newbobooks Chapter 1514 Return
Chapter 1514 Return
During the cold winter in the north, dusk always comes especially early.
At 4:30 p.m., six J-15 carrier-based aircraft landed one after another on the runway of Xingcheng Naval Aviation Base in Liaoning Province in the afterglow of the setting sun.
The moment the roar of the last plane's engine completely subsided, the entire base erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
On the tarmac, a welcoming team consisting of ground crew, naval officers and soldiers, and scientific researchers had been waiting for a long time. At this moment, they rushed towards the six fighter jets lined up in a row like a tide, waving the national flag and naval flag in their hands, with irrepressible excitement and pride on their faces.
"Success! We really succeeded!"
Someone in the crowd shouted, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
The pilot of No. 01, the unit commander Dai Mingmeng, was the first to push open the canopy. When he took off his flight helmet, one could see that the sweat on his temples had soaked his short hair, which was sparkling in the dim sunlight.
Obviously, as the front-line commander of the entire mission and the first pilot to land and take off, he endured unimaginable pressure on that day.
But at this moment, those eyes were shining with an unprecedented light.
Dai Mingmeng took a deep breath, calmed his violently beating heart, and then climbed down the gangway with swift movements.
The entire army, and even the entire Chinese Navy, have been preparing for this day for nearly three years. He himself has imagined countless times what the day of completing the mission will be like.
But when you are really there, it still feels unreal.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I even felt dizzy for a moment, which was unprecedented.
Chief of Staff Wang Wei, who had just left the No. 2 plane next to him, walked over quickly, also covered in sweat but in high spirits, and obviously wanted to celebrate together.
But a surging crowd had already rushed towards them, and a series of flashing lights made it impossible to open their eyes.
If there were no leaders present, several pilots would have to be thrown into the air.
"Captain, we have seen the video, the landing was perfect!"
Dai Mingmeng took the bouquet that was almost stuffed into his face and nodded blankly.
In this situation, he could no longer tell where the sound came from. He just raised the corners of his mouth unconsciously, and his voice was a little hoarse:
"Yeah, we did."
The continuous high-intensity flight made Dai Mingmeng's throat dry, but at this moment, it didn't matter anymore.
He had countless things he wanted to say to his comrades.
Not far away, Wang Wei also had a bouquet of flowers stuffed into his hands.
Fortunately, his publicity priority was relatively low, so he did not receive too much attention.
When his vision gradually recovered, the crowd in front of him made way for him.
Soon, an old man in military uniform appeared in front of him.
Unlike everyone else, the uniform he was wearing was still the old-style Type 87 dress uniform. The white top stood out against the sea of dark blue and navy blue surrounding him.
Wang Wei's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise——
The other party was none other than the old leader who led the team to carry out the embankment construction operation that year, and also his mentor, Tang Yiping.
In fact, when Tang Yiping was commanding that mission, he had already reached the maximum grounding age for fighter pilots.
After his triumphant return, he was successfully promoted and continued to work in his new position for seven years.
It’s just that China’s aviation power is developing too rapidly, and the requirements for mastering new knowledge and concepts are becoming increasingly stringent.
Most of the older generation commanders find it difficult to keep up with this pace.
Tang Yiping is no exception.
Therefore, in 2007, he rejected the suggestion to transfer himself to a sinecure and chose to retire.
"Teacher?" Wang Wei rushed towards the crowd in two steps and held the other person's arm tightly. "When I was returning just now, I was thinking that I would tell you this news as soon as I got back!"
Tang Yiping pulled out a hand, patted his shoulder hard, and replied:
"Actually, I was picked up last night, but I didn't tell you in advance because I was worried that it would affect your mentality today."
Wang Wei was stunned at first, then his face was filled with shock:
"Then except you..."
"There are several other comrades who are with me..."
In fact, before Tang Yiping said this, Wang Wei had already noticed——
Next to the No. 07 aircraft, which was several stands away, a female major in the blue uniform of the Air Force was hugging the young Zheng Hui tightly...
……
At this touching moment, the crowd suddenly fell silent.
A senior military officer in navy uniform, with a serious face but unable to hide his joy, got out of the car and strode to the center of the tarmac.
Several adjutants behind him jogged all the way and finally caught up with their leader's pace.
Only then did everyone notice that a temporary podium had been set up there at some point.
At the same time, they quickly recognized that the person coming was Director Zhang Yiyong, who was in charge of the Liaosheng ship's test and sea trials.
"Director Zhang!"
Dai Mingmeng immediately adjusted his mood and led the other five people to stand at attention and salute.
Zhang Yiyong took a few steps forward and stood still. After returning the greeting, he glanced at the six pilots one by one:
"Comrades, thank you for your hard work!"
"Serve the people!"
The six pilots responded in unison according to the standard.
Zhang Yiyong nodded and turned to Dai Mingmeng:
"Captain, please give a brief report on the mission execution."
As the person in charge of the operation, he had of course already received all the technical details of the test sent from the Liao Province.
But at such an iconic moment, the necessary process must be followed.
Dai Mingmeng took a deep breath and reported in a clear and powerful voice:
"Report to the commander. From 11:28 to 16:47 today, our six J-15 carrier-based aircraft completed the landing and take-off test on the Liaosheng aircraft carrier as planned. All participating aircraft completed the touch-and-go and successful landing in one go. After landing, they completed the shipboard preparation and took off again, returning to the base safely..."
"..."
"During the mission, all systems of the carrier-based aircraft worked normally, the carrier landing assistance system performed beyond expectations, the pilots were in good condition, and there were no abnormalities. Report completed!"
After listening to this, the serious expression Zhang Yiyong had deliberately maintained on his face finally relaxed completely.
He was the first to applaud, and then the entire tarmac burst into warm applause and cheers again.
"Comrades!" Zhang Yiyong's voice was loud and powerful, "I officially declare that the Chinese Navy's first carrier-based aircraft take-off and landing test was a complete success!"
At this moment, more camera flashes lit up, freezing this historic moment.
Everyone present understood that from today on, the Chinese Navy had officially entered the aircraft carrier era.