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

Chapter 420 The basalt missile turned and flew back!
Squadron leader Mahmut of the Yak-38 carrier-based aircraft squadron walked heavily toward his plane. At this time, his wings were already loaded with two 500-kilogram bombs and two external fuel tanks, which was the maximum load. At this time, the combat radius was only about two hundred kilometers. The so-called mast guardian was just right.

To be honest, he wasn't confident he could go around in circles.

In the air battles over the Bekaa Valley, the Russians had already witnessed the power of the Eastern air defense missiles. If they had supersonic fighters, they might have been able to use ultra-low-altitude supersonic penetration to walk a tightrope, but now, their aircraft were clearly just going to their deaths.

I really don't know what their commander was thinking, that he had to go and show off his power. Was he still stuck in the era of the Soviet Union's invincibility?

Their technology is now more advanced than that of the United States!
However, as a soldier, he also knew that soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, and since his superiors had given orders, he had to carry them out!

This time, a total of nine Yak-38s were on board. Excluding one for maintenance, the remaining eight were all deployed, which was definitely a large-scale attack. However... He stepped into the cockpit, turned his head to look at his other companions behind him, hoping that they could all return safely. If something went wrong, it would be a big problem, absolutely earth-shattering, and even rewriting the entire era!
Stepping into the cockpit, putting on the helmet, connecting the communicator cable, turning on various switches... his well-trained movements were all fluid and effortless.

"The ram calls to confirm that the correct radio frequency has been dialed."

In the pilots' preparation room, they had already determined the radio frequency band to be used for this operation, and now it was necessary to reconfirm it before takeoff.

but……

There was no response from the headphones, only a crackling sound.

"The ram is calling! Blacksmith Squadron, respond! Respond!"

There was still no answer, so he stood up and shouted at the Yak-38 behind him, "Akhmatov, you damned idiot, tune the radio to the right place!"

Akhmatov stood up from the cockpit, gripping the cockpit windshield frame with both hands, and shouted back, "Captain Ram, I've tuned to the correct frequency, I'm calling you, but... there's no response."

"What? How is this possible?"

On the bridge, the radio operator was also making calls.

"Novorossiysk calling Blacksmith Squadron, please respond, please respond!"

There was no reply from the radio!
"What's going on?" Fedorov sensed something was wrong. "Could our radio be jammed?"

"If there were interference, there should be a strong source of radiation and a lot of noise in the headphones. The noise in our headphones right now is normal and doesn't seem like interference," the radio operator replied.

"Notify the blacksmith squadron to switch to the backup frequency!"

"Yes."

If the radio is out of service, then the messenger has to be the one to relay the message.

One minute later.

"The ram is calling, please respond."

"Received, hunchback."

"Eagle received."

As responses rang out, Machmut finally breathed a sigh of relief. He gestured to the ground crew, and soon the engine roared to life.

First, start the main engine at the rear, then start the two lift engines at the back. Once they are running normally, Machmut calls again.

"The Ram calls Novorossiysk, requesting takeoff."

Normally, this was just a normal call; he would have floored the throttle as soon as he heard the clearance to take off, but...

The echo in the headphones disappeared again!

what happened?

"Ram calling other aircraft in Blacksmith Squadron, please respond! Please respond!"

There was still no response from the earphones!

There is a problem, there is definitely a problem!
He quickly shut off the engine to reduce fuel consumption, then opened the canopy and gestured to the other aircraft. Fortunately, he was the lead plane in the entire formation; if he didn't take off, the others wouldn't dare to take off either.

just now……

"Damn it, what's going on with this radio?" Fedorov said irritably on the bridge.

"We don't know, we are investigating the cause..."

Captain Okgabri's expression grew increasingly grim, as if he had thought of something.

"They're jamming our communication frequencies, and they can start jamming again within seconds of us switching frequencies. If I'm not mistaken, this must be jamming using advanced electronic technology!"

He has now suffered a major blow.

No matter where the battle takes place—in the air, on the ground, or at sea—communication systems are indispensable. If radio signals are jammed, command and control will be disrupted!

"To date, our main airborne radio is the R-832 radio, which lacks frequency-hopping communication technology and is easily jammed. Our electronic technology is simply too backward!" Okegabri said. "It should have been replaced with digital frequency-hopping radios long ago. We are far behind in this field!"

“Okay, we are indeed far behind in this area, but... now that we know it's due to electromagnetic interference, let's just abandon radio communication. Anyway, this is just a simple combat mission. Even if we can't maintain communication during the mission, it's fine…”

“No, no.” Okgabri shook his head: “It’s one thing if it’s just electromagnetic interference, but what if the other side can cut into our communication frequency band and impersonate us to give combat orders to the carrier-based pilots?”

