Chapter 275: The First Flight of The Sixth Generation Fighter Jets
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The successful ma.s.s production of C919 and the smooth resolution of the advanced engine supply issue perplexed the Western intelligence agencies no matter how much they wracked their brains over it. This was a mystery. Warren Turner, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of Merica, and his subordinates, had a special meeting to discuss and a.n.a.lyze the incident.
“How did they solve the engine problem?” Warren Turner looked down and asked, “In theory, their engines will take at least 30 to 50 years to catch up with us. How did they do it in only eight months?”
The subordinates looked blankly at each other. No one could answer this question. After some time, one of the cleverer subordinates said, “Sir, I think there must be a problem with the engine made by Z country! Although its performance appears to be good and the fuel consumption is not high, its working lifespan will never exceed 1,000 hours! Failures will occur after 1,000 hours. It’s just a one-off product with garbage quality!” He spoke with utmost certainty.
“He’s right.”
“The quality of their products has always been terrible!”
“I agree.”
Voices expressing their agreement rose up across the table. Warren Turner frowned. None of these ignorant answers were satisfactory. It was also insulting the intelligence of the Z people! Engines for the pa.s.senger aircrafts had extremely high safety requirements. If the engine really was a “one-off product,” not only would pa.s.sengers be afraid to board the plane, even the airline companies that had purchased this aircraft would quickly ask for a refund. It was simply impossible to bluff their way out of this shoddy behavior of using poor quality subst.i.tutes.
“I don’t think their engine quality is that bad. The working lifespan should be around 5,000 hours, which is one-sixth of our engine. The time between major maintenance and repairs should be about 1,000 hours, this is also much worse than our engines. Even so, from the indicators of the thrust-to-weight ratio and fuel consumption, Z country seems to have produced a very good engine. The standard of their engine’s design has undergone an astonis.h.i.+ng level of improvement. We can no longer look down on their engines.” This comment was made by one of the subordinates, who was a pilot and a graduate of mechanical design studies. Warren Turner nodded as he provided a more professional a.n.a.lysis.
This subordinate continued with a serious tone. “It is harder for the design of engines for the pa.s.senger aircrafts to pa.s.s than those for the military aircraft. If Z country had achieved such a breakthrough in the engines for the pa.s.senger aircrafts, then their progress in engines for military aircraft will be equally astonis.h.i.+ng. If there are no accidents, they will also achieve great improvements in the field of military engines within a short time! Perhaps they have already achieved a breakthrough. This is a problem that cannot be neglected. Once Z country has produced a high-performance military engine, it will pose a fatal threat to us! We should increase our intelligence-gathering forces to confirm the extent of Z country’s achievements in this area. Otherwise, we would not know which course to follow.”
Warren Turner nodded. The subordinate was correct. He had exactly the same thoughts as him. However, conducting intelligence investigations in the Z country and prying into their most essential intelligence was impossibly difficult for the CIA. They had established an intelligence network with much difficulty. However, that network had been destroyed twice, rendering them deaf and blind to the internal happenings of Z country. They had no choice but to recruit some volunteers online who were “for freedom.” Those volunteers had helped to spy in exchange for some monetary compensation. However, the Z country had introduced a system of “get a reward of $500,000 for reporting spies.” This had made intelligence-gathering an even more herculean task.
Finally, they had found the safest and most effective way to gather intelligence. They sent someone to trawl a forum called “Military Base Camp” where their spy collected a lot of high-value information. But essential military intelligence would not be found on a website forum.
Warren Turner became gloomy at this thought. However, he immediately thought of an excellent plan. “Hasn’t the C919 been successfully ma.s.s-produced and put into operation? Well, we’ll wait for this type of aircraft to transit in Merica or land in Allied territories and we’ll immediately confiscate it! We can remove their engine and see for ourselves how their engines work. We’ll come up with a few security reasons and cancel the C919’s airworthiness certificate. Sales of the C919 to the West will be banned. We’ll isolate the C919’s access to other markets! I will raise this proposal to the President. He will probably approve it.” His gaze was sharp and malicious like an eagle, full of cruelty and viciousness. He was very experienced when it came to doing this kind of thing.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the office door vigorously. On the other side of the door, a voice urgently said, “This is an emergency! A major emergency! Hurry and open the door! Mr. Turner, I need to see you immediately!”
Warren Turner frowned. He looked at the subordinate who sat at the desk nearest to the door. The subordinate got up and opened the door.
An agent rushed in and trampled loudly across the floor!
He held a set of doc.u.ments in his hand and flew towards Warren Turner. He placed the doc.u.ments on the table in front of him and opened the file. He said in a panic, “Mr. Turner, please look at this information. This is simply a disaster for the democratic world!”
Warren Turner looked down at the doc.u.ments spread out in front of him. His eyes suddenly widened. “F**k, this is impossible!!!” A violent tremor went through his body and he let out a mournful exclamation.
…
Half an hour ago in Z country, at a large flight test base in a central western province, there was a wide area where the gra.s.s grew densely just beyond a wire fence. Yu Xiaoguang was anxiously waiting for the plane to land. He wore a Geely camouflage suit topped with a straw hat. In his hands was a Hua Yao mobile phone.
That was right. He was a member of “F**k The Party.” At the risk of being arrested by military personnel at the airport; at the risk of being sentenced by the court for leaking sensitive information; the group known as “F**k The Party” still existed. It was a triumphant success. Two good friends of his had been arrested and were sitting in jail for six months for illegally capturing military test activities. They had since withdrawn from the “F**k The Party”. Even so, he refused to give up! He did not want to miss the most exciting moment; the moment that would cause him to feel the proudest. He could not help but want to share that joy with hundreds of millions of people.
Even if he was arrested and went to jail for two years, leaving a stain on his life history, he was still willing. He would also get what he wanted by sharing the most explosive moment in his life. The post that he made had instantly gone viral on the “Military Base Camp” forum. Within moments, it made headlines on various online media outlets.
He used the 5x zoom and super wide-angle function of the camera on the Hua Yao mobile phone to clearly capture the pneumatic arrangement of the aircraft and a close-up of its back end. Lastly, he videographed how it took off with a ridiculously fast acceleration.
As an experienced military fan, he also realized just what kind of plane it was. He could infer what kind of engine it was using through the propulsion device consisting of a set of six holes at the rear of the aircraft. Hence, he gave the post a t.i.tle that was shockingly eye-catching: “The sixth generation of domestic fighter jets had their first flight today.”
And he was now waiting for the plane to land. If it landed successfully, he would post a second post: “The 6th-generation fighter made its first flight successfully”
He heard a strange roaring approaching. Yu Xiaoguang’s soul was shaken! It was coming. The plane was back! He quickly picked up the Hua Yao mobile phone in his hand and looked towards the source of the sound.
“Don’t move!”
“Raise your hands!”
Two voices bellowed from nearby. The back of his head was stopped by a hard foreign object; a gun. Yu Xiaoguang’s excitement was overwhelmed by an abject sense of failure and dejection… The soldiers responsible for patrolling the airport had found him. He had no choice but to raise his hands and stand up. However, his head was turned towards a particular direction in the sky where he had fixed his gaze. It was near. He could see a tiny black spot now. He subconsciously wanted to lift the phone in his hand. But there were two guns pointing at him.
One of the soldiers said cooly, “Come on, stand up and take your photos! The commander said so. We’ll kill you if you don’t take a clear shot of the plane!” The two soldiers put away their guns.
What?
Yu Xiaoguang was taken aback! He hurriedly lifted the phone in his hand!