open the cabin.

Finally, Liang Yangang, who was feeling uneasy, was saved.

A few seconds later, the three doors on both sides and the tail of the fuselage opened at the same time, and the dry air of the Gobi night rushed into the cabin, as if draining all the water from everyone's body in just a few breaths.

Liang Yangang couldn't help but lick his lips, unbuckled his seat belt, and was the first to walk down the gangway from the left cabin door.

A captain officer wearing a new air force uniform was already standing nearby, holding a file board in his hand.

Seeing a colonel leaving the plane, he quickly trotted over, saluted, and then handed the document to Liang Yangang:

"Hello, Brigade Commander Liang, please sign here."

The latter nodded and glanced at the content, which was nothing more than some confirmation that the transportation mission was successfully completed.

He picked up the pen and signed his name quickly, then asked casually:

"Is your plane... quite comfortable?"

The Air Force Lieutenant was from Dingxin, so he naturally had no idea how embarrassing it was that just now in the sky. He just thought it was a compliment from the other party and replied with a smile:

"Although the Y-9 is a military model, its human-machine performance is completely comparable to that of civil aviation aircraft. In particular, the landing gear and seats are equipped with the latest self-balancing shock absorbers, which can filter the bumps into a certain rhythm. Unless it is an emergency landing, there will be no particularly intense feeling. Even the princes who enjoy life the most in the Gulf are full of praise..."

Liang Yangang nodded helplessly, knowing that he had not updated the knowledge base in his head for too long, and was hit by the dimensionality reduction of the new technology...

After leaving the planes, the 810st Battalion of the 1th Brigade quickly lined up on the tarmac, waiting for the next instructions.

Soon, base staff came to take over and took most of the officers and soldiers to the living area to prepare meals and assign dormitories.

Of course, as the brigade commander, Liang Yangang certainly couldn't get started so quickly. He still needed to meet with the technical staff and receive specific task requirements.

After everyone else had left, an inconspicuous jeep drove over from another direction and stopped next to him.

"Brigade Commander Liang, come up."

……

The car drove along the hardened road that was half covered with yellow sand, swaying in the dark night without any lights for more than ten minutes.

If not for the fact that everyone in the car was wearing military uniforms and had a full set of documents to prove their identities, Liang Yangang would even suspect that he was being kidnapped...

It was not until the night sky above his head suddenly disappeared that he realized he had entered an underground or semi-underground fortress-like building.

Sure enough, shortly after they drove in, they heard a buzzing sound of hydraulic mechanism operating behind them, which should be the closing of a hidden door that he had not noticed.

After a series of twists and turns, they finally drove into a warehouse with a huge number "37" marked on the wall.

There were about twenty to thirty technicians in light blue work clothes gathered in front of a huge lifting platform.

The object on the platform was hard to see from his angle, but judging from its size it was most likely a missile.

"Hello, Brigade Commander Liang."

While Liang Yangang was still in a daze, the leader had already arrived in front of him:

"My name is Xing Muchun, and I'm the deputy chief designer of the hypersonic weapons project. In the next period of time, I will be in charge of discussing the details of various technical tests with you."

The two shook hands, but the former's eyes were still focused on the platform not far away.

Xing Muchun also noticed this, of course, and gestured backwards:

"I know you must have a lot of doubts now, come with me."

After saying that, he took Liang Yangang through the crowd and came to the platform.

The xenon lamps illuminated Warehouse No. 37 as bright as day. The black projectile body was glowing with a faint luster on the lifting platform, and the smooth waverider lines at the warhead reminded him of the flying ribbons in the Dunhuang murals.

"Is this... a missile?"

Liang Yangang heard that his own voice sounded a little muffled.

"Strictly speaking, it should be a hypersonic glide vehicle. For now, we will call it..."

Xing Muchun thought about it and decided not to reveal the nickname of Kadena Express:

"It's called the 'Xuan Niao' hypersonic flight verification platform. Of course, it may be called the Dongfeng 24 or Dongfeng 25 after it is finally put into service... Because the head and body are separated, your leaders are more inclined to regard it as a two-stage missile."

"Of course, the warhead is still a model, and the boost phase uses the same Dongfeng 16 ballistic missile as you used in your previous training. After separation at an altitude of 80 kilometers, it will enter a gliding phase with a wave-like trajectory, and finally hit a target 10 kilometers away at a speed of about Mach 2000."

At this moment, he suddenly understood why this change of clothes was so weird.

With a range of more than 2000 kilometers, it can still meet the needs of covering most of Honshu Island and is in line with their equipment positioning.

It is only because the research and development has not been completed yet, and perhaps there are confidentiality considerations, that they are temporarily using the Dongfeng 16 with the same power stage for training.

The ventilation system in the underground hangar made a low hum, and Liang Yangang felt cold sweat on his back.

He had seen too many missiles piercing the sky from launch pads, but the slender creature in front of him clearly had the agility of some kind of living creature. When Xing Muchun showed the simulation of the terminal dive attack, he noticed the strange zigzag line drawn by the trajectory of the ballistic missile in the nearby space -

It was not a standard parabola, but more like the fatal sway of a venomous snake before it bites.