Chapter 75: How was the maiden flight performance? Not bad, right?

A dozen minutes later.

The F-40 slowly touched down at the Bohaiwan Aviation Experimental Airport!

The moment the pilot successfully landed and exited the cockpit, everyone present couldn't help but cheer loudly.

Even the usually composed Lu Lu Debiao was dancing with excitement at this moment!

He grabbed Zhao Lao by the shoulders and patted him emotionally.

It wasn't until a fit of violent coughing broke out that Lu Lu Debiao realized something was wrong.

"Zhao Lao!"

"I'm so sorry! I was just too excited..."

Lu Lu Debiao looked at the coughing Zhao Lao with a face full of apology, his eyes filled with self-reproach.

"I'm... I'm fine!"

Zhao Lao waved his hand, signaling to Lu Lu Debiao that he was not seriously hurt.

At this moment, a joyful smile was also blooming on Zhao Lao's face.

He looked radiant, as if he had suddenly become ten years younger.

The F-40's maiden flight was a success; it was like a shot of adrenaline!

It filled Zhao Lao with confidence in the future of Long Guo!

"Commander Lu!"

"Look! Are you satisfied with the F-40's maiden flight performance?"

"Can it be commissioned into the military?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Hearing this, Lu Lu Debiao's eyes lit up.

He nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

The F-40's performance just now had already completely won Lu Lu Debiao over!

"What you've designed here is no mere sixth-generation fighter!"

"It's a god of air combat!!"

"Just now! The instruments showed that the F-40's maximum cruising speed reached 28 Mach!"

"That's faster than the Mao Xiong's Vanguard hypersonic missiles!"

"And it even carries an electronic warfare system!"

"In just a few moves, it smashed the radar of the Freedom Country's aircraft!"

"This is the first time our Long Guo has shot down a Freedom Country reconnaissance plane through aerial confrontation!"

"It's so damn inspiring!"

"..."

The usually stern Lu Lu Debiao spoke more and more, becoming increasingly excited.

By the end, he was so moved that tears fell.

He was an old hand in the military.

From the 1996 Baodao Strait crisis, to the 81192 incident at the turn of the century, all the way to the birth of the J-10, J-11B, and J-20.

Long Guo's air force had developed from almost nothing, step by step, through hardship and struggle, to its current level!

The birth of the J-20 had already allowed the people of Long Guo to see the tail of the Freedom Country!

But no one knew how Long Guo had survived the decades without the J-20, how many cold shoulders they had endured, and what immense pressure they had shouldered.

How much heart and blood the researchers of Long Guo had poured into this.

How many had worked themselves to the bone, almost never taking a day off, just to shorten the development time of fighter jets, even by a little!

And how many had, for this, fallen silently and forever at their posts.

But now, the J-40 was born, the Soaring Dragon had taken to the sky!

All the sacrifices had, at this moment, been rewarded.

Lu Lu Debiao's eyes turned red; unable to control the surging emotions in his heart, he burst into loud sobs.

In the past, this would have been an unimaginable scene.

Lu Lu Debiao, a dignified commander of the three armed forces, was so mentally resilient that he wouldn't even frown under torture.

Yet at this moment, he was squatting on the ground, head in his hands, weeping bitterly!

However, in this situation, almost no one felt there was anything wrong with Lu Lu Debiao's behavior.

Everyone present had tears of excitement falling from their eyes!

After so many years of perseverance, they had finally seen the dawn of hope.

Finally, they had the confidence to surpass the Freedom Country...

Looking at the emotional Lu Lu Debiao before him, Zhao Lao also held back his own tears of joy.

He stepped forward and patted Lu Lu Debiao's shoulder firmly.

"Alright! Commander Lu! Isn't the J-40 out now?"

"The days of the Freedom Country riding on our heads and acting like tyrants won't last much longer!"

"With the J-40, this sharp sword of the nation, people should finally listen when we speak..."

Beside him, Lu Lu Debiao nodded firmly.

"Absolutely!"

"If those little bastards still don't listen! I'll twist their heads off myself!"

"I've got the J-40 now! Why would I be afraid of this pack of wolf cubs?"

"The name 'Soaring Dragon' is truly well-chosen!"

"A dragon soaring in the sky!"

"From now on! Our Long Guo will truly soar into the heavens!"

"..."

Meanwhile.

Compared to the festive atmosphere in Long Guo, the air in the Freedom Country's base in the Kimchi Country was filled with a stifling tension.

When Brigadier General William informed the Commander-in-Chief in the Kimchi Country, Kevin Schneider, that the mission had failed and the reconnaissance plane had likely been destroyed, Kevin was stunned...

No way?

That reconnaissance plane, codenamed 'Falcon', was invisible even to the Freedom Country's own land-based radar.

How could it have been discovered and destroyed by Long Guo?

What kind of international joke is this!

Lieutenant General Kevin asked repeatedly in disbelief, and after receiving the same answer, he was left dumbfounded.

A moment later.

Kevin pushed forcefully in anger, sending all the documents on his desk flying to the floor!

"Damn it!"

"This Long Guo! Has their radar technology really developed to this extent?"

"They even discovered the trail of the Falcon!"

"And they actually shot it down!"

"They simply don't take my Freedom Country seriously!"

Kevin roared wildly like an angry lion.

Brigadier General William, watching Kevin's fury, pondered for a long time before gathering the courage to speak.

"Mr. Lieutenant General..."

"According to Lieutenant Colonel Louis before he died, he seemed to have been attacked by a Long Guo fighter jet!"

"That fighter jet was as fast as a missile... and it fired two missiles at him..."

"Shut up!!"

Kevin roared hysterically.

"William! Are you crazy, or am I?"

"A fighter jet as fast as a missile—even we in the Freedom Country haven't designed such a thing!"

"How could that bunch of mud-legged peasants in Long Guo possibly develop it?"

"This must be the ghost talk of Louis before he died!"

Hearing this, William wisely shut his mouth and said nothing more.

At this moment, even he felt incredibly regretful.

Why on earth did I have to blurt out Louis's nonsense, and get myself scolded...

Kevin paused, thought for a moment, and stated his judgment.

"It must have been a hypersonic missile; because it was too fast, Louis didn't see clearly and was babbling nonsense!"

"As for the two missiles fired at him, they must have been the sub-munitions of that missile..."

After Kevin's explanation, everything seemed to make sense.

It was much easier to accept than a fighter jet faster than a missile.

"Brigadier General William!"

"Report this matter to the Military Department and Congress immediately!"

"We must bite back first, claiming that Long Guo violated regulations by shooting down our aircraft, and we must demand a satisfactory answer from them!"

"Better yet! Force them to return the wreckage of the plane..."

Kevin narrowed his eyes.

He had already begun preparing for what was to come.

The Freedom Country had done this kind of 'thief calling out thief' act many times before.

In the past, Long Guo would always obediently accept the blame.

This time, it shouldn't be any different...