Chapter 1521: The Hyuga Volunteers

"Could it be that the superiors sent them to carry out a deterrent mission?" Wang Ziyong turned to Lin Shouchao, "Using a bomber with a longer range?"

Lin Shouchao rolled his eyes and shook his head: "Who would use only one plane to carry out such a mission, and..." His voice gradually lowered, his brows furrowed, but he did not continue.

Although there are no longer any technical obstacles to multi-service collaboration with the increasing popularity of the common data link among the three services, a series of additional coordination operations are still required.

If it was just an ordinary cruise mission with missiles, the Air Force's H-6K from Xingning Base would have taken off directly, and there would have been no need to come to the Navy's Lingshui Base for such a hassle.

In other words, this H-6 most likely took off directly from an inland area. Combined with the mysterious object under the belly of the aircraft, it inevitably gives people a lot of room for imagination.

While he was thinking, the second Il-76 also began to descend and aimed at the main runway of the base.

Lin Shouchao made a prompt decision and decided to use his "privilege" as the head of the group: "I'll go check the situation. Everyone stay in the meeting room and wait. Do not leave without my order!"

Without waiting for others to react, he strode out of the meeting room.

Even in January in Qiong Province, it can still feel a bit stuffy.

As he ran in small steps, sweat quickly soaked Lin Shouchao's flight suit.

When he arrived on the tarmac, both planes had already landed and were being directed to an isolated area away from the regular parking spaces.

What was even more strange was that the people surrounding the H-6 were not the original naval maintenance personnel from the Lingshui base, but a group of air force ground crew wearing 07 city camouflage.

Moreover, people were constantly unloading various special equipment and vehicles from the cargo hold of the Il-76, which soon blocked Lin Shouchao's view.

He was about to get closer to take a look when he heard familiar footsteps behind him.

Turning around, he saw the division chief of staff Wang Zhijin walking towards him with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Chief of Staff!" Lin Shouchao saluted and then quickly stepped forward.

After Wang Zhijin returned the gift, he motioned Lin Shouchao to follow him to the side.

Before the two of them stood still, the latter couldn't wait to ask:

"What's going on? Why did an Air Force plane suddenly land at our base?"

Wang Zhijin put his hands behind his back and explained:

"This is a response measure from the higher-ups... It can effectively achieve deterrence without causing excessive tension in the situation."

"A bomber?" Lin Shouchao looked at the H-6, confused: "Complete this mission alone?"

"It wasn't the H-6 that was carrying out the mission." Wang Zhijin smiled and pointed at the unloaded mysterious object, "It was that thing."

From their current angle, they could already see the big black thing clearly.

Obviously it was not a missile, but a strange-looking aircraft.

"Drone?"

Lin Shouchao actually couldn't recognize the specific model, but based on common sense, he could guess that his superiors would not allow the pilot to be "launched" in such a thing.

"To be precise, it's a ramjet-powered unmanned reconnaissance aircraft," Wang Zhijin replied. Apparently, there was no need to keep the relevant information secret from the base's internal personnel, but it was not announced in a high-profile manner. "I don't know much about the specific details, but it is said that its performance far exceeds that of the SR71 or D21 reconnaissance aircraft."

Lin Shouchao's pupils shrank slightly.

As an experienced pilot, he certainly knew what the above two models meant.

And far beyond them...

This shows that it is difficult to intercept by any existing air defense system.

"So... we're going to use it to break through multiple layers of interception?"

Wang Zhijin nodded, but quickly corrected himself, "Don't use such harsh words... Just go and check the situation to prevent the other party from doing anything that infringes on our rights."

Lin Shouchao curled his lips and didn't say anything.

Wang Zhijin continued: "According to the plan, the WZ-8 will take off from here, reach the initial altitude and speed with the help of the H-6, then fly to the target area autonomously, and then pass harmlessly over the USS Washington and USS Reagan at a very high altitude--"

"Let the Americans know we are watching them." Lin Shouchao continued, his lips slightly raised, "and they have no way to deal with this drone."

"That's right." Wang Zhijin nodded with satisfaction. "This is a silent deterrent that not only demonstrates our technical capabilities, but also avoids the risk of direct military confrontation."

Lin Shouchao looked at the ground crew who were making intensive preparations, and a complex emotion surged in his heart.

His pilots were eager to engage a powerful enemy head-on.

But sometimes, the most effective weapons are not missiles and fighter jets, but wisdom and technology.

"But... what happens after the reconnaissance?" Lin Shouchao suddenly became a little worried. "If the wreckage falls on the high seas, it may be captured by the enemy..."

