Chapter 944 The Last Strategic Bomber (Counting Yesterday)


    At about the same time these two things happened.


    Ermao, Kiev Oblast, Priluki Air Base.


    A Tu 154M passenger plane with the five-star red flag painted on the vertical tail is decelerating and taxiing with the thrust reverser turned on.


    Due to age and disrepair, the runway is slightly uneven, and some fragile places have even cracked.


    Fortunately, for a passenger aircraft that was originally designed with tactical use in mind, all this is not a problem.


    As the speed of the aircraft continues to slow down, the two pilots can gradually devote some energy to observing both sides of the runway to find the location of the taxiway—


    Normally, this should be what the tower tells them.


    ??However, the tower commander at Preluki Air Force Base obviously had little experience, and coupled with his gross English accent, there were a lot of troubles just in the process of directing the plane to land.


    Fortunately, the airspace near here is extremely clean and there are no other aircraft.


    So there won’t be any safety issues.


    It''s just a pity for the passengers who are almost packed into cans of meat in the cargo (passenger) cabin.


    “I’m telling you, Lao Zheng, why does the air traffic control at Ermao base seem completely unreliable?”


    On the seat in the front section of the cabin, Qin Han, the special representative for cooperation with Eastern European countries accompanying this visit, rubbed his head that was a little dizzy due to the violent shaking, and asked an officer in an air force uniform next to him.


    "no way."


    Zheng Xiashen, who was in charge of the entire airport pick-up task, picked up the big-brimmed hat that had just fallen to the ground, shook his head helplessly, and pointed to the outside of the porthole with his hand:


    “Look at the environment around the runway.”


    “I conservatively estimate that this airport has not seen frequent takeoffs and landings for five or six years.”


    Priluki Air Base is located in a somewhat remote place near Kiev.


    During the Cold War, this was the home of the 184th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, which existed as the most important force to deter NATO.


    But now, with the 184th Regiment itself facing disbandment, naturally not many planes will visit here anymore.


    The equipment of the 184th Regiment itself only takes off every very long time.


    The purpose of taking off is not for training or mission execution, but to ensure the basic operation of these aircraft as a bargaining chip with other countries.


    So, the person sitting in the tower now may not have directed 10 aircraft takeoffs and landings in his entire career.


    Naturally, I don’t have any experience.


    While the two were talking, Figure 154M had entered the taxiway to the right and was slowly driving towards the apron not far away.


    “Tsk tsk tsk…”


    ??Qin Han poked his head slightly and looked at the two dozen strategic bombers lined up on the tarmac.


    The closest ones are the ones with four propellers, Figure 95.


    A little further away, the ultimate purpose of their coming this time stood—


    Fig. 160.


    Even though he was not a soldier, he had some relevant knowledge before participating in this mission and was able to recognize these famous models at that time.


    “It’s really hard for such a good airplane to be left here to rust…”


    For a moment, Qin Han didn''t even know how to describe his feeling at this time.


    Finally, he still choked out a few words:


    “What a pity…”


    "yes…"


    Zheng Xiashen sighed softly:


    “Who would have thought that a country that could build 70,000 nuclear bombs and have been at tit-for-tat with the Americans for nearly half a century would suddenly fall apart..."


    As a soldier, although he gave an affirmative answer, his tone was more filled with emotion.


    When faced with an enemy from within, no matter how powerful the army is, it will be difficult to play any role.


    Qin Han realized that it was not easy to continue this topic, so he changed the topic and swallowed what he had just said:


    “However, it’s not entirely a pity.”


    "After all, it is precisely because of this that we have the opportunity to stand here today..."


    “Actually... Representative Qin doesn’t know something.”


    ?Zheng Xiashen smiled slightly:


    "It should be...about six years ago. I also led a team here, but it was not as desolate as it is now. You can still see a few planes taking off and landing occasionally."


    Hearing this, Qin Han''s eyes widened slightly:


    “Have you been here before?”


    “Yes, and I am also sitting on this plane 154…”


    “Is it also for those planes?”


    ??Qin Han stretched out his hand and gestured out the window.


    At this time, the plane happened to be parked at the designated location on the apron.


    The cabin announcement sounded the message to prepare to leave the plane.


    “Yes, but it got messed up halfway through.”


    ?Zheng Xiashen stood up and tidied up his military appearance:


    “At that time, I thought that the Chinese Air Force would never miss these precious guys.”


    “I didn’t expect that I would have a second chance now!”


    Due to excitement, his voice trembled a little when he spoke.


    “We were lucky enough to catch up.” Qin Han also followed Zheng Xiashen to the aisle, preparing to get off the plane.


    ?The two of them are the leaders of this Chinese delegation, but one is simply responsible for picking up the people at the airport, and the other is also responsible for many subsequent written procedures.


