Changkong Fighter

Chapter 300 Crystal Missile
Buzz!
The close-in weapon system's rapidly rotating barrel continuously intercepts incoming missiles, but these missiles are not so easy to intercept, and the ammunition reserves are only enough for a short period of firing.

They only had time to perform exceptionally well and intercept two crystal missiles before the remaining missiles approached!

Bang bang bang!
Smoke grenades were deployed, concealing the entire frigate behind the hot smoke, obscuring the infrared seeker of the "Crystal Missile" and hiding the warship's exact location, hoping the enemy wouldn't hit it.

"All personnel! Prepare for the attack!"

Before the captain could finish speaking, a crystal missile pierced through the hot smoke and approached the hull of the general-purpose frigate. Just before it made contact, the missile's head lit up, and its internal energy was converted into a pulsed laser that shot forward. The moment the orange-red laser beam hit the hull, the hull was heated by the laser, melting a tiny hole, and the crystal slammed into the softened metal.

As the laser beam pierced through the ship, the hull softened by the intense heat, much like a fruit knife slicing through a soft banana. The laser beam flew into the warship's interior, where the "warhead" was activated, much like a human semi-armor-piercing delayed-action fuse.

The high-temperature energy stored in the crystal missile's internal memory releases internal heat, and the instantaneous heating causes metal or other objects to change from a solid state to a gaseous state. The rapidly expanding metal vapor explodes, mixed with semi-molten metal fragments, and spreads along the ship's internal corridors.

Before the crew of the general-purpose frigate even realized what was happening, they were engulfed by high-temperature metallic steam. Their fragile bodies shattered like sand sculptures being washed away by the tide, dissipating in the flames.

The violent explosion spread along the passageway, eventually breaking through the connection between the ship's interior and exterior. Even the ventilation shafts were breached by the blast wave, like a pressure cooker with immense internal pressure, all the pressure spreading within the narrow passageway.
The explosion of the first crystal missile hadn't even subsided when the second and third ones followed.
The general-purpose frigate, hit by multiple missiles, sank quickly, leaving behind a deathly silence, like a ghost ship.

After destroying the human vessel, the remaining crystal missiles adjusted their course and flew toward other human vessels in the surrounding sea area.

This scene was captured by a satellite over the Pacific Ocean. After all, it would be quite difficult for such a large heat source to go undetected by a high-precision optical sensor.

"Report to the commander! An anomaly has been detected. A large heat source has been detected off the coast of Cavourne. Satellite imagery confirms that the Australian Navy's general-purpose frigate has been sunk."

As the image is displayed on the large screen, the picture is continuously magnified and then repaired by AI. In thermal imaging mode, the bright spot on the sea surface is very conspicuous, which is a large heat source. When the mode is switched, a dark red ship can be seen floating on the sea. The reason it is dark red is because the upper half of its hull was heated to a high temperature, and the heat was sealed inside the hull and could not dissipate for a long time.

The surviving crew members on board probably became acquainted with each other due to the high temperature and heat radiation inside the ship.

"missile?"

The commander frowned. Although he had expected it, weapons resembling missiles had appeared in the previous battles between Changkong and the alien civilization. Now, the alien civilization had finally put "missiles" into actual combat!
Which guidance method?

"It is very likely to be photoelectric guidance."

The characteristics of alien spacecraft are inherent, so photoelectric guidance is the most likely method, and it is also the most difficult to interfere with. As long as it sees an optical image, it will crash into it.

"According to our research, this missile should be a modified Type 1. Type 1 is originally a type of drone, which is easy to modify."

Missiles can also be seen as a type of drone. In the course of a long-term confrontation with humanity, extraterrestrial civilizations would naturally learn from humanity's advanced experience and then apply it to warfare.

Now, seeing the alien civilization's "new weapons" deployed in actual combat and even achieve results, real combat is the only standard for testing weapons. No matter how old Australia's frigates are, they are still modern frigates and have the necessary equipment. The fact that they could be sunk by such missiles means that even the ships of the East Coast can be sunk.

"Have the shortcomings been addressed?"

Now, a "low-speed" missile with a speed of Mach 1.1, combined with a short-range laser weapon, means that extraterrestrial civilizations also have the ability to fight against humanity. Regardless of the missile's speed, having it or not is a completely different matter.

The Crystal missile's greatest feature is its long endurance and optical stealth capabilities. When it gets close, it interferes with the radar communication systems of warships and aircraft. Human fighter jets can handle it because of their speed, but it becomes a problem for warships.

"Update the operations manual immediately and alert all departments!"

"Yes!"

A dozen minutes later, two Australian general-purpose frigates in the area were sunk, and the New Guinea patrol boat disappeared on the sea.

The battle situation was transmitted to the KJ-3000 via data link. The huge dual-array radar adjusted its search range and pointed towards the direction of Kavian, while the forward-deployed WZ-3000 changed course and moved closer to the direction where the Australian warship was sunk.

When the WZ-9 and EDR-7 approached a certain area, the radar began to be interfered with, communication was blocked, and clutter appeared. According to the pre-programmed program of the UAV, it immediately switched to the target search mode and determined the specific location of the interference source through multi-aircraft triangulation positioning. The UAV then transmitted the data to the KJ-3000 rear airborne early warning and control system via data link.

"Report to Commander, radiation sources detected, number 10! Speed ​​Mach 1.1! Approaching Electronic Reconnaissance 7!"

"Notify the Rocket Force to prepare for follow-up firing of the drone! Order the Flying Fish Squadron to launch PL-15A missiles to intercept the target!"

Needless to say, the commander immediately realized that the drone was beyond saving. After all, its propulsion mode was designed for long-term loiter reconnaissance, not for hypersonic flight like the WZ-8. Faced with a Crystal missile approaching at Mach 1.1, it had no ability to resist. However, as an important military asset of the University of Tokyo, it was necessary to try to salvage it. The replacement drone was also for redundancy.

"Yes! The order has been issued!"

Following the order from the combat support team commander, the Rocket Force, which was on standby in Guam, erected a Dongfeng Express drone to quickly launch the drone to the mission area, replacing the electronic reconnaissance drone that was about to be shot down.

Swish!
The rocket engine ignited, and the Dongfeng Express, carrying several drones, soared into the sky, heading towards the designated latitude and longitude (INS) region.

"Reporting to the commander, the Rocket Force has launched a follow-up drone."

"Electronic reconnaissance vehicle 7 detected an approaching high-speed target at Mach 1, at a distance of 60000 meters."

The electro-optical ball on the electronic reconnaissance vehicle 6 turned to the direction of the incoming missile, but no obvious target was detected approaching in that direction within the field of view of the electro-optical sensor.

(End of this chapter)