Chapter 628

Chapter 628: Support from National Defense Star

It was certain that “monstrous” would not be allowed to fly out of the country, especially after Lin Mo had caused a mess due to his complete lack of political and technical awareness.

Used to taking what he could, acquiring equipment from Lockheed and technology from domestic fighter jet manufacturers, the military only permitted Lin Mo to fly “monstrous” within a limited area. Even if he zipped from one airport to another, at least the meat was safely in the pot.

The important components and technologies were absolute national defense secrets. It was fine for Lin Mo to play around, since the flying area was close to the Night Special Forces, and the confidentiality level was sufficient.

However, flying across the border line was another matter. Even if the air defense system could not lock onto “monstrous,” if Lin Mo dared pilot the suspected peak of the fifth generation and the emerging sixth-generation forward-swept wing fighter jet out of the country, even by a meter, that would mean defection.

The consequences were easy to predict. As the commander of “Night,” Colonel Feng Chenye would personally lead a team to chase him down, and that would create significant trouble.

In comparison, the X-1 made entirely of domestic parts was much easier to exit the country.

When Chen Haiqing said that it was changed, Lin Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Great! It’s a deal!”

As for sponsorship, Lin Mo didn’t actually need to give much; he could even receive more support.

“Words can’t be taken back!”

Chen Haiqing let out a long breath, and his tense nerves relaxed in an instant. He stood up to grab the phone and immediately reported this good news to the company’s top brass.

Giving Lin Mo equity was a brilliant move, providing a sense of belonging to another identity, which greatly benefited National Defense Star. Perhaps Shenyang and Chengdu hadn’t even reacted yet.

Hehe, National Defense Star struck gold! In business as in warfare, not even a second’s delay is permissible.

“Fantastic! But Lin Mo, do you really want to participate in ‘Abyss Nirvana’?”

After finishing the call and turning around, Chen Haiqing still felt worried about Lin Mo. Business is business, but personal relationships matter too; Chen Haiqing’s wide social circle was not built on mere flattery.

“I want to see what true experts are like. After all, the top pilots domestically can’t really match my intensity.”

How could a Dragon Knight representing a supreme strategic military power from another world refuse a challenge? Many reasons pushed Lin Mo to decide to join the battle.

Putting life and death aside was a basic quality of a soldier. A military person should understand that the more afraid one is of death, the faster they meet it.

When narrow paths converge, the brave will prevail!

“Alright, I support you, but how does the X-1 need to be modified? I know you love DIY. I can fully cooperate with you. When you set off, we can send you a team of mechanics and a small group of special forces soldiers to ensure your safety on the ground.”

Since the other side was risking their lives to cooperate, the sponsors of “Abyss Nirvana” couldn’t just shout slogans.

Chen Haiqing understood that Lin Mo, who could design and build “monstrous” himself, wouldn’t be satisfied with National Defense Star’s imitation.

“Sure, I’ll make a list for you in a bit. I still need high-precision CNC machines to process some parts, and I need to customize some munitions to equip the X-1 with Gaussian weapons. I don’t need manpower support; I’m a mechanic too. I don’t want to drag anyone else into this; after all, it is a battlefield, and I can’t guarantee 100% safety. If there are casualties, it’ll be hard to explain to their families. I estimate that some special personnel will be sent over from above; they might not even utilize your people. Don’t worry, I’ll save any new spoils for you as payment for borrowing the X-1!”

Lin Mo officially entered his element, as if Chen Haiqing had become his assistant, relaying orders. He continued, “I’ll stay here for a week at most, then head out in the fighter jet. Please prepare all the paperwork and documentation, as the higher-ups will likely require them.”

“Not a problem!”

Chen Haiqing paid little mind; Lin Mo’s matters were the company’s matters. In that week, he would actively arrange everything needed.

Even without anyone assisting Lin Mo, he believed if Lin Mo could make it back alive, he would undoubtedly bring back many valuable pieces of information.

The munitions for participating in the battle would be provided by the organizers of “Abyss Nirvana,” with various models available, whether Russian or American. Almost everything could be found, even the AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile, though there were specific exchange rules in place, meaning they couldn’t be equipped casually.

This service rule prevented participants from bringing their own advanced missiles that could wreak havoc and dominate beyond-visual-range combat; how could there be any real fight left?

Lin Mo immediately began modifying the X-1 using the existing equipment of National Defense Star. Since the X-1 and “monstrous” shared the same blueprints, they had many similarities, making the modifications straightforward.

