Spark

“你觉得，华夏的南天门1号，真的能对目前的战争形态造成影响吗？”

In the corner office, Grady looked at the report in front of him and asked worriedly.

It really does.

The assistant answered without hesitation and then continued:

In fact, the way in which aerial platforms work and the chain of influence we have discussed a few years ago.

Essentially, this kind of thing is a twisted product born to adapt to the current international territory and airspace conventions.

At that time, there was a widely discussed concept called 'high-altitude sovereignty'. The basis of this discussion was based on a problem.

That is, if one day, human technology advances to the point where we can conduct frequent activities at an altitude of 100 kilometers in space, then will the current regulations on sovereignty of 100 kilometers of altitude need to be changed?

And if it's going to change, does the definition of sovereignty need to change at the same time?

Continuing to extend, can high-altitude sovereignty be effectively implemented? Are the rights granted to heights that are temporarily beyond the reach of human activities virtual and rootless? If a country first completes a technological breakthrough and first achieves high-altitude If they have frequent activities, can they trample on the current regulations on high-altitude sovereignty at will?

This question didn't have an answer for a long time, but there is now, without a doubt, an answer.

The smooth takeoff of Nantianmen 1 represents that China has taken the first step to challenge the high-altitude sovereignty system. Once they build a complete air-based and space-based laser anti-missile system, our legal high-altitude sovereignty will will cease to exist.”

I mean, de facto no longer exists.

No missiles can fly out of outer space, all aircraft are limited to an altitude of 20,000 meters, and even the most threatening nuclear weapons will have no use.

This platform's ultra-high flexibility, ultra-long cruising range, ultra-wide monitoring range, and ultra-strong offensive and defensive capabilities will form a strong suppression of traditional warfare models - yes, we originally thought Ao's warfare methods are already 'traditional' and even 'retro'.

Under such circumstances, do you still doubt whether it can change the shape of modern warfare?

After listening to the assistant's words, Grady sighed heavily.

If its impact was so significant, why didn't we try to stop it at the beginning of the project?

Prevent?

There was a trace of sarcasm that could not be concealed on the assistant's face, and then he continued to answer:

What can we do to stop it?

We actually did have discussions about it -- that was back in Bob's day.

At that time, we came to the conclusion that if we wanted to curb the development of this project, the only chance was to go into space.

But you have also seen the failure of the Artemis project. What's more serious is that Musk's death has plunged NASA into a serious crisis of trust. It can even be said to have completely killed our countermeasures.

And if you want to use destructive means.

The assistant said nothing more, but Grady already understood what he meant.

Yes, the Nantianmen project is no longer a project unique to China.

Russia, Europe, and even the Middle East have become involved and support the project unreservedly.

他们本身就是寄希望于这个项目能够对原有的军事秩序造成冲击，从而为他们赢得一个“洗牌”的机会，既然如此，谁又会站在美国这一边呢？

And since no one is on the side of the United States, we must use the power of one country to fight against the entire world.

Obviously, this would be an extremely stupid choice

So, we just have to watch it happen and there's nothing we can do about it, right?

That's right.

The assistant nodded slightly and continued:

What we should consider now is whether Cuba's offensive should continue.

If Cuba is plunged into a protracted war as planned, we will have to bear the risk of China deploying the Nantianmen air platform to North America in the future - war is their best excuse.

And if we want a quick victory, it is not in line with the original strategic goal.

So, it's time to make a decision

A heavy burden fell on Grady's shoulders, and for the first time he felt the pressure he needed to bear as the top decision-maker.

当然，他也不是没有做出过重大决策，但那时候的情况与现在截然不同。

In the past, the biggest contradiction in his decision-making was between gaining benefits or taking risks and gaining greater benefits, but now, the contradiction has directly become accepting losses or bearing smaller losses.

It seems that no matter what the final decision is, it cannot change the outcome of one's defeat.

We can only continue to gamble and continue to gamble to the end.

