The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

As a tiny country, the UAE's territory spans only about 400 kilometers from east to west. It also has to consider the security issues of the two major metropolitan areas of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is not enough for the early warning aircraft radar to fully exert its performance.

Therefore, the test site was actually chosen over the Rub al Khali Desert, which spans Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

There is no one living here, and there is no need to worry about ground clutter affecting the fairness of the test results.

About 40 minutes after takeoff, a report from the pilot was received in the command cabin.

The aircraft has arrived over the designated area and can start testing at any time.

Sabah, the representative of Party A who took off randomly, looked at the time, then picked up the radio and began to issue instructions to the ground according to the form:

"UAV No. 19000 is ready to launch, set altitude to 21 meters, starting point 30, KM17 zone, heading 355, disengagement in the northeast direction..."

The combat effectiveness of the UAE military is certainly poor, but as an ally of the US military, the training standards it receives are indeed top-notch.

As for this paragraph, it actually refers to the nine-line briefing used for close air support, and skips the part involving target attributes.

This shows that the UAE Air Force has actually mastered quite advanced air-ground coordination tactics.

To some extent, it is even far ahead of the Chinese Air Force, which is still struggling to adapt to precision-guided munitions.

Fan Jimin, the representative of China Electronics Technology Group, who was sitting next to him, secretly took note of this detail.

The Nine Line Briefing itself is public information, so of course anyone can use it.

The high-throughput data link, which has always been absent in the past, has gradually begun to be rolled out in some pilot units.

But how to transform technology into tactics requires long-term learning and adaptation.

It is impossible for the Americans to be kind enough to teach the Chinese army directly.

Direct military exchanges with European countries are also a bit too sensitive.

But it doesn't necessarily mean we can't learn it indirectly from other places.

Of course, the top priority right now is to ensure the smooth completion of this test.

The flying speed of the unmanned target aircraft is similar to that of the early warning aircraft in cruising mode, but because it can fly less distance, after only about half an hour, the early warning aircraft received the report that the high-altitude target test project had officially started.

However, the target aircraft's echo signal has not yet been displayed on the radar display of the control console.

"Next... we just need to wait for the target to enter the search range?"

Sabah turned to Fan Jimin and asked.

"The altitude of 19000 meters is somewhat beyond the search range in normal mode, so we need to switch to wide-angle scanning mode..."

As he spoke, Fan Jimin personally sat behind the radar operating console and flipped the two lever switches in front of him.

The search range displayed on the screen instantly expanded from 120° on both sides to 150° on both sides.

Correspondingly, the radar marking range is slightly shortened.

But the impact is small.

Sabah's eyes widened slightly when he saw this scene. It was obvious that he had never seen such a way of playing before.

However, in addition to surprise, the most important thing is doubt:

"But what does this range have to do with height..."

When Party A's father spoke, Fan Jimin immediately explained:

"The wide-angle scanning state will not only affect the plane search range, but also expand the vertical scanning angle by about 20%..."

In order to highlight the performance of the "Gaoming" radar, the early warning aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 3500 meters at this time, so that the turbulence in the cockpit was somewhat obvious.

This is not the typical cruising altitude of an early warning aircraft, but the unmanned target aircraft can only fly up to 20000 meters. In order to maintain a sufficient altitude difference, this choice can only be made.

It seemed as if to confirm Fan Jimin's statement.

After adjusting the search mode, just a few seconds later, a very conspicuous echo signal appeared on the edge of the radar screen.

The altitude marked in the information box is 19300 meters and the speed is 730km/h.

Obviously, as a target drone, the target's altitude determination system is not particularly accurate.

Fortunately, it did not exceed the detection range of the early warning aircraft.

At this time, Casore, who had been silent just now, spoke:

"The integrated display and control system on board is developed by Thales. As you can see, the interface style and operation habits are very similar to those of the Mirage 2000-9 aircraft that has just entered service in your country, as well as our newly developed Rafale fighter."

“Of course, considering that your country’s AWACS operators are trained on Saudi E3As, we also offer another more… traditional preset solution.”

