Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 329 Did the HQ-16 shoot down the Jericho missile?
Beka Valley.

After a night of intense preparation, SAM-6 missiles from other parts of Syria were launched again, one after another pointing straight into the sky. They knew that a fierce battle was about to begin.

Sure enough, just as dawn broke, bright spots appeared on the radar screen.

Position No. 8.

"Report: A large number of targets have been detected and are approaching our position."

"Hmph, another Davidian plot. They're using drones to try and get us to turn on our phones and expose our position. Ignore them!"

The missile company commander, Alfisol, remained calm. As long as he didn't actively turn on his radar, he wouldn't expose the radar parameters and wouldn't be bombed! These despicable tricks of the Davids are one thing, but do they want to do them a second time?
After saying that, Alfiesol picked up the bag of bread and took another big bite. He was exhausted and hungry after a whole night of tossing and turning.

In the distance, a familiar roar echoed in the sky. With his experience from the last war, he suddenly realized: "Quick, turn it on! It's an A-4 attack aircraft!"

This time, the Davidians didn't use drones; they went straight for ground attack aircraft!
Although the radar was not turned on, it had already warmed up. So, within a few seconds, the guidance radar radiated electromagnetic waves, and the SAM-6 missile, trailing a tongue of fire, flew into the sky.

Unfortunately, it’s too late!

The sound of bombs whistling filled the sky as the A-4 attack aircraft dropped their bombs, which fell toward the missile sites. The aircraft rapidly descended, trying to get below the minimum firing altitude of the SAM-6 missile as soon as possible, thus depriving the missile of its guidance.

Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions rang out on the missile site. Thick smoke billowed from the newly arrived SAM-6 missile site, and countless missile vehicles were reduced to fragments!

Early in the morning, the Syrian air defense missile unit was once again bombed into pieces!
Only the anti-aircraft missiles from the east protected the nearby SAM-6 missile sites. The two sides cooperated and continuously shot down the attacking enemy aircraft. Within a few minutes, more than a dozen were shot down, and the Davids dared not come again.

"Hmph, you damned squid, come on over here!" Mahmoud shouted at the sky, waving his fist as he looked at the enemy plane that had crashed to the ground and was still burning.

As long as they have Eastern missiles, they can achieve a complete victory just like in the last war!
Suddenly, the radar operator shouted, "Report! Three new targets detected, rapidly approaching. Judging from their trajectories, they are... ballistic missiles!"

This shout immediately alarmed the entire missile site.

Ballistic missiles!

In later generations, when the people of David fought Langtau, Langtau was often seen shooting large rockets, while the people of David would fly over in two hours to bomb the enemy and then fly back in two hours, leading people to mistakenly believe that the people of David did not have rockets.

In fact, the Davidians acquired the firecracker at a time no later than the surrounding Arab countries!
In 1963, David signed an agreement with France to develop a ballistic missile with a range of more than 300 kilometers based on the MD-620 missile developed by the French company GAMD. The entire research and development was carried out in France.

In 1968, France unilaterally terminated these cooperation agreements in an effort to improve relations with the Arab world. However, by this time, the missile design had been completed and initial production had even begun.

Therefore, David transferred the relevant production back and named the missile Jericho-1. Later, based on this, he continued to develop Jericho-2 and Jericho-3, each with a longer range, which could almost cover the entire Middle East.

However, such missiles have hardly been seen in actual combat. On the one hand, these missiles of the Davidians were probably mushroom bombs, which were not suitable for conventional combat. On the other hand, these missiles must have been very expensive to manufacture, and it would have been more cost-effective to use fighter jets to drop bombs.

In short, it has almost never been seen in actual combat.

However, this time, the Davidians must have been desperate, as they actually used Jericho-1 missiles to bomb the brand-new missile site!

"One hundred kilometers away!"

"Eighty kilometers away!"

With the missile hurtling towards them, everyone panicked.

On the eastern missile site, the missile company commander was also anxious. Looking at the rapidly approaching target on the radar screen, he roared, "Lock on! Lock on the target!"

"But this is a ballistic missile!"

Their operation manual clearly states that their air defense system is designed to shoot down enemy aircraft!
"Never mind that, lock onto the target!"

"Yes."

Although these are field mobile air defense systems, they are all wheeled chassis, which take time to deploy and to recover. Right now, there is no time to recover and escape. As soon as they dare to put away the equipment, enemy planes will fly over and bombard them.

Air defense missile units that are in motion are not combat-ready.

Now, they have no choice but to give it a try!
The Loongson computer was calculating at lightning speed. It had never encountered this target before, but since the operator had given the lock command, it would do its best to complete it!

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

"Target locked! 30 kilometers away!"

"Launch! Launch the missile!"

The radar operator pressed the launch button, but... a line of red text appeared on the screen.

The firing altitude is insufficient! The firing altitude is insufficient!
For surface-to-air missiles, maximum range and maximum altitude are two data that cannot be achieved at the same time!
The longest range is achieved by tilting the missile. If air resistance is not considered, a 45-degree angle of attack will result in the longest possible range.

