Great warships

Chapter 1235 Eagle Strike 83 Target Practice
The blue sea is rippling with green waves.

"Sir Harris, Ship 112 called us and is willing to be the first to launch anti-ship missiles and fire at the target ship. In order to avoid mistakes, they requested to launch the missiles at a distance of kilometers."

Hearing this news, Harris smiled and said, "To avoid mistakes? It's because the anti-ship missiles they carry can only reach 40 kilometers, and our target ship is still motionless, so they dare to launch missiles at this distance. If it is farther, they can't reach it!"

If other warships came from the East, Harris would never dare to give such an order. It is said that the Eagle Strike-12 flies at supersonic speed throughout the entire process, the Eagle Strike-18 combines subsonic and supersonic speeds, and the Eagle Strike-21 flies at high altitude ballistic trajectories. Any missile can pose a threat to US aircraft carriers.

However, the Eagle Strike 81 is just a weakling.

In the 1980s, the range of anti-ship missiles was generally 30 to 40 kilometers. The reason was very simple. In addition to the fact that the solid propellant technology was not advanced enough at the time, more importantly, beyond this distance, the radar on the warship would not be able to detect the target's location.

Helicopter guidance is needed at this time, but if the helicopter flies to a height where it can detect enemy warships below sea level, the radar on the enemy warship will still be able to detect the helicopter and launch an anti-aircraft missile in the next second to shoot down the helicopter. Especially now, with anti-aircraft missiles having a range of more than 100 kilometers, the helicopter has almost no chance of survival.

"That's right, we all think so. This time we will let the Orientals embarrass themselves, and then we will make a big publicity spree. The Orientals' anti-ship missiles are not good enough, and in the end they will have to rely on our Harpoon missiles!"

"Notify Ship 112. Launch anti-ship missile attacks in one hour. Send out our early warning aircraft to monitor the entire process!"

"Yes."

Ship 112.

"Attention, now head to the sea area near the target ship. We will stop at a distance of 40 kilometers to launch missiles!" Du Yu issued a combat order: "This time we must show the style of our Eastern soldiers!"

"Captain, isn't this 40 kilometers a little closer?"

"Yes, even two hundred kilometers is not far."

Listening to everyone's discussion, Du Yu shook his head: "What do you know? This is the arrangement of our superiors! If we want to attack a target 200 kilometers away, don't we need the cooperation of reconnaissance satellites? When we use these resources, won't we be exposed to the eyes of foreigners?"

Everyone stopped talking.

In this day and age, is it still necessary to use helicopters for guidance?

Of course not! Helicopter guidance is outdated! If the distance is about 100 kilometers, the warship can use its own over-the-horizon radar to search for the target and switch to a locked attack. If the distance is farther, the early warning aircraft can be used, or the target data searched by the reconnaissance satellite can be used.

Especially the reconnaissance satellites, which are the most important. In the vast ocean, reconnaissance satellites search the sea surface like looking for a needle in a haystack. Once the target is found, it will be immediately identified by the intelligent program, and then the focus will be adjusted and it will enter a detailed search state.

After searching the target, the intelligence from the reconnaissance satellite will be transmitted to the warship via the communication satellite, guiding the warship to launch an attack. The whole process is very fast and convenient, and it is currently the navy’s main attack method.

However, this type of attack must not be known to the Americans, especially since there must be electronic reconnaissance equipment nearby. As long as they emit electromagnetic signals, they will be discovered, analyzed, and even cracked.

None of these can be used, so the only equipment that is already on the warship and imported from the West can be used, which means that the attack can only be carried out within visual range, which is about 40 kilometers.

"Ok."

"Sea Tiger radar on!"

Following the order, the "Sea Tiger" radar imported from Europe by Thomson-SCF in the 1980s was turned on, and electromagnetic waves searched the surrounding sea surface, looking for the exact location of the target.

The navy has already upgraded its weapons. During the mid-term inspection and life extension upgrade, there was a plan to install advanced radar on the 112 warships, but after some evaluation, the plan was abandoned.

Not cost-effective.

Even the Sovremenny class does not plan to make major changes, not to mention the 112 warships which are not as good as the Sovremenny class. Since they have been using the Sea Tiger radar from the beginning, they should continue to use it.

The improvements are mainly in the data link and command and combat system. With the advanced data link, search data can be obtained directly from other warships without having to do it on your own.

Now, the Sea Tiger radar was still in good shape and was constantly searching the nearby waters. Soon, the radar officer reported.

"Report, target spotted at sea fifty kilometers away!"

"Confirm with the fleet whether this is the target ship for our attack this time!"

This is the most critical point. If you make a mistake, you will be in big trouble.

During exercises, accidental injuries are possible. In fact, there are casualty indicators for every exercise. In ground exercises, even blank bullets may put the lives of some comrades in arms in danger. In air force exercises, ground-to-ground rockets may hit the wrong spot. For the navy, if an anti-ship missile is fired at the wrong location and sinks a naval warship participating in the exercise, it will be an even bigger disaster.

"Yes."

On the Blue Ridge command ship, Harris smiled as he listened to the message coming over: "These Orientals are really careful. Tell them that the target is correct, so go ahead and shoot!"

