Chapter 1387: Radar Station in the Mountains

Earlier in the day.

Southern Longyuan Province, Minshan Mountains.

Even though it is still midsummer in late August, the southwestern mountainous areas can still feel a little cool.

In the hazy mist, Guo Lin wrapped the collar of his camouflage uniform tightly and squinted at the two Z-12B helicopters hovering in the distance.

"Mr. Guo, the wind speed at the No. 15 lifting point suddenly increased to meters per second!"

The communications officer of the engineering company stuck his head out of the makeshift command tent, the walkie-talkie in his hand buzzing.

Guo Lin raised the telescope and saw that the steel cable of the cargo box was shaking violently. Several ground guides were waving fluorescent indicator sticks and desperately signaling the helicopter to climb.

Colonel Zhang Xiyang, the commander of the Army Aviation Regiment, was already giving orders on the radio:

"Hover for a while higher up on the peak and wait for this crosswind to pass!"

His arm was injured during a mission last month, so he could only stay on the ground and give commands today.

Originally, the Z-12B was designed to withstand a force eight gale of 20m/s for a short period of time. However, the ridges of the Min Mountains are generally above 3500-4000 meters above sea level, and the air is relatively thin. In addition, the rectangular cargo box suspended under the fuselage swayed slightly in the airflow, making the originally nimble helicopter look like a clumsy iron bird.

"The terrain of this damn place is like a natural wind tunnel. The weather forecast is still a bit too optimistic..."

Liao Yongcai had come behind Guo Lin and Zhang Xixiang without knowing when. His rough fingers drew an arc on the contour map next to him, pointing to another ridgeline nearby:

"Should we consider implementing Plan B? Platform No. 4 is a leeward location, so the difficulty of unloading there should be lower than here, and the distance also meets the requirements..."

Guo Lin looked down at the map, a hint of hesitation in his eyes:

"The distance of the selected point is definitely fine, but the angle of platform No. 4 is a bit awkward..."

Liao Yongcai insisted:

"Strong winds not only affect the transportation and assembly process, but the YLC-1 radar is not a large device like the 7010 that is fixed on the foundation, and it will also be affected by external factors..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard the harsh sound of twisted metal in the distance.

The two men turned their heads at the same time, only to see the fixed frame on the side of the cargo box scrape against the protruding rock wall, splashing a string of sparks.

Guo Lin suddenly felt his hair stand on end.

Fortunately, what was loaded inside were only mechanical equipment such as the chassis and antenna base, so as long as the external structure of the cargo box was intact, there would be no major problem.

If it is a broadband digital array module worth hundreds of millions, any violent collision may cause the precision crystal oscillator to be scrapped.

He quickly nodded towards Zhang Xixiang:

"Captain Zhang, unload at the backup platform No. 4!"

After receiving the order, the helicopter group immediately adjusted its formation and flew over the jagged ridges like a flock of migrating geese.

Liao Yongcai looked at the fleet of aircraft that had re-entered the clouds and suddenly laughed:

"I heard that when the Gambala radar station was built in the early years, some things even needed to be carried up the mountain by manpower or mules and horses..."

Zhang Xixiang put down the radio, picked up the military canteen, took two gulps of water, and then took a long breath:

"To be honest, this time is not easy..."

He pointed to the helicopter hovering on the other side, looming:

"After the engine replacement, the external lifting capacity of the Z-12B has reached 2500 kilograms... If it weren't for these new aircraft delivered ahead of schedule and the pilots' recent experience in flying in complex terrain, it would probably not be possible to lift it at this altitude in Minshan."

A complete radar needs to be split into about 6-8 cargo boxes to complete air transportation. If the Mi-26 is deployed, this trouble can be avoided in theory, but in reality it is difficult to ensure safety at such an altitude and environment...

It was not until the afternoon that six camouflage-painted cargo boxes and a light crane were finally safely transferred to a platform halfway up the mountain. The soldiers of the engineering company immediately began to set up auxiliary equipment. The dark gray photovoltaic panels and bright silver debugging antennas shone with metallic luster under the scorching sun.

"To be honest, the location of your radar is really tricky..."

The most challenging part of the mission has been completed, and the remaining tasks are just some small tasks such as personnel transportation. Zhang Xixiang has become much more energetic:

"I thought that hovering on one wheel by the barrier lake was already the best I could do, but I didn't expect it to be nothing compared to what I did today."