“How is that possible? Even the Americans can’t do that!” Fedorov shook his head.

Okgabri's expression was complicated; his previous arrogance was gone.

Previously, he had always been proud of his powerful fleet, but just now, the radio was jammed, and he thought of his conversation with Marshal Ogarkov. How could he not be conflicted at this moment?

Ogarkov once said that without modern high technology, we cannot win future wars! He used to be skeptical, but now…

"Alright, to verify my hypothesis, let's launch a P-500 anti-ship missile now!"

At the bow, the massive launch tubes were already prepared.

With a creaking sound, the cover at the front of the launch tube opened, revealing the missile body inside, which resembled an airplane.

With a length of 11.7 meters, a diameter of 880 millimeters, and a weight of 4.8 tons, this missile looks like a rugged behemoth, just like a small airplane!
This is the trump card that the Russians tailored specifically for the US Navy: a heavy supersonic anti-ship missile!
"Attention, launch countdown begins in three minutes!"

"One minute countdown!"

"Ten, nine... one, launch!"

With a command, scorching flames rose from the tail of the launch tube, scorching many things behind it, but it didn't matter; the Russian warships were already used to it.

The red, cone-shaped warhead was revealed first, followed by the titanium alloy body, which gleamed in the morning sun. When the middle of the warhead was exposed, the special annular air intake on the abdomen also appeared.

This early anti-ship missile was very different from the later BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile. The later one had an air intake with an air cone, similar to the MiG-21. Moreover, it used an integral engine, where the solid propellant could be used directly as the jet nozzle of the ramjet engine after it burned up.

The current P-500 is still quite outdated, with air intake in the abdomen and two solid rocket boosters mounted on its rear.

At this moment, the solid propellant was burning fiercely, propelling the missile to accelerate, and then accelerate again, until it disappeared from everyone's sight, having already exceeded the speed of sound.

The solid rocket booster completed its mission and detached. After a brief moment of flame disappearing, a new flame rose, and the ramjet engine ignited!
Speed ​​up, speed up!
Mach 2, Mach 2.5! Soon, the missile reached its maximum speed and sped off!
This is just a training round; the warhead doesn't have a dedicated semi-armor-piercing warhead, and it can self-destruct at any time if needed. The Russians will soon be glad they didn't fire a live round.

With a roar, the missile whistled away!

Even on a large aircraft carrier, the shipborne radar cannot see the part below the sea level. Therefore, at the same time as the missile is launched, a Ka-25 relay guidance helicopter takes off and transmits data with the missile and the bridge behind it through the Vitality 3 satellite data transceiver system.

On the bridge, everyone was staring at the screen, which displayed the missile's flight attitude.

“It’s very stable, with no signs of interference whatsoever.” Fedorov said calmly, “Okgabri, you’re being too paranoid. They couldn’t possibly have advanced technology, much less alien technology like you’re saying!”

Looking at the missile's flight trajectory, Okgabri was also somewhat puzzled. Could it be that he was just being paranoid?
at the same time.

"A new target has been detected!"

"Start data analysis immediately!"

The tall weather balloon is not only equipped with early warning radar, but also with a dedicated receiving antenna; it's a complex system!

At this moment, countless chaotic electromagnetic waves are received, transmitted to the ground via cables, and then enter the Loongson server.

It's impossible to install a super server here; it's just a minicomputer. But its computing power would make everyone envious if it were taken out.

On the computer screen, data waves are now jumping around. The programs are all built-in, so no operation is required. Just wait patiently!

"Fifty kilometers to go!"

"Thirty kilometers away!"

"Don't worry, our Loongson computers are already running at full speed!"

"Solution complete!" Just then, an excited voice rang out.

"We have broken into the Russians' data link system and are about to gain control of the missiles!"

"Great job! Indeed, without electromagnetic power, there is nothing!" Yu Zhiqiang said excitedly.

"Report! This missile is out of control! We have no idea what it will do next!"

This……

On the radar screen, the missile that was hurtling towards them at high speed suddenly began to climb, and then turned...

On the bridge of the Novorossiysk.

"What's going on?" Fedorov immediately noticed something was wrong: "Why is the missile climbing and turning?"

Actually, a direct horizontal turn is also possible, but because the missile is very fast, the turning radius would be extremely large. During the climb, the missile's speed would decrease, and the turning radius would also decrease accordingly.

"The missile is out of our control!" The launch officer's voice was filled with terror. "What's going on? What's happening?"

No one told him that, in his terrified voice, everyone's pupils dilated.

