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

Chapter 445 F-117 Reconnaissance

It's late at night, 11 p.m.

"Gu, you're back!" Nikolai Nikitin was delighted to see the person standing before him. "So, does Northwestern Polytechnical University have this kind of technology?"

"Have."

"Great! Tell me about it!"

"Northwestern Polytechnical University has developed a brand-new infrared focal plane array, which can reach a maximum size of 1024x1024 and can cover the entire infrared band. When this array is installed on a professional infrared camera, it becomes the best shooting tool, and photo information can be easily obtained in the dark as if it were daytime."

"Such a high resolution?" Nikolai Nikitin was quite surprised.

In the future, when every TV is 4K, this resolution is really not good enough, only slightly better than 1080P. But this is the 1980s! The Russians didn't have infrared focal plane array technology at all! Otherwise, their tanks wouldn't still be using outdated infrared headlights.

Moreover, the Western infrared focal plane array, which is a product of two or three hundred, is the first of its kind in the world to have a focal plane array of thousands!
"Yes, this is already the most advanced technology at Northwestern Polytechnical University, so the price is also very high. They're asking for two hundred million US dollars..."

"What, two hundred million?" Nikitin was completely dumbfounded. This price was exceptionally high. In their expectations, twenty million US dollars would have been a lot, but now it had increased tenfold.

It's so dark, so incredibly dark!
"Yes, two hundred million US dollars, and they even said it was a discounted price because of a good friend."

Nikigin's heart sank. The country simply couldn't afford that much money. Afghanistan was a bottomless pit, requiring huge sums of money to be poured in every year. There wasn't enough food domestically, and importing food from the West cost a fortune every year...

"Later, I slammed my fist on the table with him. I, Lao Gu, still remember the kindness of my older brother. I immediately cut the price by half. It has to be this price! I won't give them a penny more!"

I got it for half price!
Nikitin exclaimed excitedly, "So, they've agreed?"

"Yes, I agree. How dare he refuse? Otherwise, I, Old Gu, will turn against him!"

"Great, fantastic! We've secured the $100 million..."

and many more!

One hundred million US dollars is a lot. Their plan was only twenty million US dollars. However... it's now clear that reducing the price from two hundred million to one hundred million is already the maximum concession they've made. They absolutely cannot make any further concessions. So, the next step is to report back to China and see if they can agree to it...

"Since we're going to conduct aerial reconnaissance, we'll need to install other equipment. We'll upgrade this aircraft, for example, by installing a Beidou navigation system so it won't get lost in the other party's airspace... Northwestern Polytechnical University has promised to provide all of this for free."

Even though the aerial reconnaissance equipment will gradually age over time, we are still not at ease, so we install a Beidou terminal inside. This way, we can know where the aircraft is flying, and the aircraft will be completely harmless.

"BeiDou terminal?"

"That's right. Inertial navigation alone isn't accurate enough; we still need satellite navigation. Our BeiDou system already covers the Middle East, and the next step will be to cover Europe... Of course, if your Soviet Union successfully develops its own satellite navigation system, you can switch to it later; it's not a big deal."

"Okay, this navigation should be set to be manually turned off."

"of course."

Of course not. Even if it can be turned off on the surface, it will still be secretly turned on behind the scenes after it flies out.

"Then you can make the changes. I will coordinate with the domestic authorities to complete the approval process as soon as possible... Could you install it for us first and let us test the effect?"

"Well... I'll try to coordinate it, but... installing it shouldn't be a problem, but if you don't pay, this plane definitely won't get to you."

"That's natural!"

The F-117 has a very short range. Even with a full tank of fuel, it's impossible for Russian pilots to fly from Chang'an across the border if they forced a takeoff. So, they shouldn't even think about sneaking the plane back; otherwise, it would crash mid-flight. As for in-flight refueling...

The F-117 belongs to the US Air Force and uses a rigid boom refueling system on the fuselage, which is completely incompatible with the Russian system.

Three days later, Northwestern Polytechnical University, conference room.

The outline of a beautiful fighter jet appeared on the projection screen.

With its diamond-shaped nose cone and parallelogram-shaped air intake, this engine head has been modified so much that even its own mother wouldn't recognize it.

"This design of the nose is absolutely perfect, but it also means that your original design needs to be greatly modified. For example, the position of the nose landing gear needs to be changed. Of course, taking into account the original design of the aircraft, we have specially thickened the nose. The benefit of this is that a large-diameter radar can be installed."

Looking at the design drawings, Qin Liang spoke eloquently: "We believe that a large nose has great advantages because it can install a large-diameter radar. The design of the French Rafale fighter jet was a complete failure. It only took aerodynamics into account and ignored the need for radar. Although the European fighter jet is a medium-sized aircraft, in our hands, it can already install radar antennas with a diameter of more than 900 millimeters, and the search range is definitely over 150 meters!"

The aircraft designers from Europe had different expressions.