"They are still using the Sea Tiger radar, a French product from thirty years ago. This radar is a perfect match for their Eagle Strike 81 missiles. Although their warships have been upgraded, they have not replaced the radar, which is a bit curious." Clemmings said.

"What's so curious about this?" Harris said, "Their warships are very cheap to build. It's cheaper to build new ones than to spend money on improvements..."

When he got to this point, Harris suddenly lost interest.

The East's biggest advantage is that it is cheap. Therefore, even if the East's military expenditure is only one-tenth of ours, the East's warships can be put into service in large quantities, while we do not have this advantage.

It would be great if our warships could be built in large quantities at such a low cost!
"Our two Burke-class destroyers have arrived in the nearby area and can directly observe the entire process of the Eastern Navy's missile launch." Clemens continued, "Two helicopters have also flown near the target ship to evaluate the attack effect and see the actual performance of the Eastern anti-ship missiles. Is their so-called Eastern Exocet as powerful as the French Exocet?"

That year, the Eagle Strike 81 came out of nowhere and was hailed by the outside world as the Oriental Flying Fish. Both its appearance and working process are very similar to the French Flying Fish. This time I can finally see it with my own eyes.

The French flying fish had made great achievements on the battlefield, but what about the Eastern flying fish? Could it be that it was just for show?

112 warships.

"Report, the Blue Ridge has responded. The target ship is 40 kilometers ahead of us. The nearby sea area has been cleared. There are only two helicopters in the air to conduct an effectiveness assessment."

This kind of thing must be evaluated in advance. Who knows if the anti-ship missile will fly up and rush towards the helicopter? They have to be prepared.

"Okay, now all ships, turn right to the right!"

Soviet warships were equipped with anti-ship missiles facing directly forward, so that they could launch anti-ship missiles during a charge. This was the layout of all warships from the Sovremenny class to the Slava class.

Especially the Glory class, with so many missiles on both sides, it looks very exaggerated.

However, this arrangement also has many flaws. The most troublesome one is that the missile's tail flame will burn the deck. This is almost unsolvable. After all, the missile flies forward and the tail flame has to spray backward. After a missile is launched, the entire deck and the nearby bridge will be like they have experienced a fire.

Therefore, except for the Russians, other countries do not do it this way. If they have a vertical launch system, they will launch it vertically and discharge the smoke directly through the exhaust duct. If they do not have a vertical launch system, they will arrange the missile horizontally on the warship, so that when the missile is launched, the smoke can be discharged to the sea on the other side.

This is also how the 112 warship was designed. Its anti-ship missiles are arranged behind the chimney, with the rear mast as the dividing line. The front and rear are aimed in different directions, with the front one aimed at the port side and the rear one at the starboard side.

However, when they were first put into service, these missile launchers were arranged in groups of two, with two groups on each side, or four, and the entire warship was equipped with eight missiles. But during the mid-term improvements, the groups of two in the shape of a horizontal "日" were changed to groups of four in the shape of a "田". In this way, the number of missiles increased from the original eight to sixteen, doubling the firepower density.

Since it still uses a square launch tube, it looks like there is no change on the outside, but the missile inside has changed, upgraded from Eagle Strike 81 to Eagle Strike 83!

Since the navy already has a large number of advanced anti-ship missiles, this type of missile has not attracted much attention from the outside world. In the eyes of ordinary people, this missile seems to be just an upgraded version of the ordinary Eagle Strike 82. No one knows that its performance has undergone a complete transformation!
Ship 112 made a graceful right turn at sea, with its port side pointing in the direction of the target. The cover of one of the T-shaped launch tubes was opened, revealing the gray missile warhead inside.

Everything seemed to be nothing special.

On the nearby Burke-class warships, countless people watched this with mockery in their eyes.

"These outdated warships from the East can only use these outdated anti-ship missiles. Even if they have new missiles, they don't have any guidance capabilities."

"Yes, even though it was built in the late 1980s, it is much worse than our warships of the same period!"

At this moment, they seemed to have forgotten that there were still a large number of Aegis warships in the East, and only thought that the warships in front of them were the main warships of the East!
"Report, the missiles are ready!" an officer on the 112 warship shouted loudly.

"emission!"

emission!

A strong thumb pressed the launch button, whoosh!

A blazing flame emerged from the back of the launch tube and spread out from the starboard side. A ball of flame suddenly burned on the sea surface. In front of the missile launch tube, an ordinary-looking missile jumped out of the launch tube.

First came the gray warhead, then the sea blue body. When half of the missile was exposed, the four wings in the middle unfolded, followed by the wings at the tail... The entire missile flew out, with a booster slightly thicker than the body behind it.

The entire missile flew towards the sea surface, leaving a tongue of fire at its tail. A trail of white smoke followed behind the tongue of fire, growing longer and thicker over the sea surface.

Soon, the booster fell off, the main engine ignited, the missile flew steadily over the sea, and the tail flame almost disappeared.

