Chapter 1587 Xiao Lu 1 hand

Two months later.

Naval Station Norfolk, Florida.

The slender, angular gray silhouette of the USS Duncan, led by an inconspicuous US Navy pilot boat, slowly glided into the busy waters.

The bow of the ship plowed through the calm water, leaving behind a brief burst of white foam that was then smoothed out by the surging current.

Britain and the United States are military allies, and the Duncan's mission this time is a "combat deployment" rather than a "diplomatic visit."

Therefore, the welcoming lineup at the dock was quite pragmatic.

Rear Admiral Andre Louis, who was in charge of commanding the US fleet in this exercise, brought with him several staff officers and base liaison officers.

There was no red carpet, no grand military band, only the necessary port signal flags fluttering in the breeze.

As for the higher-level generals who are responsible for commanding and observing the exercises, they are in the combat command center deep inside the base.

On the huge electronic situation map, the Duncan's logo was moving slowly under the guidance of the pilot boat.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead sat in the middle of the front row, his arms folded across his chest, his inner thoughts unrevealed.

Next to him was the commander of the Norfolk base, Vice Admiral Allen Shockley.

"Shockley," Roughead said in a low voice, leaning slightly to one side, "Has the weather forecast for the exercise window been confirmed?"

"Confirmed." Shockley called up a weather data window on the monitor in front of him. "The latest analysis from the meteorological department confirmed that an abnormally warm and humid winter air mass is strengthening and lingering over the Gulf of Mexico. So it is expected that starting from the middle of next week, the entire exercise area will enter a period of... well, high temperature weather that is rare in the same period of history."

He pointed to a rising red temperature curve and said: "The sea surface temperature may reach a maximum of 29 to 30 degrees Celsius, and the sea surface temperature will remain above 22 degrees Celsius. This hot and humid environment is a severe test for the mechanical heat dissipation and electronic equipment stability of the ship."

Shockley paused and looked at Roughead:

"If we want to be safe, maybe we can postpone the key subjects for ten to fourteen days? By then, the warm and humid air mass should move eastward and dissipate, the temperature is expected to drop to a more suitable 20 degrees Celsius, and the sea conditions will be calmer and more friendly to the equipment."

Obviously, he did not fully understand what his superior meant and thought that the other party was worried about unexpected situations during the exercise.

Roughhead's eyes did not leave the dynamic icon of the Duncan on the screen, and the corners of his mouth twitched down almost imperceptibly.

"Postpone? No." There was a hint of anticipation in his tone, "This is the extreme weather I need."

After a few seconds of silence, he raised his voice slightly and ordered: "Tell the staff to try to arrange all key subjects, especially those involving the power system's extreme load and the superposition of high demand on the power system, on the day with the worst temperature environment!"

"Understood, sir!" Lieutenant General Shockley responded seriously, "I will personally follow up on the weather and subject arrangements."

At this moment, there was a sudden movement on the other side of the command center.

That was the seat responsible for coordinating communications with the pilot boat and the Duncan.

The pilot lieutenant wearing headphones raised his head suddenly, a flash of surprise on his face, and then he quickly grabbed the internal communicator: "Report! Commodore Robert Baram on the Duncan, requesting to cancel the barge-assisted berthing procedure!"

His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard in the quiet command center.

Several staff officers who were talking in low voices and the operators in front of the screen subconsciously stopped what they were doing and looked over here.

"The other party repeated it again." The pilot pointed to his headset. "Commodore Baram said that the Duncan hopes to obtain permission to conduct... fully autonomous berthing operations at Pier 17. He claimed that he has full confidence in the ship's maneuverability."

Shockley subconsciously looked at Roughead beside him.

It is true that he is the commander of the base, but in today's situation, the decision-making power is obviously in the latter's hands.

Roughhead's eyes froze for a moment, but there was no expression on his face.

"How's the risk assessment?" he asked in a deep voice.

A staff officer beside him took over the topic:

"Autonomous berthing of small ships is a routine operation, and we have a lot of experience in this. However, the Duncan has a full load displacement of more than 7300 tons, and it is the first time for it to enter the Norfolk port area. The requirements for channel water flow, dock structure, and the ship's own inertia control are very strict, and the risk... will be higher."

Roughhead's eyes quickly swept across a nearby screen that displayed real-time berth usage for the entire Norfolk port area.

The area representing Pier 17 clearly shows that its adjacent Piers 16 and 18 are currently vacant, forming a relatively safe buffer space.

He turned slightly to the side, and glanced behind him - there were two senators who were invited to observe the preparation stage of the exercise and were watching the big screen with great interest -

Paul Wicker, a member of the Armed Services Committee from Mississippi, and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who also holds deep influence on the Appropriations Committee.