The nose cone has been modified too much!

This will definitely increase drag and reduce the aircraft's maximum speed, but... what the other side said makes sense. A large-diameter radar is of great significance to fighter jets, especially for the British. To enable fighter jets to intercept bombers at long range, the larger the radar, the better.

What do you all think of this design?

Jürgen was the first to speak: "We think this design is excellent and perfectly meets our needs. We support our Eastern friends in providing us with a detailed aerodynamic design!"

Since MBB has already secretly partnered with the East Asians, they have to put in a good word for them!

As one of the official partners of the Eurofighter Typhoon, since they had all expressed their opinions, the British had no other choice.

“Alright, we think this design is good too,” Cheney said. “Next, please produce the perfect shape for us. There can be no flaws in aerodynamics and stealth. We will pay the R&D costs according to the progress, and we will also leave a group of designers behind…”

"Okay, we at Northwestern Polytechnical University have made all the arrangements." Qin Liang nodded.

This makes the Typhoon fighter jet even more useless. They actually accepted the large nose design, but... this design is indeed flawless.

Half a month later, Factory 172.

As night fell, the long-closed workshop doors slowly opened, and a strangely shaped fighter jet was slowly towed out by a 130.

A large crowd had already gathered on the runway.

"This plane is really unique!"

"Although I now know that this plane is real, I still have doubts. I don't believe it can actually fly..."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the plane stopped at the end of the runway and began preparations for takeoff.

Boris Ornov, carrying his flight helmet, strode toward the aircraft. As the chief test pilot of the Mikoyan Design Bureau, he had been familiarizing himself with the operation of the aircraft recently and was now quite proficient at it.

However, when he was boarding the plane, he was stopped by Nikolai Nikitin.

"Boris, how confident are you?"

"I am absolutely certain!"

Nikolai Nikitin still wouldn't let go: "What do you mean?"

"This is a fly-by-wire aircraft, so there's no need to worry that any of my actions will cause the aircraft to crash. It will never fly outside its envelope. My main job during this period has actually been to familiarize myself with the cockpit operation of the aircraft."

As a technologically advanced aircraft, the internal cockpit display naturally features a flat-bottomed layout, which is quite different from previous operations. Even though the captured pilot had explained the purpose of every switch in the cockpit and the various operating procedures, there was still a great deal of uncertainty.

However, he had already been familiar with the cockpit for a month and knew it like the back of his hand.

That's not what I'm asking. I'm saying, what if the Orientals don't fix it and there are other problems?

However… looking at the Asians present, Nikolai Nikitin couldn't voice his concerns, so he could only send Boris Orlov up. “Hey, watch out, that’s not a handrail on the left, that’s a pitot tube!” someone shouted from below as he climbed up.

Boris almost grabbed her hand, but quickly let go.

Once inside the cockpit, his mind was clear as he made various preparations for the test flight. Three minutes later, the canopy closed, and the familiar roar of the engine came from the tail.

Release the brakes and coast!
The F-117 was getting faster and faster. The front landing gear lifted up, and then the rear landing gear. This plane could actually take off!
Everyone stared wide-eyed as the fighter jet entered the dark night sky and disappeared, not even the flames from its tail could be seen!

This stealth aircraft is really powerful!

In the sky, Boris Ornov maneuvered the fighter jet to climb. The stealth capability had been perfectly verified, and there was no need for him to test it. The key was the onboard equipment!

At an altitude of one thousand meters, he activated the newly added operation buttons, and soon an image appeared on the left screen.

Mountains, rivers, villages... everything is clearly visible!

He adjusted the button next to the screen, specified the target, and the camera began to focus automatically. Every house in the village was clearly visible, just like during the day!
"Excellent, truly excellent!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

"Boris, is the flight performance good?"

"Everything is fine. This plane should be flown back as soon as possible and put into reconnaissance at the front!"

"it is good!"

On the ground, Nikolai Nikitin was beaming with excitement: "Great! This is a perfect plane. Moscow will transfer the funds as soon as possible. You... can coordinate the flight route for us? We'll be flying back tomorrow night!"

"Sure, as long as the funds arrive before dark tomorrow!"

East Germany, Potsdam base.

"According to intelligence, the Americans have deployed their first Patriot air defense missile system at Fritzlal Air Base. We selected this base as our target during our first aerial reconnaissance. Comrade Ornov, is there a problem?" Base Commander Mastov asked.

Such frontline reconnaissance work is normally handled by dedicated frontline pilots, but unfortunately, there is only one F-117, and the assigned pilot has not yet been trained. Boris Ornov, the test pilot, can only temporarily take on the role of a combat pilot.

The Patriot missile, the most advanced air defense missile system developed by the Americans, especially with its phased array radar, was undoubtedly very risky to choose such a location for its first operation.

but……

Boris-Olnov did not hesitate: "Of course, it's also a good opportunity to test the battlefield survivability of this stealth aircraft."

