Great Power Long Sky

In the conference room of the Donghai Station headquarters building, Wang Yong and several other senior generals sat there patiently waiting.

Li Lu and several other officers and soldiers from the 7th Air Regiment who participated in the reconnaissance operation sat across the table, patiently waiting.

On the leader's side, Gu Ya sat at the very edge.

This time she was officially transferred here. When she received the transfer order, she was completely stunned. But military orders are like mountains, and no matter how unexpected it was, she had to carry them out.

The meeting room was quiet. Everyone had different expressions, but without exception, their attention was focused on the direction of the door.

The sound of running could be heard outside, getting closer and closer.

Zhang Fei rushed to the door, stood at attention, and reported breathlessly, "Report! The photos and flight data are in!"

"Xiao Zhang, come in and sit down." Wang Yong waved.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Fei, who held the title of director of the tactical research office, had been waiting in the analysis room. As soon as the materials came out, he grabbed them and ran over here.

He handed the items to Wang Yong, returned to the 7th Air Regiment, sat down next to Li Lu, and carefully took deep breaths.

Vice General Zhang and Vice Commander Chen, sitting on either side of Wang Yong, leaned closer to look at the most visually striking photos first.

Li Lu tilted his head slightly and asked Zhang Fei in a low voice, "How's the photo?"

Zhang Fei controlled his excitement and answered in a low voice, "Thirty-three photos, all developed successfully, all in focus, and very clear."

"Little Li, you're fucking amazing!"

Zhang Fei raised his left thumb, which was resting on his thigh.

He is known in the group for his gentle and refined personality, and he never uses foul language, which shows how agitated he is right now.

Li Lu grinned silently, and said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity I didn't bring spare film, otherwise I could have taken more pictures."

A box of film can only take about thirty photos, and that's assuming there's no waste.

Zhang Fei said in a low voice, "It's already very, very good. The close-up of the Kitty Hawk is clearer than the ones published in foreign newspapers and taken by the Americans."

Li Lu said in a low voice, "Being close by, every shot will be clear."

The three leaders looked at the thirty-three photos over and over again. They spent more than twenty minutes looking at just these few photos, their eyes filled with obvious affection.

After a long while, Wang Yong finally raised his head and looked at Li Lu's face.

Li Lu quickly suppressed his smile and sat up straight.

Wang Yong sighed and said, "This aircraft carrier has been blocking our way since 1962, for a full 33 years."

"Fifteen years ago, the headquarters leaders visited a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship. That was the only time we had ever come into close contact with this type of ship."

At this point, tears welled up in Wang Yong's eyes.

The humiliating photo flashed before Li Lu's eyes again and again. The 64-year-old veteran in a green military uniform with red collar tabs had to stand on tiptoe to see the instrument panel of the shipborne helicopter in order to see it clearly, since he was not allowed to access the ship's equipment.

He is the deputy chief of staff of a major power's army.

This scene became a source of pain for generations of Chinese soldiers, and that photograph is deeply etched into the very marrow of every Chinese soldier.

The atmosphere in the meeting room grew increasingly oppressive. These were all soldiers who had lived through that era, and they knew all too well the unspeakable pain involved.

Wang Yong steadied himself and said, "Li Lu, you've made us proud."

"These photos prove that our People's Air Force is capable of dealing with the American aircraft carriers! We can not only locate them, but also attack them!"

The meeting room suddenly erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Li Lu abruptly stood up, wiped his eyes, and said emphatically, "High-altitude cover, ultra-low-altitude penetration, and saturation attack—it's entirely possible to sink a large aircraft carrier!"

Vice President Zhang pointed at Li Lu and said seriously, "Li Lu, your experience is invaluable. I think your tactical testing group should not only study how to shoot down stealth aircraft, but also how to shoot down aircraft carriers!"

"We can't count on the navy in the short term, so the burden is on your air force. You have to take it on."

Li Lu gritted his teeth and answered, "Yes!"

Then, he suddenly made a request that surprised everyone: "Sir, I would like to participate in the test flight of Project Ten!"

Xu Hailiang and the others looked over in surprise.

Li Lu had not communicated with anyone beforehand.

Wang Yong raised an eyebrow and said, "Project No. 10? You've been in the military for less than three years; you don't meet the standards for a test pilot."

"Commander, I have proven my capabilities," Li Lu said firmly. "The first thing to solve in attacking stealth aircraft is how to detect them, which will not be resolved in the short term. I believe that we should prioritize the tactics and strategies for attacking land and sea targets."

"To attack aircraft carriers, we need aircraft capable of anti-ship attacks. The J-6 is no good, the J-7 is no good, and the J-8 is even worse."

"The JH-7 fighter-bombers from the Naval Air Force are fine, or please ask the commander to transfer me to the Naval Air Force."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ya thought to herself, "Why is he talking like that? It sounds like he's threatening his superiors." Then she thought, "I just transferred here and you want to transfer away? Are you trying to avoid me?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yong and the other two immediately realized that Li Lu had planned this all along. He knew that it would be difficult to achieve the goal by reporting it through the normal procedures, so he deliberately chose this time to make the request in person.

Should Li Lu be transferred to the naval aviation unit?

Wouldn't that be handing over the talent you've painstakingly cultivated to someone else?

When the naval aviation force was being formed, the air force transferred a portion of its units to it in their entirety. It was so painful that I couldn't help but beat my chest in my sleep at night. Now that a top-notch soldier has finally emerged who has created a breakthrough in the core air defense perimeter of an aircraft carrier, we absolutely cannot let him get away.

Deputy Commander Chen was the most anxious. In terms of personnel, Li Lu was one of his pilots, and he was counting on Li Lu to achieve even greater success.

He quickly whispered to Wang Yong, "There's no rule that says young pilots can't participate in test flights. Besides, the test flights for Project 10 are now in their final stages. Sending a pilot with extensive frontline combat experience would be of practical significance."

After thinking for a moment, Vice President Zhang echoed in a low voice, "The military should guide the manufacturers' research and development; this is an established principle. I agree with Lao Chen's opinion."

Wang Yong said, "I have no objection, but this kid won't go to the manufacturer to do test flights. Let's hear his thoughts first."

When it comes to understanding Li Lu, Wang Yong is far superior.

Wang Yong asked, "You want to test-fly Project 10, which is against regulations. Please tell us your thoughts first."

Sure enough, Li Lu said without hesitation, "I think some of the test flights should be conducted on the front lines, using actual combat flights to test the aircraft and, in turn, provide the manufacturer with more practical suggestions for improvement."

Upon hearing this, all three leaders appeared visibly embarrassed.

They can coordinate sending test flights to central Sichuan, but if some test flights are moved to the front lines, that's beyond their control.

Project No. 10 is a key project for the military, a source of pride for the country and its people; no amount of description can overstate its importance.

Wang Yong said, "We'll talk about this later. The purpose of this discussion is to clarify the details of your reconnaissance mission. Please recount the situation from beginning to end, especially the details, and then give your opinion."

He silenced Li Lu's thoughts with a single sentence.

Li Lu knew this wouldn't be easy, so he quickly gathered his thoughts, walked over to the blackboard, picked up a piece of white chalk, and sketched out the situation.

He inadvertently created many firsts during reconnaissance operations.

Ultra-low altitude sea-skimming penetration flight is a completely new challenge for the current People's Liberation Army Air Force!