Chapter 51: No Jokes in the Military!

Offshore waters of Qingdao.

The 956E was cruising rapidly across the sea at a speed of 35 knots.

Inside the main control room, Sun Yongguo said to Su Dingping, "A speed of 35 knots—that's an increase of about 3 knots from before! It seems our optimizations are starting to bear fruit."

"Dingping, it's far enough. This is about right."

"Alright, let's begin then," Su Dingping replied with a nod.

Zhou Qinglei looked at Su Dingping and asked, "Comrade Dingping, which item should we test first?"

Su Dingping shook his head. "Captain Zhou, once we are on a warship, the entire ship follows your command. Aside from technical issues, you make the decisions."

Sun Yongguo and the others also nodded toward Zhou Qinglei.

"Understood!"

Immediately, Zhou Qinglei's demeanor shifted.

He turned to the executive officer and commanded, "Notify everyone: all personnel enter combat readiness status!"

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the announcement for the entire crew to enter combat readiness echoed through the ship's intercom.

Su Dingping and the others could clearly feel a sense of grim solemnity rising from Zhou Qinglei and the naval officers.

*As expected of someone who has seen actual combat,* Su Dingping thought to himself, his gaze drifting through the porthole toward the vast expanse of the sea.

"Reporting to the Captain, all preparations are complete! Awaiting instructions!"

"Deploy the targets. Test the 'Ore' against the maritime situational awareness radar and the Bai Ling supersonic anti-ship missile system."

"Yes, Captain!"

After a moment, the other end reported, "Reporting to the Captain, target deployment is complete! Distance: 90 kilometers from our ship! Currently undetected!"

"Continue advancing!"

After another interval, the radar monitor reported, "Reporting to the Captain, three moving targets detected 80 kilometers northeast of our ship! Radar has locked on. Request permission to fire!"

80 kilometers?

The detection range of the 'Ore' in active mode had increased from 70 kilometers to 80 kilometers!

As expected, the data Su Dingping had derived through calculations was correct.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Zhou Qinglei commanded, "Fire immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

Seconds later, a piercing whistle erupted from the deck.

"Reporting to the Captain, missile launch system reaction time: 8 seconds!"

Standing in the main control room, the crew watched as several tongues of flame vanished into the distance with their naked eyes. Immediately after, their attention turned to the radar display.

In less than two minutes, the three red dots representing the targets disappeared from the radar screen.

"Reporting to the Captain, news from the observation station: all missiles hit..."

"Record the data!" Zhou Qinglei's tone shifted as he commanded again, "Deploy the three-leaf targets. Test the 'Warship Bird-MA' air situational awareness radar and the SA-N-7 Hurricane anti-aircraft missile system..."

"Reporting to the Captain, deployment complete!"

Soon, the message came through again.

"Reporting to the Captain, radar shows 12 three-leaf targets at 35 kilometers from our ship, altitude..."

"Reporting to the Captain, 6 targets locked! Request permission to fire!"

Locked onto six targets directly?

Zhou Qinglei was secretly shocked.

During previous tests, they could only lock onto four targets at a time!

For an air situational awareness radar, locking onto three targets simultaneously meant meeting modern standards and reaching the minimum threshold for area air defense. Before the second modification, the 051B could only lock onto two aerial targets at once.

Now, the 956E could lock onto six. Those two extra targets meant that in future naval warfare, they could intercept two more anti-ship missiles every time.

This was a significant improvement.

He glanced at Su Dingping, only to see him standing there as steady as a mountain. Feeling a surge of admiration, he commanded, "Fire!"

At his command, the two SA-N-7 Hurricane anti-aircraft missile systems on the deck continuously spat out tongues of flame. Twelve 9M38 anti-aircraft missiles soared into the sky.

"Reporting to the Captain, launch system reaction time: 7.5 seconds!"

One minute later, only six of the twelve red dots representing the three-leaf targets remained on the radar display.

"Reporting to the Captain, news from the observation station: all six targets destroyed..."

"Reporting to the Captain, the remaining six targets are locked. The automatic fire program has been initiated."

Immediately after, another twelve 9M38 anti-aircraft missiles roared out.

"Reporting to the Captain, all targets destroyed! Awaiting instructions!"

"Deploy target drones. Test the MP-401 electronic warfare system..."

...

"Continue. Test the sonar system and the RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launcher..."

...

Over an hour later, the full, optimized version of the 956E had completed testing for its various electronic warfare systems, weapon systems, and combat command systems.

Zhou Qinglei handed a thick stack of data test reports to Su Dingping, speaking with some excitement.

"Comrade Dingping, all tests are complete! The combat capability of the full-version 956E has increased by thirty percent compared to the original! This is a massive leap!"

"Thirty percent? That's close to what I expected." Su Dingping nodded with satisfaction.

It was clear that Sun Yongguo and the others had truly put their hearts into this.

Su Dingping said, "Dean Sun, when you have time, you can take charge of optimizing the other 956E, as well as the second-generation modified 051B. Compared to last year, our Navy will undergo a world-changing transformation in overall combat capability."

"Don't worry, Dingping. I will take responsibility for that in the follow-up."

"It's about time to head back." After a pause, Su Dingping added, "Dean Sun, Captain Zhou, notify everyone later. Tonight is on me. Let's have a proper celebration!"

"Yes, sir!"

"No problem!"

Stepping onto the deck, Su Dingping felt the sea breeze and said slowly, "Dean, should I give you all a day off? You've worked hard for so long."

Sun Yongguo shook his head repeatedly.

"This is nothing! Don't let our age fool you; we're still in our prime!"

"Alright, then the second phase of the course officially begins tomorrow! You have nearly mastered the core technologies of the ship's main body; the next step is integration and mastery. You also need to master those two missile systems as soon as possible. I will strive to move up the schedule for the third phase of the course."

Initially, Sun Yongguo didn't think anything was wrong, but he froze when he heard the last sentence.

The second phase hadn't even started, and the third phase was already on the way?

He asked cautiously, "What is the third phase of the course?"

"Currently, it's just a direction; it's not yet certain," Su Dingping supplemented.

"Last year, Japan's fourth Kongō-class guided-missile destroyer entered production. In a few months, the fourth one will be launched for testing and then commissioned! When that happens, no one knows what might occur. We have to move even faster."

"Regardless, keeping the enemy away from our borders is the responsibility of our Navy!"

Looking at the determined Su Dingping, Sun Yongguo fell silent.

In a world of rapidly shifting tides, no one could guarantee what the future held.

Yet, Su Dingping was already preparing for it.

At that moment, Zhou Qinglei walked over.

"Comrade Dingping, Dean Sun, I have already reported the situation to the leadership!"

Nodding, Su Dingping sensed something was off and asked, "Captain Zhou, you don't seem very enthusiastic."

Sun Yongguo explained, "Dingping, Chief Xu previously instructed that once the 956E modification was successful, it would be sent to the Southern Fleet. Chief Xu had promised Chief Qian."

Zhou Qinglei said awkwardly, "It just feels like everyone worked hard for nothing."

With the 956E gone, they were idle again, left to wait for the arrival of the 052.

Su Dingping said solemnly, "It's alright, Captain Zhou. In the future, our Northern Fleet will have even more powerful warships! The next ship you command will definitely be stronger than this optimized 956E!"

"Comrade Dingping, truly?"

"There are no jokes in the military!"

***

Meanwhile, in Beijing, at the Navy Command Meeting Hall.

*Knock, knock—*

A series of knocks interrupted the conversation among several high-ranking officials.

An orderly walked quickly to Xu Dongguo's side, handed him a document, explained briefly, and then hurried away.