The so-called tradition is, to put it in a less euphemistic way, backwardness.

It can also be regarded as a secret attack on American counterparts.

Of course, the French are at the forefront of cockpit ergonomics, and they have the confidence to do so.

However, in order to avoid unnecessary digression, Fan Jimin promptly took over the conversation:

"Now, the projected distance between our early warning aircraft and the target is only 25km, and the altitude difference reaches 16km, which is equivalent to detecting targets on the ground and at an altitude of more than meters at the same time at a normal flight altitude..."

At this time, Sabah still didn't quite understand why this Chinese man suddenly talked about this.

But Fan Jimin's next words hit him directly in the heart.

"This means that we can gain about two to three minutes of early warning time during the ascent phase of medium- and short-range ballistic missiles..."

"!!!"

The only possible military threat the UAE may face in the foreseeable future is probably short-range ballistic missiles from Persia.

Although the technical level is not advanced, it is good in terms of quantity and quality.

For GCC countries that are heavily dependent on oil exports, this is basically a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

Even if there is no large-scale salvo, simply stealing your refinery today and blowing up your oil pipeline tomorrow would be enough to cause catastrophic consequences.

Therefore, when Fan Jimin talked about anti-missile defense, Sabah became interested almost instantly.

As of 2003, even the United States' mid-course anti-missile interception technology was still at the PowerPoint presentation stage.

The response strategies of various countries to ballistic missiles are to rely on normal medium- and long-range air defense systems as a part-time job.

And this relies heavily on early warning and response time.

This is especially true for Patriots who need to deploy positions in advance and fire at an angle.

If the target is not detected until the ground radar is in the descent phase of the trajectory, there will basically be only 4-8 launch opportunities.

But if we can give early warning during the rising phase...

Then the ability to resist saturation attacks can be increased exponentially.

In fact, as a person who has experienced this, Chang Haonan knows very well that, let alone in 2003, even in 2023, it would be pure luck to intercept intermediate-range missiles.

But people of this era are different.

After decades of consistent propaganda from Raytheon, they really dare to believe in Patriot's efficiency in intercepting ballistic missiles.

Therefore, this pointed statement almost instantly tilted Sabah's inner balance -

Although he is not the final decision maker, he has direct access to Crown Prince Mohammed.

The right to make suggestions is also very important.

Sure enough, after Sabah pondered for a moment, he assured Marin and Casore:

"I will report this situation to His Excellency the Crown Prince..."

After this small episode, the originally businesslike atmosphere in the cabin seemed to become more harmonious.

Soon, the first unmanned target aircraft began to lower its altitude according to the planned route, and then circled back and forth in the test airspace several times. After obtaining about 20 sets of valid data, it entered the return route.

Almost at the same time, the second unmanned target aircraft took off from the Albatin Palace Airport, preparing to conduct a detection distance test in a complex electromagnetic environment with the assistance of another F16.

The overall steps are similar to before.

But this time, the target aircraft will choose to fly several routes approximately 250-450km away from the early warning aircraft.

In the second half of each round of flight, the F16 will activate the jammer to test how long it takes the Gaoming radar to relocate the target and how much the accuracy of the second positioning differs from the first.

In theory, this is the most basic radar function test.

The electromagnetic interference was also added at the specific request of the Chinese side.

So it should be a sure thing.

Even Sabah gradually relaxed and began to chat with the other two about some non-confidential gossip.

……

About twenty minutes later.

"The target has entered the test airspace!"

Sabah put down the radio in his hand, sat up straight again, and stared at the radar display in front of him.

However, he still had a relaxed expression on his face, and he was even humming an off-tune tune that only he could hear clearly.

Everything was just as expected.

Within a few minutes, two targets located 250 km away appeared on the screen.

Data shows that the two are 35km apart, but are gradually getting closer.

Apparently, one of them was the F16 responsible for applying electromagnetic interference in the second half of the test.

It is very risky for a manned aircraft to accompany a drone for a long time, so when there is no need to initiate interference, the F16 will stay at a slightly longer distance.

However, just when Sabah thought everything would be normal, the echo signal representing the drone on the radar screen suddenly paused.

