Courtyard House: The Road to an Industrial Power

The No. 95 compound has returned to its former tranquility.

However, the weapons research and development workshop of the Red Star Machinery Factory was always brightly lit, working day and night.

Lin Weidong and Su Wanqing devoted all their energy to the research and development of man-portable air defense missiles.

I often work through the night.

Chen Bin led one team to conquer the core of the guidance system, while the second team was reorganized.

All the technical staff were working with great enthusiasm.

After three months of hard work and overcoming difficulties, exciting news finally came from the workshop.

The first set of man-portable air defense missiles has been officially assembled!

The silver-gray projectile is straight and slender, the guidance probe has a cold and sharp glint, the portable launcher is lightweight and stable, and the whole weapon weighs only a dozen kilograms.

It can be operated, carried, and launched by a single person.

Looking at the results of countless hours of hard work, the entire R&D team embraced and cheered.

At this moment, a sense of frustration and gloom was hanging over China's airspace.

With its advanced high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, the United States disregards China's airspace sovereignty, frequently intruding into the mainland for reconnaissance, and even brazenly circling and provoking Beijing.

Inside the air defense command center on the outskirts of Beijing, the atmosphere was as oppressive as solidified iron.

On the radar screen, that glaring red dot reappeared, slowly approaching the core area of ​​Beijing along its flight path.

The duty officer clenched his fist, his knuckles white, and barked the order: "Air defense missile battalion, lock onto the target! Fire three missiles simultaneously!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three domestically produced air defense missiles, trailing flames, soared into the sky and flew towards the reconnaissance aircraft.

But the pilot of the American reconnaissance plane remained completely calm, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips as he gently pushed the control stick.

The reconnaissance plane easily evaded the missiles' pursuit; all three missiles missed their target, exploding into three useless fireballs in the high sky.

"Hahaha, China's crappy missiles can't even touch my tail!"

The reconnaissance plane lowered its altitude again and leisurely circled over Beijing, as if it were strolling in its own backyard, extremely arrogant.

Inside the command post, all the officers had ashen faces and bloodshot eyes, but could only stare intently at the radar screen, their hearts filled with pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent.

Anti-aircraft guns couldn't reach it, and anti-aircraft missiles couldn't catch up. There wasn't a single weapon in the entire country that could do anything to this reconnaissance aircraft.

When the news reached the higher-ups, the leader slammed his fist on his desk, making his teacup rattle, his face contorted with rage.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"We must quickly develop anti-aircraft weapons capable of countering enemy aircraft. If they continue to act so arrogantly, what security will our airspace have left!"

Just as the higher-ups were furious, Lin Weidong's application for live-fire testing of man-portable air defense missiles was delivered to the desks of the military's top brass.

The application included parameters such as "automatic lock-on at altitudes below 10,000 meters and precise shooting down targets at speeds below twice the speed of sound."

The commander suddenly stood up and immediately wrote an instruction: Arrange the test immediately, mobilize elite troops for protection, and provide full cooperation!

Once the order was given, the military test site on the outskirts of Beijing was quickly set up.

On the day of the test, the sky was clear and blue. The regimental commander of the Beijing Suburban Military Region, the air defense force commander, and many core military leaders were all present.

His eyes were fixed on Lin Weidong and the set of individual anti-aircraft missiles in the field.

Everyone was filled with anticipation, yet couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Can this small, individual weapon really shatter the arrogance of enemy aircraft?

"Test ready, requesting activation!" Lin Weidong said in a steady and powerful voice, holding a walkie-talkie.

Just then, a radar operator suddenly rushed over, his face changing drastically: "Report! A US reconnaissance aircraft has intruded again, reaching the airspace above the test range and flying at low altitude in a provocative manner!"

Everyone looked up and saw a small silver dot appear on the horizon, rapidly approaching—it was the reconnaissance plane that had repeatedly ravaged Chinese airspace.

It flew extremely low, and the beautiful national flag on the fuselage was clearly visible. The pilot even shook the wings, making a highly sarcastic gesture.

"Anti-aircraft artillery battalion, fire!" the commander shouted.

"Boom boom boom!" Hundreds of shells rained down on the reconnaissance plane.

The shells either grazed the fuselage or landed far behind, never even touching the reconnaissance plane.

The reconnaissance pilot burst into laughter in the cockpit.

He spoke into the radio, "China still has no solution; their weapons are just a pile of scrap metal!"

On the test field, all the military generals clenched their fists, their chests heaving violently, their faces contorted with humiliation, anger, and helplessness, their expressions extremely grim.

The feeling of being ridden on and provoked without being able to fight back is a great humiliation for all soldiers.

At this moment of extreme frustration.

Lin Weidong stepped forward slowly, steadily shouldered the man-portable air defense missile launcher, and turned to aim at the reconnaissance plane in the air.

Lin Weidong's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and the guidance probe locked tightly onto the reconnaissance aircraft.

At this moment, the enemy aircraft is completing its taunting maneuver and preparing to climb and withdraw.

"Now!"

Lin Weidong pulled the trigger.

"call out--!"

A blinding flame ripped through the sky as the man-portable air defense missile shot out like an arrow.

It flew toward the reconnaissance plane with lightning speed.

The missile comes with an automatic locking system.

No matter how the reconnaissance aircraft accelerated or evaded, it always kept a close eye on the target, with a speed far exceeding Mach 2, giving the other party no chance to escape!

The pilots inside the cockpit finally realized the danger.

Seeing the missile rapidly approaching on the radar, his face instantly turned deathly pale, his pupils contracted sharply, and he screamed incoherently, "Fuck! What is that?!"

The alarms in the cabin were blaring and the red lights were flashing. He frantically pushed the control stick, only to find that the missile had already come close to the fuselage.

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out in the sky, and flames shot into the heavens.

The arrogant American reconnaissance plane was instantly engulfed by the fireball, its fuselage shattering into countless fragments, trailing black smoke as it crashed heavily to the ground.

The pilot didn't even have a chance to eject before he and the fighter jet turned to ashes.

The test field was deathly silent.

All the soldiers stared wide-eyed, looking up at the dissipating fireball in the sky.

My mind went blank; I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Three seconds later, someone suddenly roared in anger:

"We shot it down! We shot down the enemy plane!"

Instantly, the entire test field erupted in thunderous cheers!

The pent-up frustration and humiliation that had been building up inside them for so long were finally released at this moment, and everyone's face was filled with pride and excitement.

In less than half a day, news broke that China had successfully shot down an intruding American reconnaissance plane using man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

It spread like a thunderclap around the world, instantly igniting global public opinion!

The White House was furious, and the president convened an emergency meeting overnight.

They simply couldn't believe that China, which had always lagged behind, could develop such advanced man-portable air defense weapons, directly breaking their air monopoly.

The Kremlin in Russia was in an uproar. Military leaders repeatedly verified the information, their faces filled with disbelief: "How could China suddenly produce an anti-aircraft missile of this caliber?"

"This technology even surpasses ours!"

They immediately sent people to China to investigate the technical details.