Chapter 240: Flying Dragon-2 Surface-to-Air Missile

"According to our intelligence, Long Country has indeed shot down nearly fifty of Di Guo's aircraft, almost completely annihilating a bomber formation," the Intelligence Chief said,

"They are using a type of supersonic fighter jet we have never seen before; its performance seems to exceed Di Guo's F-86, and it may even surpass our MiG-15."

"That is impossible," the Military Advisor interrupted,

"Long Country does not have the capability to research and produce such a fighter jet. Even if they had the blueprints, they lack the necessary industrial foundation."

"But that is the fact," the Intelligence Chief insisted,

"Not only that, this fighter jet is also equipped with some kind of infrared guidance air-to-air missile, a technology that is still in the laboratory stage even for us."

"We suspect he may have obtained some kind of external technical support," the Intelligence Chief said cautiously,

"But it was not provided by us, so... it might be a source we are unaware of."

"The people of Long Country are hiding something," the Leader mused, "They are far more powerful than we imagined. This has disrupted our plans."

He stood up and walked to the world map hanging on the wall:

"Originally, we hoped that Di Guo and Long Country would exhaust each other in Taiyang, while we profited from the situation. But now, Long Country has demonstrated strength sufficient to change the course of the war. This does not align with our interests."

He turned to the high-ranking officials present: "Strengthen intelligence gathering on Long Country; find out where their technology comes from. At the same time, re-evaluate our military aid policy. We cannot let Long Country become too powerful; that would break the balance we envisioned."

A Military Representative coughed:

"Perhaps... we should consider increasing technology transfers to Long Country? If we could master their new technology, it might be more beneficial to us."

The Leader thought for a moment, then shook his head:

"No, not for now at least. Let us observe the development of the situation first. If Long Country truly has mastered military technology that surpasses our own, we need to treat this issue with more caution."

His gaze fell back onto Taiyang on the map:

"The nature of this war may have already changed. We need a new strategy, one that can ensure our interests."

On the other side, Li Mingyuan had already begun organizing a technical team, preparing to research the S-75 Di-kong Missile system.

"Lao Liu, bring me a magnifying glass." Li Mingyuan stared at a detail on the blueprint and shouted with a frown.

"Coming!" Lao Liu rummaged through boxes and cabinets in a flurry, "Chief Engineer, how many blueprints have you drawn this night? My head is spinning just looking at them!"

Li Mingyuan stretched, his bones cracking.

The aftereffect of staying up all night drawing was a body full of aches, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

"Hey, if this thing can really be built, all our air defense problems will be solved." Li Mingyuan patted the mountain of blueprints on the table, his eyes flashing with excitement.

The Frontline Commander-in-Chief and several high-ranking military officials walked into the conference room and opened their eyes wide in surprise upon seeing the dense pile of blueprints on the table.

"Chief Engineer Li, I hear you have another new invention?" the Frontline Commander-in-Chief asked impatiently.

Li Mingyuan stood up and pointed to a huge three-view drawing hanging on the wall:

"This is the new type of Anti-aircraft Weapon System I designed, codenamed 'Flying Dragon-2'. Its official name is Surface-to-Air Missile System, capable of effectively intercepting high-altitude targets, including Di Guo's bombers and reconnaissance planes."

"Surface-to-Air Missile?" Lao Liu scratched his head, "How is this different from our Anti-aircraft Gun?"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly, walked to the blackboard, and picked up a piece of chalk:

"The effective firing height of a traditional Anti-aircraft Gun is about 8,000 meters, while the flight altitude of modern bombers is often over 10,000 meters, which creates an air defense blind spot."

He quickly drew a schematic on the blackboard: "The Surface-to-Air Missile System uses rocket propulsion to reach altitudes of over 20,000 meters, with speeds reaching up to 3.5 Mach, almost 3.5 times the speed of sound. Paired with a Semi-Active Radar Guidance System, the hit rate against high-altitude targets can reach over 80%."

The conference room was deathly silent; everyone stared at Li Mingyuan, dumbfounded.

"Three point five Mach?" a Military Expert asked in disbelief, "At that speed, humans simply cannot react..."

"That is precisely why it is the ultimate weapon for air defense." Li Mingyuan continued to explain,

"The system consists of three parts: Search Radar, Tracking Radar, and Missile Launcher. The Search Radar is responsible for discovering targets, the Tracking Radar locks onto the target and guides the missile, and the missile tracks and destroys the target."

The Frontline Commander-in-Chief frowned: "Such a complex system, how long will it take to research and develop?"

"If we utilize our previous experience in developing Air-to-Air Missiles, we can significantly shorten the R&D cycle," Li Mingyuan said confidently,

"I estimate that we can complete the assembly of the prototype within a week, spend another week on testing, and be ready for small-batch production in half a month."

"Half a month?" Lao Liu almost jumped up, "Chief Engineer, you aren't joking, are you? A complex system like this, even the Polar Bears would take years to develop, right?"

Li Mingyuan tapped the blackboard: "The key lies in simplification. We don't need to pursue extreme performance; instead, we must ensure that the basic functions are reliable and practical. For example, we can simplify the electronic systems, strengthen mechanical reliability, and prioritize the basic requirement of being able to shoot down targets."

He took out another blueprint: "In addition, I have another idea that can quickly improve our Air Defense Early Warning Network."

The crowd curiously leaned in.

"We can install simplified versions of the Radar onto Light Crawler Vehicles to form mobile radar outposts, deployed in a dispersed manner at various key points on the front line. These radar outposts can discover enemy planes in advance and transmit information to the command center in real-time, forming an Air Defense Early Warning Network."

