Chapter 341 July 7

On the other side, Lingshui Airport in Qiong Province is 1600 kilometers away.

The 12 aircraft participating in the operation landed smoothly on the runway one after another.

What greeted them was naturally a celebration ceremony that had been prepared long ago. However, because it was at night, the scale was not large. They only had a few bouquets of flowers and some ribbons and other decorations.

There were also reporters from the People's Liberation Army Daily who came specially from the capital to take photos of members of the task force.

The background is naturally those fighter planes that have just returned to the tarmac.

Compared with the previous overseas operations, although this time there is a high probability that it will not be made public and high-profile, at least there is no need to hide it even within the military system.

Praise should be reported when it is time to report it, and relevant publicity materials must also be prepared.

Ground staff also gathered around immediately.

Other aircraft were not in a hurry, but the camera pod hanging on Wang Wei's No. 12 aircraft had to be taken down immediately. The film bin inside was the most important result of this mission and needed to be handed over to the General Staff Intelligence Bureau as soon as possible.

It was only when they were able to completely relax that everyone suddenly remembered that there was an unsung hero who was not directly involved in the entire operation but was equally important.

That plane was shipped 8J.

In addition to attracting firepower and searching for targets if needed, it should also conduct simulated command of the mission formation.

Although in order to avoid causing interference to other pilots, the commanders in the Y-8J will not enter the radio channel, which is basically equivalent to just playing a single-player game.

But even so, for the Chinese army, air command is a brand new stand-alone game that has never been played before.

Still have to pay attention.

Especially after such a mission that was extremely close to actual combat, everyone had an intuitive understanding of the role of air command.

The two JH-7s were actually responsible for the command during the embankment-building operation.

In addition to their traditional electronic jamming, they also used radar signals to trace the target's exact location when surface ships were unable to maintain contact with the enemy's main fleet, and used the passive radar detection function to sense two approaching aircraft in advance. The intercepted Sea Harrier thus commanded the formation to respond promptly.

Even without a data link, just relying on a backseat weapons controller for voice command has already played such a big role.

So what does the full version of the early warning system look like?

"By the way, how is the situation over there at Polaris?"

Tang Yiping, who had already arranged his equipment, found his chief of staff from the crowd after the celebration ceremony.

After hearing this question, the other party was stunned:

"I don't know yet, but Deputy Chief of Staff Kang said when he came back that he would conduct a unified mission summary tomorrow morning. We should know by then."

After saying this, he paused again, and after making sure there was no one around him, he continued in a low voice:

"But after Polaris landed just now, I saw that the faces of the crew members seemed not to be very good. It may be that they encountered some special circumstances."

"Is there such a thing?"

Tang Yiping glanced at the "Big Nose" patrol plane parked opposite from a distance.

Due to range and mission setting issues, this aircraft returned a few hours earlier than their other 12 aircraft, so it had completed post-flight preparations and was covered with the iconic camouflage tarpaulin.

"Ah."

The division chief of staff nodded:

"But ignore them for now. This mission must be a complete success. The celebration drinks for you have been arranged. We will go directly there later."

"The political commissar has specially arranged a TV at the scene. You must watch it when the time comes!"

As he spoke, he patted Tang Yiping heavily on the shoulder:

"We have successfully completed the escort work. Although we cannot arrive at the scene, we still have to witness such a big event with our own eyes!"

The celebration banquet this time was only arranged by the division, so it was not a grand event.

The highest-level leaders present were the political commissar of the division commander of the 9th HNA Division and Deputy Chief of Staff Kang Shijun of the Naval Aviation Department.

But precisely because of this, the atmosphere at the scene was harmonious and natural.

As the person who performed the key flyby mission, Wang Wei naturally became the focus of attention at the scene.

Of course, it is impossible for a pilot on a combat readiness training mission to drink alcohol, but one round after another of beer still made him feel a little full soon.

Fortunately, everyone was quite measured and quickly ended the drinking process.

