Reborn in Hong Kong: The Tycoon Grows Up

While the ship was still sailing at sea, the U.S. military base in Japan ushered in the annual military exercise. It is clear at a glance who it is targeted at; the whole world knows it.

In order to show their force, the Americans have taken great pains; not to mention that they have used all their wealth, but it is almost the same; in addition to nuclear weapons, many advanced weapons and equipment have been unveiled. Unlike the Soviet Union, which relied on military parades to demonstrate its strength, the Americans' so-called military parade is more like a big party and more entertainment-oriented. Of course, the Soviet Union will either not engage in it, or it will do so in a big way; the residual power of the Western-81 military exercise is still affecting European countries to this day.

In order to enhance the confidence of its allies and deter the Soviet Union, it is normal for the United States to rely on exercises to demonstrate its strength. After all, there is no war at the moment. Even if you want to stir up trouble, you have to find a suitable reason.

Aub-Maisli and others were thinking of taking advantage of this military exercise to flatten the inventory of weapons and equipment. When the warehouse is in ruins, even if you want to check it, you can't do it.

There is no other choice at this time, the money has already been received; all the goods have been shipped, and there is only one way to go.

In June 1945, when the war against Japan was not yet over, the U.S. Army Air Forces instructed the Air Equipment Command to conduct preliminary research on a new generation of post-war bombers. The island battle with the Japanese army for the B-29's forward base was extremely cruel and bloody. After the war, long-range strategic bombers must first get rid of their high dependence on forward bases or transition bases. If the development of the B-36 was motivated by transatlantic strategic bombing considerations, then the experience and lessons learned in the Pacific battlefield have undoubtedly further strengthened the US military's desire for intercontinental range.

The US military later put forward a series of specific performance requirements, including a combat radius of 5,000 miles, an altitude of 34,000 feet, a speed of 300 miles per hour, and a bomb load of 10,000 pounds. The cockpit has a total of 5 crew members and can be expanded to 6 people if possible. Designated as a second-generation intercontinental bomber, it was used to replace the B-36, which had not even made its maiden flight at this time.

It is obvious that the design concept is completely different from that of the B-36. The latter's combat radius exceeds the range of all escort fighters and uses more remote-controlled turrets to form a 360-degree spherical fire net. The former mainly relies on its own flight performance to escape enemy aircraft interception, and reduces self-defense weapons and operators as much as possible to improve indicators.

It is against this background that the famous Stratofortress B-52 strategic bomber fighter came into being.

The B-52 bomber was developed by the American Boeing Company; the design plan was proposed in 1948. The first prototype flew for the first time in 1952. The first batch of production models began to be delivered in 1955. The B-52A, B, C, and D were developed successively. , E, F, G, H and other 8 types. Production stopped in 1962, with a total of 744 produced. It is the main strategic bombing force of the U.S. Air Force. Later, the U.S. Air Force reserved the B-52 for service until 2050, making the service life as high as 90 years. Of course; one of the reasons why the US military is willing to keep the aircraft in service is that the B-52 strategic bomber can launch cruise missiles.

Although it has been in service for more than 30 years, it has undergone a series of modern modifications; the B-52 is definitely one of the most advanced strategic bombers in the world, and most importantly, it has a very high cost-effectiveness.

The price itself is not very expensive, of course compared to other strategic bombers. And the logistics and maintenance costs are very low, only one-third of that of the Black Cloud HH-01 Phantom strategic bomber; it is definitely the best choice for carpet bombing after gaining control of the air.

As a representative of outstanding American pilots, Major Li Mei drove the latest improved B-52 strategic bomber to the US military base in Japan. Such a large-scale murder weapon is too sensitive, and its normal deployment in Asia is likely to be opposed by neighboring countries and cause international conflicts.

They come here when they are in use, and fly back to the United States immediately after the mission is over.

For bomber aircraft that have been in service for more than 30 years, the logistics and maintenance system is already very mature; maintenance personnel do not need to be deployed from the United States. There is a professional maintenance team inside the base. In fact, this is not only true for bases in Japan, but also for bombers like the B-52; any U.S. air force base in the world can perform maintenance. This is the strength, and of course it has a lot to do with investment regardless of cost.

The exercise is mainly to test how the US military bases in Japan will launch a counterattack once they are attacked by the enemy.

