Chapter 1429 Encounter at Sea
Although Chang Haonan did not point it out directly, the six words "stand high and see far" have already explained it all.
Obviously, he will not only attend the activities and ceremonies on National Day.
And he was a specially invited guest, standing on the city wall and participating.
Peng Juexian had to admit that at a certain moment, he felt a little unbalanced.
This cannot be said to be something that can be encountered but not sought after.
For the vast majority of people, there is no chance of even encountering it.
Fortunately, he is already old and has a broad mind when it comes to personal gains and losses. In his early years, he served as an assistant to several two-bomb heroes, so he can be considered knowledgeable.
So I quickly adjusted my mood and congratulated:
"Then congratulations to Academician Chang..."
Chang Haonan could see Peng Juexian's mental fluctuations, but this time he really didn't intend to show off. Instead, he had already taken the other party's psychological factors into consideration and deliberately used a more euphemistic statement.
It is the latter who insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter, so you can't blame others.
So he said politely as usual:
"I can be considered to have taken advantage of the platform, and it just happened to be the time when the Juntian Project was about to be launched... Otherwise, with only a few invitation slots, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been my turn."
Then he changed the subject:
"Although this matter is not confidential, it has not been officially announced yet, so don't publicize it on a large scale..."
The other party came from the two bombs and one satellite industry, so of course he kept his mouth shut.
But the words that need to be said still need to be said.
"Of course I know that."
Peng Jue waved his hand first, and then seemed not to want to continue talking about this jealous matter, and changed the subject a little stiffly:
"By the way, the Academy of Sciences will hold a general meeting of academicians on the 7th of next month. It will also be the launching ceremony for the second round of elections for academicians this year. Are you interested in giving a report on stage?"
This matter is definitely not something that can be decided by one person, but if it is Chang Haonan, then as long as he brings it up first, no one should object.
Chang Haonan also knew that this was a good opportunity, which could lay a relatively formal foundation for the Juntian Plan.
But just as he was about to agree, he suddenly seemed to remember something and glanced at the schedule on the corner of the table:
"On the 7th of next month..."
He confirmed his itinerary, then sighed with some regret:
"A delegation from Rolls-Royce will come from the 4th to the 9th of next month, so I'm afraid I can't leave."
Peng Juexian was stunned when he heard this answer and seemed quite surprised.
I was not surprised by the other party's refusal, but by the reason just given:
"You personally received the reception... of such a high standard?"
Chang Haonan nodded:
"The trip is very important... on the one hand, it is to confirm the test flight of the AE1500 engine and start the second phase of test flights using the Airbus A340 platform, and on the other hand, it is also to discuss this type of engine and the subsequent commercial operation route of the Trent NGx."
When the two parties were finalizing the cooperation mode, in order to quell the controversy over the naming of the engine and who would be the main engine, they finally decided to design two models using the same intercooled core engine.
The property rights of both parties are distributed in a 50:50 ratio, but the 15-ton thrust aircraft is named AE1500 in accordance with China's custom, and is planned to be used for Airbus A320 and China's new generation trunk aircraft C919, which is currently under project verification. The 40-ton thrust aircraft is named Trent NGx in accordance with British custom, and is planned to be used for Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. Long-term installation targets may also include China's larger C929 and Ilyushin's Il-96MDM, which is planned to be converted from four engines to two engines.
Peng Juexian didn’t pay much attention to industry news in the aviation field, so this was the first time he heard about this incident.
But his reaction seemed a little strange:
"No wonder……"
This attracted a strange look from Chang Haonan.
"Oh...nothing."
After noticing Chang Haonan's doubts, Peng Juexian quickly explained:
"It's just that I remember that we have been interacting with the British quite frequently recently. Last time, I heard from the navy that they were going to hold a joint military exercise..."
"..."
……
Almost at the same time when the two of them talked about this.
Indian Ocean, waters near the Horn of Africa.
Inside the bridge of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Courageous, Captain Robert Baram stroked the delicate texture of the calfskin on the side of the telescope with his fingers, his attention completely focused on the gray silhouette reflected in the tube.
