What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 644 Intercepting the Ghost
But as it turns out, even with the most optimistic predictions, Mr. Lu still underestimated Gaijin's abilities.

Tang Wen: "Actually, Geykin has the ability to provide F-14A fighter jets without engines, as well as brand-new F110 engines. I think you should be able to assemble them. Of course, I just thought that this might help you understand the F-14 better, but this needs to be done in a sufficiently secure and confidential place."

Zhao Yaohua: "Um, could you repeat that? You mean the F14A airframe with the TF30 engine removed, and the complete, brand-new, usable F110 engine?"

Tang Wen: "That's right. Even after the machine is assembled, there are still individual parts. After all, there are always differences between the blueprints and the actual product. But they can't be put in Hongdu, as that would be too easy to leak secrets."

Zhao Yaohua: "A F-14 that can fly? A decommissioned airframe moved from an aircraft graveyard?"

"No, it's... 99% new, the airframe is in excellent condition and the avionics are complete, and it also has several 'Phoenix' engines... We also have information on this, but of course, if you think you don't need a real aircraft for reference, that's fine too."

After Tang Wen finished speaking, he noticed that Zhao Yaohua and Old Lu were both wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.

The blueprints are there, the important parts are there, and even the complete machine is there. Compared to Grumman's hands-on teaching, the only thing missing is personnel guidance.

"Yes, why not!"

Old Lu immediately agreed. Even the main design part alone weighed two or three tons of those massive amounts of data, which he feared would take him forever to read.

Having a physical machine makes all the difference; the physical object and the blueprints are completely different concepts, and the physical machine is extremely valuable for reference.

I had brief contact with the F-14 in China, but it was mostly just watching test flights and taking a close look. The temptation to have my own F-14 to test fly and modify at will is hard to resist.

Mr. Lu: "Perhaps we could try applying for an experimental base in the Northwest desert. We could ask the Air Force for help... They must really want to know which is better, the F-14 or the Su-27."

By the way, is there only one plane? Could you get another decommissioned one for dismantling?

Tang Wen thought for a moment and asked:

How many do you need?

Both of them felt a chill run down their spines. Could it be that they could have as many of these things as they wanted?
Old Lu, emboldened, tentatively spoke:
"One aircraft for test flights to measure the flight envelope, one for disassembly and mapping, one for modification experiments, and one as a backup?"

Zhao Yaohua found it outrageous; four planes were enough for an entire air squadron, how could… Tang Wen nodded:

“好，我提供5架F14A（不含发动机）的机体，算上备件给20台F110-ge-400发动机，配套的不死鸟给10发够了吧？还需要什么吗？

I'm not familiar with Grumman, but I could try to get a few engineers who worked on the F-14.

"..."

"No need, no need, that's enough, really enough!"

Old Lu was afraid that if he continued talking, he would bring Grumman over as well. Now he really had everything he needed. He had never fought such a rich battle in his half-life.

Zhao Yaohua, however, doubted that Geijin's "overseas factory" was fully capable of directly producing F-14s—was that right?

After questioning their existence, the two continued to discuss the modification plan with Tang Wen. The original F-14 actually had many areas that could be improved, but the Imperial Navy gradually lost interest and reduced investment by the late 80s, and did not have the money for major modifications and upgrades.

Hongdu, on the other hand, is a reverse-engineering innovation, which allows for many radical modifications. The aerodynamic performance of the new red Tomcat target is already higher than that of the F-14D.

Although its avionics can only use the radar from the J-10 or J-8DF for the time being, the F-14's power generation capacity and nose are no worse than the Su-27's, and it has great potential for future upgrades.

The three, still wanting more, had dinner at the Hongdu Institute's canteen. It was almost 22 p.m. when the announcement on the canteen's television suddenly caught their attention.

Tang Wen looked up and saw a serious-looking host:

"...Just now, our reporter stationed in Sindeli learned that an explosion occurred in a certain place in Rajasthan, the subcontinent. Sources say it may have been a deliberate attack."

No further information is available at this time, and this station will continue to follow up on the matter.

Zhao Yaohua, who was standing to the side, also looked up:
"Hmm, why does the name Rajasthan sound familiar?"

Tang Wen frowned slightly: "Raghatan is India's nuclear test site."

"Could it be that the Empire went and bombed it? But India has so many fighter jets, how could they bomb it so easily?"

"If it's a stealth bomber, it can operate completely silently."

Old Lu also raised his head, but neither he nor Zhao Yaohua really believed it was an imperial attack.

However, Tang Wen fell into deep thought, then suddenly looked at them:

"If it's a B2 attack, where does it fly from? And how does it return?"

"I guess it took off from the mainland. The B-2 is so expensive and difficult to maintain, so it's not good for overseas deployment. As for the route... the Americans have so many refueling aircraft, so it should fly from the Atlantic Ocean over the Mediterranean Sea, and then cross the airspace of several transit points. It will most likely enter Rajasthan from the land border."

The return flight will likely be via the same route; the probability of it returning via the Pacific is very small… Seriously, it's unlikely; the coalition wouldn't go and bomb it now, it's only been a few hours overdue.”

Zhao Yaohua made a simple analysis, and coincidentally, the news footage at that moment showed the Earth, so he used chopsticks to draw a flight path in the air.

Tang Wen seemed to be deep in thought.

……

He wasn't entirely sure if it was really a stealth bomber attack, but there was a possibility of other explosions in Rajasthan... He hadn't heard of any accidents during India's mushroom experiments in the original timeline.

