Chapter 338

Chapter 338: China’s Overseas Military Bases

The high standards and benefits of fighter pilots mean that ace pilots never truly retire. Even after retirement, most ace pilots continue to receive support from the state, spending their lives within the military. Their invaluable experience cannot be compared to ordinary personnel who easily transition to civilian life.

Lin Mo’s worth is even beyond measure. So far, the nation has invested a significant amount in him, an amount that could sustain a county’s finances for several years, totaling several hundred million. Each crash caused by him represented countless hard-earned money from the public going to waste, yet his accomplishments far surpassed the state’s investment.

Fighter jets, as high-cost, high-return, and high-deterrent weapons, show that the number of enemy planes Lin Mo shot down has already covered the nation’s costs. War involves not just lives but also industrial foundation and economic strength. Being an ace means having the highest cost-effectiveness, delivering ten or twenty times the gains for every unit invested, while also reducing one’s own operational costs. Sometimes, one ace is considered equivalent to two pilots or even more, and this does not even account for the intangible political and military strategic value.

Furthermore, Lin Mo’s involvement in technological research adds an immeasurable dimension to his worth that goes beyond just being an ace pilot.

After experiencing aerial combat with the Vietnamese, rumors among the aviation crew circulated that Instructor Lin’s rank was about to rise. Although everyone knew that there were others who deserved credit for the aerial combat and the Nanning Island landing, this promotion would be for technical contributions. This advancement could be described as a clever ruse, perfectly executed.

Despite the rumors, there was no concrete confirmation. Lin Mo treated it as mere gossip and didn’t take it to heart. For a pilot, a higher rank doesn’t mean much; it merely means a slightly larger living space and a higher salary.

In practical terms, even as a commander, he would hardly lead more than twenty pilots. Compared to the army with its thousands of troops or the navy with full ships, the air force has never depended on sheer numbers. Additionally, excellence in air combat skills does not guarantee the position of brigadier or general. The first challenge is securing such positions, and second, combat skills and unit management are two very different disciplines, often resulting in honorary titles that serve just for retirement.

Once Lin Mo’s "Dark Sabre" was salvaged, he conducted a lesson on tailspin attacks in the largest conference room of the Shilang aircraft carrier. Almost all instructors and trainees from the aviation crew attended, along with the heads and key engineers from the maintenance crew.

This class lasted two full days. To be honest, knowing how to perform maneuvers is one thing, but teaching it to others is quite another. It involved many principles of wind element magic. Although the wind element was weak in this world, reduced to mere instinct, conveying these concepts required a blend of various technological knowledge, particularly in aerodynamics and fluid dynamics. It was more about experience.

While Lin Mo used many technical terms from this world to simulate magical effects, the collision of knowledge from two worlds provided a refreshing understanding to many. The trainees and instructors became utterly engrossed, while the engineers specializing in aircraft performance and theory were left stunned to learn how such aerodynamic designs could yield such effects. Many aircraft designers might be left speechless.

Since the advent of flight, pilots have used aircraft aerodynamic layouts for various maneuvering actions, crafting incredible tactical movements based on airflow characteristics. However, they had never before reversed this concept to manipulate airflow itself or even create damaging weapons from it. This truly marked a pioneering moment in the history of aerial combat.

Three high-definition cameras in the conference room captured every detail as Lin Mo illustrated diagrams and outlined critical operations. This footage would become invaluable tactical material sent back to China for specialized research.

Lin Mo’s status as an aerodynamic design expert provided him a perfect cover, allowing him to draw upon knowledge of magic from another world while finding corresponding terms in this world.

On their way to Thailand, the Shilang aircraft carrier training group, accompanied by several supply ships no longer returning to Hainan base, encountered Vietnamese warships blocking their path. Satellites swiftly relayed information about the Vietnamese fleet mobilizing to the Shilang.

As China’s largest weapon deployment platform, the Shilang had ample space for various equipment and personnel to carry out live combat command and attack missions.

The Vietnamese lacked aircraft carriers! Poor things!

Although the naval strength of Southeast Asian countries is generally weak and scarcely impressive, sustaining an army already strains their limited resources. After developing the army and air force, China could only then allocate resources to finally enhance the navy, highlighting how costly it is.