Guo Lin sighed softly when he heard this:

"No, this is the easiest solution... There are seven antennas in total, and only this one is more troublesome. At most, antenna No. 7 is closer to the railway line and needs additional camouflage. The rest is just a matter of driving the radar vehicle to the location..."

The temperature difference between day and night in this place is so great that it makes people shiver in the morning, and the sun is directly on top of your head at noon.

He took off his camouflage cap, fanned himself gently, and watched the engineers assemble the eight-meter-high foldable phased array antenna, then slowly unfold and raise it.

"I heard you guys say before that it seems to be arranged at a specific distance?"

Zhang Xixiang is now an official member of the "Thousand Eyes Sky Survey" program. Although he doesn't know much about radar technology, he has heard some words about it.

"It's 154.08 km."

Liao Yongcai remembers it very clearly:

"Although I don't know why it has to be this number...but I can't go wrong if I do as required."

"This is calculated based on the ultra-high-speed moving target detection method of matching Fourier transform. By searching the target speed and initial distance, matching processing with the echo signal is achieved to eliminate the influence of high-order terms in the echo phase on coherent accumulation."

Guo Lin drew two intersecting sine waves on the ground beneath his feet:

"When the detection beams of adjacent radars form a specific phase difference, the echo signal can automatically pass the tracking right like a relay race, avoiding the problem we encountered in the last test, where the signal suddenly changed again before we had time to track it."

In fact, Chang Haonan also said that the spacing can be set to an integer multiple of 154.08km, and a certain degree of error is allowed.

However, since the preparation period for this test was not sufficient, the equipment was already quite sufficient, so the deployment location naturally had to be improved upon.

While they were talking, the auxiliary platform for equipment debugging had been set up.

"Let's go."

Guo Lin patted Liao Yongcai on the shoulder:

"Ready to receive synchronization test signal..."

……

As dusk fell, the first set of test signals finally penetrated the ionosphere.

In the command tent, Liao Yongcai stared at the jumping spectrum graph on the screen, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.

Suddenly, the red light spot representing the other No. 6 antenna strangely split into three phantoms at the boundary of the relay satellite coverage, and the synchronization status on the screen changed from "Connecting" to "Synchronization Failed".

It is naturally impossible to connect several mobile radar stations that are one hundred kilometers apart through wires, so they can only share signals with the help of relay satellites, ensuring the level of synchronization at the cost of a small delay.

Of course, if the Thousand Eyes Sky Survey Project can eventually be formalized, then the fixed strategic radar antennas will definitely be equipped with corresponding underground optical cable facilities.

“Phase mismatch caused by time delay.”

Guo Lin made a quick judgment and then looked down at the other computer in front of him.

Above is the orbital information diagram of several satellites.

Then he turned to the radio operator not far behind him:

"Notify the tracking and control center and request to calibrate the orbital inclination of Qingluan II 03C, and then try again..."

The superiors have indeed devoted considerable resources to this grand plan that could potentially provide early warning of incoming hypersonic weapons, and even allowed Guo Lin to command the satellite's attitude adjustments for this purpose.

However, part of the reason is that several satellites of the first phase of Qingluan-2 have reached the end of their lifespan and will be replaced by the second phase constellation that is currently being launched.

When the data stream after the third orbit correction was finally merged into the system, the three virtual shadows on the monitoring screen instantly collapsed into clear spots of light, which was a sign that the synchronization system had completed calibration.

A suppressed cheer broke out in the tent.

Antenna No. 7 is the last one in the entire system, so this also means that the preliminary debugging work of the entire plan has come to an end.

All that is left is to wait until all antennas are deployed and then inject the operating parameters into them.

Given the accuracy of the onboard atomic clock, the synchronization rate can be maintained above the standard line at least for the next few months.

“It still doesn’t seem real to me.”

Liao Yongcai took out a pack of Jincheng brand cigarettes from his pocket.

But after thinking about it, I still didn't light it:

"Back then, at Huangyang Mountain, we used hundreds of train cars' worth of steel, cement and electronic components to build Asia's largest phased array."

He pointed to the radar array that stretched out like a galaxy in front of him:

"Now, if these antennas are put together, they can only fit on more than 20 trucks at most, but when combined, they can monitor half of the northern hemisphere..."