Eagle Sauce: The 055 destroyer was launched into the sea just after the founding of the country?

Fang Yu stood in the laboratory of the missile research and development center, his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on the technical drawings in front of him.

Three months of engine development left him exhausted, but he knew there was no time to rest.

The emergence of the F-15 disrupted his plans, and the J-20 needs a matching weapon system to be truly effective.

"The maximum range of our current air-to-air missiles is only 30 kilometers,"

Fang Yu explained to the team, running his finger across the drawing.

"This is totally inconsistent with the combat concept of fourth-generation aircraft."

"Fourth-generation aircraft need 'beyond visual range' combat capabilities, that is, we can shoot down the enemy even when they can't see us."

Chief radar expert Zhang Gong frowned.

"Beyond visual range strike... In other words, the range of this missile must be at least 70 kilometers..."

"But to achieve a range of more than 70 kilometers, the first challenge we face is the guidance system."

"Our existing infrared homing technology simply cannot meet the requirements for such long-range precision guidance."

Fang Yu nodded, turned and walked to the blackboard in the laboratory, picked up the chalk and began to draw a complex radar system diagram.

"I see. So, we need a semi-active radar guidance system."

"The system consists of two parts: an illuminating radar on the aircraft and a receiving antenna on the missile."

"The principle is that the aircraft's radar illuminates the target, and the missile receives the reflected signal and tracks it."

Fang Yu's chalk moved quickly across the blackboard.

"But the problem is that our existing radar antenna technology and signal processing capabilities are far from sufficient."

Materials expert Professor Li shook his head.

"Not to mention that a 70km range means the missile would be much larger, requiring stronger propellants and lighter airframe materials."

“This is almost the limit of existing technology.”

Fang Yu put down the chalk, a glint of determination flashed in his eyes: "Then let's break through this limit."

In the following week, Fang Yu led the team to divide into three groups to tackle three core technical difficulties.

Radar guidance system, lightweight high-strength materials and high-energy solid propellants.

The first obstacle the radar guidance team encountered was the size limitation of the receiving antenna.

Traditional antennas must be large in size to achieve sufficient sensitivity, but the space in missile warheads is limited.

"We need a completely new antenna design,"

Fang Yu opened his notebook and drew a special microstrip array antenna.

"This design can significantly reduce the size while ensuring signal reception quality."

The radar engineers were skeptical about this unprecedented design, but with Fang Yu's insistence, they made a prototype.

Preliminary test results are astonishing - this new antenna is 30% more sensitive than traditional designs, while being only a quarter of the size.

At the same time, the materials team also faces huge challenges.

A range of 70 kilometers requires a larger warhead and more fuel, but the total weight cannot exceed the fighter's carrying capacity.

“Conventional steel and aluminum structures are too heavy,”

Fang Yu pointed to a sample of material that glowed silver.

“We need to use titanium alloys and carbon fiber composites.”

Professor Li shook his head: "Our carbon fiber technology is not yet mature. We don't even have a large-scale production line in China."

"Then build it yourself," Fang Yu said firmly, "and I have an improved resin formula that can improve the high-temperature resistance of carbon fiber."

Under Fang Yu's guidance, the materials team mastered the basic manufacturing process of carbon fiber composite materials in just two weeks and successfully manufactured a lightweight body for the missile.

Compared with traditional structures, the weight is reduced by 40% while the strength is increased by 25%.

The challenges for the propellant group are even more severe.

The specific impulse (thrust produced per unit of propellant) of conventional rocket propellants is too low to meet the needs of long-range missiles.

"We need a high-energy solid propellant,"

Fang Yu explained to the chemists.

“The key lies in adding high-energy metal powders, such as aluminum or magnesium, and improving the formulation of the oxidizer.”

A young chemical engineer questioned.

“But the metal powder will increase the visibility of the exhaust, making the missile easily visible to enemy aircraft after launch.”

Fang Yu nodded.

"This problem can be solved by adding special smoke suppressants."

“We can add a chlorine-containing polymer that reacts with the metal oxides and reduces the visible smoke footprint.”

After more than thirty formulation adjustments and small-scale tests, the team finally developed a propellant with excellent performance.

The specific impulse is nearly 25% higher than that of traditional propellants, while the smoke visibility is reduced by 60%.

Three months later, the missile's components began to be assembled.

Fang Yu personally supervised every step to ensure accuracy and quality. When the first prototype missile was finally assembled, its appearance surprised everyone - the streamlined body, sharp nose cone, and four small rear fins were elegant and lethal.

"We call it PL-10,"

Fang Yu stood next to the missile, gently stroking the silver body.

"The theoretical range is 75 kilometers, and it can carry out precision strikes on enemy aircraft under beyond-visual-range conditions."

However, there is often a huge gap between theory and practice.

The first test launch was scheduled for the next morning, and the entire team was so nervous that they couldn't sleep.

The test site is located in the northwest Gobi Desert, desolate and silent.

At daybreak, a modified bomber was ready, with the PL-10 mounted securely under its wing. The target was an unmanned drone, 70 kilometers from the launch point.

“Prepare for launch!”

The pilot's calm voice came from the communicator.

Fang Yu stood in the command vehicle, his hands unconsciously clenched, his eyes fixed on the radar screen.

This moment embodies the three months of hard work of him and his team.

"Target locked, fire!"

With an order, the PL-10 detached from the rack, and the white tail flame drew a long arc in the morning light.

The missile accelerated rapidly, soon broke through the sound barrier, and flew towards the target 70 kilometers away.

On the radar screen inside the command vehicle, the signal of the PL-12 missile moved forward steadily, reaching a speed of Mach 3.2, all the way through the high altitude in the morning light.

Fang Yu stared at the red dot representing the target drone and the approaching green dot on the screen, his fingers clenching unconsciously.

The two minutes after the missile launch seemed to be infinitely stretched.

"The target is thirty kilometers away... twenty kilometers away..."

The radar operator's voice was steady and tense. The entire command vehicle was silent, with only the slight hum of electronic equipment.

Suddenly, a dazzling orange-red light appeared in the distant sky, followed by a rapidly expanding cloud of smoke, which was particularly eye-catching in the blue morning sky.

A few seconds later, the muffled sound of the explosion reached the command vehicle.

"Direct hit!" An excited report from the observation station came over the communicator. "The target was completely destroyed! The center of the target aircraft was hit precisely!"

A thunderous cheer suddenly erupted in the command vehicle.

The engineers jumped up and hugged each other, some pounded the operating table excitedly, and some had tears in their eyes.

Three months of working day and night, and countless failed attempts, finally paid off at this moment.

“It worked! It really worked!”

Missile chief designer Li Gong's voice trembled with excitement, and he grabbed Fang Yu's arm.

"Team Leader Fang, you are amazing! This is a huge step forward in the history of Dragon Aviation!"

Fang Yu couldn't hide his excitement, but he quickly calmed down and began to check the technical data. The radar operator reported.

"The tracking was stable throughout the entire process, with no signal loss."

"The maximum speed is 3.4 Mach, and the terminal guidance accuracy is less than 0.5 meters!"

"The missile flew for 1 minute and 47 seconds, with a range of 71.3 kilometers, which far exceeded our expectations!"

The data analyst said excitedly.

Fang Yu picked up the microphone and announced to all the people involved in the project.

"Comrades, the first test of the PL-12 medium-range air-to-air missile was a complete success!"

“Thank you all for your hard work and dedication over the past three months!”

"Today's success marks the official entry of the Longguo Air Force into the era of beyond-visual-range combat..."