"Okay, thank you for the hard work!"

In the pitch-black night, the hangar doors slowly opened. Since the F-117s flew in last night, the security force has been tripled! Now, the defenses outside are even tighter.

The futuristic-looking fighter jet was towed out of the hangar and soon roared into the dark night sky.

"Report: Just like when it flew over yesterday, there's nothing detected on our radar screens!"

"Hmm, this plane is really amazing. Luckily we managed to get our hands on one. But it won't be long before our Soviet Union has a large number of stealth aircraft!"

"That's right!"

Boris Ornov glanced at the monitor and, based on the BeiDou navigation information, adjusted his course to align with Fritzlal Air Base.

If it were an older aircraft, it would have needed to penetrate at extremely low altitudes, but now, nothing is needed. As long as all the navigation lights outside are turned off, you can just swagger in!
At an altitude of one thousand meters, he flew over the border between East and West Germany.

There was no radar warning receiver sound in the headset, indicating that the enemy's air defense network had not detected anything!

Keep moving forward!

Fritzlar Air Base.

In the eastern part of the base, a phased array radar antenna on a trailer has been deployed, releasing surging electromagnetic waves that fill the surrounding airspace. Next to the radar vehicle are several quadruple missile launchers, their launch tubes tilted eastward, as if they could soar into the sky at any moment.

Inside the control room, several missile soldiers were on duty. For them, this was a routine mission, but... at the height of the Cold War, a hot war could break out at any moment, so they had to be on high alert.

"On our screen, it seems... there's a faint echo," Radar Officer Cole said uncertainly.

"This... does resemble it, but it doesn't. What else could such a small echo be? It's probably a special phenomenon in the atmosphere," Commander George said.

They didn't take the echo seriously; after all, if there was anything there, it was only the size of a basketball and nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Boris-Ornov looked at the screen showing that he was being targeted by radar and was still a little worried. However... after a long time, there was no sound from the radar alarm receiver, indicating that the other side had not switched to a lock-on.

Don't worry, keep going! We're less than 50 kilometers from our target. Activate the infrared imaging reconnaissance device and start taking pictures!
A rumbling sound echoed in the sky, and George's unease grew stronger. The echo was faint, but it was heading in their direction. Was this... a peculiar atmospheric phenomenon, or...?

"Calling base, scramble one F-15 fighter jet to take to the skies and take a look!"

"Yes!"

One minute later, the fighter jets on combat readiness duty took to the sky amidst a roar!
In the sky, the F-117 fighter jet's display clearly showed everything in the base: the deployment locations of the radar sites, the fighter jets on the tarmac, the situation in the hangar, and... why did the other side take off a plane? Was it coming for them?
Boris Ornov still has nothing to worry about. The last time his side was able to intercept the F-117, it was just a stroke of luck. Can the Americans be as lucky as his side?

Definitely not!

So... keep flying boldly forward!
Wait, I seem a little sleepy, I need to perk myself up.

He reached into his flight suit pocket, pulled out a small bottle of vodka, unscrewed it, and gulped down two large mouthfuls. His energy was restored.

Something seemed to fly overhead, but I ignored it and kept flying.

The F-15 fighter jets, which had just taken off, were a bit confused. There was nothing on the onboard radar screen. They tried to find the target location according to the ground radar, but it was completely empty!

Unbeknownst to them, they had just missed their target by a mere 500 meters in altitude, yet they still failed to spot it!

Amidst the roar of engines, the F-117 flew over the Patriot missile site.

The Patriot missile's radar antenna is very advanced, capable of generating 32 different scanning beams and simultaneously guiding eight Patriot missiles to intercept targets in different directions. However, this radar also has a flaw: it cannot rotate 360 ​​degrees!
With an antenna elevation angle of 67.5 degrees, it could only search within a 120-degree space in front of it, and that was all. It wasn't until the Patriot-3, with the addition of two small antennas, that it gained a 360-degree field of view, but the main antenna remained fixed.

Therefore, when an F-117 flies over its head, it can no longer detect the target at all!

The target disappeared, the F-15 in the air returned to base, and it all seemed like a complete misunderstanding...

Meanwhile, the F-117 completed its aerial reconnaissance mission and returned to Potsdam Air Base along its planned route.

The base radar only detected the target when the landing gear was down. Mustov excitedly went to the runway, watched the plane land, and then taxied directly into the hangar.

"Comrade Ornov, how is the situation?"

"Excellent! I've scouted the entire Fritzlal Air Base. Their radar has illuminated me, and their fighter jets have searched for me, but it's all in vain!"

"Great! We finally have excellent reconnaissance capabilities. Tomorrow night, we need to go to the Mainz base to conduct reconnaissance. It seems that a new batch of M1 tanks has arrived there."

"no problem!"

From that night onward, the night sky over West Germany became undefended!

(End of this chapter)