The Frontline Commander-in-Chief's eyes lit up: "This way we can know the movements of enemy planes in advance and have sufficient time to organize a defense!"

"Exactly," Li Mingyuan nodded, "More importantly, these radar vehicles are relatively simple to manufacture and can be mass-produced within a week. Let's lay out the early warning network first to buy R&D time for the Surface-to-Air Missile System."

"Brilliant!" the Frontline Commander-in-Chief slapped the table and stood up, "This time we must give the people of Di Guo a big surprise!"

After the meeting ended, Li Mingyuan immediately assembled two R&D teams, one responsible for the Surface-to-Air Missile System and the other for the mobile radar vehicles.

He personally served as the chief designer, pushing the project's progress without rest, day and night.

"Chief Engineer Li, you haven't closed your eyes for three days; can your body handle it?" Lao Liu asked with concern.

Li Mingyuan rubbed his bloodshot eyes and grinned:

"It's fine, my body is doing just fine. Besides, what our country is racing against Di Guo is time. They have a world-class industrial system; if we give them enough time to develop countermeasures, we'll be in trouble."

Lao Liu nodded: "That may be true, but you still need to take care of your health."

"Don't worry, I'm doing great." Li Mingyuan patted Lao Liu on the shoulder, "By the way, when will the first batch of mobile radar vehicles roll off the line?"

"According to the current progress, 10 units can be completed in three days, and then we can produce 5 units every day," Zhao Gang replied.

"That's great," Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction, "Once the first batch rolls off the line, send them to the front line for deployment immediately, the sooner the better."

Meanwhile, the research and development of the Surface-to-Air Missile was also proceeding in full swing.

Li Mingyuan utilized the experience accumulated from previously developing Air-to-Air Missiles to boldly simplify the missile's electronic systems and enhance its mechanical reliability.

"The Rocket Engine test is a success!" the technician reported excitedly, "The thrust reached 97% of the design value, enough to push the Missile to an altitude of 20,000 meters!"

"The Guidance System has also finished debugging," another engineer added, "Simulation tests show the hit rate can reach 85%."

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction: "Good, at this pace, we can conduct the first live-fire test in ten days."

Just then, Lao Liu hurried over: "Chief Engineer, good news! The first batch of Mobile Radar Vehicles has rolled off the assembly line, one day ahead of schedule!"

"That's great," Li Mingyuan's eyes lit up, "Immediately arrange for technical personnel to train the operators, then send them to the Frontline overnight."

Three days later, ten light tracked Radar Vehicles arrived at the Frontline and were deployed in various key areas.

Although these Radar Vehicles were crude, their performance was surprisingly reliable, with a detection range of up to 100 kilometers, fully capable of discovering enemy aircraft formations in advance.

After short-term training, the Radar Operators quickly mastered the basic operating skills.

They stood guard in 24-hour rotations, constantly monitoring the movements in the sky.

"These little guys are really sharp," one operator exclaimed, "They can see planes 100 kilometers away clearly."

"Yeah, I heard they were designed by Li Mingyuan; that guy is simply a genius!" another operator chimed in.

The second and third batches of Radar Vehicles also rolled off the line one after another and were sent to the Frontline.

Soon, an early warning network covering the entire Frontline gradually took shape, greatly enhancing the air defense early warning capability of the Long Country military.

Inside the Frontline Command, Communication Soldiers were busy receiving intelligence transmitted from various Radar Stations, marking the movements of enemy aircraft on a large sand table.

"It's amazing," the Frontline Commander-in-Chief exclaimed, "Now we can grasp every move of the enemy aircraft in real-time, and we no longer have to worry about surprise attacks."

Li Yunlong laughed heartily: "This is what they call 'the wise see things before they sprout, the intelligent see things before they emerge'! The Di Guo fellows want to sneak attack us? Not a chance!"

……

At the same time, Li Mingyuan led his team to work day and night, finally completing the assembly of the first batch of surface-to-air missiles.

"Chief Engineer, all components have been checked, everything is normal," the inspection supervisor reported.

Li Mingyuan nodded: "Good, we will conduct the first static test tomorrow; if everything goes smoothly the day after, we will conduct the live-fire launch test."

He walked up to the Missile and gently stroked this silver-gray behemoth, his heart filled with anticipation.

This surface-to-air missile, codenamed "Flying Dragon-2," had a total length of 10.8 meters, a diameter of 70 centimeters, a warhead charge of 195 kilograms, a maximum range of 34 kilometers, a maximum engagement altitude of 22,000 meters, and a maximum speed of 3.5 Mach.

If the test was successful, it would become the trump card weapon in the Long Country military's air defense system, completely changing the battlefield situation.

The static test was very successful, and all systems performed excellently.

Li Mingyuan decided to conduct the first live-fire test the next day, with an unmanned target drone as the target.

Just on the eve of the test, the Frontline Radar Station suddenly sent an emergency report.

"Command, this is Radar Station No. 3! A large formation of enemy aircraft detected, distance 200 kilometers, approaching our position at high speed!"

"Command, Radar Station No. 7 reports, an enemy aircraft formation detected in the northwest direction, quantity about 60, altitude 8,000 meters!"

"Command, Radar Station No. 5 confirms a large number of enemy aircraft approaching, at least 80 F-86 Fighters, possibly with Bomber escorts!"

Inside the Frontline Command, alarms blared, and everyone stared nervously at the sand table, watching those red markers representing enemy aircraft gradually closing in.