Maximum altitude is determined by the missile flying vertically upwards. During the powered phase, the speed increases, and after the rocket burns out, the speed decreases. When the speed decreases to zero, the maximum altitude is reached.

Previously, we were facing fighter jets, many of which flew low enough, so the maximum range indicator was very useful at that time.

Now that the target has been changed to a ballistic missile, range and such are no longer important. The key is altitude. The altitude at which the missile can be fired almost directly determines how far it can be intercepted!
"Twenty kilometers away!"

"Ten kilometers away!"

"Launch, fire!"

This time, the missile company commander impatiently pressed the launch button.

The red notification didn't appear, so it's done!

Outside, the sound of missiles piercing the fragile cover could be heard continuously, and one after another, milky white missiles flew into the sky!
To improve interception efficiency, they extravagantly used a salvo method, with two missiles aimed at one target. Faced with three incoming missiles, they used six missiles!
Six streaks of flame shot up the missile, leaving Mahmoud's SAM-6 missile company on the other side completely stunned.

"What are they doing?"

"Look at the missile, it's almost constantly climbing. Could they be trying to intercept the ballistic missile with anti-aircraft missiles?"

"Yes, how is that possible!"

Everyone was taken aback.

Ballistic missiles fly in a parabolic trajectory. When they take off, their speed is relatively slow, making them easier to intercept. However, ballistic missiles have ranges of hundreds to thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers. Unless intercepted from space, air defense missiles simply cannot get past them.

After takeoff, most ballistic missiles leave the atmosphere and fly into outer space. Interception is not easy at this time. Without air, the conventional control surfaces of anti-aircraft missiles become ineffective. Later space interceptors almost all use vector propulsion systems for control.

Moreover, the choice of warhead is also very important. In order to achieve the best killing effect, direct collision is generally required, which puts forward higher requirements for guidance. This is almost unrelated to previous anti-aircraft missiles, and the technology needs to be developed entirely new.

Finally, there's the terminal interception. The missile has already flown over and re-enters the atmosphere. At this point, gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, and the warhead's speed will increase. For short-range missiles like the Scud, the landing speed can reach Mach 4.4, while for intercontinental ballistic missiles, the landing speed can even exceed Mach 20.

The faster the speed, the shorter the reaction time for the interception system! This requires an advanced computer system to calculate the result in a short time.

These are already difficult enough. Later missiles, in order to improve their penetration capabilities, would change course mid-flight and even skip across water at the terminal stage… This further increases the difficulty. Now, even intercepting a short-range Jericho-1 is a huge challenge for air defense missile systems!

Everyone watched intently as the smoke column trailing from the anti-aircraft missiles shot straight into the sky, a truly spectacular sight. As the missiles ascended, the smoke column below grew thicker and thicker, until it soon disappeared from view.

However, they still looked up at the sky.

Time felt both fleeting and incredibly long. I don't know how much time passed, but then the first fireball burst open in the sky, followed by a second, a third…

"Target number one has disappeared!"

"Target number two has disappeared!"

"Target number three... is still flying, but it has deviated from its original trajectory!"

The radar operator shouted excitedly, "It's a success! It's a success!"

Needless to say, this is the first time in the Middle East, and in the whole world, that a medium-range air defense missile has intercepted a ballistic missile!

This battle is worthy of being recorded in history!
but……

No one cheered; they stared wide-eyed at the swarms of debris flying down from the sky like locusts!
"Quick, find cover!" Mahmoud exclaimed. He then quickly crawled under the chassis of a nearby missile launcher. Just as he was hidden, he heard the sound of metal fragments hitting steel plates.

Clap, clap!
Some people screamed because they didn't dodge in time and were hit by shrapnel. However, most of them were sentries guarding the perimeter of the position, while the missile soldiers had their own hiding places.

Although the interception was successful, but...

This is the biggest problem with terminal missile defense. Even if the interception is successful, unless the target warhead is incinerated in mid-air without leaving any debris, the target warhead will continue to fly towards the target area due to inertia after it becomes fragments.

Just like now, instead of landing on an eastern missile site, it landed on a nearby SAM-6 missile site. This is absolutely an undeserved disaster!

However... even so, they were happy, because the damage caused by the missile fragments landing was much weaker than the threat posed by the missile warhead!
boom!
An explosion was heard in the distance, caused by a warhead that failed to be intercepted. It only hit the farmland and did not threaten our own air defense missile positions.

A cheer erupted from the missile site in the east.

"Interception successful!"

"The Eastern missiles are amazing!"

David Nation, Air Force Command.

David Ifry's face turned grim, his eyes widening: "What? What did you say? Even after using our precious Jericho-1 ballistic missiles, we still failed to hit the target? How is that possible?"

