Chapter 86: Long-Range Scouting

At the same time that Chang Haonan and the United Power Research Team finally found and verified the cause of the failure overnight.

Across the ocean, Robbins Air Force Base, Georgia.

Colonel Jason Brooke, deputy commander of the 78th Air Force Base Wing, was holding a paper cup with coffee, leaning back on the back of the couch and looking at his old friend behind the desk in the innermost part of the room, Brigadier General Thomas Stephens, commander of the 93rd Air Control Wing.

"Tom, have you heard that the new plane of the Chinese people, which looks like a fine-spouted bottle, had a serious accident yesterday during a test flight."

Jason and Thomas were classmates in flight school, and the 78th Air Base Wing was unique in nature (there were no aviation units, but it was responsible for maintaining and running the entire air base), so despite their different ranks, they never looked at each other through the eyes of their superiors.

"New planes? Are you talking about the kind they gave Grumman to improve? ”

The 93rd Air Control Wing has focused on European missions for the past few decades, so Thomas doesn't know much about East Asia.

But nearly ten years ago, when he was just an ordinary pilot, he once saw the kind of aircraft that was somewhat similar to the Su-15 at Grumman by chance, so he was still a little impressed after hearing the words of his old classmates.

"I think Jason is talking about something else."

It was an Army Colonel sitting on the other side, Mitchell Schelling, who spoke.

"After Grumman sent those two planes back, they launched a new deep improvement project, which should be internally codenamed Project 83, but from yesterday's situation, it is clear that it is not going well."

Jason took a sip of coffee from his cup:

"A cousin of mine who works for the Defense Intelligence Agency told me yesterday when he was at a bar that someone saw one of the plane's engines erupting into flames in mid-air, presumably an engine accident, and it was serious."

Again, the thing like an airplane test flight can't be concealed in the final analysis.

And the movement of the prototype 01 yesterday was really a bit too big.

"It's not surprising, I've seen that kind of plane by chance before, at Plant 42 in California, and I have to say that although I only saw it from a distance...... Very rough. ”

Thomas said as he pulled out a box of cigars from a drawer, pulled one out of it, and trimmed it carefully with a cigar cutter.

"It seems that after all these years, they have not made much progress." Jason shook his head and replied with a smile.

"Time can change a lot of things." Thomas slowly toasted a cigar on the flame of a butane lighter, then brought it to his lips and took a puff: "But time alone cannot make monkeys learn to use tools." ”

"Well, I'll admit that your analogy is very apt......"

"Hahahaha......"

The office rang out with the joyful laughter of three people.

After a while, Jason, who had regained his composure, continued:

"But then again, while their own planes pose no threat to us, the Flankers bought from the Russians are a different matter, they have a long range and are very maneuverable, which can be a nuisance for the guys."

"Flankers are a formidable opponent, but only if they are in the hands of the Russians themselves." Thomas put the cigar back in his hand and watched the pale blue smoke rise:

"I have read the report given by the Naval Intelligence Bureau after the confrontation at the beginning of this year, the Huaxia Air Force has no experience in operating third-generation fighters, their pilots are immature, and the sortie rate is also very low, and a lot of maintenance work even needs to be carried out by the Russian side."

Hearing Thomas's statement, Jason raised his head and thought for a few seconds:

"What you said may be right, but even if there is only one plane, the range of the flanker is enough to follow any kind of aircraft of the 93rd Wing the whole time, so you can't carry out the mission properly."

"There's no need to worry about the range."

Colonel Mitchell, who hadn't spoken for a while, cleared his throat and explained:

"According to the intelligence obtained by satellite reconnaissance and some special means, the Su-27's oil and electrical equipment and other support systems are completely incompatible with the original facilities of the Huaxia Air Force, and they currently only have a battalion-level service support detachment equipped with all-Russian equipment at the Suixi Airport in Guangdong Province, in other words, those flankers cannot operate out of this airfield, and our main mission area is in the east, and there are only some imitation MiG-21s with a short range in this direction."

"Compared with the mere 40 Flankers, the above is more worried about the dozen or so S300 anti-aircraft missile battalions deployed near the eastern coastline,"

Thomas put the cigar in his hand on the lid, waited for it to go out naturally, and then looked up at the two old friends:

"A few years ago, we got a few sets through the CIS countries for testing, but Huaxia has an updated version after a major overhaul, what are the evaluation results...... At least not weaker than the Patriot PAC2. ”

"No weaker than the Patriot...... Doesn't that sound threatening? ”

Jason's sneer wasn't clever, but it made Thomas and Mitchell laugh out loud.

All three had participated in the Gulf War and knew very well how much moisture was in Raytheon's propaganda about the Patriot missile.

The vast majority of the Patriots' provable results throughout the war were accidental hits on the coalition's own planes, with a maximum of 3 F16s and 2 Tornadoes shot down in a week.

Correspondingly, many coalition pilots will not hesitate to launch missiles to destroy their own Patriots after being targeted.

Thomas, who was still in higher rank, was the first to regain his serious expression:

"No kidding, we tested the oldest S300PT, and for aircraft like the A6 and F15, the threat is very high at a range of 60-70 km, and the improved model sold by the Russians to Huaxia can double the range, and the anti-personnel envelope even exceeds our Hamm missiles."

The AGM88 "Hamm" anti-radiation missile, specially designed to combat enemy radar facilities, the combination of EA6B or EF111 with AGM88 is the most powerful weapon for the US Navy / Air Force to break through the air defense network of an imaginary enemy.

And a weapon that can pose a threat to carrier aircraft beyond Hamm's range will undoubtedly cause alarm on the part of the US military.

"That's right, that's why the Joint Chiefs of Staff has asked for the latest reconnaissance planes that have just been commissioned to be sent to Kadena, and we need to reconnoiter the anti-aircraft missile positions deployed around the capital and Shanghai."

Colonel Mitchell stood up and looked through the huge floor-to-ceiling window in front of him at a brand-new four-engine jumbo jet on the tarmac not far away.

The E8C "Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System," developed on the Boeing 707 passenger aircraft platform, was officially put into service in June this year, and it is also the only model in the US military that is used exclusively for ground reconnaissance.

A long radar located under its belly can detect and track vehicle-sized ground targets from more than 150 kilometers away, and it will be the world's most advanced ground target surveillance aircraft for a long time to come.

In fact, Mitchell, who is an army officer, appeared here precisely because of this E8C, after all, this model was jointly developed and used by the Army and the Air Force.

"Alright, then I wish you all the best, I'll have to arrange for someone to take care of that state-of-the-art baby."

Jason drank the last bit of coffee in his cup, tossed the paper cup into the trash can next to him, got up and straightened his clothes, and left Thomas's office.

(End of chapter)