The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 488 Unnamed, For the People

"The unnamed air-to-air missile is equipped with a dual-pulse solid rocket engine, with an initial acceleration of about Mach 4 and a terminal penetration speed of Mach 8. It uses a discrete rod warhead equipped with CL20 explosive, with a total warhead weight of 220 kilograms. It employs a composite guidance system, including inertial guidance, satellite guidance, two-way data link guidance, and terminal active radar guidance. The missile has a range of 300 kilometers."

Sun Guangming and Ma Shan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise and a clear sense of bewilderment. They were both somewhat confused, as they hadn't understood some of what Liu Hua had said.

"The dual-pulse engine is the one that the Americans proposed."

Liu Hua nodded.

"CL20 explosives were used."

Liu Hua nodded again.

"I understand composite guidance, I understand inertial guidance, including satellite and terminal active radar guidance. What does two-way data link guidance mean?"

Liu Hua explained with a smile: "That means that once the aircraft launches the missile, it can be left alone. The missile can exchange data with the early warning aircraft and ground radar, and be guided by the ground radar or the early warning aircraft."

The two of them exclaimed "Oh!" in unison. Ma Shan frowned and said, "The data sounds like a good product, but what about the cost? The C120 explosive alone is ridiculously expensive. It's too expensive for us to afford."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "Don't worry, you can use it freely. I've optimized the process in the lab, and the cost of our CL20 explosive has dropped to 75 cents per gram."

"what?"

The two of them were going crazy. The American-made CL20 costs $3.50 per gram, which is equivalent to RMB 24, or nearly RMB 25 per gram. In other words, Liu Hua reduced the unit price of this thing to one-thirtieth of the original price.

Moreover, this is the price Liu Hua is paying for production in the laboratory; if large-scale industrial production is adopted, the price may decrease further.

"Don't make a fuss, everything I'm saying right now is just data on paper."

Ma Shan waved his hand: "It's okay, we'll know the actual data after firing a couple of shots. You just said that this missile is called 'For the People.' Although our army serves the people, there's no need to call it that, is there?"

"My name is 'unnamed'."

"Oh, I knew it. Why is a perfectly good air-to-air missile being handled like a convenience store?" Sun Guangming said with a smile, "I'll report to the higher-ups right away. Lao Ma, you prepare the aircraft and target drones for live-fire exercises at any time."

"No rush." ​​Liu Hua shook his head: "There are still some things to do before it happens."

"what's up?"

"My missile isn't compatible with your fighter jets, early warning aircraft, or satellites yet."

The two suddenly realized, "We were just too happy."

Liu Hua took out a hard drive: "This contains all the missile's parameters and source code. I believe your military experts should be able to handle it."

“It’s okay even if we can’t solve it.” Ma Shan smiled nonchalantly: “We have a great expert here, Academician Liu. You are an authority in the semiconductor industry. If our experts can’t solve it, I will ask you to come out of retirement.”

Our military experts are not just empty names. After Liu Hua handed over the source code, he immediately took it back and invited experts to integrate the missile into the tactical system as quickly as possible.

Looking at the missile's source code, the expert exclaimed in amazement as he worked: "As expected of Academician Liu, this code is truly ingenious and concise. My work basically doesn't require much effort. If you can persuade him to come out of retirement and optimize the source code of our existing system, our combat capabilities will at least rise to another level."

Because Liu Hua had long ago proposed the tactical system of "A captures, B fires, C guides," our country has already conducted research in this area and achieved some results. Now, military experts have incorporated missiles into the tactical platform without much effort.

On the other hand, missile experts have conducted thorough tests on the ten missiles and confirmed that they are operational.

So, on a clear, sunny day, Ma Shan invited Liu Hua to the air force base in the Northwest to witness the entire process of his masterpiece's first combat engagement.

On the runway, there was a brand-new J-10, looking very imposing, with a civilian missile mounted under each wing.

It's still called "For the People" for now, but once the actual data is calculated, it won't be called that anymore. According to our country's naming rules, this air-to-air missile will be named "Thunderbolt" (霹雳).

Liu Hua sat in the control tower; the active phased array radar had already been activated.

The commander-in-chief looked at the documents handed to him by the officers below and found that all conditions at the airport now met the requirements for takeoff.

So he picked up the microphone: "10344, 10344, the airspace is clear and we are ready for takeoff."

Then he saw the fighter jets begin to taxi on the runway. At the same time, Liu Hua noticed that there was an even larger aircraft taxiing on the runway next to him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was carrying a large cooking pot on its back, which should be an early warning aircraft.

Ma Shan noticed Liu Hua's gaze and explained with a smile, "This time, let's also try out your 'A grabs B shoots C guide' plan."

Two aircraft took off, one after the other, and flew towards the experimental airspace. They disappeared in no time and could only be viewed on radar.

The atmosphere was tense. Suddenly, the radar operators at the airport began reporting the appearance of the target drone and simultaneously transmitted its coordinates to the fighter jets and early warning aircraft.

Ma Shan picked up the microphone and said to the fighter pilot, "As long as the target drone is within the set range, we can fire at any time."

Just seconds after Ma Shan finished speaking, the radar operator shouted, "The missile has been launched. Fighter jets are beginning to retreat, and the early warning aircraft is providing guidance."

Before the radar operator could finish speaking, another operator shouted, "The missile has hit the target drone precisely! The target drone has disappeared from the radar!"

Below the experimental airspace, there were personnel conducting real-time observations. Their voices came through the communication channel: "The target drone disintegrated on the spot, and the missile test was a success."

Cheers erupted in the control tower, and cheers also came through the communication channels.

Ma Shan said with a smile, "It's too early to say it's a success. Let's release the second target drone to test the missile's limits."

"Target drone has appeared."

"Missile launch."

"Target hit, target drone disintegrates."

When the fighter jet returned to base, the experts in the control tower, including Liu Hua, carefully read the analysis results.

"Academician Liu, the missile pilot is even more outstanding than I imagined," Sun Guangming said with a smile. "He hit the target after flying 380 kilometers."

Liu Hua smiled and said, "This is just a preliminary test. It's too early to say it's excellent. We need to conduct a series of tests before we can draw a conclusion."

(End of this chapter)