Chapter 1051: Dealing with Aircraft Carriers, Simply Discovering Them Is Not Enough

As a technician in the aerospace field, Li Lianheng did not have a deep understanding of the navy.

At most, it can only be regarded as hearing some general information.

For example, the U.S. Navy has a total of 12 aircraft carriers.

a lot of.

In terms of quantity, it occupies more than half of the world.

Not to mention the tonnage.

But to be honest, just a number does not bring a strong intuitive feeling.

But now.

Seven of them were concentrated in two sea areas.

Especially the three ships in the Eastern Mediterranean were photographed simultaneously by Ocean One during the formation.

As for the surrounding "small boats" such as cruisers and destroyers, although they cannot be clearly seen due to the resolution, the wakes left after sailing are still vaguely discernible.

He counted briefly.

All together, there are at least 20 ships.

Even looking at it from a satellite perspective made Li Lianheng feel a little numb.

And after calming down a little, the first thought that popped out of his mind was——

"Are the Americans trying to cause trouble in the Balkans again?"

Li Lianheng subconsciously exclaimed.

This judgment is quite logical for non-professionals.

After all, it was only three years ago that the US military suffered its first major loss in the post-Cold War era in the Balkans.

Not only did the purpose of the Allied operation fail to be achieved, the stealth aircraft relied on for deterrence were also defeated twice in a row.

The second time, even the pilot was arrested.

Black Hawk Down in Mogadishu was nothing in comparison.

Now, it seems to be a very reasonable speculation that the US military, which has regained its confidence through the Aiwuhan War, wants to regain its position.

However, He Mingkun obviously does not agree with this judgment:

"But there are four more ships in the Indian Ocean?"

Li Lianheng hesitated for a moment:

"The positions of the four ships are actually very far apart...one is in the north, two are in the east, and one has just entered the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean..."

Although an explanation was given, the tone was obviously not as firm as before.

But He Mingkun felt a little persuaded...

In short, the two of them remained speechless, each lost in thought.

Fortunately, within a few minutes, an officer in navy uniform strode in.

He even forgot to knock on the door.

"Mr. Li, Director He."

He took off his military cap and tucked it under his arm, and said hello to the two of them:

"I just received a report that Haiyang 1 captured multiple targets that were suspected to be aircraft carriers at the same time?"

The person who came here was Meng Dongchao, a liaison representative stationed at the National Remote Sensing Center by the Naval Staff.

After all, Haiyang One still wears a civilian guise, and the focus is still on data accumulation and technical testing, so the Navy finally decided not to be responsible for the operation personally, and only sent a liaison office to be stationed here to be responsible for regularly summarizing and reporting the remote sensing situation. .

"That's right, this is a satellite picture, please take a look at it, Staff Meng."

Li Lianheng raised his head and handed several reports to the other party:

"After excluding duplicate signals, based on different positions and headings, we should be able to identify seven ships, three in the Mediterranean and four in the Indian Ocean."

“As for the rest… let’s leave it to your professionals to judge!”

Originally, Li Lianheng thought that today's affairs should be over here.

According to the usual practice, the report is submitted to the Naval Staff Department, analyzed, and finally fed back. This process takes about one day -

After all, it is mainly about research, and there is no need to pursue timeliness.

And in fact, most of the photos in the current report were taken 18-24 hours ago.

In this case, whether the reaction speed on the ground is faster or slower, it will not have much impact.

No way, just a single satellite.

There is no way to ask for more.

As a result, as soon as Li Lianheng finished speaking, Meng Dongchao's eyes suddenly flashed with light.

"Seven ships?"

The latter quickly took the report and read through it one by one quickly.

Then, it seemed to become more exciting...

"Seven ships...we were really left to find them!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked the report, making a crisp "pop--" sound.

The other party's reaction surprised Li Lianheng and Meng Dongchao.

Rather than shocked, it's more like...

The speculations that had been made before have finally been verified.

"Commander Meng, did you... already know that the Americans had dispatched these aircraft carriers?"

Li Lianheng asked in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Meng Dongchao put down the materials in his hands, but he couldn't suppress the raised corners of his mouth:

"It's not that early."

