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

Chapter 411 Taking Down Aircraft Carriers: Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles are the Key
Langtuo.

So cool! So cool!

They deeply resent the Americans, believing that the Western world, led by the Americans, has made a mess of the place. That's why they bravely stood up and restored their country to its ancient state, while also facing hostility from the West.

Previously, it was one thing for the Western world to secretly support Iran, but now they dare to openly express it, which is absolutely a provocation against their bottom line! In particular, American warships have brazenly entered the Persian Gulf, using the guise of escorting ships to put pressure on them.

Now, the American aircraft carrier is sunk! The cruiser USS Wainwright, which sank several slug boats, is sunk! And two escort ships, which were also taken down with it, are also sunk!
This is an absolutely glorious victory for them!

"Hmph, the American carrier strike groups may look imposing, but in reality, they're utterly vulnerable!"

"That's right, this fully proves a truth: all imperialism is a paper tiger!"

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

"Minusepel, you have done us a great service this time!" The leader looked at Minusepel, who was standing silently below, and said, "You have proven your loyalty to the country with your actions. Now, you are officially appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Langtuo Air Force!"

“Thank you, Leader.” Minuseper bowed his head in gratitude.

"What's wrong? You look unhappy?"

"I'm thinking, this was just a sneak attack. True strength lies in defeating the US Navy fair and square on the battlefield. Now..."

"Yes, there was definitely an element of luck involved this time. So, what do you think is the best way to defeat the U.S. Navy in a fair and square manner?"

"We need more advanced anti-ship missiles, and ideally, we should acquire the capability to produce them; that would be more advantageous for us..."

“Not bad, not bad, you see further. Why don’t you go to the East again? Right now, only our friends in the East can truly help us.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Minuseper nodded.

Eastward, Northwestern Polytechnical University.

"Tell me, how come the Americans are so easily defeated? A dozen or so bombs sank this aircraft carrier. Aren't the Americans always bragging about how strong their carrier strike groups are?" Old Lin said with great emotion.

"Their carrier strike group is certainly powerful, Mr. Lin. In wartime, it would be the American carrier strike group that would have exhausted all its aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles. At that time, the attacking side would have lost at least two hundred aircraft, and if they were unlucky, maybe four or five hundred. In other words, the air force of a medium-sized power would have been crippled, with only a few aircraft left to break through and enter the airspace above the carrier to drop bombs."

Qin Liang yawned and continued chatting with Old Lin. The power of an aircraft carrier lies not in the carrier itself, but in the entire fleet! Only a country like Russia would constantly plan to have its aircraft carrier fight alone.

"Moreover, this is only possible because the aircraft carrier is docked in port and its position remains unchanged, which is why high-precision satellite-guided bombs can be used. If it were at sea, where the aircraft carrier is constantly maneuvering, then only laser-guided or television-guided bombs could be used, making it much more difficult to hit the target accurately. In the end, it was just that the Americans were too careless."

Old Lin nodded: "However, this also proves how weak the US aircraft carrier's resistance to attack is. Bombs dropped from the sky can easily destroy it."

"Even if a one-ton block of cement fell from the sky, the aircraft carrier couldn't withstand it!"

A 908-kilogram bomb, just by impact, can create a large hole in a sturdy flight deck. No matter how high the strength of the steel plate, its ability to withstand impact is limited. Although a 20-30 ton carrier-based aircraft can also come down, it's not a direct hit without any cushioning.

Old Lin nodded: "In short, this attack test has reduced our air force's fear of US carrier strike groups..."

"Isn't this something the Navy should be concerned about? Mr. Lin, please don't worry about the Navy..."

"Yes, this is something our navy is concerned about."

Hearing the noise outside, Qin Liang felt his eyelids drooping even more; the navy had come to join the fun!
Navy leader Zhang walked in.

"Such a significant event, and our navy didn't even get advance notice or observe the attack! What a pity! Comrade Qin Liang, you didn't do the right thing this time!"

