At four o'clock in the morning the next day, the gate of Chenguang Machinery Factory slowly opened. A military green Jiefang truck drove out of the factory, escorted by two self-produced wheeled armored vehicles and four off-road vehicles. The guard stood straight.
They saluted with their hands raised, and the militiamen on the armored vehicles responded neatly. The truck's cabin was covered with a tight tarpaulin, and the door was painted with the reserve's logo.
The convoy galloped on the empty road and soon arrived in Nantai County. The test firing site had been found long ago. It was in the Nantai Industrial Park of the Xuanwu Group that had been suspended. The place was wild, overgrown, and deserted.
After the vehicle stopped, the militiamen in camouflage uniforms jumped on the truck, carried the two missiles on their shoulders, and placed them on the launch rail of the armored vehicle. There was also a huge oil drum on the truck. Ye Zhiqiu personally used an oil pump to pump the missiles into the truck.
The missile's fuel tank is filled with liquid fuel.
"What oil?" Lu Tianming asked.
"Aviation kerosene plus nitromethane." Ye Zhiqiu replied.
Lu Tianming nodded: "Yes, I remember that the fuel of the Scud missile is nitric acid plus kerosene. So how is the software system designed? It always requires a launch base station and remote control facilities."
Lao Wen said: "The software was developed by us based on Linux. It is simple and effective. Before launch, we input the precise satellite terrain map required within the range into the memory and set the target. After launch, the missile will automatically fly according to the GPS and satellite signals.
The camera in the fairing will correct the heading error according to the terrain. We have previously conducted short-range experiments of one kilometer, five kilometers, and ten kilometers. Today is a full-scale actual test, targeting an abandoned mine 180 kilometers away.
In small towns, the terrain within the range includes farmland, forests, rivers, lakes, roads, railways, villages, cities, hills, etc., which are relatively complex and can effectively test the actual combat performance of the missile."
The work was going on in an intense and orderly manner. The missile was filled with fuel. Ye Zhiqiu used his laptop to input instructions into the missile's microcontroller. Everything was ready. The technicians tested the wind direction and temperature and turned on the camera. Ye Zhiqiu invited Lu Tianming to come.
After pressing the launch button, Lu Tianming said, "It's better for Wen Gong to do it."
After a while of mutual humility, Lao Wen and Ye Zhiqiu finally pressed the launch button together. The tail of the cruise missile on the guide rail spurted out a stream of flames. Everyone's hearts were in their throats. The missile suddenly took off and spread its wings steadily.
Flying extremely northward.
Everyone immediately cheered, and the monitoring posts located five hundred meters, two kilometers, and five kilometers ahead sent reports that the missile was running smoothly, at normal speed, and in the correct direction.
Immediately afterwards, the second cruise missile was launched, which was the delta-wing missile designed by Ye Zhiqiu that resembled a model aircraft. The take-off mode of this missile was simpler. A single person could hold it with both hands and throw it. The target of the Type II missile was
An unattended water pump house fifty kilometers away.
"Get in the car." Lu Tianming gave the order, and the test staff boarded the car and went straight to the destination. Everyone was in a very nervous mood. The two project leaders were even more stressed. The Type II missile was nothing more, even if it was halfway
It's okay if it falls. It's just like a model aircraft landing on the ground, but the Type I missile looks like a cutting-edge weapon, and it weighs 200 kilograms. If it falls, it can kill people. Even if it doesn't hit people, it will be troublesome if it hits houses and cars.
Although there are loopholes in the law in this regard, no one can bear the responsibility if investigated. Chenguang Factory is not a real military industrial enterprise. The crime of privately designing and manufacturing military weapons is not a small crime.
The car was speeding on the road. It was only five o'clock and it was dawn. There were very few cars on the road, but the visibility was already very high. Trees and farmland were receding rapidly outside the car window. In order to ease everyone's mood, Lu Tianming smiled.
Said: "It's almost time for our baby to cross the Huaijiang River."
Ye Zhiqiu sent out an IPAD, pointed a few times with his fingers, and said: "We have already flown over the Huaijiang River and are flying north along the railway line at a constant speed. The speed is 200 kilometers per hour, which is quite stable."
Lu Tianming was shocked: "Can you see the trajectory of the missile?"
Ye Zhiqiu said: "Technology is advancing rapidly. Many things that were myths a few years ago have now entered people's homes. Not only can I track the missile, I can also control its flight and perform manual guidance when necessary."
At the same time, in a carriage traveling on the Jiangdong section of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, a little boy who was playing with flying toys saw a light blue small plane and a train going hand in hand outside the window. He blinked and shook his sleeping father:
"Dad, look at the plane."
The father was woken up and glanced out the window impatiently. There was no plane. He patted his son on the head angrily and said, "Sleep!"
In a small village next to the railway line, an old man who got up early to pick up dung was walking on a country road. The wild flowers on the roadside were covered with dew. Suddenly something flew past his eyes, as fast as the wind. The old man was stunned for a long time and looked at
Looking at the big yellow dog following behind him, he sighed: "I'm so old, my eyes are dazzled."
On the inter-provincial highway, a family car was parked on the shoulder of the road. The woman was sitting in the car and dozing off. The man was standing by the guardrail to urinate. Suddenly, a missile flew past his eyes. The man was stunned and peed on his pants.
, he hurriedly ran back to the car and shouted: "Get my SLR quickly!"
When he took the camera, there was no trace of the missile. The woman blamed him: "You're crazy."
The man vowed: "I saw a missile flying over, an American Tomahawk cruise missile. I often go to the military to dive, and I will never be wrong."
