Chapter 155 Three Times the Speed of Sound
Being "loaned" to Nanzheng to solve the problem before the August 3rd Project was completed was definitely an accident.
But the turmoil in this world will not stop because of such an accident.
Just as Chang Haonan was trying to help Factory 182 solve the long-standing problem of wing icing and prepare to give the Y-8 a new lease of life, a new conflict was also brewing in the South Asian subcontinent.
Flight briefing room at Parvatipur Air Force Base, Bareilly District, Uttar Pradesh.
Lieutenant Colonel Sumit Mukherjee, the pilot of the 102nd Squadron, sat on a chair, listening to the squadron leader in front of him introducing the relevant information about his next mission on a map.
As the most special unit in the entire country's air force, the ranks corresponding to all positions in the 102 Squadron are one or even two levels higher than those of other units.
Even among the ordinary ground staff, there are many officers.
They only had a total of 8 unarmed aircraft - 6 MiG-25RBK and 2 MiG-25RUS.
But that's enough.
In the past ten years, the 102nd Squadron has conducted countless bold approaches and even cross-border reconnaissance, but no opponent has ever been able to pose even one effective threat to these aircraft.
Also because of the characteristics of the MiG-25, this unit is nicknamed "Three Sonics" within the Air Force.
But today, as a veteran pilot who has experienced many battles, Mukherjee is still full of doubts about the route drawn by the squadron leader.
According to the plan, after taking off, he would fly westward for a certain distance, raising the flight altitude to more than 23,000 meters, and then turn north near Aligarh and cross the border for about 170 kilometers. After that, they made another sharp turn and flew west again, crossing the entire plateau area into Kashmir, and finally made a big circle near Iba before returning.
Although the range of the MiG-25RB is theoretically sufficient to complete this flight, the range of nearly 1,800 kilometers also means that he cannot use the afterburner mode as he wants, and this reconnaissance activity has more than 70% of the range. None of them are within our own airspace, so we need to be on guard against risks at all times.
"Squadron leader, why can't the mission be divided into two and executed separately?"
After listening to the briefing, Mukherjee asked the squadron leader standing next to the briefing board:
"Or take off two at once? You can also fly a plane, this is too extreme."
"This is what the superior requested, and the order came directly from New Delhi, and the specific reason was not stated."
The squadron leader put it down. With the pointing stick in his hand, he walked next to Mukherjee and continued in a lowered voice:
"But I heard that it's because the device you hang under the belly of the aircraft can only read and write data a maximum of 6 times before it becomes scrapped, so the higher-ups want to maximize its use every time it takes off."< br>
The two turned their heads almost at the same time and looked at the MiG-25 on the tarmac not far away that was undergoing pre-flight inspection.
Hung under its belly is a streamlined object that looks a bit like an auxiliary fuel tank, but is larger.
“So what the hell is that thing, flying with it feels really bad.”
Actually, this is another reason why Mukherjee feels a little annoyed.
He only knew that this thing was some kind of auxiliary equipment for reconnaissance, but it was definitely not something made by Russia, because the MiG-25 carrier aircraft could only control it to start or stop working through a post-modified lever switch, and could not control it. Make any other adjustments.
No pilot would want such a thing beyond his control to exist on his plane.
What’s more, it will also affect the aircraft’s extreme flight performance, making it impossible for the MiG-25 to break through three times the speed of sound as their squadron’s name suggests.
The squadron leader shrugged and explained in an uncertain tone:
"The Americans sent it, saying that it can conduct radar mapping of the terrain and record the scanned data. All radar signals. "So this is a pod that can conduct active and passive radar reconnaissance at the same time?"
Mukherjee raised his bushy eyebrows.
They did not purchase the two radar reconnaissance models of MiG 25RBV and RBS, so in the past they could only conduct daytime optical reconnaissance of targets.
Although the reconnaissance plane itself is difficult to intercept, it is not difficult to prevent simple photographic reconnaissance, as long as the most primitive camouflage method is used.
Especially because the opponent also has a radar station at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, which can track them from the moment they take off. Even when facing the MiG-25, there is almost 20-30 minutes of warning time.
Therefore, the main purpose of their past cross-border flights was not so much reconnaissance as provocation.
After all, I suffered a big loss more than thirty years ago.
But with this pod, the situation is completely different.
Most optical camouflage methods are ineffective for SAR radar, not to mention that this thing can also capture the opponent's radar signal characteristics, which is a very important technical parameter in air-ground confrontation.
"Yes, the version I heard is that the Americans learned that China has deployed a new anti-aircraft missile regiment in Shigatse. They think it may be S300PMU1, and they want to obtain relevant evidence and give it to the Kremlin Apply pressure.”
The squadron leader continued to talk about some rumors he heard when he went to the headquarters for a meeting:
“New Delhi hopes to conduct a reconnaissance of our old opponents while performing this mission, especially Near the line of actual control, there is... their nuclear plant."
Mukherjee stroked his mustache:
"It sounds like a deadly place, and there is even one. Anti-aircraft missile position? "
"There is nothing you can do about it. If your route is not more aggressive, they may not turn on the aircraft at all, and the significance of this reconnaissance will be lost." said the squadron leader Qing. Patted Mukherjee on the shoulder:
"Moreover, that position is still dozens of kilometers away from your route. As long as you keep flying at an altitude above 23,000 meters throughout the whole journey, it is impossible to enter its kill envelope."
"What's more, We still have speed, you can save the afterburner just in case.”
The ultimate range of most long-range anti-aircraft missiles is achieved by high-throw ballistics, that is, the missile enters after launch. high in the sky, and then fall from the sky, exchanging potential energy for kinetic energy to "smash" it towards the target.
The advantage of this is that it can ensure that sufficient speed and overload are still retained at the end of the trajectory.
But when faced with a target whose flying height is close to the top of the ballistic trajectory, it will perform relatively weakly.
The two wanted to talk about something more, but saw that the planned departure time was approaching.
"I have to prepare for the flight." Mukherjee stood up from his chair.
The pilot of the MiG-25 must wear a very complex anti-gravity suit before taking off, so the preparation time is much longer than that of ordinary tactical aircraft.
"Brother, I wish you all the best."
The squadron leader saluted Mukherjee.
(End of this chapter)