Spy Wars: Get the Predator equipment at the beginning

Early radar detection equipment did not have flat displays; instead, it used oscilloscopes, or cathode ray tubes, to display signals. Operators judged the distance and orientation of targets by observing the flashing spots or waveforms on the oscilloscope.

With the equipment at the Jiangzhou radar station, an oscilloscope can only measure the distance to the target. The number of targets and their azimuth cannot be determined by the oscilloscope. To determine the azimuth of the target, the direction of the antenna must be observed.

A major strode over, took a look, and said, "This should be a transport plane that took off from the airport in the western suburbs. There shouldn't be any problem!"

"No, there aren't just a few of these flashing lights, there are far too many! Several times more than the number they normally have for a takeoff!" the operator exclaimed.

The major thought for a moment, then turned to a lieutenant beside him and said, "Go outside and check the direction of the antenna!"

"Yes, sir!"

Not long after, the lieutenant came running up, panting, and reported: "Sir, something's wrong. The antenna is turning northwest!"

"What? Turning northwest?" the major exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes!"

"Come with me!" the major said, grabbing a pair of binoculars and running out, followed quickly by several operators.

Before long, the major and his men reached the mountaintop, panting heavily. He set up his binoculars and looked towards the western sky. He saw a dense array of large transport planes in the viewfinder, and these transport planes were heading in the northwest direction.

The major frowned, his expression changing. He roughly calculated the number of transport planes, which was about 80. After considering for a moment, he immediately turned and ran towards the radar station.

Back at the radar station, he immediately picked up the phone and reported to Air Force Command.

"Hello? Air Force Duty Room," a voice came from the phone.

The major immediately reported: "This is the radar station. We just detected about 80 large transport planes taking off from the West Suburbs Airport, and they are flying in the northwest direction. I suspect there is something wrong with their flight mission. They are probably transporting supplies to the northwest!"

"Received. Report to the commander immediately!"

Air Force Commander Zhou was quite shocked when he received the call. After a moment's thought, he immediately ordered a squadron of fighter jets to be scrambled from the East Suburbs Airport to intercept the enemy. He then called his superiors to report the situation.

He quickly received a reply: his superiors wanted to contact the person in charge as soon as possible, inquire about their intentions, ascertain the quantity and type of cargo on the transport plane, and try to persuade them to turn back.

Not long after Zhang Yunhe and his transport plane formation flew out of Jiangzhou's airspace, the radar indicator lights on the planes began to flash. Upon seeing this, Zhang Yunhe's eyes flickered, and he knew that Commander Zhou would definitely not be silent. Sure enough, they came.

"Boss, a squadron of fighter jets is coming from behind, they should be from the Nationalist government! Looks like we're in trouble," a pilot's voice came through the radio communication channel.

Zhang Yunhe turned his head and glanced at the rear of the flight formation. Sure enough, he saw more than a dozen fighter jets. These fighter jets were the ones he had sold to General Zhou at a discounted price.

He said into his headset, "I see it. Everyone, don't make any rash moves. I'll negotiate with them!"

Before long, the fighter squadron caught up and split into two groups on the left and right flanks of the transport plane formation.

The lead fighter jet caught up with the transport plane piloted by Zhang Yunhe and kept gesturing to him from a short distance away.

After turning his head and seeing this, Zhang Yunhe switched the communication channel to a public channel. Soon, he heard the other party's voice in his earpiece: "I am Liu Zhizhou, the squadron leader of the 8th Flight Squadron of the Air Force. Please identify yourself!"

Zhang Yunhe said, "I am Zhang Yunhe, the owner of Jiangzhou West Suburb Airport. Captain Liu, what brings you here?"

"So it's Mr. Zhang. I wonder where you're taking so many transport planes at once, and what kind of cargo they're carrying?"

Zhang Yunhe said, "Captain Liu, you're meddling too much. According to my agreement with air traffic control, my air transport team has the right of free passage, so I have no obligation to give you any explanation!"

There was silence on the radio channel for a full two minutes before sound came through again, and it was Commander Zhou's voice: "Brother Zhang, it's me, Old Zhou. Why are you flying the plane yourself today? Where are we going? The direction is wrong!"

"Commander Zhou, I was wondering why those fighter jets outside were sent by you, weren't they? What, are you trying to force us to retreat?" Zhang Yunhe asked.

Commander Zhou quickly replied, "No, no, absolutely not! But Brother Zhang, you know the current situation and relations are tense. The higher-ups don't want them to receive any aid!"

Zhang Yunhe immediately asked, "Commander Zhou, who told you I was going to sponsor them? Don't you know the value of what I have? Even if I wanted to sell it to them, they would have to be able to afford it. Besides, I'm not so rich that I would give away these valuable things to others for free. I'm not that generous!"

Commander Zhou was almost choked by Zhang Yunhe's words, but then he thought about it and Zhang Yunhe made a lot of sense. With the weapons, equipment, ammunition, and planes in Zhang Yunhe's hands, they were worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of US dollars. Would he really be willing to give away not a single penny?

After thinking for a moment, Commander Zhou asked, "So, what is the purpose of your trip?"

Zhang Yunhe lied without batting an eye: "We're going to the polar bears' territory to deliver a batch of winter clothing. The Russians are fighting in the west, and many people are freezing to death. We can make twice the profit selling a woolen coat over there. Do you think I wouldn't do this business?"

"It just so happens that after selling the coats this time, we can buy a batch of ore, furs, and machinery! Commander Zhou, my doing business with the Russians is none of your business, is it? Do you really want to interfere with this? If so, then we're afraid our future business will be in trouble!"

"Haha, Brother Zhang, you're overthinking it. The higher-ups and I were just worried that it wouldn't be safe for you to take off this afternoon to the north, so we sent a squadron of fighter jets to escort you along the way!" Commander Zhou said with a smile.

Zhang Yunhe sneered inwardly, then said, "I would be more than happy to have your fighter jets escorting me along the way. Since that's the case, then I will accept it without hesitation. Thank you, Commander Zhou, and please convey my gratitude to the higher-ups on my behalf!"

"Of course, of course. Then I wish you a safe journey, Brother Zhang!"

After ending the call, Zhang Yunhe secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then switched to the internal communication channel and shouted, "Attention all aircraft, maintain formation and speed, and continue advancing with me! If the fighters next to us want to follow, let them continue following; ignore them!"

"receive"

"receive"