"Sigh, Leader Zhang, this kind of thing must be kept strictly confidential. I haven't told anyone. I don't even know how the Air Force found out."

"Well, we don't mean to blame you. We just came here to discuss and summarize. This shows that weapons falling from the sky are the biggest threat to aircraft carriers, even more powerful than anti-ship missiles flying horizontally across the sea!"

The outer steel plates on the sides of an aircraft carrier are generally 38 mm thick, which is thinner than the 50 mm thick flight deck. However, the sides not only have outer steel plates, but also five protective longitudinal walls inside. These combined make the sides much thicker than the flight deck. Moreover, from the side, many key parts are armored. For example, the protective steel plates on the sides of the engine room are as high as 330 mm!

Now look at attacking from the top, it's much easier. Below the steel flight deck, there's no longer any armor protection. Right below is the hangar. Whether it's the deck or the hangar, once a fire starts, it will burn down a large area!

Moreover, once you've drilled through the 38mm thick hangar deck, it will be even easier to continue drilling downwards!
"That's right, that's the case. However, ordinary bombs won't work. The best weapon to take down an aircraft carrier is an anti-ship ballistic missile," Qin Liang said. "As long as a medium-range anti-ship ballistic missile has a speed of Mach 5 or higher, it can penetrate the entire aircraft carrier when it falls from the sky!"

It crashed from the flight deck to the bottom of the ship, giving it a thorough chill!
Everyone's eyes widened.

"This weapon... it's not easy to come by. It flies in from outside the atmosphere. How to find the target and how to accurately hit it are all problems!"

These are all major problems, so when Russia was developing this weapon, it used a more direct mushroom-shaped warhead design.

In the 1950s, Russia had researched this project, but later abandoned it. In 1965, the 385 Special Design Bureau launched the new P-27K anti-ship ballistic missile system for striking surface ships.

Relying on the Chenggong-Y aerial reconnaissance system or the Shenhua marine satellite reconnaissance system to provide initial target parameter information, after flying out of the atmosphere, it deploys a cross-shaped passive electronic reconnaissance antenna, corrects its trajectory by receiving electromagnetic signals from the enemy fleet, and then separates the warhead, sending a nuclear warhead with a yield of 0.8 megatons of TNT into the atmosphere and detonating it above the target.

It’s that simple and crude!
Russia has been seriously preparing for nuclear war. If a war had actually broken out, Russia would have won. Unfortunately, it didn't, so the West won.

Now, what we need to develop is certainly not nuclear warheads, but conventional warheads require precision guidance technology!
Even finding the target is a major problem, let alone precision guidance.

Despite their large size, aircraft carrier battle groups are just a drop in the ocean when they are at sea. In the Falklands War, a crucial factor in the victory of the "crying nation" was knowing the location of the British carrier battle group.

"Yes, first is detection, which requires preparation from many aspects, from satellites in space to maritime patrol aircraft, etc. The key is to establish a data link and form a system. Second is precision guidance, which requires the ability to search the sea surface after diving, find the target, and then control itself to precisely change course..."

In the past, I wouldn't have dared to even dream of it, but things are different now. Northwestern Polytechnical University possesses first-class, advanced electronic technology...

"Of course, this also requires a large amount of research and development funding; the entire project is a massive undertaking..."

When it comes to funding, it's Zhang's turn to have a headache.

"Report!" Just then, someone walked in: "The Langtuo side has sent someone over..."

Someone else is coming? Are they not letting me rest at all?!
Qin Liang is really exhausted!

When are you coming?

"About seven or eight hours later."

"Okay, then I need to go take a nap and get some rest."

Qin Liang didn't care that there were other leaders present; he walked to the lounge next door and fell asleep immediately.

When I woke up, it was already dark outside. I went to the cafeteria for dinner, and when I came back, I was full of energy.

Inside the meeting room. "Qin, thanks to you this time, we were able to vent our anger. Moreover, even now, the Americans still suspect that the Indians were behind it. This is even more important to us; we not only got our revenge, but we also avoided getting ourselves into trouble. You are our Langtuo's best friend!"

