Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 443 The Monkey Stole the Eagle's Foot!
By 1970, GPS had failed to help America achieve a swift victory, and everyone in the political maelstrom of Washington knew the war could not continue.

When America's rapid advance on the Vietnam front, aided by GPS, came to a halt, the commanders at the front knew that the war could not continue.

When anti-war sentiment resurfaced, even coming from their own children, Washington bureaucrats knew that anti-war emotions were about to resurface.

When the poll numbers showed a golden cross, with the proportion of people supporting ending the Vietnam War regardless of its dignity or whether it was a glorious armistice not being important, exceeding the number of people supporting teaching the Soviet Union a lesson, the core decision-makers in the White House also knew that the war was about to end.

It's only a matter of time before it ends.

But no one wants the Vietnam War to end like China, where the side they supported was swept away across the Pacific Ocean like autumn leaves.

Even former President Lyndon Johnson, who has already stepped down, did not want this to happen.

Because this would prove that the Vietnam War was a complete mistake, and that the side they supported was utterly incompetent and useless.

America paid the price of money, resources, soldiers, and fame for a failed group.

America's actions in the Vietnam War were no less egregious than Israel's, and her reputation was equally tarnished.

Therefore, the White House's bottom line is that South Vietnam needs to hold on with their support.

Even Kissinger, who was most enthusiastic about restoring relations with China, thought the same way: our condition for withdrawing from Annam was that the North and South be divided, just like the Korean Peninsula.

Now that the new drones are in service, the White House's expectations for this new equipment are no longer for counter-offensive, but for defense.

They pinned their hopes on the fact that South Vietnam could gain air superiority and thus hold it in the absence of unmanned weapons.

If you're a real pilot and afraid of being shot down, you won't dare to fly. I'll give you a drone; you'll know how to use it, right?

In the rear, drones are used to scout ahead, and missiles clear the way.

Once our Star Wars program is complete, we will be able to monitor the entire globe. At that time, even the longest border between North and South Vietnam can be defended by drones.

Yes, by this time America's military already had the concept of drone swarms and data links, and they were becoming increasingly eager for Star Wars.

Therefore, what South Vietnam needs to do is hold out until the American Star Wars is over.

Is this request too much?

According to the professor, this happened in the 70s.

After hearing this, McNamara instinctively wanted to object, saying how could that be? South Vietnam couldn't be that incompetent.

But considering that it was the professor who said this, he swallowed back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue: "This is not a judgment by the professor; it is just a prediction."

The professor had never been to the front lines, had no understanding of what real-world warfare was like, and had never met South Vietnamese soldiers. Well, never mind the last point.

Let's change it to: the professor has never been in contact with our weapons and equipment.

Therefore, this is not a judgment, it is a prophecy.

No one can predict everything, not even a professor.

McNamara's response demonstrated a strong confidence in South Vietnam.

Nixon felt a glimmer of hope. Although Mike was not very reliable, he was on the front lines and had participated in the Vietnam War for many years. His words should be more reliable, right?
Although the professor never missed a shot, he was not a military commander, nor a general, and had never even been to the front lines of the Vietnam War.

Nixon said on the other end of the phone, "I understand. I will ask Congress for another budget to develop drone technology."

During this time, you must train the South Vietnamese army extensively to ensure they are a combat-ready force!

Nixon, of course, did not completely believe McNamara's words; the Tet Offensive, in which America's embassy in Saigon was stormed, was still fresh in his mind.

The Tet Offensive here refers to the large-scale offensive launched by North Vietnam in 1968, in which North Vietnamese commandos attacked America's embassy, ​​the South Vietnamese presidential palace, radio stations, and airports.

On the morning of January 31, a 19-man commando team stormed the embassy, ​​sparking fierce fighting.

The images reported by the media shocked the people of America, further fueling anti-war sentiment among the populace.