While most naval forces surrounding the South China Sea are from coastal nations, their weakness poses a real issue. Take a look at the Philippines, whose navy is largely made up of old, dilapidated vessels. A single carrier aircraft can send their forces scrambling, chasing after Chinese maritime enforcement vessels, creating a farcical scenario.

Even Vietnam, the fiercest in asserting control over the South China Sea, counts as a slightly stronger country in South Asia, yet lacks any large-capacity vessels. Their most advanced force is merely the Russian-imported Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine.

For the Chinese navy, already proficient with Kilo-class submarines, the 039-class Yuan submarine "Jing Ke" outclassed Vietnamese submarines in a confrontation. China’s Yuan submarines far surpassed the Kilo-class in capability.

In response to the Vietnamese provocations, the South China Sea Fleet acted decisively, launching a "live-fire exercise" in the South China Sea. Facing a fleet of combat aircraft armed with live munitions, the Vietnamese naval fleet was terrified into retreating back to their territorial waters.

Whoever entered the live-fire exercise area between the Shilang and themselves would be in a dangerous position. Even if they were bombed, the Chinese response—“Anyone who intrudes into the exercise area is a target. Who told you to seek death?”—would swiftly send the Vietnamese scurrying to lick their wounds.

The sea roared with gunfire as bombs dropped from the carrier aircraft created massive plumes of smoke on the water. The Phalanx CIWS deployed from the carrier generated impressive water columns that could rival the U.S. George Washington aircraft carrier group engaged in combat with aliens.

From the Chinese military’s recent stance, it was clear that they were ready for real combat and fully prepared to take it to the extreme.

Right under the Vietnamese’s noses, the Shilang aircraft carrier training group smoothly approached the central Malay Peninsula, heading toward the Sino-Thai joint base in the southern Thai city of Songkhla. The group encountered a KHAMRONSIN-class patrol boat sent by the Royal Thai Navy to provide assistance about 100 nautical miles out.

Additionally, a Z-8 helicopter touched down on the Shilang as the first responders.

Several hours later, the massive carrier group slowly entered the port, with the 039-class Yuan submarine “Jing Ke” surfacing alongside, bringing to a halt nearly two months of maritime training and entering a half-month rest period.

During this time, all vessels required maintenance, refueling, and replenishing supplies. After drifting at sea for so long, personnel needed time on land to rest; otherwise, the prolonged pressure and intensity could lead to severe fatigue and even accidents.

For the South China Sea Fleet, now possessing an aircraft carrier, caution was paramount. Operating such a vessel was not something that just a few hundred personnel could manage. The first batch of trainees could not be expected to go all out in training; high-tech units require mastery that can’t be achieved merely through hard work and fatigue.

"We’ve reached the shore!"

This news spread like wildfire throughout the carrier’s various compartments. Aside from the flight deck and bridge crews, others had been stuck in dark, enclosed spaces below deck for ages, yearning to feel the sun on their faces.

Once the carrier stopped all operations, the crews began final inspections, organizing duty personnel and maintenance teams. After the department heads announced the rest rules, the teams dispersed for some much-needed rest.

The busiest were still the engine crew and maintenance crew, as the Shilang’s engine components and carrier-based aircraft required significant replacement and maintenance.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army stationed at the Sino-Thai joint base declared the port under martial law. Everywhere, soldiers clad in camouflage uniforms set up isolation checkpoints, while heavy machine guns were positioned at the base’s entrances, and armored vehicles were rolled out.

The arrival of the Shilang aircraft carrier training group raised the alert level of the joint base to its highest setting.

Seeing the PLA stationed at the military base in Thailand?

This was no hallucination; those onlookers had not been mistaken. The soldiers holding Type 95 automatic rifles, bronzed from the sun, all had Chinese citizenship.

Within the Songkhla joint military base, the Guangzhou Military Region had deployed a battalion, approximately 500 strong, fully equipped with light and heavy weapons.

The world doesn’t only see America establishing overseas bases. China also maintains military bases in various Southeast Asian countries, which is not surprising at all.

The South China Sea serves as China’s backyard. Although it cannot be fully developed in the short term, and the military strength is still inadequate for complete control, it does not mean that Southeast Asian nations can do as they please.

China has always been strategizing and has never remained idle.