On the other side, 1,600 kilometers away is Lingshui Airport in Qiong Province.

The 12 aircraft involved in the operation sequentially landed smoothly on the runway.

They were greeted by a celebration ceremony that had been prepared for a long time, but because it was at night, the scale was not large, just a few bouquets of flowers, and some decorations such as ribbons.

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

In the background, of course, are the warplanes that have just returned to the tarmac.

Compared with the previous outbound operation, although there is a high probability that this time it will not be openly high-profile, at least there is no need to hide it from even the army system.

The commendation should be announced, and the relevant publicity materials must also be prepared.

The ground crew also surrounded him at the first time.

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

It wasn't until this moment of complete relaxation that everyone suddenly remembered that there was an unsung hero in this operation who was not directly involved in the whole process, but was equally important.

That one transports 8J.

In addition to attracting fire and searching for targets in case of need, it should also simulate command of mission formations.

Although in order to avoid interference with other pilots, the command staff in the Y-8J will not enter the radio channel, which is basically equivalent to just playing a stand-alone game.

But even so, for the Chinese army, air command is also a brand new stand-alone game that has not been played before.

It's still worth paying attention to.

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

In fact, it was the two J-7 that actually took command of the embankment operation.

In addition to the electronic jamming of the old bank, they also used radar signals to trace the exact location of the target when the surface ships could not keep in touch with the enemy's main fleet, and also used the passive radar detection function to sense the two Sea Harriers that came to intercept in advance, so as to direct the formation to respond in time.

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

So what does the full version of the AWACS look like?

"By the way, what's going on on Polaris?"

Tang Yiping, who had already sorted out 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 after Deputy Chief of Staff Kang came back before, he said that he would conduct a unified task summary tomorrow morning, and he should know when the time comes."

Speaking of this, he paused again, and after making sure that there was no one on the left and right, he continued in a low voice:

"But after the landing of Polaris just now, I saw that the faces of the crew members didn't seem to be very good, maybe 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 issues, the plane had to return a few hours earlier than the other 12 aircraft, so the post-flight preparations had been completed and covered with the iconic camouflage tarpaulin.

"Hmm."

The division chief of staff nodded:

"But ignore them for now, this mission will definitely be a complete success, the celebration wine prepared for you has been arranged, and we will go directly to it later."

"The political commissar also specially arranged a TV on the spot, you must watch it then!"

said and slapped Tang Yiping's shoulder heavily:

"The escort work, we have successfully completed, although we can't go to the scene, but such a big thing, we still have to witness it with our own eyes!"

This time, the celebration banquet was only arranged by the division, so the pomp and circumstance was not large.

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

However, because of this, the atmosphere was harmonious and natural.

As the person who carried out the key overflight mission, Wang Wei naturally became the focus of attention on the scene.

Of course, it is impossible for a pilot on a combat readiness training mission to drink alcohol, but round after round of beer still makes him feel a little stretched.

Fortunately, everyone was still measured, and soon ended this part of the drinking process.

"Brother Wang, promise your photo."

The weapons control officer from the East China Sea Fleet Air Force handed Wang Wei the photos that had been expedited after landing.

It's even zoomed in.

Many comrades-in-arms who had not been given the opportunity to participate in the operation instantly surrounded them.

Since the banquet had been going on, they had only heard fragmented descriptions so far, and it was not very clear what had happened this evening.

Above the photo, it is the scene where Wang Wei's No. 12 plane has just flown over the aircraft carrier Excellence and dropped the two auxiliary fuel tanks under the wings.

Naturally, it attracted a burst of cheers and coaxing from everyone.

"If the two fuel tanks are replaced with bombs, then even if they can sink this aircraft carrier......

Of course, it is impossible to say this kind of thing openly outside, but when all of them are their own people, there is no limit.

"The auxiliary fuel tank of the J-8 is 760 liters, even if it is converted into two 500kg bombs, a light aircraft carrier may not be able to withstand it......"

Wang Wei hurriedly waved his hand:

"If it's really time to move in earnest, it will definitely not be possible to fly to the other party's head like this to bomb, this time it's just a gesture, a gesture......"

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

The military controller in charge of taking the photo also seized the opportunity to quip.

Everyone in the joy didn't notice that Tang Yiping also poked his head in from the periphery and saw this photo.

"This photo can be washed out again, enlarged a little, and hung in the division honor hall......"

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

"Moreover, looking at Xiao Wang's flight altitude, it is as if he is going to land on an aircraft carrier."

The chief of staff of the division, who was next to Tang Yiping, also pointed to the photo and said.

"Don't say it, Chief of Staff, I really had the idea of putting the landing gear down and rubbing it off, but there were too many people on their deck to give me a chance......

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

"Alas...... Landing on an aircraft carrier ......"

Suddenly mentioned this topic, Tang Yiping, who looked at the photo, couldn't help but sigh:

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

A word silenced the noise around him for a moment.

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

Seeing that many people were interested, Tang Yiping continued to speak:

"At that time, it was still the so-called honeymoon period, and many things could be bought, such as the engine used in the Flying Leopard, the electronic equipment of the J-7M, and the 051S destroyer that was just around the corner, all of which were found by the British, and the combination of this kind of light aircraft carrier and vertical take-off and landing aircraft was still very attractive."

"It's just that later, one is that their offer is too high, and the other is that our relationship with the West is not so good, so this matter has never been mentioned again."

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

Someone in the crowd answered.

"I can't say that."

Tang Yiping shook his head:

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

"Take this operation as an example, if it weren't for our J-7 to discover in time that the Excellence was recovering the plane, and take advantage of the weakest time for the other party to do it, I'm afraid it wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"A navy, if you really want to go to the ocean, then aircraft carriers, is still indispensable, it's a pity that I have two more years to be grounded, carrier-based aircraft...... I definitely won't be able to catch up, but I'm still optimistic that you young people will have a chance......"

In the midst of casual chat, time flies by minute by second.

At 11:42 p.m., the commissar turned on the TV on time.

The ceremony officially began......

Everyone fell silent.

"Arise, ...... 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 the bauhinia flag slowly rise in the national anthem.

That's what they're fighting for.

(End of chapter)