Chapter 1376: The wishes take the bait


    Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.


    Admiral Lance Lord loosened his tie that made him breathe a little, and got up and went to the hatch door of the C37 key personnel transport plane, waiting for the cabin service staff to lower the gangway.


    About three hours ago, he completed a wonderful hearing and questioning session on Capitol Hill, and through a detailed data report, he demonstrated the need to increase investment in the field of national missile defense systems.


    Of course, the hearing itself would not make any decisions, but there were many heavyweights from the Senate and House of Representatives.


    And the difference in thought among these people will directly determine the outcome of the New Year''s Congressional Budget in a few months.


    If you look at it longer-term, the tone of military expenditure allocation in the next four or even eight years will also be affected.


    The funder behind the general, Lockheed Martin, will undoubtedly be the biggest winner.


    Especially in the context of the current global financial crisis, the significance of a stable investment is not just the billions of dollars, but also more importantly market confidence.


    "Your Excellency, the journey is over, I wish you a smooth work!"


    As the business cabin door was lowered, the flight attendant''s voice pulled Lord out of his thoughts.


    "Thanks."


    The latter responded politely.


    Of course, this aircraft does not belong to Lord himself, but is a member of the government''s special aircraft sequence.


    It was just because of today''s work needs that he was temporarily assigned to use.


    "Maybe after retirement, you can find Loma to rent one for a long time..."


    Lord thought this way and walked out of the cabin.


    The dark blue military uniform was cornered by the dry night wind in Colorado, and the outline of the Rockies in the distance was looming in the twilight, like a silent line of defense.


    The Admiral has been working in the Space Command for more than 30 years, and the scene in front of him can be seen almost every day.


    But it has never been more refreshing than it is now.


    However, a good mood didn''t last long.


    Lord had just returned to the office, and before he could recall his performance at the hearing, he heard a burst of rapid and heavy footsteps coming from the corridor.


    Major General John Raymond, the chief of the reconnaissance, quickly appeared at the door.


    "His Excellency, half an hour ago, the ALOS-1 satellite exceeded the western part of Longyuan Province in China."


    Raymond''s voice was as hoarse as if it had been sanded with sandpaper. It was obvious that he had not had a good rest for some time:


    "A new impact point appeared at the Second Artillery Mass Effect Range, which was within the area where we had previously observed engineering trends. The preliminary judgment was that it was near the center of a concrete target."


    As he said that, he took out a few large-sized photos from the file bag in his hand and spread them one by one on Lord''s desk.


    ALOS-1 is a ground observation satellite launched by Japan two years ago. It is nominally owned by JAXA and is used for conventional tasks such as geographic surveying, resource exploration and disaster warning.


    But in fact, the satellite also installed an L-band synthetic aperture radar with the best performance at the time, which was naturally included in the space-based reconnaissance system of the US Space Command.


    Previously, due to insufficient satellite resources in the solar synchronous orbit, Raymond "temporarily" requisitioned ALOS-1 and ADEOS-2 launched earlier from his allies to ensure the frequency of information updates in western Longyuan Province.


    In the end, it did play a decisive role.


    Lord took a deep breath, barely calmed down his inner excitement, and looked down at the dozen satellite pictures in front of him:


    A hideous hole appeared in the middle of the dark gray rectangular target. The dark patches in the center radiated spider-web-like cracks around, and circular regular bulges were distributed around it.


    "It is obvious that an explosion occurred below the surface... There were no traces of shrapnel diffusion around the crater, and the shock wave conduction pattern was consistent with the characteristics of the ground-boring warhead."


    He made a quick judgment based on his experience, and then glanced at the analysis and judgment content under another picture.


    It is almost exactly the same as what I said just now.


    But the General had just raised his face to the entire Air Force on Capitol Hill, so it is naturally impossible to be satisfied with such a preliminary conclusion now.


    "Can you determine other more specific details, such as hit time, and launch position?"


    "ADEOS-2 passed this afternoon, at 3:25 am local time tomorrow, so it is basically confirmed that the other party completed the launch within about three and a half hours between 0325 and 0703. The entire process, including hitting, is also in line with the consistent behavioral characteristics of the Chinese missile force when testing the new model."


    Lord frowned unanimously at this conclusion:


    "So you think...is a new model?"