"First use the boosters to accelerate, and then use its own engine to propel it on the sea. This method is very conventional and there is nothing fancy about it. However, it only flies at an altitude of five meters above the sea the entire time. The Orientals' flight control technology has been upgraded again." Clemens said.

"Yes, it is an upgrade, but what's the big deal? Our Harpoon missiles can do the same."

The U.S. Navy's main anti-ship missile is the Harpoon, which is very similar in appearance to the Exocet. It has not changed much in decades, but its internal control circuit has been upgraded several times.

In their eyes, the missiles flying now are nothing special.

"Yes, in the past, low-altitude penetration was a good option. However, our navy has advanced early warning aircraft, and their anti-ship missiles will be discovered by us in advance even if they penetrate at ultra-low altitudes," Harris said.

The missile cruises at a speed of 0.9 Mach and can fly more than meters in one second, which is kilometers in one minute. A distance of kilometers can be covered in just two minutes.

"Of course. During the time their missiles are flying, we can organize at least three rounds of interception, and the last fish that slip through the net will be left to the dense dense group." Clemens said: "If the Orientals only have this kind of missile, then we don't have to worry."

This sentence made Harris depressed again. What did the Orientals mean by only having this kind of missile? In the Eastern equipment sequence, this kind of missile is outdated! The Orientals have advanced anti-ship missiles, those that fly at supersonic speeds over the sea, those that fly at hypersonic trajectories, there is no way to defend against them!

Their navy has been worried about this. Their E-2D early warning aircraft are optimizing software to guide standard missiles at critical moments in an effort to intercept more Eastern anti-ship missiles.

As the two talked, the missile was also flying at high speed, thirty kilometers, twenty kilometers, ten kilometers...

A high-speed camera was filming on a Black Hawk helicopter and someone was supervising. Photographer Owen was the first to notice that something was wrong.

"Hey, why is there a hotter flame suddenly coming out of the tail of that missile? It's like the solid engine was ignited?"

He hurried to adjust his camera, but it was too late, the missile had already left the range of his camera!
At this time, the E2 early warning aircraft finally discovered the unexpected situation: "The target began to accelerate!"

Acceleration? Isn't this a subsonic missile? It has already reached a cruising speed of Mach 0.9. At most, it can perform a few serpentine maneuvers at the end. Can it continue to accelerate?
"Damn, it's already exceeded the speed of sound!"

“It’s still accelerating!”

"Combination of Asia and Super League? How is that possible? Isn't this a technology that only Eagle Strike-18 has?" Clemmings shouted in surprise.

Of course, it is not only available for Eagle Strike-18, but also for Eagle Strike-83!
Although the Eagle Strike 83 does not have a hull, it has its own unique trick. An additional rocket engine is added to the tail of the missile, which can launch a supersonic attack at a distance of about kilometers!
The normal range of this missile is close to 1.5 kilometers. After taking off, it first flies over the sea surface meters above sea level. When it reaches a certain distance, it will ignite the rocket engine to accelerate its climb, and then dive down. In this way, the speed can be greatly increased, reaching a maximum of Mach.

In order not to expose the true performance of the missile, the entire attack process was changed. Anyway, the distance was 40 kilometers, and it would cruise directly at five meters above sea level. When it was ten kilometers away from the target, it would suddenly ignite the rocket engine and begin to accelerate its climb!
When this missile was pulled up from the sea, everyone had a bad feeling. This was definitely not an ordinary Eagle Strike 81, nor was it the C802 exported by Orientals. What kind of missile was this?
But the appearance is the same as before!
However, nothing can be changed now.

The missile quickly climbed up to several hundred meters, then dived down. The sophisticated frequency-agile terminal guidance radar on the warhead radiated electromagnetic waves and instantly locked onto its target.

Long-range missiles will face the problem of changes in the target's position during flight. After all, it takes time to fly there. A distance of several hundred kilometers may take more than ten minutes or even half an hour to fly. During such a long time, the target will certainly not stay in the same place. Therefore, if you look for it according to the original data, you will definitely find nothing.

What should I do?
There are many ways to do this. If the missile itself has a two-way data link and can receive information from the rear, it can continuously refresh the target position information and correct the trajectory during flight.

If not, you can also fly to high altitude to have a look. When the Russian missiles are flying, they like to fly a missile at high altitude as a guide missile to provide the latest target position to the low-flying missiles at all times.

If there is only one, you can pull it up to the designated location, take a look, and then dive down!

Although it only rises a few hundred meters, it can search the surrounding sea area and then dive. During this process, the speed of the missile keeps increasing!

Mach 1.1, Mach 1.2, Mach 1.3!

If it is a long-range attack, the missile's fuel will be consumed, its own weight will become lighter, and at the same time it will climb to a higher altitude and then dive. The terminal speed can be increased to above Mach 1.5. However, now, the speed of Mach 1.3 is not low!

Everything happened so fast that Harris had no time to react. He just jumped up from his chair and looked at the screen in front of him. It was a video coming from a helicopter ahead.

A missile with flames trailing its tail was swooping down from the sky, heading straight for the target ship. Next to the missile, there was a floating window with data measured by the early warning aircraft attached to it: a speed of 1.3 Mach!

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(End of this chapter)