Chapter 30: 051B Improvement, I See the Direction!

"Dingping, are you resting?"

Outside the barracks, Sun Yongguo knocked gently on the door.

"Come in, Director."

Sun Yongguo led Zhang Gongnong inside.

"Dingping, it's past midnight. Why aren't you resting? I know you're young, but your health is the capital of the revolution."

As he spoke, Sun Yongguo noticed the blueprints on Su Dingping's desk.

He had originally only taken a casual glance, assuming they were Su Dingping's lesson plans for tomorrow.

But that single glance caused him to freeze.

The blueprints contained sketches of a radar, but he had no memory of seeing them before.

"Dingping, what kind of radar is this? Is it for the 956E?"

Hearing this, Zhang Gongnong also leaned in to examine them closely.

"It doesn't look like it! I haven't completely mastered the core technology of the various radars on the 956E, but I am certain of one thing: the internal details are not like this," Su Dingping said casually.

"I've had some new ideas recently, so I planned to give them a try."

"New ideas?" Sun Yongguo was startled.

We haven't even fully grasped the core technology of the 956E, and you already have new ideas?

"It couldn't be a Passive Electronically Scanned Array (PESA) radar, could it? I heard that in the West, and even in the Bear Country, their most advanced warships use PESA radars!" Zhang Gongnong remarked.

"It seems the King Kong-class has them as well," Su Dingping replied without further explanation.

Currently, the most advanced radars on warships from various nations were indeed PESA radars; at least for the next seven years, the United States would not make a breakthrough in this area. As for the even more advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, the Bear Country wouldn't see significant breakthroughs for another decade or so.

He certainly wouldn't say he was researching AESA radars. For now, they didn't even have the concept of AESA. In the eyes of the international community, PESA was considered the pinnacle of radar technology.

Su Dingping shifted the topic at the opportune moment: "Director, Professor Zhang, is something troubling you this late at night?"

"There is something I need to discuss with you."

Sun Yongguo explained the situation. "After all, you are the person in charge of this breakthrough operation, so we must ask for your stance."

"Even without those materials, it wouldn't be a problem for Dean Lyu to bring two people along to learn," Su Dingping said straightforwardly.

"More people means more strength! The more people who master the core technology of the 956E, the faster our overall progress will be."

Ever since he saw Lyu Guangjun taking notes like a student in the main control room, Su Dingping knew the man still possessed the conscience of a Chinese citizen. Given the pressing circumstances, it was understandable that the other side had considered purchasing the 956E a second time. In the grand scheme of things, the addition of two or three top-tier military industrial experts would be of immense significance to the future of the Navy.

Su Dingping's breadth of vision earned him a higher level of respect from Sun Yongguo.

"Alright! It's settled then."

With his mind at ease, he and Su Dingping discussed the subsequent teaching arrangements before he and Zhang Gongnong departed.

Upon learning that Su Dingping had approved his request to bring people along, Lyu Guangjun said excitedly, "Old Sun, I owe you a favor! Everything is prepared; they will definitely arrive before tomorrow morning!"

After settling matters with Su Dingping, Sun Yongguo returned to his own barracks and began drafting a formal recommendation regarding Su Dingping's military rank.

***

On the other side, at Harbin Institute of Technology.

Since the end of his graduation project assessment, Zhao Haikuo had suddenly found himself with plenty of free time. Coupled with Professor Zhang being away from school, he spent every spare moment flirting with Wang Xin.

One night, while walking Wang Xin back to school, he happened to run into Guo Xueyun, who was just leaving the laboratory.

"Senior Brother Zhao!" Guo Xueyun hurriedly stopped him.

"Hey, Yun, what can I do for you?"

Guo Xueyun looked at Zhao Haikuo, appearing a bit hesitant to speak.

Wang Xin chimed in from the side, "Your Senior Brother Zhao is one of us. Go ahead, we'll keep your secret."