    Raymond nodded:


    "The Chinese Missile Force has also tested several different specifications of ground drilling weapons in the past, but the intelligence analysis department compared the results of the previous two tests and found that there were great differences in bullet mark characteristics."


    "The crater left at the Yunnan Provincial shooting range last year was funnel-shaped, with jagged edges and limited depth. It was obviously a very primary model with a very limited ability to penetrate. The through passage in front of me was smooth and deep, just like a steel nail vertical Nail into the earth..."


    He gestured in the air while describing: "So they must have replaced the structure of the invasion body, and may also have the secondary killing ability of delayed detonation. The target''s rupture is at least one-third higher than the last test. As for more specific data, there is no way to know."


    The L-band synthetic aperture radar has a certain ground-transparent ability, but it is obviously still a little powerless when facing reinforced concrete, and can only see through very shallow depths.


    As soon as he heard this part of the conclusion, Lord thought of several mysterious tests conducted by China in central Mongolia.


    At that time, it was initially judged as a new type of medium and short-range tactical missile.


    It seems to be able to match the situation in front of you.


    "Let Ruby 12 satellite focus on the launch position in central Mongolia to see if there are any recent launch traces."


    He ordered with a serious expression:


    "When the analysis data comes out, let me know as soon as possible."


    The solar synchronous orbit satellite will have a fixed 24-hour revisit period, so this matter cannot be urgent and can only wait slowly.


    Moreover, Lord also needs some time as a buffer to analyze the situation in front of him—


    A few days ago, he personally ordered the focus of satellite reconnaissance to be shifted around Base 55 outside Hecheng City, but in the end he only observed a strange but not sensitive solid rocket replacement launch.


    No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!


    Although it is rendered as an intercontinental missile test launch carrying a sub-guided multi-warhead, the Admiral himself is very clear that Dongfeng 31 does not have the ability to carry a multi-warhead in any case.


    And logically, since the warhead carrier itself also has power, the multi-warhead missile in China will definitely be named Dongfeng 4X.


    In other words, although it is impossible to admit it from the mouth, the launch in Hunan Province is indeed just a bait to cover the real test of the Longyuan shooting range this time.


    At the moment on the eve of the election, the combination of the two keywords "ground drilling weapons" and "tactical missiles" will undoubtedly stimulate some people''s sensitive nerves.


    So what I need to do now is to increase the degree of stimulation as much as possible without causing critical misjudgments.


    On the one hand, it can divert everyone''s focus and avoid the conclusions in the analysis report being placed in the spotlight to find loopholes.


    On the other hand, it can further intimidate the new White House owner next year.


    No matter which one it is.


    …


    Due to recent high frequency use, Colonel Devin Kenton and his intelligence analysis department are already familiar with the data processing process of the Ruby-12 satellite.


    Just a few hours later, the analysis conclusions appeared on the large screen of the underground command center.


    "There were no new suspicious signs at the locations of the previous few launches, but we found the residual material after the solid rocket engine was working in another coordinate, also located in western Mongolia."


    Colonel Kenton held an antenna in his hand and pointed to a reddish position on the screen:


    "It can be confirmed that there has been one…or a missile launch here in the last 6-12 hours."


    It is of course a very cutting-edge technology to warn missile launches by burning residues, but the accuracy of tracing is indeed limited, so it can only be determined until the early morning of this year.


    It just fits the speculation range given by Raymond earlier.


    "What about the signal characteristics? Have you analyzed it?"


    Lord asked.


    "There is a slight difference from the previous tests, but the difference is very small. It is basically confirmed that it still belongs to the same model sequence...it may be just that there are differences in the composition on the surface or in the air, and after contact with the tail flame, a trace of new products have been formed."


    "That is, the range this time is longer than in the past?"


    The general took a look at the new launch location, which was obviously more northeastern.


    "If calculated completely according to the shortest path, it will be about 1500-1600 kilometers. Of course, considering the ballistic planning issue, it may actually be a little further."


    Raymond swallowed:


    "This is not the range that Dongfeng 15 series can achieve..."


    "Range is not a problem."


    Lord interrupted him and his eyes turned to the coastal area in the lower right corner of the large screen:


    “The question is what they want to nail it.”


    The cold light hit his silver temples, reflecting a cold light like a knife.


    Outside the glass curtain wall, dozens of surveillance screens are silently sucking the data stream, like eyes peeking at the earth.


    This question is actually clear.


    However, no one has made it clear yet.


    (End of this chapter)