Chapter 442

Chapter 442: "Bamboo Dragonfly"

In the icy, snow-covered Siberia lies the vast permafrost that has never thawed for millions of years. Beneath the snow, only sparse moss and lichen manage to grow, making life here exceptionally challenging.

Under the warm sunlight, a gigantic shadow swiftly crosses the snow-blanketed wasteland filled with moss, lichen, and gravel. The rushing air swells like a tide, stirring those lowly plants and countless small stones, throwing them in all directions.

The roar of four turbojet engines shatters the long-standing tranquility of this land, occasionally startling a herd of reindeer, which then madly sprint away, racing even against this shadow.

The massive craft, with a wingspan of nearly thirty meters, hovers just ten meters above the ground. Four engines unleash powerful gusts of air, utilizing ground effect to generate highly efficient lift, allowing it to fly swiftly across the flat terrain with an unusual sense of lightness.

The earth reveals a heart more generous than the sky, abundantly providing even greater lift. This enhances the efficiency of the engine’s power output vastly compared to other flying crafts, significantly saving fuel and allowing for greater range.

If the pilot is willing, the ground effect vehicle can even ascend to nearly one thousand meters, but fuel consumption would increase greatly, and its efficiency would not surpass that of other powered flying crafts.

The transport cabin is filled with armed soldiers. Near the cockpit, Lin Mo, dressed in a dark "Dragon General" amphibious tactical armor and shouldering an SVD sniper rifle, stands out among the "Dragon Guards," appearing somewhat like a crane amid a flock of chickens.

“Target shooting,” “just going for an errand,” “playing around,” all mean the same thing here.

This newly arrived ground effect vehicle truly lives up to its reputation for high carrying capacity; it manages to accommodate two entire squadrons and cover distances of over a thousand miles, ignoring both land and water while consuming even less fuel than helicopters with equivalent capacity. It can also effectively evade Russian radar scanning while flying at ultra-low altitudes in the Radar Blind Spot.

“Have you spotted anything? We are approaching the target.”

Old Pan’s voice comes from the cockpit, personally piloting this mission.

“I see it! A little white tail; it’s a Global Hawk. Should we take it down?”

The co-pilot notices a small blip on the radar screen and adjusts a monitor in front of him. The ground effect vehicle is equipped with an optical Frog Eye system that locks onto dynamic targets, providing clear optical images.

The co-pilot’s fingers dance over the control panel, activating the display showing two medium-range air-to-air missiles primed for launch, easily fired once a target is locked.

The optical image indicates the location of the Global Hawk with a red outline, showing its speed and altitude.

A pure white drone hovers about fifteen kilometers behind the ground effect vehicle, with laser ranging indicating it is positioned at three o’clock, approximately 3000 meters high.

Developed by Northrop Grumman, this drone is part of the "High-Altitude Long-Endurance Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration" (ACTD) program and carries synthetic aperture radar, television cameras, infrared detectors, defensive electronic countermeasures, and digital communication devices.

With the U.S. military deploying these drones widely, they can be seen almost everywhere, even occasionally flying within China’s airspace, with many being shot down in recent years.

“Yeah, I see it. It’s unarmed, likely just for surveillance. We don’t need to worry about it; this isn’t our territory. The Russians will take care of this little thing.”

Old Pan glances at the image, as the computer system swiftly scans the RQ-4A Global Hawk reconnaissance drone. It’s likely the Americans are observing this operation.

But soon, eagle-eyed Su-27s will go after it; each costing $14.5 million, the Americans can afford it. In terms of military investment and waste, the U.S. military is unparalleled in history, constantly setting new records.

“Understood!”

The co-pilot cancels the activation of the weapon systems but stays on the ready interface, prepared to repeat the previous actions at any moment.

The domestically-made ground effect vehicle, nicknamed "Bamboo Dragonfly," boasts equipment that rivals the Global Hawk’s capabilities. It possesses synthetic aperture radar and can detect targets just before the enemy might detect it.

As a military tactical ground effect vehicle, these reconnaissance and defensive capabilities are essential, especially in one-on-one situations. The "Bamboo Dragonfly" can be equally formidable as a main battle tank in firepower.

“Forty minutes until we reach our destination. Check fuel again!”

The light representing the "Bamboo Dragonfly" moves steadily across the electronic map. Old Pan calculates the time to reach the destination and the fuel consumption. This solitary venture deep into a foreign territory represents a certain compromise between great powers.

To appease China’s anger, Russia has not overstepped by removing this outpost but has allowed China’s Special Operations Team to enter and carry out a retaliatory strike.