They may not necessarily dare to deploy Nantianmen 1 to North America.

Grady spoke.

This air platform has not yet truly formed a combat capability, and the combat methods you just described are unlikely to be realized in the short term.

Large-scale laser anti-missile system? Yes, we do already have laser weapons, but it will still take a long time before they can be truly used in combat applications.

This time may be two or three years. If it is shorter, it may be one year, but it will definitely not be lower.

“And one year is enough time for us to achieve our expected goals.”

Understood.

The assistant nodded slightly and did not refute again.

He didn't know if Grady was doing the right thing, and in fact, he didn't care anymore.

Because he knew that the United States now was like a carriage that was about to fall apart. The horse pulling the carriage had already died of exhaustion on the roadside. But whether it was luck or misfortune, the carriage had already reached the top of the mountain before that.

The inertia of speeding down gave the carriage the power to continue moving forward, but it was almost impossible to rush up the next hill.

The people on the carriage had no other choice. They could only discard the load on the carriage one by one, and use the most extreme way to fight for that glimmer of life.

In fact, no one knows where the balance between abandoning heavy objects and maintaining survival lies.

Only when the nobles on the bus began to feel hungry did they stop.

As for the coachman?

He is just a load-bearing type.

The assistant turned and walked out of Grady's office, conveying his intention to several waiting officials.

Of course, more detailed steps need to be discussed by themselves.

Chengdu, Northern Laser Research Institute outdoor test site.

The huge Fire Eye laser launcher stood in the center of the venue, surrounded by a circle of complex sensing and monitoring instruments. Chen Nian stood in front of the laser launcher, curiously looking at the circle of high-speed cameras and listening. Introduction by Fan Dianyuan.

.So for now, most of the problems we encountered in the early stage have been resolved.

Fast charging, adaptive focusing, durable components, and efficient heat dissipation. Basically, this laser launcher has reached the standard of weaponization. When combined with the current ultra-long-range fire control radar system, the effect should be immediate.

Under good weather conditions, the effective killing range of the laser can reach 1,500 kilometers, and it has the ability to damage satellites at medium altitudes.

Similarly, its conventional anti-missile coverage also reaches more than 800 kilometers.

With only two FireEye systems deployed on air platforms, we can achieve a complete blockade of island countries, and if this number becomes 10, we can block the entire American continent.

Of course, what we are talking about here is 'high-altitude blockade' and 'mid-section blockade'. To achieve complete suppression, we need to link up with space-based platforms in the future.

But even if it's just this, the effect is already amazing.

It's truly amazing.

Facing Fan Dianyuan's excited state, Chen Nian seemed a little absent-minded.

He did not continue the discussion according to the other party's words, but asked curiously:

So I'm a little confused, what are these high-speed cameras used for?

You're not going to tell me that you want to take a photo of the light path, are you?

of course not.

Fan Dianyuan laughed and replied:

Actually, this is used to monitor the quality of the beam - this is the simplest and crudest method I learned from Mao Zi.

Through uninterrupted shooting with high-speed cameras, we can capture all changes in the laser beam within seconds after it is generated, and conduct intuitive analysis of parameters such as brightness, fluctuations, twists and turns, so as to form an auxiliary judgment on the quality of the beam.

Of course, it's just to assist judgment.

Well, I thought there was something special about it.

Chen Nian shrugged and continued:

Actually, I have already seen the contents you just introduced to me from the report. There are basically no big problems.

What I am most concerned about now is, what are the results of the actual test?

So you have completed the first round of functional testing, but you have not done the pressure test, right?

That's right.

Fan Dianyuan nodded quickly and said with a little helplessness:

There's really no way around it - it's mainly an energy consumption issue.

The current Fire Eye system is directly connected to the power grid. If a voltage withstand test is to be carried out, its ultra-high power consumption may even directly destroy half of the district's power grid.

So, we have to wait for the backup line prepared by the Shenguang 4 project to be ready before we can conduct the high-frequency continuous firing test.

