Chapter 51: No Empty Words in the Army!
Off the coast of Qingdao.
The 956E was swiftly sailing through the waters at a speed of 35 knots.
Inside the main control room, Sun Yongguo turned to Su Dingping and said, “Thirty-five knots, that’s about three knots faster than before! It seems our optimizations are starting to show results.”
“Dingping, we’re far enough out, this should be good,” Su replied.
“All right, then let’s begin,” Su Dingping nodded in response.
Zhou Qinglei looked toward Su Dingping and asked, “Comrade Dingping, which item shall we test first?”
Su shook his head. “Captain Zhou, once aboard the warship, the entire crew follows your lead. Except for technical issues, you make the decisions.”
Sun Yongguo and the others also nodded at Zhou Qinglei.
“Very well!”
Immediately, Zhou Qinglei’s demeanor changed. He turned to the executive officer and ordered, “Inform everyone to enter battle readiness!”
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, the ship’s broadcast echoed with the command for all personnel to prepare for combat.
Su Dingping and the others could clearly feel a grim resolve emanating from Zhou Qinglei and the naval officers. No wonder they had been to the battlefield.
Su Dingping silently admired them, his gaze drifting through the porthole toward the vast ocean.
“Report, Captain! All preparations complete. Awaiting orders!”
“Deploy the target drones. Test the ‘Ore’ system against the maritime situational awareness radar and the Whitefly supersonic anti-ship missile system.”
“Yes, Captain!”
After a moment, the reply came: “Report, Captain. Targets deployed! They are 90 kilometers from our ship and remain undetected.”
“Proceed forward!”
After a while, the radar operator reported, “Captain, three moving targets detected 80 kilometers northeast of our position. Radar has locked on. Permission to engage?”
Eighty kilometers? The detection range of the ‘Ore’ active mode had increased from 70 to 80 kilometers!
As expected, Su Dingping’s calculations and deductions had been accurate.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhou Qinglei ordered, “Fire immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Seconds later, a sharp whistling sound erupted from the deck.
“Report, Captain! Launch system response time: eight seconds!”
Everyone in the control room watched visibly as several fiery trails vanished into the distance, then their eyes fixed on the radar screen.
In less than two minutes, the three red dots representing the targets disappeared from the radar.
“Report, Captain! The observation station confirms all missiles have hit their targets...”
Shifting gears, Zhou Qinglei continued, “Deploy trefoil targets. Test the ‘Warship Bird-MA’ air situational awareness radar and SA-N-7 Hurricane air defense missile system.”
“Report, Captain! Deployment complete!”
Soon after, another message arrived.
“Report, Captain! Radar shows twelve trefoil targets at 35 kilometers distance, altitude...”
“Captain, six targets locked! Permission to fire?”
Locked on six targets at once?
Zhou Qinglei was inwardly astonished.
During previous tests, they could only lock four targets at a time.
An air situational awareness radar capable of locking three targets simultaneously met modern standards and represented the minimum for regional air defense.
Before the second upgrade, the 051B could only lock two air targets at once.
Now, the 956E could lock six—two more targets meant intercepting two additional anti-ship missiles during naval combat.
This was no small improvement.
He glanced at Su Dingping, who stood unmoved like a mountain, inspiring quiet admiration.
“Fire!”
At the command, the two SA-N-7 Hurricane air defense missile systems on deck unleashed streams of fiery trails. Twelve 9M38 missiles soared skyward.
“Report, Captain! Launch system response time: 7.5 seconds!”
A minute later, only six of the twelve red dots remained on the radar screen.
“Report, Captain! Observation station confirms six targets destroyed...”
“Report, Captain! The remaining six targets are locked. Automatic firing sequence initiated.”
Again, twelve 9M38 missiles screamed into the sky.
“Report, Captain! All targets destroyed! Awaiting further instructions!”
“Deploy drone aircraft to test the MP-401 electronic countermeasure system...”
...
“Continue testing sonar system and RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launcher system...”
...
More than an hour later, the fully optimized 956E had completed tests on multiple electronic countermeasures, weapons systems, and combat command systems.
Zhou Qinglei handed a thick test report to Su Dingping, visibly excited.
“Comrade Dingping, all tests are complete! The full-version 956E has improved combat capability by 30%! A significant upgrade!”
“Thirty percent? That matches my expectations,” Su Dingping nodded with satisfaction.
It was evident that Sun Yongguo and the others had invested much effort.
Su Dingping said, “Director Sun, when you have time, you can work on optimizing the other 956E as well. Along with the twice-upgraded 051B, compared to last year, our navy’s overall combat capability will undergo a revolutionary change.”
“Rest assured, Dingping. I’ll be responsible for that going forward.”
“That’s about it for now. Also,” Su paused, “Director Sun, Captain Zhou, notify everyone—tonight’s on me. Let’s celebrate properly!”
“Yes, sir!”
“No problem!”
On the deck, Su Dingping felt the sea breeze as he slowly spoke.
“Director, should we give everyone a day off? They’ve worked hard.”
Sun Yongguo shook his head repeatedly.
“This is nothing! Though we’re older than you, our bodies are still tough!”
“All right, starting tomorrow the second phase of training officially begins! You’ve basically mastered the core technologies on the warship’s main body. Next, it’s about integration and application. Those two missile systems must also be learned quickly. I’ll try to accelerate the schedule for the third phase.”
At first, Sun Yongguo felt nothing was amiss, but upon hearing the last sentence, he froze.
The second phase hadn’t even started, yet the third phase was already underway?
He cautiously asked, “What does the third phase entail?”
“For now, it’s just a direction—nothing definite yet,” Su Dingping added.
“Last year, the fourth Kongō-class guided missile destroyer of the Eastern Ocean fleet entered production. In a few months, it will be launched for testing and then commissioned. When that happens, no one knows what will occur. We need to move even faster.”
“No matter what, it is our navy’s duty to keep the enemy at bay beyond our borders!”
Looking at Su Dingping’s resolute expression, Sun Yongguo fell silent.
With the rapidly shifting situation, no one could predict the future.
But Su Dingping was already preparing for it.
At that moment, Zhou Qinglei approached.
“Comrade Dingping, Director Sun, I’ve reported the situation to the commanders.”
Nodding, Su Dingping noticed a hint of unease and asked, “Captain Zhou, you don’t seem very enthusiastic.”
Sun Yongguo explained, “Dingping, Commander Xu instructed that once the 956E improvements succeed, it’s to be assigned to the Southern Fleet. Commander Xu promised this to Commander Qian before.”
Zhou Qinglei awkwardly said, “It just feels like all our efforts were in vain.”
With the 956E gone, they would be idle again, having to wait for the 052s to arrive.
Su Dingping solemnly said, “It’s all right, Captain Zhou. Our Northern Fleet will have even stronger warships in the future. The next vessel under your command will definitely surpass the optimized 956E!”
“Comrade Dingping, you really mean that?”
“There are no empty words in the military!”
Meanwhile, in the naval district conference hall in the capital city.
Knock, knock—
The sound of knocking interrupted the discussion among several commanders.
A guard briskly approached Commander Xu Dongguo, handed him a dossier, explained briefly, then quickly departed.