Everything is proceeding step by step. First, fighter jets are dispatched; all fighter jets in the US military bases in Japan are shot down to gain control of the air. Then B-52 strategic bombers were dispatched to carry out carpet bombing of the base. Of course, the exercise cannot be a real explosion, and the missiles will be dropped into the nearby sea area; the surrounding area has been cleared.

Major Li Mei said to his deputy: "It's finally our turn to take the field; let these guys who do nothing serious in Japan every day take a good look at the gap."

As the US Air Force Strategic Reserve, it has its own pride. They can bomb any area in the world within 24 hours; only the United States can do this in the world, and the Soviet Union is much worse.

The usual training is quite strict, and scandals often break out among American soldiers stationed in Japan; but they would not dare to do so in the United States. Major Li Mei, who always considered himself an aristocrat in the military, certainly looked down on the Japanese garrison.

After receiving the order, it immediately flew towards the combat area; after receiving the notification from the early warning aircraft, it began to launch missiles.

Affected by the war between Fucairah and Oman, countries around the world are developing high-precision weapons; Americans have a profound foundation and technical reserves in this area, and combined with satellite guidance in the sky, they have already reached the forefront of the world.

Launch all the missiles without hesitation. The coordinate parameters have been set before; then just leave it to the satellite in the sky.

They need to evacuate quickly to prevent the enemy from retaliating. Although it is an exercise, everything must be closer to actual combat. If there is a war, the enemy will not give you any chance, so you have done a good job.

The original protection level of the arms warehouse can withstand even a small nuclear bomb attack. But Orb Maxley had been prepared long ago and opened the warehouse door in advance; it seemed that there was no flaw, and someone was checking the ammunition reserve.

Eight high-precision missiles flew straight to the military warehouse without giving the soldiers a chance to react.

Fortunately, there were very few people at this time, otherwise I would not be able to live with my conscience. Although all the weapons and equipment in the warehouse have been shipped out, a large amount of high explosives are placed inside, mainly because they are worried that the missiles are not powerful enough.

It has also been camouflaged to a certain extent, and previously used bullets and shell casings, as well as other equipment, are stored in the warehouse.

In just a split second, a small mushroom cloud rose from the U.S. military base in Japan. Nearby residents could even feel minor earthquakes; of course, this is not very strange to the Japanese.

The explosion sounded, making people feel that it was not an earthquake; it was more like an explosion somewhere.

Orb Maxry was so frightened that he was really worried that too many people would be killed and his conscience would be condemned.

Lieutenant General Dunlop, commander of the base, saw the flames soaring into the sky and immediately felt bad. As a veteran who participated in World War II, I have never seen any big scenes, but when I saw the base warehouse being bombed, my eyes darkened and I almost fainted.

On the one hand, getting older and getting worse in health, but the most important thing is knowing that your official career is coming to an end; you may have to go to a military court.

At this time, a lieutenant officer ran to the headquarters and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander, the 8 missiles launched by the B-52 strategic bomber aircraft of the exercise unit all hit the military warehouse. The warehouse has been blown into ruins and all buildings have been destroyed. "

When he heard that it was the exercise troops, Lieutenant General Dunlop was very angry and roared: "Are those people in the Air Force crazy? They bombed their own military warehouse. I must report it to the Ministry of National Defense."

But he also knew that now was not the time to hold people responsible; he quickly asked: "The casualties."

Americans value the lives of soldiers more than buildings and equipment. Buildings can be rebuilt; equipment can also be allocated domestically, and arms dealers will thank you. But once there are heavy casualties, it is difficult to explain to the people. Especially when he was accidentally bombed during a drill and was killed by his own people, there was no way to explain it.

During World War II, he fought for his country and saved the world from fire and water; even if his son died, the people would not say much. But an ordinary military exercise is somewhat unjustifiable.

The lieutenant officer immediately replied: "There are only two officers in the warehouse. It seems that the situation is very serious."

Everyone at the scene was relieved to hear that there were only two people; this was definitely a blessing in misfortune. Thanks to the fact that the U.S. military usually relies on vehicles and machinery for transportation and handling, logistics staffing is reduced as much as possible.

In a military warehouse of this size, even if 1,000 people enter, they may not be able to see anyone.

In fact, those two unlucky guys have always disliked Orb Maxley. I feel that Colonel Maxley is not worthy of being a soldier at all. He is a speculator and more like a businessman. However, he speaks softly and manages things well from top to bottom. When he discovers a situation, even if he responds to his superiors, no one will pay attention to him. This invisibly adds trouble to himself.