"Brother Wang, I promise to take your photo."

The weapons control officer from the East China Sea Fleet Aviation Force handed Wang Wei the photos that had been developed in a hurry after landing.

It was even specially enlarged.

Many comrades who had not been able to participate in the operation immediately gathered around.

Since the banquet has been going on, they have only heard some fragmented descriptions so far, and it is not clear what exactly happened this evening.

In the photo above, it is the scene where Wang Wei's No. 12 aircraft just flew over the aircraft carrier Excellence and dropped the two auxiliary fuel tanks under the wings.

Naturally, it attracted cheers and jeers from everyone.

"If the two auxiliary fuel tanks were replaced with bombs, it would probably sink the aircraft carrier..."

Of course it's impossible to say this kind of thing publicly outside, but when it's all our own people, there are no restrictions.

"The J-8's auxiliary fuel tank is 760 liters. Even if it is converted into two 500kg bombs, a light aircraft carrier may not be able to carry it..."

Wang Wei quickly waved his hand:

"If it really comes down to taking action, it's definitely not possible to fly over the opponent's head and bomb like this. This time it's just a gesture, a gesture..."

"I remember that time in 82, several British warships were sunk by iron bombs bombed from the air. Brother Wang, this time, I am afraid it will give some people nightmares."

The weapons control officer in charge of taking pictures also seized the opportunity and joked.

Everyone in the joy did not notice that Tang Yiping also poked his head in from the outside and saw the photo.

"This photo can be developed again, enlarged, and hung in the Teacher's Hall of Honor..."

The teacher's voice caused the others to fall into silence for a moment, but they soon realized that the other party did not mean to criticize them.

"Besides, when you look at Xiao Wang's flying altitude, it looks like he's about to land on an aircraft carrier."

The division chief of staff who was following Tang Yiping also pointed at the photo and said.

"Chief of Staff, please don't tell me. I actually had the idea to put down the landing gear and rub it for a while, but there were too many people on the deck and they didn't give me a chance..."

Wang Wei's answer triggered another burst of cheers...

"Alas...landing on the aircraft carrier..."

When this topic was suddenly mentioned, Tang Yiping couldn't help but feel a little sad when looking at the photos:

"Speaking of which, in the 80s, we even considered introducing an Invincible-class aircraft carrier from the UK like the Excellence."

One sentence temporarily silenced the noise around him.

This story is relatively unfamiliar to most of the young people present.

Seeing that many people were interested, Tang Yiping continued:

"At that time, it was still the so-called honeymoon period. Many things could be bought, such as the engine used by the Flying Leopard, the electronic equipment of the J-7M, and the 051S destroyer, which was just short of finishing. They all came from the British. Back then, This combination of a light aircraft carrier and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft is still very attractive.”

"But later on, one was that their price was too high, and the other was that our relationship with the West was not that good, so this matter was never mentioned again."

"Now it seems that this kind of light aircraft carrier is nothing more than that..."

Someone in the crowd answered.

"You can't say that."

Tang Yiping shook his head:

"Although it is definitely not as good as a serious large and medium-sized aircraft carrier, even a vertical short take-off and landing aircraft like the Sea Harrier is much better than a helicopter."

"Take this operation as an example. If our JHD-7 hadn't discovered in time that the Zhuoyue was recovering the aircraft and took advantage of the enemy's weakest moment to take action, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so smooth."

"If a navy really wants to go to the ocean, then aircraft carriers are still indispensable. It's a pity that I have to be grounded in two years. Carrier-based aircraft... I will definitely not be able to catch up, but I am still very optimistic about you. These young people have a chance..."

In the relaxed chat, time flew by minute by minute.

At : pm, the political commissar turned on the TV on time.

The ceremony officially begins...

Everyone fell silent.

"Rise up, you who do not want to be slaves..."

I don’t know who started it.

Everyone present gathered in a semicircle and watched the five-star red flag and redbud flag rising slowly amid the national anthem.

That's what they're fighting for.