Li Zhan handled the enrollment of 60 Flying Shark Class cadets at the Naval Aviation Academy. Most of the semester has passed, and how the teaching work should be carried out after this batch of students is in place, the academy needs to adjust according to the requirements of the troops.

To put it bluntly, the Flying Shark class is the commission trainee within the unit, and all the trainees will work in the Flying Shark unit after graduation, and will not be picked and picked by various units like other trainees. Of course, the trainees who are eliminated in the five years will be arranged to change majors and jobs.

As soon as Li Zhan had finished dealing with these matters, an order came from the army asking him to return to the team, and it was already December 2012.

In view of some changes in the external situation, many of the troops' annual exercises and drills were scheduled for this month. It is an established arrangement in the annual training plan for the purpose of testing the training results of the troops.

The Flying Shark unit is in the process of forming combat effectiveness, and they have no plan for live-fire drills, nor do they have plans to train with other units.

However, in order to promote the formation of combat effectiveness of the Flying Shark unit as soon as possible, the Maritime Division asked the Flying Shark unit to send a capable detachment to participate in the joint maritime exercise codenamed "Denial-2012" held in the Yellow Sea. The three major fleets dispatched more than 20 warships, including submarines, destroyers, and supply vessels, and planned to dispatch more than 30 warplanes, including the elite detachment of the Flying Shark unit.

This is the Navy's own live-fire exercise, which is planned to be conducted over a five-day period, with the first two days being operational readiness and the last three days being live-fire exercises. Although some people may think that the live-fire exercise at the end of the year is a surprise spending, in fact the military and the civilian are two completely different systems, and there is no situation in which this year's budget will be reduced next year if it cannot be spent.

"The first exercise was held in April '09, when it was a joint military exercise with Russia, and it was stopped for a year in '10, and the second was held in April last year, which was also a joint military exercise with Russia. This year, it was originally planned to be done in June, but there were some problems on the Russian side and there was no way to send troops over. ”

Commander Dai Wenming briefed Li Zhan and said: "In view of these circumstances, the higher authorities have decided to hold exercises on their own, focusing on testing the combat capability of the unit's area denial, mainly focusing on anti-ship, anti-submarine, and alert air defense." The higher authorities demanded that we dispatch some pilots who are proficient in air refueling to form an air defense detachment with the unified command of the early warning aircraft to participate in the exercise. ”

Li Zhan looked at the drill plan and asked, "Take off from a land-based airport?" ”

"Yes, the stay in the air will be very long, not only will you have to use land-based airports for take-off and landing, I'm afraid you have to be prepared for long-range cruises." Dai Wenming said, "Our air alert air defense detachment is codenamed security, and the radio call signs are arranged in order, I am security guard No. 1, and you are security guard No. 2. ”

Li Zhan saw the list, in addition to him and Dai Wenming, there were also Han Hongjun, Cheng Da, Yang Fan, Gu Mingmu, a total of six people. These people are all veteran pilots with the qualification of refueling in the air day and night, and they are also pilots who have not yet obtained the qualification to go on the ship.

Obviously, when selecting personnel, Dai Wenming did not want to affect normal training because of his participation in the exercise. What's more, in the case of using land-based airfield sorties, any pilot pulled out of the Flying Shark unit is an ace.

"Can the radio call sign be changed, can I call the security guard?" Li Zhan asked with a smile.

Dai Wenming shook his head, "No, this is a communication plan determined by the intelligence department, and it can't be changed." ”

"Good. Let Han Hongjun be my wingman, and we cooperate more tacitly. Li Zhan said.

Dai Wenming's face was a little embarrassed, and he hesitated and whispered, "Lao Li, it's actually like this." Aren't half of our fighters on the mothership, and there are only five of them left at the base, one of which is a two-seater, and it is to be left in the base as a combat-ready aircraft. ”

"I'll shoot the seven." Li Zhan nodded slightly, not surprised.

The fighters of the Flying Shark Force have always been insufficient, and it is estimated that this state of affairs will not be completely resolved within three to five years. According to the establishment, the Flying Shark unit must be equipped with at least 20 combat fighters and more than 10 training fighters, and it is conservatively estimated that it will need 40 planes to fill the establishment.

Who knows, Dai Wenming said, "Your Jian-7 is a single-seater, what should you do with the Han Red Army?" ”

"Then, the J-7 is on duty for combat readiness, and I and the Han Red Army drive a two-seater J-15?" Li Zhan asked.

Dai Wenming shook his head, "The two-seater J-15 can't move." You don't need to shoot the J-7 either. This time, all the planes are third-generation aircraft, and you don't want to talk about driving a second-generation aircraft. Many scenes had to be filmed, and the army's propaganda units and state propaganda organs deployed a team of more than 200 people to cover the scenes. ”

"You just said it, let me do something." Li Zhan asked with a smile.