Officially, the military cannot express political inclinations, so the invited members must be one from the Donkey Party and one from the Elephant Party.

Of course, these two big guys actually have a good personal relationship.

Countless trade-offs flashed through Roughead's mind: the security risks, the face of the Royal Navy, the intention of the technical demonstration, and the opportunity to make an impression in front of key MPs.

Balam's request was by no means reckless.

If it refuses, it will appear that the U.S. military is too conservative and lacks trust in its allies;

I agree. Although there are risks, once successful, the effect will be outstanding and it will lay the foundation for subsequent tests.

"Reply to the Duncan," Roughead made a quick decision, "approved to berth autonomously at Pier 17. However," he changed the subject, "dispatch a group of barges to stand by outside Pier 19, ready to intervene at any time...Also notify Rear Admiral Lewis, so that they can be mentally prepared."

"Yes!"

The pilot lieutenant immediately passed the order down.

Autonomous berthing does not mean that the pilotage system can just sit there and watch.

Without the assistance of a barge, the requirements for information communication and command are actually higher.

Everyone else's eyes were focused on the surveillance image on the main screen.

More than ten minutes later, the USS Duncan began to slowly adjust its posture, aiming its stern toward the narrow berth entrance of Pier 17.

The navigation radar on the top of the bridge rotates slowly, and the main thrusters precisely control every inch of movement of the ship.

It first slowly docked parallel to the pier, maintaining a distance of more than ten meters.

Then, the ship began to tilt towards the dock at an extremely slow speed and at a very small angle.

The power system subtly adjusts the direction and magnitude of thrust to counteract interference from water flow and wind.

Time seemed to be stretched.

At this stage, we can only rely on the Duncan's own capabilities.

In the command center, the only sounds that could be heard were the monotonous sound of the equipment running and people's deliberately suppressed breathing.

Roughhead rested his hands on the console, his knuckles slightly white, and his eyes were fixed like a hawk on the slowly moving ship on the screen and the ever-shrinking distance between it and the edge of the dock.

Five meters…three meters…two and a half meters!

When the stern was only about 2.5 meters away from the edge of the concrete dock, the Duncan's hull seemed to be firmly held by an invisible hand.

The direction of the water flow behind the ship was reversed instantly, generating a powerful and short-lived reverse braking force, while the ship's posture was fine-tuned extremely precisely.

The whole process went smoothly without any hesitation or delay.

The huge ship, with a heart-pounding sense of oppression, finally stopped steadily about two meters away from the edge of the dock!

Impartial and perfectly parallel.

Immediately afterwards, the sailors on the deck threw the thick ropes to the shore quickly and orderly.

It was quickly wrapped around the mooring pile and fixed, and the hull was firmly bound in the predetermined position.

The boarding ladder was lowered and landed securely on the Norfolk dock.

"Docking completed! The ship is stable! Safe!" The dock observer's report came through the communicator.

It was not until this time that the atmosphere in the command center finally relaxed.

"call……"

I don't know who breathed a sigh of relief first, but soon after, low, suppressed exclamations and discussions began to flow like a thawing stream.

Later, a heartfelt and warm applause broke out spontaneously, breaking the previous tension and silence.

Paul Wick leaned forward and approached Admiral Roughead: "Gary, what happened just now?"

The fact that he was elected as a member of the Military Commission shows that he has no knowledge of military affairs at all.

His understanding of boats mainly focuses on small boats for vacation.

So it's obviously hard to understand why an ordinary docking would cause such a big reaction.

Although Senator Jack Reed did not ask a direct question, his eyes were fixed on Roughead, and he was obviously waiting for an explanation as well.

The solemnity on Admiral Roughead's face finally faded. He turned around, faced the two senators, and pointed to the berth diagram:

"Sir, a large warship like the Duncan, with a full load displacement of more than 7,000 tons, has extremely huge inertia and kinetic energy. When operating at low speed and near the shore, the traditional mechanical transmission propulsion system will have a delay in response and the thrust adjustment will be relatively rough, just like..."

He hesitated, then offered a barely tangible analogy:

"It's like driving a heavy truck and turning it in a narrow alley. If you're not careful, you'll lose control."

"Therefore, in most ports around the world, including our Norfolk," Roughead paused and emphasized, "when berthing large ships, especially those that are visiting the port for the first time, they rely on two to three powerful port barges."

Paul Wick nodded, not quite understanding: "So, this means that the other captain is very skilled?"

"Of course." Roughead nodded. "However, in addition to the high level of ship handling, the ship itself must also have high power control accuracy and response speed."

He paused for a moment, then spoke more emphatically.

After all, all the foreshadowing above is for this last sentence:

“And the Duncan is equipped with a revolutionary integrated all-electric propulsion system that happens to have unparalleled control precision and instantaneous response capabilities.”