"Yes, our early warning aircraft monitored the entire attack. The missile sites in the east launched an interception operation when our missiles were still ten kilometers away from their impact point, successfully destroying two missiles. The third missile was deflected off its trajectory by the blast wave..."

"How is this possible? How could an anti-aircraft missile intercept a ballistic missile? This can't be true, it absolutely can't be true!" David Ifry refused to believe it: "Even the United States doesn't have weapons capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, how could they have them!"

Where did this come from?

“Yes, the US doesn’t have it either. In air defense interception, Eastern equipment has already reached the forefront of the world.” A military expert chimed in, “Their air defense missile system uses phased array radar technology, which can simultaneously search for and attack multiple targets. Moreover, it has a long search range and a long preparation time. Most importantly, their internal processing system must be using the latest Loongson processor, which has a very fast data processing speed…”

"Damn it, the Easterners used to cooperate with us so well, I thought they were our friends. I never expected they would be helping our enemies!"

"Yes, they still want to sell fighter jets and missiles to Syria, which is absolutely unacceptable. We must hold off the Easterners now! We can promise to pay the compensation for the Easterners, but... it just takes time to raise the funds. Let them wait a few more days, and give us three to five more days, and we can completely destroy the Syrian air force!"

Eastward, Princess Tomb, Airplane Building.

"Amazing! Our anti-aircraft missiles can actually intercept ballistic missiles!" Old Lin exclaimed with great emotion. "Why haven't we heard our engineers mention this before?"

"We haven't even tried it yet," Qin Liang remarked. "When we received this news, the faculty and students at Northwestern Polytechnical University were stunned. Everyone thought it was impossible, since there were no built-in anti-missile programs. We could only say..."

"Our missiles are outstanding!" Old Lin said with a smile. "When news of this battle spreads, the name of our HQ-16 will be known all over the world!"

This medium-range surface-to-air missile has been officially named Hongqi-16 by the Air Force, which is almost consistent with the naming of this type of missile in history. As for the gap between Hongqi-11 and Hongqi-15... let's just consider it a kind of strategic deception.

"Yes, our Northwestern Polytechnical University's missile factory needs to go into full production now!" Qin Liang said.

The battlefield is the touchstone of weapons. If this low-end product is so powerful, the models used by the navy and air force will naturally be even more powerful!
Ring ring ring... The phone rang.

"Hello, this is Lao Lin. Looking for Liangzi? Okay, please wait a moment."

Qin Liang took the phone, put it to his ear, and heard Manager Liu's voice coming from the other end.

"President Qin, the Davids have contacted us again. They are willing to provide us with compensation, but raising the funds will take time. They asked us to wait a few more days. Our cooperation with Xu Tuo..."

"Let's continue our cooperation!"

"what?"

"It's nothing, nothing at all. You'd be a fool to believe a businessman!"

After hanging up the phone, Qin Liang gave a cold smile.

For those profit-driven businessmen, a hundred billion dollars is something they would never pay. Agreeing now is just a delaying tactic. They have used it countless times in history. Whenever they are about to lose a war, they will seek peace and use the buffer time of peace negotiations to accumulate strength. Once they have sufficient equipment, they will continue to fight.

As long as the money isn't seen, it's all fake. Even if an agreement is signed, those guys have a hundred ways to deny it.

Old Lin's attitude also became serious: "If they really dare to go back on their word, then they are playing a trick on us. This is not a business deal. This absolutely needs to be taken to a higher level. We will refuse to cooperate with them at any level in the future!"

“Those guys will find all sorts of reasons. For example, they might accuse us of violating the agreement by selling weapons to Syria. We need to have sufficient evidence to prove that we have nothing to do with it,” Qin Liang said. “We need to adjust the orbit of the reconnaissance satellite and take some pictures over Tabriz.”

"Understood." Old Lin nodded.

Tabriz, the most important city in northern Langtu, was a vital stop on the ancient Silk Road. Twenty kilometers from the city, there is an air force base where the Langtu Air Force's Second Fighter Squadron is stationed.

Since the war was mainly taking place in the south, this area was relatively peaceful. The Langtuo Air Force stationed there was mainly training troops, and they operated only Super-7 fighter jets. That afternoon, the roar of the planes resounded through the sky as one plane after another flew in from the east and temporarily landed at this base.

With its pointed nose, two air intakes, and delta wings, this is the famous Super 7 fighter jet!
The three-section windshield on the canopy has long been replaced with a one-piece design, and the flat-screen display inside is faintly visible, which greatly impresses the people at the Langtuo Base. This Eastern technology is truly advanced.

The Super 7 fighter jet, number 001, taxied onto the tarmac, the canopy opened, and a pilot stepped out, his face beaming with excitement.

"Great, great! You can't even tell this plane is a modified MiG-21. It flies really well!"

"Fozaikh, you're right. The fire control system is very advanced, and switching between various weapons is simple, with most of it being automatic. I believe we can definitely shoot down enemy aircraft in air combat!"

　PS: Jericho missile.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)