"Flying Leopard, you bring a photojournalist to follow the whole process, and the plane will have multiple cameras installed and carry a reconnaissance pod. Don't be in a hurry to hear me. Dai Wenming saw that Li Zhan was about to explode, so he hurriedly pressed his hand and said, "Of course, you also have a combat mission, or you won't bring a reconnaissance pod, don't you say?" Your mission is to conduct maritime reconnaissance and guide missiles to attack sea targets, and you also have to bring some aerial fire and take some video data of the fire assault on the island. However, the main task is to assist the photojournalists in their filming work. ”

"Oh yes, the reconnaissance pod is a new model, and the superior has the intention of conducting an actual combat test of the reconnaissance pod, I heard that as long as it is a fighter using a domestic avionics system, it can be used, and how the combat capability is needs to be tested, so you still have to make a record so that you can submit a test report after the exercise."

"Me again? Dare to really use me as a guinea pig. Li Zhan couldn't laugh or cry.

Dai Wenming smiled, "I took the initiative to ask for the battle, but the superiors appointed you to do this test." ”

As soon as he said this, Li Zhan reluctantly nodded and agreed, "Okay." However, I have only flown the flying leopard plane a few times, and this time bringing a reporter up means that I am doing the flight and the strike alone. ”

"The superiors have learned about the situation and decided to give you this task after careful consideration." Dai Wenming said that he didn't know that Li Zhan had driven a flying leopard, but it was an order from his superiors.

When Li Zhan went to Changfei Factory to do business, he flew several flying leopards that took off and landed, including the old flying leopard in the early stage and the new flying leopard (type A) in the later stage, so he had an understanding. The old flying leopards are all from HNA, but it is said that the air force is considering buying a batch of new flying leopards to fill the force, and the J-11 production of the Shen Hoy factory cannot meet the needs of the troops at all.

"What about Han Hongjun?" Li Zhan asked.

Dai Wenming said, "I borrowed a J-11B from my brother unit and asked the Korean Red Army to drive this." ”

"Then our capable squad is really varied, and those J-15 paints don't have them, if you look at them together, they are a proper ragtag army." Li Zhan smiled helplessly.

Dai Wenming said, "I can't help it, this is the actual situation, I can only find ways to solve the problem of the shortage of fighters first." Lao Li, don't have other ideas, I'll let people transfer the three corners of the hole to the manufacturer tomorrow to accept the modification, don't even think about it. ”

It turned out that when he saw Li Zhan's eyes rolling, he immediately knew that Li Zhan was actually not satisfied with the task of taking reporters to shoot in the sky, and if the plane was not enough, he must have driven the No. 037 J-7EGGH to make up the numbers.

"How is the deterrent power of the troops reflected? Of course, it's through journalism, so your task is very important. Dai Wenming said.

Li Zhan said, "What's the use of deterrence alone, the deterrent power is only powerful when you do it with real knives and guns." The troops are here, you make a suggestion to your superiors, let's stop shooting targets, and plan to use the West Pacific pirates as a target to practice. That group of pirates has grown in size and is a serious threat to navigation in the western Pacific. ”

"Stop, stop, Lao Li, let's not talk about this matter first, a drill is a drill, what kind of pirates to fight. Besides, the fight against piracy is the duty of all countries in the world, and it is not our turn to make suggestions on matters between countries. Of course, your idea is good, and you can mention it to Mr. Zhang if you have the opportunity, he listens to you. Dai Wenming said with a smile.

Li Zhan talked to Dai Wenming for a while, and Han Hongjun, Cheng Da, Yang Fan, and Gu Mingmu, who had received the order, went to the small conference room in the organ building, and the study meeting of the exercise plan began immediately.

"AWACS wireless call sign voyeur, communication preset wave number one, wireless call sign of the command center of the maritime task force East China Sea Dragon King, communication preset wave number two. It should be mentioned here that the communication of the second wave is connected to the underwater detachment, so we can communicate directly with the submarine, of course, depending on the communication conditions. Emergency wave number three, which can be used in case of emergency, can be used for priority communication. ”

Dai Wenming began to introduce the exercise plan, he pointed to the thick combat plan in everyone's hands, "The details of the implementation plan of the three-day overall live-fire exercise are all in it, we have five days to prepare, everyone must remember the relevant time nodes and remember their tasks." Lao Li. ”

He looked at Li Zhan and asked Li Zhan to add.