After a moment's hesitation, Guo Xueyun spoke up. "Senior Brother Zhao, I wanted to ask where Junior Brother Su is."

"Junior Brother? Why are you looking for him?" Zhao Haikuo was puzzled. He glanced at Wang Xin, who was equally confused.

"Last time, Junior Brother Su helped me solve a huge problem. We agreed that I would treat him to dinner when I had time! Now that I'm free, I haven't been able to find him for half a month."

Zhao Haikuo realized what it was about. "I'm not sure either. I haven't seen him for quite a while."

"Senior Brother Zhao, you really haven't seen him?"

"Do you think I'm lying to you? Once Junior Brother gets busy, he disappears for a month at a time! The guys in our lab are used to it. Maybe he'll just show up out of the blue one day."

Guo Xueyun was skeptical. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

Seeing the sincerity on Zhao Haikuo's face, Guo Xueyun could only walk away helplessly.

"Haikuo, you really don't know where Junior Brother Su went?" Wang Xin whispered, pulling him aside.

"I really don't! If you don't believe me, ask Huang Wei. When Junior Brother gets busy, no one in our lab can find him."

As he spoke, Zhao Haikuo glanced at Guo Xueyun's retreating figure and sighed inwardly: *I hope everything goes well for you, Junior Brother!*

He had some suspicions regarding Su Dingping's whereabouts; he figured the boy had gone off to do something great that they could only dream of, but due to non-disclosure agreements, he couldn't say a word. Anyone would feel a sense of dread if they had to sign two NDAs in a single day—one for the military and one for the Security Bureau. Who could handle that?

Very few people noticed Su Dingping's sudden disappearance from the university. After all, Su Dingping had already begun living a solitary life, immersing himself in his studies a year ago, to the point where many classmates had almost forgotten he existed.

They could never have imagined that a classmate they had nearly forgotten was currently undertaking a monumental task—one capable of influencing the future development of the Navy.

The next morning, when Sun Yongguo and the others arrived at the 956E main control room, they found Su Dingping studying materials while munching on a steamed bun.

These materials had been brought over by people sent by Lyu Guangjun from the 408 Research Institute.

Lyu Guangjun and two deputy directors from the 408 Institute were also sitting opposite Su Dingping, the four of them engaged in periodic discussions.

"Old Sun, you're here," Lyu Guangjun greeted them. "What brings you here?"

"We are discussing integrated ramjet engine technology for shipborne missiles with Comrade Dingping. As you know, we are quite weak in this area; there hasn't been much progress in the relevant technologies for the YJ anti-ship missiles and HQ anti-air missiles."

Lyu Guangjun explained. "If we can conquer this technology, the strike range of our shipborne missiles could be greatly increased! This is of immense significance for keeping the enemy away from our borders!"

"I didn't expect this. Comrade Dingping took a few looks, we chatted for a bit, and he already had some unique perspectives. I am deeply inspired! I see the direction for the 051B improvement!" Lyu Guangjun said with deep emotion as he watched Su Dingping discussing matters with the others.

This trip had been incredibly fruitful, giving him much more confidence in the second phase of the 051B's modernization.

At that moment, a deputy director from the 408 Research Institute walked over and said, "Dean Lyu, where did you invite this expert from? Some of his insights have given me great inspiration. Perhaps we can focus our efforts on the two working processes: 'inside the gas generator' and 'inside the combustion chamber'."

Sun Yongguo replied, "He's not an outside expert; he's one of our own."

"One of your own?" The man looked at Lyu Guangjun in surprise. "There shouldn't be anyone in the country ahead of us in the field of shipborne missiles, right? At least not according to the Ministry of National Defense!"

"He is one of our own," Lyu Guangjun affirmed. "Don't rush. Stay here and settle in for a while. Once we return, we will complete the 051B improvements!"

"Yes, Dean!" The man said excitedly, before returning to his seat to continue the discussion with Su Dingping.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Captain Zhou finally returned with his team.