Thirty degrees, sixty degrees, ninety degrees, one hundred and eighty degrees...

"The missiles are back!"

"Quickly, quickly control this missile to self-destruct!" At this moment, Okgabri finally recovered from his dazed state.

Ordinary anti-ship missiles are essentially fire-and-forget missiles; they lock onto the target before launch and activate radar to search for it when they are near the target. However, as the missile's range increases, this method becomes unreliable.

Even if a supersonic missile can travel 700-800 meters or 500 kilometers per second, it would still take about 20 minutes. During this time, the target might leave the pre-locked sea area. Therefore, mid-course relay guidance is essential.

It can be a relay helicopter or a relay satellite, and this mode of operation has a higher priority than the missile's internal programming settings!
Inside the bridge, the atmosphere was incredibly tense. The launch officer, with trembling hands, entered one preset command after another, but there was no response!

The missile is still hurtling towards us at high speed!
One hundred kilometers, eighty kilometers, fifty kilometers, thirty kilometers...

"Quickly, where's the escort 956? Take it out now!"

Among the Russian Navy, the strongest escort warship is undoubtedly the Kirov-class. These nuclear-powered cruisers carry hundreds of missiles, making them practically the Americans' arsenal ships!
Because they were too expensive, very few were built, and the Pacific Fleet in the Far East has not yet been assigned warships of this class.

So the Russians built another Slava-class warship, which was a stripped-down version, but there weren't many of these warships.

Accompanying the Novorossiysk this time were only a Sovremenny-class destroyer and a Udaloy-class destroyer, thus providing both air defense and anti-submarine capabilities. After all, the Russian aircraft carriers themselves have strong air defense capabilities, so they are not afraid even if they are alone.

However, the main air defense missile installed on the Novorossiysk was the shipborne version of the 2K12, designated SA-N-3 in the West. It was finalized and put into service in the 1960s, and by the 1980s, it was already considered outdated. It was somewhat inadequate to intercept supersonic anti-ship missiles flying at Mach 2.5.

In comparison, the Type 956, which is the Western designation for the Sovremenny-class warships, is more reliable with its Shtil air defense missile system!
"Novorossiysk calling Rapid! Novorossiysk calling Rapid! Please shoot down the incoming anti-ship missiles immediately!"

no response!

Electromagnetic interference has increased again, making it impossible for them to communicate not only with their carrier-based aircraft, but also with other warships in the formation!

"Quickly, use flag signals! Use flag signals!"

Fortunately, the old methods haven't been abandoned yet, otherwise... it would be too late!
"Fifteen kilometers!"

This delay allowed the anti-ship missile to reach a distance of 15 kilometers!
On the fast ship, flames surged as two anti-aircraft missiles, either trailing behind or flying into the sky, launched in a dual-launch interception, ensuring 100% interception!
At this moment, they could see the incoming anti-ship missile with their naked eyes. It seemed to have eyes, and began to draw an S-shape on the sea surface!
Snake-like excitement!
This final breakthrough maneuver is about to be executed!
Fortunately, it didn't have a warhead, but being hit by such a big thing would still be very painful for the Novorossiysk!

Amidst everyone's worried gazes, the behemoth evaded the first anti-aircraft missile, and then evaded the second one...

"Electromagnetic interference! Our missiles are experiencing strong electromagnetic interference, which is preventing them from adjusting their course in time!" shouted the missile operator aboard the Rapid.

Their missiles missed their targets, not because of them, but because of external factors!
And that anti-ship missile is still flying towards us at high speed!
"Quickly, close-in weapon systems! Close-in weapon systems!"

The Russians have one last trick up their sleeve: the AK-630, a weapon with a ferocious rate of fire, which is the last line of defense against interception!
At this moment, the anti-ship missile had reached a distance of three kilometers, just before their close-in weapon systems had even opened fire.

boom!
The anti-ship missile exploded on its own!
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; the missile hadn't actually hit them, but...

"Oh no!" someone roared angrily.

Although the missile exploded, the debris still flew over at Mach 2.5. In fact, because there were so many pieces of debris, they hit many different locations.

A series of crackling sounds rang out as many fragments hit the ship's hull, but a few pieces also struck the bridge!

Bang, bang!

One of the pieces of glass couldn't withstand the impact and cracked into countless tiny fissures, instantly turning into a spider web. Luckily, it didn't break; otherwise... with shards flying everywhere, there would have been some casualties!

Okegabri stood up from beside a piece of equipment where he had been hiding, his face extremely pale.

"Damn it, we can't swallow this!" Fedorov was completely enraged.

(End of this chapter)