Although modern maritime communication systems are already quite advanced, and AIS equipment can directly display the names of ships during normal navigation, the other party still greeted and stated their identities in accordance with naval tradition.
The Chinese Navy's Xingzhou ship with hull number 151.
This is exactly what they are looking for on this trip——
About half a month ago, the Courageous received the first official mission of its life. It crossed the Suez Canal through the Mediterranean Sea and entered the Indian Ocean, where it rendezvoused with the Kent frigate and the Wave Knight fleet oil tanker that had been carrying out missions nearby, preparing to visit a series of Asia-Pacific countries and eventually go to Australia to participate in Navy Day celebrations.
Originally, this was just an ordinary ocean voyage with almost no challenge.
However, when passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, the mission plan suddenly changed, requiring the Courageous to find a Chinese Navy destroyer after leaving the Red Sea and conduct several simple exercises.
However, no matter how simple the exercise is, it is still a combat mission.
As a new ship that has been in service for less than two months and the first ship of the entire Type 45, the Courageous should adapt to and carry out various operations step by step.
As for the exercise, it seems more appropriate for the frigate Kent to carry out.
But the Admiralty explained that they had originally planned to choose the Kent, but China dispatched a newest missile destroyer, and only the Courageous could match it in the entire Royal Navy.
So, this scene happened before our eyes.
After confirming their identities to each other, the two new destroyers gradually approached each other in the hazy morning mist, and finally formed a situation of one on the left and one on the right running side by side.
"Course corrected to 65, speed 14 knots."
The captain put down his telescope and gave an order to the navigation department:
"Keep bearing to port of the Yingzhou, 5 chains away."
In fact, Baram used a telescope purely out of personal preference and family tradition.
Because even if visual observation is required, modern warships have complete optical observation systems that can display the high-definition images captured by the camera directly on the monitor.
Lieutenant Commander Angus Essen, the deputy captain, was standing behind the console, staring at the image on the screen.
The optical mast is located above the bridge, the second highest point on the ship. From that angle, you can just see the deck of the Xingzhou in the distance.
Essen operated the screen to further zoom in and focus the camera's view behind the main gun.
The square cover of the vertical launch system is emitting a cold, hard metallic luster in the morning light.
Colonel Balam came over and quickly noticed the details that the other party was paying attention to.
Although the Chinese military has become more open in recent years, the performance details of some of its equipment are still shrouded in mystery.
For example, there have been many different opinions about the vertical launch system on the Type 052C destroyer.
What is certain at the moment is that this model was originally planned to be equipped with a dedicated cylindrical cold launch device that can only launch HQ-9 air defense missiles.
But when the construction of the first ship was about to begin, for some reason it was suddenly changed to the current chocolate layout that is more like an enlarged version of MK41, catching intelligence agencies of various countries off guard.
It is obvious that the new design can effectively improve the utilization of deck area.
However, its specific performance and universality have never been determined.
A lot of information shows that the new vertical launch system has specially increased the cross-sectional area of the unit. It can launch huge land-attack cruise missiles from above, and can accommodate short-range interceptor missiles similar to the Army's 9M331 in a four-missile-per-pit format below.
However, there are also claims that the new vertical launch system has only replaced the arrangement to improve compactness, and is essentially still the result of the Hongqi-9 system being installed on the ship.
Although naval vessels of many countries have encountered the two warships, Coconut City and Jincheng, which were commissioned earlier, the distances were relatively far and they were in a non-cooperative state with each other, and there were no good observation conditions.
Close contact in a friendly atmosphere like this becomes an excellent opportunity to obtain reliable information.
"Cool and hot system?"
He pointed to the long cover between every two sets of transmitting modules on the screen.
"Um……"
Eisen nodded:
"According to my observation, the 052C is not equipped with a dedicated target illumination radar, so it cannot use the semi-active radar-guided Haihongqi 16 missile. And the other known models in the Chinese Navy sequence seem to all be cold-launched..."
After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"It seems that they may have other ship-borne missiles that have not been made public or are under development. Otherwise, there is no need to do this."