The D21 can basically be considered a disposable aircraft, so he subconsciously thought that the WZ-8 in front of him was the same.

Wang Zhijin was speechless: "What wreckage... This thing can fly back and land by itself, just like a normal plane."

In fact, since the ramjet engine cannot work at low speeds, the landing process of the Wuzhen-8B is different from that of a normal aircraft and is completed by gliding.

But these details are currently only known to those directly responsible for the task.

"Okay..." Lin Shouchao felt like a young man graduating from aviation school on his first day. "What do you need me to do?"

"There's nothing special to do," Wang Zhijin replied. "Keep on standby, just in case... But the possibility is very, very small. The flight envelope of the WZ-8 far exceeds that of any fighter. Maybe the MiG-25 has a chance to catch a window when it turns, but it's only theoretical."

…………

Meanwhile, on the USS Washington.

Swift returned to the bridge with a serious look on his face.

"What instructions do you have from the fleet?"

Rosman turned around and asked.

"Let's continue the exercise and send some warships north to stand by. In principle, we want a head-on encounter, but we can't let the two small boats get hit or damaged."

“…What’s the difference between this and not saying anything?”

"The new fleet commander has just arrived and may not be familiar with the situation yet..." Swift shrugged. "In short, before taking any action that may cause controversy, you must obtain written permission first."

At this moment, the communications officer came behind the two again:

"First Commander Oe Michiyama on the Hyuga sent a communication, hoping to be allowed to leave the team and go north to perform forward alert missions."

The rank system of the Self-Defense Forces is extremely awkward. From the captain of a large ship to the commander of the escort fleet to the commander of the fleet group, they are all first-class sea captains. Swift lowered his head and thought for a long time before he realized that the other party wanted the three ships of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to go forward together.

Rossman on the side was full of concerns: "General, Hyuga, Takanami and Mayuyu do not have regional air defense capabilities. They are essentially just an anti-submarine formation. They are responsible for vigilance..."

"Weren't you worried about the command and coordination issues before?" Swift rubbed his temple. "Besides, I don't trust the training level of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. Now is a good time to get rid of the burden."

"what?"

Rothman looked shocked.

Before, Swift did not comment on his statement, and he thought that the other party had a different opinion from him.

As it turned out, he only said that he looked down on the Haizi, but the man in front of him was really prepared to throw his ally out to fend for himself.

"Have you heard about the '10th Yuyo Maru' incident?"

Swift suddenly asked back.

The katakana pronunciation of "Xiongyang Maru" was still too unfamiliar for a traditional American like Rothman who came from rural Texas, so he thought blankly for a moment and finally shook his head.

The lieutenant general shrugged and reminded:

"In 1974, a tanker caught fire..."

The memory in Rosman's mind was awakened:

"Oh... I seem to have read a related report when I was in school."

The No. 12 Yuyo Maru was an oil tanker that collided with another cargo ship shortly after leaving the port, causing tens of thousands of tons of oil on board to catch fire. The fire lasted for days and still had not been extinguished or sunk. In order to avoid the threat to the port posed by the recklessly floating ship, the Maritime Self-Defense Force decided to sink it.

However, faced with an unarmed civilian ship that had been severely damaged and lost power, the Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched four surface warships, one submarine and one anti-submarine aircraft, which fired a total of hundreds of 4mm artillery shells, more than a dozen aerial bombs and four heavy wire-guided torpedoes in two rounds, and it took nearly 1 hours to finally complete the mission.

Although the result alone should be considered good, and it was also the first real "actual combat operation" since the establishment of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the specific process was too embarrassing, so the Japanese side has always been very secretive about this matter, and it is even more impossible to take the initiative to publicize it.

"I was a rookie who had just graduated from the Naval Flight School and was deployed to serve on the Midway," Swift recalled. "I happened to be in the co-pilot position of an S2G ​​anti-submarine aircraft and saw the entire process of the first round of attacks..."

Hearing this, even the worried Colonel Lausman couldn't help but smile: "I think the scene must be very spectacular?"

"It's really impressive." Swift nodded, half jokingly and half complaining: "No one could have imagined that in the 20s, we could still see scenes similar to the Battle of Jutland... Did you know that the four frigates even completed a standard operation to seize T-advantage?"

"... "

For a moment, a happy atmosphere filled the bridge.

However, joking aside, this was the critical stage for Zhan Yun to make up for his mistake, so Swift quickly regained his seriousness:

"Anyway, it's no good for us to keep these ships nearby. Since they have taken the initiative to ask for help, we can just get rid of this burden and this hot issue at the same time... If something goes wrong, we can say that it was caused by the other party acting on their own and not following orders."