Such events are not without precedent, as seen in the China-Russia “counter-terrorism exercise” cooperation, where both sides permit each other’s troops to enter their respective territories to target mutual enemies, along with many unofficial occurrences. After all, separatists disregard border lines, and while there may be disputes between both nations, they share a deep mutual disdain for these disrupters.

To some extent, the "Bamboo Dragonfly’s" flight path is also under Russian surveillance. Even though the vehicle’s surface is coated with stealth paint, it can still be monitored by optical, magnetic, and infrared reconnaissance equipment.

"Group leader, two Su-27s spotted! The Russians have indeed shown up."

On the radar screen, two small dots appeared. According to the curve of the Earth, two fighter jets showed up on the "Bamboo Dragonfly" radar, indicating they were not far off. Before the co-pilot could finish speaking, the dot representing the "Global Hawk" swiftly turned away without hesitation, while the two dots representing the Su-27s pursued closely behind.

Clearly, the "Global Hawk" was not well-suited to be a disposable pawn.

"Ah! I see them. They should have spotted us as well," Captain Pan said calmly. This operation needed to remain as secretive as possible; the Russians were not specifically targeting them, but they couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

If the Russians had their eyes on this advanced Chinese ground effect vehicle, a confrontation was inevitable.

"Squadron Three and Squadron Four, please check your timers. We originally planned to arrive in forty minutes, but we need to speed up and reach in thirty minutes. Check your equipment carefully and ensure nothing is missing. May Lenin bless you."

Russia was Lenin’s territory, and as the revolutionary founder, he naturally bore an obligation to protect these young revolutionaries.

Thirty minutes flew by in an instant.

In a clearing within a forest, the "Bamboo Dragonfly" finally lowered its landing gear. Squadron leader Major Chen Renkai and Squadron leader Major Zhang Zhenyu quickly jumped down with their soldiers, setting up a fire defense point. They deployed several reconnaissance personnel to explore the surroundings and confirm the safety radius.

"Major Lin, you come down last so we can ensure safety first!"

As an auxiliary member, Lin Mo had to follow the instructions of the two squad leaders. Although the "Dragon General" had excellent defensive capabilities and tactical performance, it didn’t mean it was invincible.

A single direct hit from an anti-tank mine or any caliber shell would still take down even a bull. If such flimsy defense could block these attacks, applying it to tanks would be like practicing an invulnerable martial arts technique.

"The communication center is powered on. We are now establishing a connection!"

Besides Old Pan and the co-pilot, two other members of the Aircrew Group were on board, responsible for activating the communication system in the "Bamboo Dragonfly" to provide communication support and maintain the environment of the computer center.

"East, two kilometers away, safe! Start scouting south now!"

"West, three kilometers away, safe! Turn to scout north!"

"South, two thousand two hundred meters, also safe. Turn west!"

"North, one thousand six hundred meters, damn it, why do I have to climb so high? Safe! I still have to go north; there’s no road to the east."

Laughter erupted over the radio channel.

"Confirm the terrain and distance. The straight-line distance to the target is about 40 kilometers. At this walking pace, we can only arrive by evening. I suggest bringing tents, as the cold of Siberia will consume too much of our energy."

Another reconnaissance personnel checked the terrain while cross-referencing satellite positioning coordinates.

The standard "Dragon Guard" land-based digital tactical armor has decent temperature control, but its consumption of vanadium batteries is significant. If they maintained the heating function at minimum power while ready for combat, they could only sustain operations for twelve hours. Fortunately, the human body emits heat, so the heating function was only for emergency use.

"Leave the first round of reconnaissance personnel behind to set up electronic reconnaissance nodes to protect the ‘Bamboo Dragonfly.’ The others should gather supplies and prepare to depart. ‘Dragon Knight,’ you can come down now."

At the hatch, Squadron leader Major Chen Renkai gestured to Lin Mo. Although he invited Lin Mo to come out for "target practice," the action plan was indeed foolproof, but Lin Mo’s safety remained extremely important.

Lin Mo was currently applying the Light Mirror Technique to his military binoculars. Upon hearing this, he quickly slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder and joined the team.

Everyone was not new to outdoor combat, hence had ample experience. There was no need for the two squad leaders to elaborate extensively; they quickly shouldered their gear and combat supplies and formed a line to set off.

As the group advanced through the pristine forests of Siberia, stepping carefully in the unmelted snow with dead leaves from many years covering the ground, each individual was equipped with one-piece design personal armor, so they didn’t have to worry about snow seeping into their shoes. However, they could not avoid feeling the chilling cold creeping up from the ground beneath them.