Chapter 1520 Mysterious Boom 6

Later in the day.

Hainan Province, Lingshui Base.

In the conference room of the 9th Naval Aviation Division, a dozen pilots were huddled together, staring at news reports about multinational joint military exercises on the projection screen.

When in combat readiness, they certainly cannot leave the barracks, but not all pilots need to sit in the plane ready to take off at any time.

The remaining people had no place to vent their energy, so they had to gather here and wait for the situation to develop further.

In the picture, the two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the USS Washington and the USS Reagan, are sailing side by side, surrounded by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga helicopter destroyer and more than a dozen escort ships, forming a standard dense formation for aircraft carrier battle groups to demonstrate deterrence.

Even through the radio signal, one could feel the breathtaking spectacle.

"Look, the USS Washington and USS Ronald Reagan are both out." Zhao Minghui, the youngest squadron leader of the 27th Regiment, said, gritting his teeth, "And the Maritime Self-Defense Force's weird helicopter destroyer... It's a rare grand scene."

At this time, the broadcast signal had switched to another angle. Four Super Hornet fighter jets roared into the sky at the same time from the deck of the aircraft carrier, drawing a powerful arc between the blue sea and sky.

Then, the camera switched to a panoramic view of the fleet taken from a bird's-eye view. A huge formation of more than ten ships plowed a white trail on the sea, like a sharp sword pointing to the north.

Just as the name of this joint exercise suggests.

"Confrontation - The North".

It can be said that he doesn't even want to act anymore.

A naked threat.

Head of the group, Lin Shouchao, leaned back in his chair, tapping the tabletop lightly with his fingers.

The 42-year-old naval captain has a typical military temperament - a crew cut, a square face, and eyes as sharp as an eagle.

"I haven't seen this kind of situation for more than ten years."

His tone was full of emotion about the past.

Back in 1996, Lin Shouchao was still a backbone among the young pilots of the 27th Regiment and was the first to sign his name on the letter of request to join the battle.

Now, 15 years have passed, and when facing two aircraft carriers again, the once handsome young man has almost lost his hair, and his way of thinking has become much more mature.

However, compared to his hair volume, what is even more different now is the mentality of these young pilots -

From Zhao Minghui's tone just now, one could not hear any gnashing of teeth or resentment.

Instead, there is more teasing, playfulness, and...

I am eager to try.

"Captain, this doesn't seem like a good idea..." Zhao Minghui turned around and said, "I wonder if we can have a chance to go around..."

In the eyes of the Chinese army in the 21st century, the US military can only be regarded as an "equal opponent."

Even such a scene of requesting to fight lacks the tragic atmosphere that will never return.

This made Lin Shouchao a little uncomfortable.

But he still shook his head, trying to cool the atmosphere:

"This exercise will be conducted in the area near Palawan Island, mainly in the Sulu Sea and the Sulawesi Sea, and will not go beyond the Manila Bay in the north... From a legal perspective, it belongs to the high seas and the economic zone of other countries, so we can't take an overly aggressive stance."

After a short pause, he continued:

"Also, even after aerial refueling, it would be difficult for our fighter jets to stay in the air long enough, and large special aircraft... would also find it difficult to break through the heavy interception of carrier-based aircraft if they lack escort."

With the tacit understanding that neither side could open fire, they could always fly over the other fleet if they wanted to.

But everyone knows that if you are under someone else's radar, doing such a thing is actually not a good thing.

"Besides, we can't just sit there and watch. We are on combat readiness as a support force." Lin Shouchao tugged at his flight jacket and switched the English news on the screen to CCTV reports.

[The Navy's 'Jiangcheng', 'Xingcheng' missile destroyers and 'Huangshan' frigate formed a formation and went to the exercise area to conduct verification, surveillance and emergency preparations. The aviation force is on standby at any time...]

But obviously, this level of participation cannot satisfy the young soldiers' desire to establish merit.

"The limitations of land-based aviation are still too great..." another squadron leader, Wang Ziyong, sighed, "It seems that we still need aircraft carriers to break through the limitations of combat range..."

"The aircraft carrier is still too far away from us for now." Zhao Minghui rubbed his hands, "But if they can go another 300 to 500 nautical miles north, it will be just like before..."

"Cough-cough-"

Seeing that his subordinates' discussion was gradually moving towards a dangerous direction, Lin Shouchao quickly coughed twice to interrupt:

"The teacher and Chief of Staff Wang were lucky to have a chance encounter that time. The British didn't expect us to be able to respond. How can it be so easy for you to catch up again?"