In his plan, he guessed that the coalition might increase sanctions against India, or even send troops, but at most pose a threat. Therefore, he had 20 U-boats stationed in Khaki Bay above Kampa Bay, intending to take the opportunity to incite conflict.

But if the Empire directly sends a B2 to carry out the strike cleanly and decisively, how can the Lost Empire possibly lend a hand (to India)? Intercept and kill the B2?

This is a big problem.

As the world's first practical stealth bomber (excluding the F117), the only drawback of the B2 is its high price. In terms of performance, it far surpasses conventional bombers, making it virtually flawless.

If the F-117 had stealth flaws due to the underdeveloped computer technology at the time of its design, the B-2, true to its name, is a real ghost, for which there are currently no effective means to achieve stealth.

Even discovering it is extremely difficult, unless...

[Consumable: Enhanced Surveillance Radar]

[After use, forcibly illuminates the positions of all warships (excluding submarines) and aircraft within a 100-kilometer radius (cooldown time: 30 minutes)]

Kachi Bay is very close to Rajasthan, but the 100-kilometer range is not very wide. If the B2 were to enter the subcontinent by land, it would not be able to reach it at all, but if it were to enter by sea, it would very likely pass through Kachi Bay.

Judging by the time, the international news broadcast was an hour ago. If B2 had returned by sea, it would be about time to turn on the aircraft now.

Tang Wen decided to give it a try, just in case.
The instant the thought crossed his mind, a U-boat, which had been sitting on the seabed of Kachi Bay thousands of kilometers away, rapidly rose to the surface, equipped with enhanced surveillance radar.

……

If there's any job in the world cooler than flying a stealth bomber in the 20th century, it's probably only a space shuttle pilot.

一架B2纯生产成本大概6到7亿美元，算上研发成本后采购价高达21亿美元，而一架航天飞机制造+发射也就18到20亿美元左右。

In comparison, the USS Stennis nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which entered service in 95, cost only $45 billion to build.

To date, 13 B-2s have entered service, enough to build 6.5 Nimitz-class carriers, which is more than enough to form two carrier strike groups.

Now, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, piloted by four pilots, is about to leave the airspace of the subcontinent.

本来怀恩的计划是3架B2，但考虑到宝贵的隐身轰炸机实在损失不起，加上惩戒力度有限，最后削减为2架B2和4枚GBU37。

Because the B-2 is so expensive and so rare, each aircraft is as precious as a battleship of the past, and each has its own name.

The mission was undertaken by the AV-2 Arizona Ghost and the AV-3 New York Ghost, and the crews on board were the two best.

As the commander of this flight mission, Colonel Burke, the AV-2 operations officer, is a very experienced bomber tactical commander. He has been internally selected this year to be promoted to lieutenant general and take over as the commander of the B2 bomber wing, personally commanding this operation, codenamed "Elephant".

The mission went as smoothly as expected. They entered the airspace of the small bus country without being detected. It wasn't until they were about to leave the country that they saw the Indian Air Force flying around frantically, but they were like headless flies and couldn't find the attackers at all.

B2's debut was a perfect success, but Bock did not relax. The biggest challenge of Operation Elephant was the extremely long journey of more than 45 hours and 3.3 kilometers. The risk of the driver being distracted and making mistakes was much higher than being shot down by India.

Seeing that they had crossed the land border, Bock said to the driver:
"Jamie, leave the driving to me. Go make some coffee and get me an energy bar."

The B2 has a fairly advanced autopilot, so the two of them only need to keep an eye on it now. Jamie nodded obediently.

"Colonel, can I take a nap? Just 30 minutes."

"Approved, Major Jamie."

All that could be heard was a faint snore.

In the darkness, Burke chewed on an overly sweet energy bar, seemingly becoming one with the ghost.

Apart from the buzzing air intake and the eerie green light in the cabin, the B2 is like a futuristic spaceship, and the driving experience is also like that of a spaceship.

Not only could the enemy not detect them, but their own side could not detect them either. For safety, the two B2s usually kept their radios silent, and they were not even very sure of each other's positions.

The sense of satisfaction and pride of piloting half a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with just two people is comparable only to that of a spacecraft.

Bock hummed the tune of "Ghost Riders in the Sky," his favorite cowboy music.

"The ghost warrior in the sky."

Their faces were thin.

Their eyes were blurry.
……

The knights sped past them
He heard someone call his name.
If you want to save your soul from falling into hell
……

Oh, oh, long live!

Ghost Rider in the Sky
Ghost Rider in the Sky
"Ghost Rider in the Sky"

Perhaps because he was too tired, he only noticed the call sign of the VHF encrypted radio station after he finished singing.

Radio communication during a stealth aircraft mission could lead to its exposure, so the AN/ARC-210's UHF encrypted radio was developed. It is virtually undetectable as long as the duration is less than 2 seconds, but it is rarely turned on for security reasons.

[AV-3 New York Ghost: Our aircraft was detected; radar source from the sea surface]

At the same time, the AN/AAQ24 distributed infrared system issued a warning, detecting multiple high-speed, high-heat targets rising on the sea surface, suspected to be missiles.

The AN/APR-50 passive search aircraft also issued a warning, noting the presence of a bright radar radiation source on the sea 110 kilometers away. It seemed that the Ghost of New York had been spotted by the radar!
(End of this chapter)