Although the Lunar New Year Offensive did not take place during Nixon's term, when he was still campaigning, he was both stunned and delighted by the prospect of a major defeat on the front lines that would deal a heavy blow to then-President Lyndon Johnson.

As further reports followed the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, the incompetence of the South Vietnamese army left a deep impression on Nixon.

These bastards are truly inhuman.

Therefore, Nixon's main purpose in agreeing to attack the Khmer Rouge was to train the South Vietnamese army.

Nixon continued, "We need a bigger victory, we need more bargaining chips."

McNamara nodded and said, "Understood. The feedback on the new drones is excellent. We will soon launch the next large-scale offensive. More than one hundred drones are already in place."

The latest information from Khmer Rouge to Area 51 in China first reached Soviet Russia, then Moscow simultaneously relayed it to Beijing, and from Beijing it was relayed to Area 51.

You don't need to get your hands on the actual drone, just see the photos.

Behind the photo is a handwritten timestamp.

The first to appear were small, unmanned aircraft, also known as drones.

What followed was the F-105, the low-altitude bomber most commonly seen by the Americans on the front lines, codenamed Thunder.

"Just as we expected, their drones also have more accurate eyes and can exert greater power."

"Didn't we anticipate this? How could they not make full use of GPS?"

As mentioned earlier, due to foreign trade and the entire electronics industry, China's current economic situation is much better than in the past.

And this is related to national defense.

In the original timeline, China sponsored supplies to North Vietnam, and that was that.

In this timeline, the supplies sponsored by China to North Vietnam were products with considerable technological content, and these products could be optimized and iterated according to the actual battlefield situation.

It's important to know that the Vietnam War can be considered the first true electronic warfare conflict.

It has great practical guiding significance.

The Gulf War that followed shocked the world, and many of its creations were based on the Vietnam War.

The researchers who have been trained in Area 51 today are all exceptionally sharp-minded.

Not to mention Dean Qian.

From the very first moment the concept of GPS emerged, he had already foreseen the immense power that battlefield weapons would unleash when combined with GPS, and he had already conceived of what kind of weapons China would develop to counter it. Not in 1969, but in 1963, China was already preparing.

With its air defense systems performing well on the front lines of the Vietnam War, China exported a significant number of military products to COMECON countries.

China only recognizes the US dollar, not the ruble.

This foundation had already been laid beforehand.

Even if countries in the same camp harbor resentment, they still have to buy it.

This also provides them with more resources to invest in research and development.

As early as last year, they had already developed a jammer specifically designed to target drones.

China named it "Great Flood," meaning it emitted high-power noise signals to cover the operating frequencies of drones.

Chinese engineers used gallium arsenide transistors to enhance power output, enabling them to overwhelm the remote control links of drones from kilometers away, causing them to veer off course or crash.

It wasn't just one type; it also included radar deception systems, prototypes of anti-radiation missiles, and so on.

America hopes to gain the initiative on the battlefield.

There's a saying that goes, "What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table."

China, too, longed to gain the initiative on the battlefield.

The more America struggled in the Vietnam War, the more leverage China had in negotiations and the more bargaining chips it had.

Therefore, China also has a bunch of great gifts waiting for America.

They were just waiting for America's drone squadrons to enter the country in droves, ready to teach America's air force a lesson.

The end of spring in 1970.

Just as America launched the Spring Offensive, which was mainly air-based and aimed to destroy key North Vietnamese strongholds, important supply lines and missile launch sites in one fell swoop using drones.

Then the ground troops advance and seize key points.

With the assistance of China, North Vietnam used these new devices to completely destroy America's drones.

The planes falling from the sky were like a flock of birds that had been defeated. Not only were the drones destroyed, but more than 20 of America's bombers were also destroyed in one fell swoop.

The video animation, once it went viral around the world, caused a shockwave comparable to the Spring Offensive of 1968.

While the spring offensive caught South Vietnam and America off guard, North Vietnam failed to capture any major targets and suffered heavy losses, with statistics showing over 40,000 dead, while South Vietnam and America combined suffered only 4000 to 9000 deaths.