…
After all, the missile ran faster than the car. When everyone was still on the way, the Type II missile arrived at its destination. According to the on-site personnel, the missile landed twenty meters away from the water pump room. When the news came, everyone was shocked.
I am very excited. The error of twenty meters is already very small, even exceeding the design standard.
Another half hour later, according to the GPS, the I-type missile hit the target. There was a burst of joy in the car. Not long after, they finally arrived at the shooting range. This is a mining town in Longyang City. Due to the depletion of coal mines, most of the residents in the town have relocated.
It's almost an empty city.
The target of the missile was an abandoned warehouse, but no wreckage of the missile was found. Everyone searched separately and finally found the missile fifty meters away from the target.
The missile was plunged into the sand with its tail pointing upwards. The missile body was not excessively deformed, indicating that the carbon fiber and strength could still withstand the test. The testers stepped forward to flatten the missile, checked the fuel tank, and found that there was still three to four liters.
Residuals, that is to say, the missile's redundancy capability is very strong. The guidance part at the warhead position has been damaged. Ye Zhiqiu carefully removed them. This is all valuable information.
"Preliminary estimates indicate that the reason for the deviation is that the civilian GPS navigation chip used has large errors and insufficient accuracy." Ye Zhiqiu explained.
"Didn't terrain navigation play a role at the critical moment?" Lu Tianming questioned.
Lao Wen said: "Terrain navigation is mainly to make up for the shortcomings of GPS. There is a question of who leads and who assists. After all, computers are not human brains. In the terminal guidance stage, we design GPS as the main one. If there is an error, it is me.
responsibility.”
He looked remorseful, but Lu Tianming laughed: "This test can score 120 points!"
The staff applauded at the same time, and everyone's faces were filled with the joy of success.
Suddenly a local police car drove over, and two policemen got out of the car and asked cautiously: "What are you doing?"
The experimental vehicles at Chenguang Factory are all painted in camouflage, and the staff wear camouflage uniforms and helmets, and the police do not dare to act rashly.
"Little comrade, we are from a military factory and we are conducting experiments. Please help us maintain order and don't let the common people watch." Lu Tianming was a deputy division commander after all. Most people can't imitate that kind of magnanimity. The two rural policemen hurriedly
Salute: "Yes, Chief!"
On the way back, everyone relaxed and talked and laughed. A technician said loudly: "I didn't expect Mr. Lu to hide it from everyone for so long. We have been guessing what kind of high-tech thing Houshan is researching. It turns out to be a cruise missile."
, Mr. Lu, can we reveal the secret now?"
Lu Tianming said: "Let's let Lao Wen introduce the research and development process."
Lao Wen's face was glowing with excitement, and he no longer looked like a chronic patient. He said modestly: "I can't speak, let Xiaoye tell everyone."
Ye Zhiqiu declined for a while, but finally couldn't resist Lao Wen, and said: "When we received the mission from President Lu, we were in a difficult situation. Everyone knows that cruise missiles have higher technological content than surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. The Gulf
During the war, the U.S. military launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from battleships, which could directly reach a certain building in Baghdad. The accuracy level could even guarantee that the second missile would penetrate through the hole opened by the first one. The cruise missile would be the same as the one in the hands of Jianxian.
Like a flying sword, it can take the head of a person thousands of miles away. Of course, the cost is also very expensive, reaching 1.5 million US dollars."
There were boos in the car, what is the concept of one and a half million dollars? One missile can pay the wages of all factory workers for ten years! The Yankees are really rich and will set off cruise missiles like fireworks when fighting a war. I don’t accept it.
Neither works.
Ye Zhiqiu continued: "I didn't have any technical information at hand, so I had to search online, and I actually found a post about how to make cruise missiles in a private workshop. It was just a few thousand words of text information. It was difficult to actually make it.
There are many more than I imagined. Fortunately, Wen Gong is here, otherwise I would only be able to build a big firecracker with my three-legged cat skills."
There was a burst of good-natured laughter, and everyone turned their attention to Lao Wen. Someone whispered: "Gong Wen, say a few words."
Facing the expectant eyes, Lao Wen finally started talking: "You may not be very familiar with my history. Before I was transferred to Chenguang Factory, I worked in an ordnance research institute in the Northeast. At that time, it was the Gulf
When the war broke out, our unit was ordered to study cruise missiles. I was the deputy leader of the research team. The technological level at that time was far worse than it is now. All electronic components were imported, but at least we had some basics. Mr. Lu gave me this
During the mission, I was very excited and worried, for fear of screwing up. What I want to point out in particular is that the credit is not mine, but Xiaoye's. This young man has a wide range of knowledge. He designed the core guidance part of the missile.
, I just did some old work and did some flight control stuff."
Ye Zhiqiu said hurriedly: "Gong Wen, you are so humble. You did a lot of function calculations. I just played model airplanes for more than ten years and I am just a little clever."
Lao Wen said: "I am getting older and my brain is not working as well. My daughter helped me with many calculations during the winter vacation."
Lu Tianming interjected: "You all should stop being humble, everyone gets half the credit."
Lao Wen hurriedly said: "Mr. Lu, success is inseparable from your decision-making and strong support. You deserve half of the credit."
Lu Tianming waved his hand and said, "Don't praise me. I was entrusted by others to do this project. Otherwise, you think I am so courageous that I would dare to spend millions of dollars to let you two build a large model airplane."
"
"Who is it?" Lao Wen and Ye Zhiqiu asked in unison.
Lu Tianming smiled: "I don't tell you, but you know it. Let's not mention it now. After you go back, you can take the time to make some samples. I will go to Beijing to run around. If we can enter the military market, our Chenguang factory can
It’s really developed.”
For a time, everyone was unable to extricate themselves from longing for a better future.