Actively seeking war is one thing, but if others are still staying obediently in the high seas and you are actively hoping that they will come in and infringe on your rights and interests, that is another thing.

It’s certainly okay to talk about it in private, but it must not become a habit.

Otherwise, if the leader hears it, it will inevitably give people the impression that you are eager to create chaos in the world.

However, facing Lin Shouchao's reaction, Zhao Minghui did not reply, but just curled his lips -

The captain spoke in high-sounding terms, but he had just said the word "back then" and the other party took the initiative to mention the dike-building operation. It was obvious that he already had an idea in mind.

It's just well hidden.

Lin Shouchao realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, so he quickly changed the subject:

"In fact, in a complex sea environment with many islands and reefs, an aircraft carrier battle group may not be able to fully deploy." He paused meaningfully, "But I heard that the superiors are considering building frontline airports on several key islands and reefs..."

This sentence was like a spark falling into dry wood, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of the young pilots.

"Besides Yongxing, which other islands and reefs have the conditions to build an airport?"

"Yongxing is too close to us, so there is not much point in moving forward..."

"Are you going to reclaim land from the sea?"

"..."

Lin Shouchao raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "These are all long-term plans. For now, we——"

His words were interrupted by the sudden opening of the conference room door.

Pilot Liu Zhigang, who had just finished his ground combat duty, walked in, found a chair to sit down, and took two gulps of water:

"Captain, I just heard on the radio that an Atrio Richard patrol ship and a Laguna tank landing ship have left the port and are heading northwest!"

With just one sentence, the atmosphere in the entire conference room instantly became heated.

"That's so good... it's such a bully!"

Zhao Minghui slammed the table and stood up, but there was no trace of being bullied in his tone. Instead, he sounded like a shark that smelled blood.

The other pilots also expressed their opinions and encouraged Lin Shouchao to take the lead in volunteering to fight.

Regardless of whether it can take off or not, at least we have to express our attitude first.

This time, even the latter himself was a little tempted: "Have you confirmed the destination?"

"Not yet, but judging from the direction, we can basically infer that they are transporting additional equipment or construction materials to the islands and reefs." Liu Zhigang seemed very calm at this time. "In fact, there is a frigate formation nearby protecting oil exploration operations. I heard that the superiors have sent the Xiangfan and Jiangmen to intercept and deal with them."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's faces.

One 053H3 and one 053H1G are not considered main battleships.

However, the two ships of the other side only had one 76mm and four 4mm guns in total, which was indeed a 40 million point difference in firepower.

I'm afraid we don't need aviation support...

A dozen people sat back down again.

"Don't be too discouraged. If the current situation continues, there will be no shortage of opportunities for confrontation in the future..."

Lin Shouchao was halfway through his words of comfort when a low roar suddenly came from the distance.

It came from far away and quickly became deafening.

The sound was dull and thunder-like, and it was absolutely unlike any fighter jet equipped by the 9th Division. The J-11BH and JH-7A both used small bypass ratio turbofans, so they should have sounded sharper.

"What's going on?" Wang Ziyong was the first to stand up, and the others followed him and rushed to the window.

Lin Shouchao finally came to the window, and his subordinates automatically gave him a view.

He looked up at the sky and saw two planes slowly emerging from the clouds on the gloomy sky.

In front was a common H-6 bomber, followed by a larger transport plane.

"Il-76?" Liu Zhigang asked in a puzzled tone, and even poked his head in front of Lin Shouchao, "Is it transporting ammunition and spare parts to us?"

"How is that possible..." The latter patted him, "Why would we bring a bomber to transport ammunition... and we don't lack war reserve stocks."

While the two were talking, the H-6 in front had already lowered its altitude to a level sufficient to see the details clearly.

It does not have the iconic glass nose cone of the H-6M, which means it is at least not from the South China Sea Fleet Air Force.

What is even more eye-catching is that there is a strange object underneath the plane.

Judging from the way it is mounted, it appears to be a missile.

But the size is totally unreasonable.

"Fuck, what the hell is that?" Wang Ziyong narrowed his eyes. "Air-launched ballistic missile?"

"It doesn't look like it..." Liu Zhigang shook his head. "Whose ballistic missile is short and thick, with two obvious wings?"

Lin Shouchao did not join the discussion, his eyes were fixed on the side of the H-6——

There is a five-digit machine number printed there.

Although the specific number cannot be identified, it can be seen that it is red.

Apparently, the plane was from the Air Force.