Qin Liang smiled and said, "I only came up with a few bad ideas. It's thanks to the bold and courageous style of your Langtuo Air Force that we can learn from your spirit."

Everyone was happy to hear Qin Liang say that, as the saying goes, "Everyone carries the sedan chair."

"By the way, is there anything else you need this time?"

It's not worth making a special trip just to express your gratitude!
“This time it was just luck, next time... we want to defeat the U.S. Navy fair and square!” Minuseper said.

Everyone present frowned.

Old Lin and Leader Zhang were still there, of course. After the Lang Tuo people arrived, Qin Liang was still resting, and they were the ones who entertained him. At that time, it was just a polite chat. Now that Qin Liang has arrived, they have started to get down to business, which shows that in their minds, Qin Liang is much more reliable than them, these veteran military officers.

There's no need to be jealous. The key question is, is it really that easy to defeat the US Navy fair and square?
You have to understand, even our own Eastern Navy and Air Force wouldn't dare to make that guarantee. Even with supersonic and subsonic anti-ship missiles, we'd still need to launch a large number of missiles to deplete the navy's defensive capabilities before we could even get a chance to break through.

One missile that can decide the fate of the world... We've only just started planning our anti-ship ballistic missile project.

and many more!

This project will cost a huge amount of money, and the navy is currently short of funds. Could it be that... we should try to find a solution from the Langtuo people?
"Excuse my frankness, but defeating the US Navy fair and square is not easy," Qin Liang said. "The US is pursuing supersonic anti-ship missiles, but this technology is very difficult, and we don't have any at the moment."

Although the Crying Country has already used it, it must still be kept secret from other countries; these matters cannot be linked to our own side.

The Langtuo people were somewhat disappointed. If the East didn't have similar technology either, then how could they possibly acquire it?
"However, achieving supersonic speeds is far too easy for another type of missile."

“You mean, ballistic missiles?” Minuseper’s eyes widened.

“That’s right, a ballistic missile!” Qin Liang said. “Once your side has this kind of missile, and uses a guidance system that can accurately target the enemy, it will pose a threat to the U.S. Navy!”

“Alright, we’re willing to purchase ballistic missiles from the East. Iraq has Scud missiles, but we have nothing…”

Historically, missile exchanges didn't occur until 85. After suffering a setback, Lang Tuo began seeking help from other countries, such as Syria and North Korea, who also introduced Scud missile technology. Their missile industries developed on this basis.

Both Mr. Lin and Leader Zhang frowned. "A cat teaching a tiger kung fu? This skill of climbing trees has never been taught. Isn't it a case of not thinking things through?"

However, considering that Qin Liang has never made a miscalculation over the years, they could not openly stop him.

"Yes, we're willing to sell to you, but..." Qin Liang said with a headache, "We don't have any with a range of less than 300 kilometers!"

In fact, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was only signed after the 1980s. At that time, it was explicitly stipulated that missiles with a range of less than 300 kilometers could be exported normally, while those with a range of more than 300 kilometers would be exported in violation of regulations.

However, that only applies to the signatories of the treaty. For us in the East, it has no legal effect. In later generations, we can still help Shayam upgrade his Dongfeng-3 to Dongfeng-21.
However, even before the treaty was signed, it was already a tacit agreement that both the US and the Soviet Union were very cautious about exporting ballistic missiles, and would absolutely not sell any with a range of more than 300 kilometers.

This is similar to the free highway tolls during the Chinese New Year. In fact, before this policy was implemented, highways were already free because toll collectors also had to take a holiday during the Chinese New Year. So, the toll gates were simply raised and anyone could pass through, whether it was a small car or a large truck.

Mr. Lin and Leader Zhang were relieved.

Qin Liang's statement was essentially meaningless! Moreover, the other party couldn't find any fault with it!

Many countries' ballistic missiles started with the Scud, but not ours in the East!