He explained:

"At the end of last month, superior units reported here that US military combat ships were gathering in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean areas. Let us pay attention to the recent remote sensing results of Haiyang-1... But I am worried about the space port. Being gay brings unnecessary pressure, so I never said anything.”

"Unexpectedly, less than a week later, the results have already come out..."

"..."

At this time, Li Lianheng's curiosity was also aroused.

He thought about it and felt that the matter had nothing to do with our army anyway, so it was probably nothing particularly sensitive:

So, he expressed his speculation just now:

"The Americans won't want to cause trouble in the Balkans again, right?"

Unexpectedly, Meng Dongchao was immediately stunned:

"Balkans?"

Then he suddenly realized it and replied with a smile:

"Although the Eastern Mediterranean is indeed very lively, it has nothing to do with the Balkans."

"The Americans' target this time is still the Middle East..."

As he spoke, he looked around, then stood up and strode to the map hanging on the wall:

"You see, attacks are launched from the sea in two directions: west and south. Although the northeast is inland, the US military has two air force bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This means that it will be attacked from three sides, plus the ground troops on standby. The situation is even clearer than before Desert Storm..."

When Meng Dongchao mentioned "Desert Storm", even those who were slow to react should know what it meant.

"But... wasn't it already fought again in 1991?"

Li Lianheng's tone was full of confusion:

"Why do you have to fight again?"

He just thought about the Balkans, and he did have a certain mindset:

"Moreover, the United Nations has not approved it..."

At this point, Li Lianheng's voice stopped abruptly.

The lack of approval by the United Nations does not seem to be a big deal to Americans.

Or rather, there are very few cases where approval is obtained like Aiwuhan's...

"What about this... don't talk about me, even my superiors haven't figured it out."

Meng Dongchao shook his head helplessly:

"Even several NATO countries, including France, clearly expressed their opposition last month, but the Americans still have not slowed down their preparations for war."

"In the images captured by Ocean 1, the three ships in the Mediterranean are the Roosevelt, Washington, and Truman, the three ships in the northern Indian Ocean are the Kitty Hawk, the Constellation, and the Lincoln. The last one that just entered the Indian Ocean should be It’s the Nimitz…”

With this familiar look, Li Lianheng suddenly felt a little frustrated:

"So...even if there was no Ocean One, you would already know the movements of these seven aircraft carriers?"

And Meng Dongchao quickly heard the disappointment in his tone.

"For such a conspicuous thing as an aircraft carrier, even if the mission itself can be kept secret, there are often thousands of people on board, and they always gather around the port before going to sea. The general movements cannot be hidden from anyone."

"But once they leave the port, if there is no timely information provided by satellites, we may have to wait for another half a month...or even longer to know exactly where they have arrived and in which sea area they are operating."

"Imagine, if their target this time is not the northern Indian Ocean, but the western Pacific, then the time bought for us will be very precious..."

After some consolation, Meng Dongchao, who was still excited, looked over the satellite images in his hand twice more, then stood up and prepared to leave——

As a liaison representative, he certainly didn't just hand these things over to his superiors as they were.

A complete report containing situation analysis and forecasts is also produced.

As a result, he was stopped by Li Lianheng

"Wait a minute...there's some more here."

The latter gestured to the information box on the table:

"Although these are judged to be duplicates, we may be able to analyze some useful things. You can take them back with you..."

"..."

Li Lianheng stared at Meng Dongchao's hurriedly leaving figure, and fell into deep thought for a long time.

Until he was awakened by He Mingkun's voice.

"Mr. Li, do you think... there are still problems with the satellite remote sensing report just now?"

"Oh, that's not true."

Li Lianheng waved his hand:

"I was just thinking about the last words that Staff Officer Meng just said."

"If the target of these seven aircraft carriers is us, then even if we discover the other party's intentions in advance, what kind of response can we make..."

He Mingkun obviously didn't expect the answer to be like this, but he had to deal with the topic he caused, so he could only guess at random:

"This... I'm afraid we can only deploy defenses in key directions in advance, just like in previous years?"

"That's still too passive after all..."

Li Lianheng had some vague thoughts in his mind, but he was an amateur after all, and in the end he failed to grasp the key point, so he sighed and decided not to dwell on it any more:

"Forget it... let the people who specialize in weapons deal with the headache..."