Li Zhan nodded and flipped through the plan and said, "I believe everyone has noticed that this refusal 2012 military exercise is an independent fact of our naval forces, and the purpose is to test the regional denial combat capability of the troops." This joint live-fire military exercise at sea is also the largest use of live-ammunition by our naval units in the past 10 years. Two of the latest 052Cs are coming. ”

He pointed to the relevant contents of the plan and said, "These two destroyers are going to hit two anti-ship missiles, eight anti-aircraft missiles, and two anti-ship torpedoes." The Iron Fist detachment of the Second Fleet poured out, and four Modern-class destroyers formed the main strike force of the task force at sea, and they were to launch eight heavy anti-ship missiles. The underwater detachment consisted mainly of the two Great Wall submarines of the First Fleet, and they also had to conduct live firing. So it's a feast of firepower. ”

"The fact that so much ammunition has been taken out to conduct exercises shows that the leading organs at higher levels are determined to test our combat effectiveness in an all-round way. In normal times, we also fight aviation fire when attacking the sea and the ground, but this time it is different, and every fighter can shoot air-to-air missiles and air-to-ship missiles. Our naval attacks are still mainly based on large surface ships of the 100,000-ton class, and the targets set by the support detachment are very accurate, simulating the reflection area of large surface ships in the radar. ”

"I'm asking you to be at the level of the Flying Shark Force." Li Zhan glanced at everyone, "Many people in the army have a lot of complaints about our Flying Shark Force, which has taken up a lot of resources but has not made obvious progress for a long time. Originally, I thought that they saw it this way because they did not know the difficulty of using carrier-based fighters, and this time they went out to recruit and fly away for most of China, and any relevant departments everywhere they went were unconditional support for our Flying Shark troops. It touched me deeply. I think we have to work a hundredfold hard to make the Flying Shark Force combat effective in order to be worthy of the support of so many people. ”

Li Zhan didn't elaborate, except for Han Hongjun, the other ranks here are either higher than him or the same level as him, Yang Fan and Gu Mingmu are both people who have served as deputy regiment commanders, both are lieutenant colonels and deputy regiments, and they usually do ideological work for others, so there is no need for Li Zhan to open the mode of political work experts.

"The implementation phase began at 4 a.m. on the 24th, which means that the start of the fight will span day and night. Except for the J-11B piloted by Han Hongjun who needs to return to replenish fuel, everyone else will continue to stay in the air to provide air cover for the maritime task force after refueling, and the plan will last until 14 o'clock in the afternoon, which is very long, and Cheng Da, Yang Fan, and Gu Mingmu will have to rest well in the past few days. ”

Li Zhan continued, "I am in charge of aerial photography and reconnaissance and guidance in the old flying leopard, so your operational command is in charge of the unit commander, and the unit commander receives the instructions of the early warning aircraft and then directs you to fight. In addition, it is necessary to seize the time to familiarize ourselves with the information of several alternate airports, especially the situation of several coastal civilian airports. The airport where the Han Red Army returned to replenish fuel was set at Dachang Station, and you should be familiar with the situation at Dachang Station. ”

"Understood!" Han Hongjun nodded heavily.

The exercise area is located in the intersecting waters of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, and it is 1,000 kilometers away from the Flying Shark Unit's fertile ground naval flight training base, so the Flying Shark detachment will have to wait for 10 hours in the exercise area, and it is estimated that it will have to go through two aerial refueling operations to complete the exercise.

The closest to the exercise area is the urban agglomeration centered on Xiahai City, where there are a large number of airports, and there are dozens of military, civilian, and military-civilian airports, and it is the area with the largest concentration of airports in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Therefore, all the alternate landing fields of the air detachments participating in the exercise were placed in this area, and the shore-based aviation units of the Navy participating in the exercise also dispatched troops in this area.

"Preparations will be completed today and tomorrow, and on the 22nd, we will begin to pull the process, conduct simulated attacks, and air refueling training, and on the 23rd we will prepare for tactics, and we will start implementing them in the early morning of the 24th. Time was relatively tight, and all other things on hand were put aside, and I went all out to greet this live-fire exercise. ”

Li Zhan closed his notebook and said loudly.

"Yes!" Everyone stood up and answered.

They all have a breath in their hearts, in fact, they are not the only ones, everyone who pays attention to the current affairs news has a breath in their hearts. Area denial operations are a new operational concept put forward a few years ago, which aims to deter the enemy from entering a certain sea area through a certain degree of strike, and to control the scale of the conflict and achieve tactical objectives.

In fact, this concept is very similar to the tactics of encirclement and reinforcement, but the expression "area denial" is more mild, and it is not as heavy as the war meaning of "encirclement and reinforcement".

At first, Li Zhan did not care about the concept of "area denial operations", thinking that the navy was just catching up with the fashion and learning a new idea from outside. After in-depth study, it was found that it was not easy to achieve the goal of regional denial operations, and to a certain extent, it could be said that it was much more difficult than encircling points and sending reinforcements.

If it is light, it will not achieve the goal of "refusal", but it must not be heavy, and if it is too heavy, it may cause the scale of the firefight to get out of control.

Quite a test of the tactical ability of the troops.