The spring offensive was more bark than bite, but it was a political victory that exposed the false optimism of the American government regarding the progress of the war, leading to a shift in public opinion within America towards anti-war sentiment.

Extensive media coverage further eroded public confidence.

This time, it's about air superiority, which means America's long-held pride in air superiority is beginning to falter.

What the inhabitants of the empire found even more unacceptable was that in Southeast Asia, in the jungles of Annam, news anchors used to joke that we were fighting monkeys, monkeys that could jump down from the trees at any time. Now you're telling me that monkeys can bring down all our fighter jets?
The public is unaware of drones; they assume they are all aircraft with pilots.

The sight of more than a hundred planes falling from the sky at once was truly shocking.

Although there are urban legends about monkeys using poles to bring down planes, even the most powerful monkey couldn't possibly bring down more than a hundred planes at once, right?

This video became a nightmare for the people of America, completely igniting the flames of anti-war sentiment in America.

Letters from Air Force families poured into the front lines: "John, are you still alive? Were you among those crashing planes?"

Anti-war marches spread from school campuses to the streets, with signs reading: "The monkey shot down the eagle! Nixon, bring our children home!"

Walter Cronkite, the anchor hailed as "America's most credible man," sits at the anchor table.

His voice was as steady and deep as ever, but it carried a hint of weariness and doubt.

This recent animated video is a heavy blow to all America's patriots.

They couldn't believe it, they couldn't accept it, they were hysterical.

The program opened with that breathtaking video montage: a swarm of drones hovering in the blue sky before crashing one after another.

Cronkite adjusted his glasses and began his report to the camera, a statement later regarded by historians as the "Second Cronkite Moment," which further ignited the flames of anti-war sentiment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we are forced to confront a harsh reality."

The latest images from the Vietnam War reveal the unprecedented blows our air force has suffered.

In this operation known as the Spring Offensive, our advanced drone formations and our main low-altitude bombers, the F-105s, which were supposed to surgically destroy North Vietnamese strongholds, collectively went out of control over enemy airspace.

More than 100 drones crashed and more than 20 bombers were reduced to fragments.

This was not an accident, nor a mechanical malfunction, but rather an attack by the enemy. According to intelligence, North Vietnam, which received advanced electronic jamming technology assistance from China, has launched a systematic challenge to our air superiority.

In the past, we have reported stories from the colonial era: in the jungles of Southeast Asia, the French were defeated by guerrillas whom the Annamese called "monkeys".

Now, our pilots, our sons and brothers, are facing an even more terrifying enemy.

These monkeys no longer just jump down from the trees; they have high-tech weapons, high-tech enough to overwhelm our signals and deceive our eyes with radar.

The crashing planes in the video are not abstract numbers, but steel coffins that carried America's young life.

Letters from the public poured in, asking: Can our air force still protect us? Air superiority, the pillar we are so proud of, is faltering.

As a journalist, I have covered World War II, the Korean War, and now I am reporting on Annam.

This war, which should have been a swift victory, has instead dragged on into an endless quagmire.

On New Year's Day this year, the White House also hosted a dinner to celebrate the great progress made in the Vietnam War.

Now, this air defeat makes us question: let alone winning this war, can President Nixon deliver on his promise of a 'glorious retreat'?
But if we can't even defend the skies, how can our ground forces advance?
The shadow of the Chinese is growing longer; their semiconductor technology and their jamming devices are changing the rules of the battlefield.

We must ask ourselves: Do we continue for victory, or for face?
Tonight, I'm not drawing conclusions, but stating facts.

The lessons of the Vietnam War are profound: technology is not everything; determination and morale are the keys.

But if we don't end this war soon, these crashed planes will become a nightmare for many more America families. Thank you for watching. This is Walter Cronkite reporting from NBC News.

(End of this chapter)