It's like network packet loss.

The location is still updating, but the frequency is very slow and there are occasional jumps.

"Ok?"

Seeing this scene, Sabah's face instantly became serious.

Although detection distance is not the only factor that determines the performance of an early warning aircraft, if an early warning aircraft cannot even perform this most basic function, it will certainly not be able to meet combat requirements.

Casore, who was sitting two seats away, had received a reminder from China earlier. Although he was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He looked at Fan Jimin between the two of them with a guilty conscience.

Fortunately, the latter was as steady as a rock at this moment, without showing any sign of panic.

Fan Jimin is of course aware of the tricks involved, but he still has to act when it is time to act.

Then I tried to pretend to be surprised:

"Mr. Sabah, did you carry the electromagnetic jammer pod directly on the drone?"

"how is this possible?"

Sabah looked confused when asked:

"The power of AN/ALQ-131 and AN/ALQ-184 is several kilowatts, and the power supply system of the unmanned target aircraft should not be able to support it at all."

"Do not……"

Fan Jimin shook his head and continued to pretend he knew nothing:

"Let me tell you the truth. We have a lot of experience in fighting against AN/ALQ-131 and AN/ALQ-184... Although the interference characteristics are similar to this, the intensity is definitely stronger than this."

"In short, this level of interference can be quickly eliminated by temporarily adjusting the preset waveform."

As he spoke, he rubbed the trackball on the table and quickly modified two scanning settings on the screen.

Just like the words are spoken.

The target trajectory on the screen became clear again, and the lag phenomenon quickly weakened and gradually disappeared.

"look."

Fan Jimin spread his hands and made an expression that said, "I'll tell you what I am saying."

"This is a typical intermittent sampling and forwarding coherent interference... If our early warning aircraft had not been specially optimized, the detection accuracy and target refresh rate would have been affected..."

An Oscar-worthy performance that made even Sabah speechless.

As the person who actually handled the selection and testing work, he had never arranged such a step.

But judging from Fan Jimin's calm reaction just now, it certainly didn't seem like there was something wrong with the AWACS itself...

The air in the cabin became a little scorching.

Just at this moment, a report of "prepare to start electromagnetic interference" sounded on the radio.

The distance between the F16 and the unmanned target aircraft was less than 500 meters.

We have entered the protection range of the electronic warfare pod.

Sabah pointed at the radio, and his meaning was obvious:

"Look, I said there was no electromagnetic interference just now, right?"

But before he put down his arm, the radar display showed almost the same situation again.

Stuttering, jumping.

And there is blur.

It was as if covered by a thick cloud of foil.

The two targets, which were originally very close to each other, merged together directly.

Fan Jimin shrugged:

"I said, this is the characteristic of AN/ALQ-131 and AN/ALQ-184..."

After saying that, he adjusted the preset waveform again with ease and turned on the lever switch marked "anti-interference" on the panel next to it.

Still the same as before.

The adverse effects of the interference gradually disappeared, and the two targets once again appeared clearly on the radar screen.

Sabah opened his jaw slightly, staring blankly at the scene in front of him.

This is much more convincing than the previous few sentences.

Obviously, everything is exactly what Fan Jimin said.

In the first half of this round of testing, the drone actually released electromagnetic interference to the early warning aircraft.

It was just given to customer service by anti-interference measures.

"but……"

Sabah's mind was a little confused.

Next, the unmanned target aircraft conducted a second round of tests at a further distance of 50 kilometers.

The whole process is almost exactly the same as the first round.

This left Sabah speechless.

"I swear to Allah, I have never..."

Seeing that the other party was refusing to comply and was trying to drag the situation into the field of theology, Fan Jimin felt so anxious that he wanted to curse.

But considering that the other party was a foreigner, he could only silently pray to himself that materialism was good, while raising his hand to stop Sabah from swearing:

"Mr. Sabah, of course we believe you."

"but……"

He and Casore looked at each other:

"I suggest that after the second target aircraft lands, your country's air force personnel immediately take control of it and check whether the aircraft is really equipped with jamming equipment that you are not aware of!"