In 1958, Russia transferred the complete technology of the P-2 missile to us. Based on this missile, we copied the Dongfeng-1 missile, which has a range of 590 kilometers!

You start ahead of everyone else!
This has resulted in the fact that there are no missiles with a range of less than 300 kilometers in China!

"However... we have a HQ-2 surface-to-air missile on hand, which has a long range and great power. With a little modification, this surface-to-air missile can be converted into a surface-to-surface missile. If you don't mind, we can modify this missile and sell it to you."

Hongqi-2!

This is of great significance in the history of equipment in the East! Back then, we introduced the SAM-2 missile technology from Russia and produced the HQ-1. Later, it was further improved and became the HQ-2 missile, which was then mass-produced and equipped.

During that special era, more than two hundred air defense missile battalions were gradually established. As for the number of these missiles, there are different accounts, but there were at least 20,000!
Such a large number is no longer the main force of national air defense, but a burden!
After all, this is a missile designed to intercept high-altitude, high-speed targets, which is outdated in this day and age! Furthermore, modern penetration primarily targets extremely low-altitude targets! The HQ-2 simply cannot reach them!

Moreover, this is a liquid-fueled missile. Before it can be deployed, the missile operators must wear gas masks and refuel it with highly toxic fuel, so it has no rapid combat capability whatsoever.

The Air Force was worried about what to do with its large number of HQ-2 missiles, but now it has a solution: sell them!

As for converting a surface-to-air missile into a surface-to-surface missile, I've never heard of that before! But... since Qin Liang said it's possible, then it really is possible!
There are indeed many problems, the biggest of which is whether the missile can withstand the overload during the descent phase.

Surface-to-air missiles explode once they're launched into the sky, while surface-to-surface missiles need to land on the ground. During their ascent, they accelerate continuously, reaching speeds of only around Mach 3 or 4 near the target. However, as they fall back down, gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, causing their speed to increase further, easily exceeding Mach 5.

Moreover, it still has to fall into the dense atmosphere. If it cannot withstand the overload during this process, it will disintegrate in the air!

"Qin, you mean, converting a surface-to-air missile into a surface-to-surface missile? Isn't that technically quite difficult?"

"That's right, it is a bit big, but as long as we have sufficient R&D funding, we can complete the entire modification project. Taking the HQ-2 missile body as an example, with a 500-kilogram warhead, it can also have a range of 200 kilometers. In this way, you can control the median line of the Persian Gulf. What do you think?"

Old Lin's eyes widened. The HQ-2 missile had a maximum range of only 30 to 40 kilometers when attacking aerial targets, but now it could reach 200 kilometers when attacking ground targets? How was that possible?
“Okay, we’re willing to provide the R&D funding. How much?” Minuseper asked, already impatient.

With a range of 200 kilometers, it can completely blockade the Strait of Hormuz!

Although the range is still somewhat short, this is just the beginning. By drawing inspiration from the technology of this missile and improving its performance, our own ballistic missiles can continue to develop!
"No need, how can we let you cover the research and development expenses? We can't make money off our friends."

They don't even want R&D funding?
Mr. Lin and Leader Zhang were even more surprised.

"Alright, then we'll await your good news! By the way, can this missile strike moving targets at sea?"

"Of course, we will develop two types of guidance devices. One is inertial navigation, which is used to strike ground targets. If necessary, a Beidou terminal can be added to improve accuracy. The other is a radar seeker, which is used to strike moving targets on the sea surface."

"Great, that's fantastic! How much does one of these missiles cost?"

"It's not expensive. We won't charge our friends a high price. This price is fine for the regular model." Qin Liang held up one finger.

"One million US dollars? That's cheap enough. Let's buy a hundred first!"

This is a $100 million deal!
"The anti-ship attack variant needs to incorporate a lot of advanced technology, hence this number." Qin Liang held up two fingers.

"Two million US dollars? That's cheap enough, let's buy fifty more!"

Another $100 million deal!

(End of this chapter)