    After all, the delivery of these Tu-160s was completed as part of the Ermao denuclearization process.


    This is something that must never be taken carelessly.


    …


    ?It wasn’t until a few minutes after the plane came to a stop that a ramp truck hurried over and docked at the cabin door.


    Soon, the hatch opened.


    ?A group of dozens of people, headed by Zheng Xiashen and Qin Han, filed down the gangway.


    Not far from the plane, there were already several soldiers wearing various military uniforms, obviously from different countries, waiting for them.


    ?Although ten years have passed since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the military uniforms of Da Mao and Er Mao are still relatively similar in shape.


    Sometimes it is easier to distinguish by accessories and color.


    As for those wearing uniforms of a completely different style, it is not difficult to tell from the U.S. symbols on their collars that they are mid- to senior-level officers from the U.S. Army.


    That’s right, although the transaction subjects involved are aircraft belonging to Ermao.


    However, the main trading countries do not include Ermao itself.


    The other two countries naturally brought a delegation each, but their planes landed a few hours earlier than China, so the rest of the people had already gone to live in Kiev.


    Only a few key people are left waiting here.


    “Hello, friends from China.”


    The leader, a burly soldier with a tricolor flag embroidered on his left arm, walked up to Zheng Xiashen.


    Both parties salute at the same time:


    “I am Anatoly Alexeevich Noevich, responsible for the arms transfer and destruction.”


    “Mark Linton.”


    Another American soldier also came forward:


    “Assistant to the U.S. Strategic Command, responsible for overseeing the arms transfer and destruction.”


    ??Although he is said to be an "assistant", he actually carries three stars on his shoulders, and he is on the same level as Nogovitch and Zheng Xiashen.


    In response, Zheng Xiashen and Qin Han also introduced their identities respectively.


    “Okay, guys, let’s relax.”


    Jack Linton spoke first, trying to liven up the atmosphere:


    “According to the previous agreement we reached, the formal documents cannot be signed until next week, so during this period, we will mainly finalize the details of this mission.”


    "Er Mao has prepared a fleet of vehicles. We can go back to the city to rest for a while..."


    ??He has been waiting in the biting autumn wind for several hours. It is obvious that he cannot stay any longer and wants to return to the warmth of the hotel room.


    “Still not.”


    ?Zheng Xiashen raised his hand slightly, indicating that he had other plans:


    “We still hope to learn about the status of these pending weapons as soon as possible, especially the four Tu-160 bombers planned to be delivered to our country in the name of debt repayment, so we will not go there with you for the time being.”


    Although the Chinese side sent a small team here about half a month ago to confirm and maintain the status of several aircraft, they also protected them from possible damage.


    ??However, the matter was serious, and it was still difficult for Zheng Xiashen to feel relieved until he personally confirmed that the plane was intact.


    "Oh well."


    ?The other two people didn’t have any opinions on this either:


    “Anyway, I wish you… and we wish you all the best.”


    …


    ??After being polite with the heads of delegations from the other two countries, Zheng Xiashen used the fastest speed to find Lieutenant Colonel Hang Lijun who was posted here in advance—


    Strictly speaking, it was the latter who found him.


    ?In fact, the other party had been notified long ago to come to pick up the plane, but there were senior foreign military leaders there just now, so it was inconvenient to rush over here.


    “Welcome Deputy Commander Zheng…”


    ?Hang Lijun stood at attention and saluted. He was originally going to say a few formulaic words, but as soon as he said a title, he was interrupted by Zheng Xiashen:


    “Okay, we’ll deal with the red tape later. What’s going on with those planes?”


    ?Just now it was too obvious that he didn''t want to show off in front of the foreign army, but in fact, he has been coveting it for a long time.


    ?Even before this trip, he seemed to have submitted an application to his superiors, asking if he could personally fly one of the Tu-160s back to China.


    As a result, I was severely criticized.


    You can only live with your eyesight.


    “Following the guidance of the ground crew here and several Tupolev technicians, we conducted a round of screening of the aircraft.”


    ?Hang Lijun didn’t talk nonsense and immediately took Zheng Xiashen to the other side of the tarmac while reporting the report:


    “Three of them are currently flying normally, and the core system of the other one has no problem, but there is some malfunction in the action part of the variable sweep wing, and the sweep angle of the left wing can only be maintained at the fully extended 20° state.”


    “This aircraft can be repaired here by disassembling other aircraft parts before flying back, but it may take about a month. You can also fly back like this first and figure out a solution later.”


    And Zheng Xiashen almost did not hesitate:


    “The night is long and the dream is many, 20° is 20°. Anyway, we are just transitioning, and we are not engaging in supersonic penetration,”


    “So, of course, fly back first!”


    (End of this chapter)