The two of them had felt something was wrong before. During their vacation, the frequency of vehicles coming in and out was more than ten times normal. If they said there was nothing fishy here, no one would believe it.

Entering the warehouse, I discovered the conspiracy; but before I could urgently report it, it had already turned into a gas. The best way to describe it is that there are no bones left; even if you want to build a cemetery, it is estimated that you can make a cenotaph at most.

For such a serious mistake, the exercise was immediately stopped; the cause of the accident must be investigated clearly to avoid similar incidents from happening again.

Major Li Mei also felt incredible after receiving the news. Could it be that a problem occurred during the missile data transmission process? Otherwise, why would it go straight to the military base? If it were an actual combat, it would definitely be considered a classic bombing; but now it is a drill, and all losses must be borne by American taxpayers.

Fortunately, only the warehouse was bombed and the damage was not particularly large. The degree of danger was known during construction; the other buildings were still some distance away from the warehouse and were not affected in any way.

It is no longer possible to return directly to the United States, and we can only wait until the investigation is clear; for this reason, Major Li Mei is also very depressed.

After the B-52 landed, the crew members were directly controlled; even if Major Li Mei had a strong relationship, he would not dare to make mistakes. It's just a routine inquiry, and as a soldier, you must cooperate.

Weapons experts began to inspect the aircraft and must find the cause of the accident. Such a serious problem occurred during the first test of a new type of missile; this was just an exercise, and if a war really broke out, it wouldn't be possible to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy.

As the most important strategic bomber in the United States, it has been well maintained. In addition, you are in your prime at this time, so there is no problem of aging of the body.

Then we have to look for the answer from weapons, and Lockheed needs to cooperate.

It is undoubtedly a troublesome thing. The aircraft is produced by Boeing; but the missiles are produced by Lockheed. The two companies are not said to be at war with each other, but their relationship is not that harmonious.

There is no doubt that U.S. military spending is high. But there is also a high amount. If Lockheed gets more orders, Boeing will naturally decrease accordingly.

In addition, the weapons and equipment of the Soviet Union, France, and the Black Cloud Group are not bad at all; international market orders are gradually shrinking, and they all attach great importance to internal procurement of the US military.

This was the first time the two companies cooperated, and such a serious accident occurred; they were really at odds with each other.

For a military exercise of this scale, technical personnel from major arms dealers would naturally participate in the entire process. Record detailed data as a reference for future improvements and enhancements.

After the Boeing technical representative completed the inspection of the aircraft, he said directly: "There is no problem with the aircraft and all data is normal. The bombing of the military base must be caused by the missile, or there may be a design defect."

It was not just the Lockheed technicians who heard the Boeing representative's blame-shifting behavior; other people at the scene did not really agree with it either. How long are you still slandering your opponents? Is Boeing’s situation so big?

From the expressions of everyone at the scene, we knew that Boeing was not recognized; there was no need to add insult to injury.

A Lockheed technical representative said: "There is no problem with the missile. It can explode after successful launch; and its power is huge, which shows its superior performance."

"The accidental bombing occurred because the accuracy was too high. They were all connected through data links, so the missile received instructions to bomb military warehouses; the satellite naturally defaulted to the military base as the target and guided it to it."

"This is why such a serious accident occurred and caused irreparable losses."

They are all professionals, and they can still understand more or less what is going on. The missiles were ordered to hit military warehouses, as were the satellites. Even if the coordinate parameters have been set before, it defaults to an input error by the maintenance staff. So the computer began to carry out precise strikes based on what it thought was the correct location.

Seeing that everyone was still confused, Lockheed's technical representative continued: "The satellites and missiles in the sky are all produced by Lockheed, and this bomber is produced by Boeing; the systems of both parties are not perfectly compatible. In addition, The programs written by Lockheed have certain self-recognition capabilities; that is, the so-called artificial intelligence, of course, is only in its infancy."

This explanation makes sense to everyone. Computers are developing at a rapid pace, and artificial intelligence is nothing new; if there is a system conflict, it is normal for an accidental explosion to occur.

But from the perspective of traditional military officers, they really cannot rely too much on high-precision weapons; this thing is a double-edged sword, and if it is not done well, it will backfire on themselves.