Chapter 1186: Game-Changing Weapons

After a dozen people looked at each other in confusion for a few seconds, Li Jixiang remembered to put down the three-color marker in his hand, and then rubbed his wrist, which was a little sore from hanging in the air.

Perhaps because he was a little embarrassed because of the failed performance, he coughed twice first, and then turned to Lu Zhicheng, who was frowning not far away:

"Captain, that thing just now was a shot...what?"

Li Jixiang had already seen the 2250m/s number on the screen, but he seemed even more confused than before.

Because in his concept, there seems to be nothing whose terminal velocity is in this strange range.

Generally speaking, the reentry velocity of a ballistic missile increases with range.

But it is not a simple proportional relationship.

Generally speaking, the re-entry speed of long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles can reach Mach 15-20 or even higher.

As of now, the only practical interception method is to shoot up an anti-aircraft missile also loaded with nuclear warheads and kill them both.

Of course, this weapon itself will not be equipped with conventional charges. Once launched in actual combat, it means starting an irreversible nuclear war.

Therefore, it is a completely extraneous weapon.

However, ordinary short- and medium-range missiles, especially most tactical models that do not have the ability to separate the head and body, are difficult to break through the Mach 5 barrier.

The latest model of medium-range missile has a two-stage rocket, which can achieve this re-entry speed.

But the People's Liberation Army doesn't seem to be extravagant enough to just shoot Dongfeng 21 casually...

Lu Zhicheng did not answer immediately, but he lowered his head and thought for a long time, but could not come up with a more reasonable answer.

He had no choice but to shake his head:

"I'm not sure..."

"But we can be sure that this is not something that our existing equipment can deal with..."

Li Jixiang was still immersed in the unsuccessful interception just now, and asked with some embarrassment:

"The result of the exercise..."

"Of course, report it truthfully!"

Lu Zhicheng took a deep breath, then slowly stood up:

"The superiors must have known the specifics of this target."

"So, I'm afraid we are the ones who serve as sparring partners..."

…

In fact, Captain Lu's guess was indeed a bit unreasonable.

This anti-missile interception exercise, which took place hundreds of kilometers away, was an additional arrangement by the military. It was completely independent from the test of the double-cone warhead, and there was no such thing as a training partner for whom.

Therefore, Chang Haonan and others at the launch site are not aware of such a thing at the moment.

Since this test was not a complete combat system, there was no assessment of hit accuracy.

The terminal speed of Mach 6.5 is not enough to create an ionosphere in the air. Therefore, as long as the seeker can start normally, it means that the warhead itself can withstand overload, radiation, and of course the most important temperature test during the entire flight. .

So for them, after hearing the report command "Seeker power on", this test is considered complete...

Xing Muchun looked at the missile launch camp in the distance that had not yet completed its evacuation, and suddenly felt a bit unreal.

How come I, the deputy chief designer of the Long March 2F rocket, suddenly witnessed the successful test launch of a hypersonic weapon?

Even if it's just a warhead, it's even a warhead in an incomplete state.

But you must know that it has only been half a year since the project was launched.

The progress of the entire project is changing with each passing day in a literal sense.

He glanced at the colleagues in front of him and found that the expressions of others seemed to be similar to his...

"So... it was successful?"

He asked tentatively.

For a moment, no one answered.

Even including Chang Haonan.

To him, the warhead itself was a trivial matter.

But many of the technologies carried on it are key that can benefit the next few years, or even longer.

Finally, Missile Brigade Commander Wei Shijun couldn't hold it in any longer and broke the silence:

"Yes, the launch was successful."

Just seven words, like a dam gate being suddenly opened.

The emotions that everyone had accumulated a few days ago were released like a gushing flood. Chang Haonan was used to this kind of scene, but before he could react, he saw Xing Muchun, who was not far in front of him, turned around and gave him a hug that probably required all his strength...

It wasn't until about ten minutes that the excitement gradually subsided.

And Chang Haonan was finally able to escape from the crowd, leaning on a chair nearby and breathing heavily——

The swarm of hugs just now almost suffocated him to death in this deep mountain forest...

It was only then that he noticed that someone he had never seen before came in at the door of the brigade headquarters.

The other party was dressed in casual clothes and was probably not a commander in the missile brigade.

But being able to enter here obviously had Wei Shijun's approval.

Therefore, Chang Haonan looked directly at the latter

"Brigadier Wei, this..."

However, before he could finish his question, the visitor looked around and then took the initiative to walk up to Chang Haonan.

"Hello, Academician Chang."

The latter stood up and shook hands with the other party.

"I'm from the Second Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry. My name is Dai Pengxin. This is my letter of introduction..."

Dai Pengxin said and took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

In 2005, the application environment of letters of introduction is actually not as broad as it was more than ten years ago.

So when Chang Haonan saw this thing, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment before taking it in his hands.

After opening it, it was indeed stamped with two big red seals from the Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and the Second Research Institute.

"PLA Unit 95229:

... With the approval of superior leaders... I would like to introduce Comrade Dai Pengxin from our unit to your department to understand and observe the testing situation of new warheads..."

"..."

Chang Haonan quickly read the contents of the letter.

Although the letter of introduction itself was given to Base 51, and it did not directly state the position that Dai Pengxin was responsible for, it is not difficult to make some assumptions based on his work unit and the current time point...

"I guess... the work you are responsible for should be the research on mobile penetration and guidance control of ballistic missiles?"

Ballistic missile guidance control, the final product is actually the later Dongfeng 21D anti-ship ballistic missile.

Although there is no Project 995 in this timeline, the projects included in it were each initiated in the years around the turn of the century under different names.

After hearing this question, Dai Pengxin's eyes lit up:

"Exactly!"

"Our project team leader learned that Academician Chang has successfully developed a new warhead cooling technology. Compared with passive heat absorption through ablation materials, your technology can directly reduce the surface temperature of the warhead, delay or even eliminate the surface temperature of the warhead. The creation of the ionosphere..."

The two projects, to some extent, ended up in the same place by different paths.

Of course, compared to hypersonic weapons, the anti-ship ballistic missiles of the Second Academy have undoubtedly more urgent needs for radar guidance.

Chang Haonan is naturally willing to help his brothers and units if conditions permit, but he cannot simply become a living bodhisattva.

Therefore, no clear statement was made immediately.

Instead he asked:

"How far are you... now?"

Dai Pengxin came here to ask for help from others, so it was naturally impossible for him to show off in a place like this:

"At the beginning of this year, Shengfei Group helped us specially modify a J-8C fighter jet that could break through the thermal barrier, and moved the anti-ship ballistic missile's seeker to it for several rounds of testing. However, after all, the aircraft could not even reach three times the speed of sound. reached, so only very limited data can be obtained..."

"I'm also studying the seeker part here, so let's not mention it for now."

Chang Haonan waved his hand:

"In addition to guidance, the biggest difficulty in using ballistic missiles to attack moving targets is flight path control... Which technical route did you choose in this area?"

His hypersonic weapon flies within the atmosphere throughout the entire process, and of course he chooses to use aerodynamic rudders to solve the problem.

However, if the anti-ship ballistic missile begins to adjust its posture when it reaches the atmosphere, it may not be too late.

And judging from the letter of introduction, it seems that the Second Institute does not have a mature rudder surface cooling solution.

"We cannot solve the ablation problem of the rudder surface for the time being..."

Dai Pengxin replied almost without thinking:

"So, the current main research direction is variable center of mass maneuvers."