No need to bother.

Chen Nian waved his hand and then said:

Let's get things done once and for all.

The Fire Eye system needs to be tested, the energy system on Nantianmen 1 needs to be tested for supercriticality, and the platform itself also needs to be tested for flight and takeoff and landing.

Don't separate these things. Let Nantianmen 1 fly over, and you can just do parallel testing.

ah?

Fan Dianyuan looked at Chen Nian dumbfounded.

Let Nantianmen No. 1 fly over? ?

Can you still do this? ! ?

Chongqing, in a small rental house.

Luo Lei was lying on the bed, tapping the keyboard on his phone frantically, typing out a long string of text, but after looking at it a few times, he deleted it angrily.

At this moment, he hated himself so much that he had always been a good kid since he was a child and had not learned the curse skills that those bad students seemed to be born with.

He felt that maybe he should go and learn from the maid next door. After all, she had an amazing record of scolding the landlord for two hours at a stretch. It was perfect at this time.

The brainless idiot opposite will definitely be speechless. After all, with his logical ability, only vulgar insults on the same level as him can break his defense.

Thinking of this, Luo Lei sighed involuntarily.

In fact, to be honest, what he encountered was not a big deal. It was just a quarrel with someone over the content of a video.

Generally speaking, he is not sensitive to such disputes on the Internet. After all, the current Internet environment is like this. If you throw a pebble at the short video platform, someone will rush up and ask you why you code the eggs.

So whenever he sees scenes of passionate exchanges between the two parties in various videos, his attitude is basically to watch the fun.

But he never imagined that one day he would be unable to control himself.

——

But can you blame yourself?

No wonder, right?

I just commented on the video of Nantianmen No. 1 with a sentiment similar to I am also fortunate to participate in this project, but it actually attracted a crazy attack from a small group of people?

Doubts and insults came flooding in, almost completely covering up those comments that supported him.

In this situation, who can not be angry?

I'm not lying!

Although I am just an ordinary sheet metal worker, although my education is only a college degree, and although I am not involved in the core design and manufacturing like those engineers, I say that a certain part on Nantianmen 1 comes from There is nothing watery about this sentence, right?

Why don't they believe it? Why do they feel that they are not worthy?

The more Luo Lei thought about it, the angrier he became. He subconsciously picked up the phone again, but after putting his finger on the screen, he finally put it down.

He sighed, got up from the bed, then walked out of the room and walked up to the rooftop.

This is one of his favorite places - even in the mountain city of Chongqing, this is the commanding height within a few kilometers.

Whenever he felt tired and almost couldn't hold on anymore, he would come here, drink himself a bottle of beer, light a cigarette, and after a few minutes, all the stress would disappear.

Today's process was the same, but his mood never calmed down.

He suddenly felt a little unwilling - maybe he was indeed a small person, maybe his name did not fit in with the grand narrative of Nantianmen No. 1.

Luo Lei crushed the can in his hand and stubbed out the cigarette butts in his hand.

The sparks drifted away in the wind, and Luo Lei's eyes followed the sparks as they drifted away.

And at this moment, a strange object appeared in his sight.

It originally looked like an ordinary glowing office building on the horizon, but after just a few seconds, the office building actually broke away from the horizon.

——

It should be said that it flew beyond the horizon.

The dark shadow gradually approached, and the mountains were left far behind it. When it flew close enough, Luo Lei finally saw this behemoth clearly.

The light blue flames connected together and even illuminated the roof of the building where he was.

The roaring sound spread throughout the city, and the noisy night immediately became silent.

The moon hanging in the sky is covered, but it covers not only the moon, but the entire sky.

Luo Lei understood the legendary fear of giants.

But compared to fear, his heart was filled with an uncontrollable passion.

His heart was beating violently, and blood rushed to his forehead.

At this moment, the argument a few minutes ago suddenly lost its meaning.

Luo Lei felt that everything he did was worth it.