Chapter 411: Synthetic Aperture Radar Test

In the days that followed, Li Mingyuan led a capable team to dedicate themselves to the research and development of the Synthetic Aperture Radar. By day, they assembled hardware in the laboratory; by night, they wrote signal processing algorithms in the "Thinking Center." Li Mingyuan personally designed a set of special analog circuits to execute Fast Fourier Transforms, which was an incredible technological breakthrough at the time.

"Signal acquisition module test complete, error rate below 2%!"

"Antenna array assembly finished, directivity meets design requirements!"

"Data storage system online, capable of recording thirty minutes of continuous signal!"

Every breakthrough by the team made Li Mingyuan even more excited. Late one night, three weeks later, he sat alone in the "Thinking Center," looking at the simulation test results that had just finished running, a glow of Victory flickering in his eyes.

"They are going to go crazy," Li Mingyuan whispered to himself, "truly go crazy."

Early the next morning, Li Mingyuan excitedly found Minister Zhang and made a bold request: "I need an aircraft, preferably a modified medium-range Bomber, to test our new equipment."

Minister Zhang was completely bewildered by his sudden request: "What new equipment? Aren't you working on rockets?"

"Synthetic Aperture Radar, a type of New Radar System that can see ground targets through cloud cover," Li Mingyuan explained. "I have already led the team to complete the assembly of the prototype, and now I need an aerial platform for actual testing."

Minister Zhang looked at him in surprise: "You mean, while busy with rockets, you also developed a New Radar System?"

"Yes, and I can guarantee that this Radar will completely change our reconnaissance capabilities," Li Mingyuan said with full confidence. "Give me an aircraft, and I will prove it to you."

Minister Zhang thought for a moment and picked up the phone: "The Military happens to have a modified TU-2, originally intended for high-altitude meteorological observation. I can borrow it for you to use for a few days, but you must guarantee that nothing goes wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong!" Li Mingyuan promised excitedly. "This will be a historic moment!"

Three days later, at the Eastern Base airfield, a modified TU-2 Bomber sat quietly on the runway. A custom-made pod was installed beneath the fuselage, containing the Synthetic Aperture Radar prototype developed by Li Mingyuan's team.

"System self-check complete, all parameters normal," the technician reported to Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan climbed onto the aircraft himself and said to the test pilot waiting in the cockpit: "Captain Wang, remember the flight plan: altitude of ten thousand meters, fly at a constant speed along the predetermined route, and try to keep it steady."

Captain Wang nodded: "Chief Engineer Li, do you really have to go up? This is an experimental flight, after all; there are risks."

"I must go up myself," Li Mingyuan said firmly. "I need to monitor the system's operation in real-time."

The aircraft soon took off and climbed to an altitude of ten thousand meters. Li Mingyuan sat in front of the modified operation console, adjusting the Radar parameters. Through the cabin window, he could see the thick clouds below, completely obscuring the ground.

"Start working, system startup!" Li Mingyuan pressed the main power switch; a series of indicator lights lit up, and the equipment began to operate.

The Radar antenna began to scan rhythmically, and the received raw signals were processed in real-time and imaged through the special processing unit designed by Li Mingyuan. As the aircraft flew along the predetermined route, a clear image of the ground began to gradually form on the display screen.

"My god!" Li Mingyuan widened his eyes; even though he was mentally prepared, the actual effect still shocked him.

On the display screen, the details of the ground beneath the thick clouds were clearly visible—roads, rivers, buildings; he could even distinguish the shapes and orientations of fields. And on one highway, a truck in motion was clearly visible, and one could even determine its direction of travel!

"Captain Wang!" Li Mingyuan shouted excitedly. "Look at this! We can see everything under the clouds!"

The test pilot glanced back at the display screen and almost let go of the control stick: "Is... is this real? Isn't that the military camp we just flew over? I can see the trucks in the parking lot!"

"Not just the trucks," Li Mingyuan pointed at the screen excitedly. "Look over there, even the training ground next to the camp is clearly visible!"

He quickly adjusted the parameters to zoom in on the image: "Look at this detail, even objects only a few meters in size can be distinguished!"

After the test flight was completed, the base command center had already received an urgent notice from superiors: Li Mingyuan's flight test results were classified as top secret, and all participating personnel were to return immediately and were not to communicate with the outside world.

As soon as the aircraft landed, Minister Zhang rushed to the airfield with a group of generals.

"Chief Engineer Li! How did it go?" Minister Zhang asked eagerly.

Li Mingyuan wore excitement he could not hide: "Better than expected! All systems operated perfectly, and the image resolution exceeded design targets by 20%!"

"Let me see!" A white-haired general reached out his hand.

Li Mingyuan handed over a stack of freshly developed photos—these photos showed the ground conditions captured from an altitude of ten thousand meters through thick clouds. The details in the photos were incredibly clear; even small vehicles on the ground could be clearly identified.

The conference room was deathly silent; everyone held their breath, staring at these photos.

Then, like a volcanic eruption, the entire room erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Incredible! It's simply a miracle!"

"This is at least twenty years ahead of the reconnaissance technology of the Star-Spangled Country!"

"We can obtain enemy deployment intelligence under any weather conditions!"

The white-haired general's hands were trembling with excitement: "Chief Engineer Li, do you know what this means? This means we will never again be kept in the dark about any of the enemy's actions! Whether it's night or a foggy day, no matter how they camouflage themselves, we will be able to see it all clearly!"

Minister Zhang patted Li Mingyuan on the shoulder, unable to hide his excitement: "I knew you were holding back a big move! This is your real trump card, isn't it?"

Li Mingyuan smiled modestly: "This is just the beginning. Synthetic Aperture Radar technology still has a lot of room for development; we can further improve resolution, expand coverage, and even develop it onto satellite platforms..."

"Satellite platforms!" Minister Zhang's eyes lit up. "You mean, putting this kind of Radar on a satellite?"

"That's right," Li Mingyuan nodded. "This way, we can conduct all-weather, large-scale monitoring of the Earth's surface, and no large-scale military movement will be able to escape our eyes."

The conference room erupted in another round of cheers, and this time, someone was even so excited they slapped the table.