In the belly of the aircraft, Lin Mo specifically installed a pulsed laser cannon on the rotary magazine mount. This would provide a surprising advantage in high-altitude battles.

With gold coins at hand, Lin Mo didn’t need to worry about insufficient power. Although the gold giant dragon wasn’t skilled in electric magic, it could easily generate power via metal and magnetic reactions. The ammunition for the laser cannon was almost endless; as long as he increased the capacitance and ensured sufficient charging, the firing rate could be enhanced.

Additionally, next to the machine gun ports beneath the wings, he reinstalled two Gaussian weapons. The powerful electromagnetic field could launch specially made 30mm high-explosive incendiary shells at five times the speed of sound, with a range of up to 6,000 meters.

Just by reaching a sufficient altitude, he could directly threaten a significant area below.

This modification was designed to complement Lin Mo’s usual precise cannon-sniping techniques, with plenty of ammunition available.

The X-1’s forward-swept wings were not fixed, and it wasn’t suitable to openly synthesize the components required for the variable wings yet; instead, he could only make partial adjustments to the aerodynamic layout.

While he couldn’t install the F119-PW-100 vector thrust engine in time, nor could he equip it with a micro pulsed detonation engine for vertical takeoff and landing, Lin Mo only had time to improve the vector nozzle.

As a fighter jet manufacturer, National Defense Star had sufficient processing equipment for Lin Mo to utilize and a group of skilled machinists to assist; the modification process was moving along rapidly.

During the modification period, as Captain Feng had expected, “monstrous” attracted a flood of old experts to National Defense Star.

Fortunately, Lin Mo had moved “monstrous” to National Defense Star in advance; otherwise, the Night Special Forces would have struggled to host so many visitors.

Helicopters and small passenger planes continuously landed at the National Defense Star production base’s auxiliary airport, nearly overflowing this modest little airport.

The control tower, which rarely had anything to do, was now busy as a flurry of flapping wings, even having to temporarily borrow a group from the civil aviation airport to keep up with the chaos.

In just two or three days, news about “monstrous” completing its first flight spread throughout the aviation industry, not only attracting expert teams from Chengdu and Shenyang but also drawing some nearly retired experts out of retirement.

Visitors to National Defense Star, hailing from all around the country, all had undergone military approval, with a special team assigned to handle the affairs relating to “monstrous.”

Many were eager to see this fighter jet, skillfully assembled by one person, equipped with the most advanced gear from various countries, and to discover what kind of performance it had.

The ascent of “monstrous” truly shook many departments. This wasn’t just a grand toy that Lin Mo had made for himself, but it also related to advancements in national defense industry technology. The big shots had indeed bet right; naturally, it was time to reap the rewards. While ownership and usage rights belonged to Lin Mo, the state wanted to study this prototype, and Lin Mo had no power to refuse. After all, without the support and tacit agreement of the state, it was nearly impossible for one person to create aerial combat weapons.

Many experts were familiar faces for Lin Mo; they had once joined him on a trip to America to view the flight demonstration of Boeing’s sixth-generation fighter jet. Although many unforeseen incidents occurred during the event, and Boeing’s sixth-generation aircraft stirred quite a controversy, several experts had met Lin Mo, the young man.

An expert jokingly said that after watching the Americans demonstrate their sixth-generation aircraft, the Chinese promptly put on their own sixth-generation demonstration, calling it a show of force against the American showcase—look at the great things we Chinese have and make the Americans jealous.

National Defense Star did not even need to take the lead; a technical appraisal meeting spontaneously formed. A team from the military and General Equipment Department took over the reception duties that had originally been handled by National Defense Star, requiring only that National Defense Star send some people to assist and manage logistics.

At this moment, Chen Haiqing finally realized that Lin Mo piloting the “monstrous” prototype was actually a way to avoid the spotlight; National Defense Star was truly bustling now.

The blueprints and original parameters of “monstrous” were classified secrets. Some manufacturers had access to these blueprints, and when they saw this forward-swept variable wing fighter jet at National Defense Star, they were undoubtedly amazed. This was not a model; it was a reality stemming from the blueprints.

The reception committee provided deliberately altered documents to the experts, changing many equipment names to domestic ones. They even labeled the engine as WS-16 but noted that it had performance comparable to the F119-PW-100.

Regarding radar and other aspects, due to Lin Mo’s amplified improvements, they didn’t use foreign equipment but replaced it with the term “classified,” marking that the performance exceeded similar foreign equipment.

The data gathered from Lin Mo’s initial test flight offered considerable assistance for this technical appraisal meeting.

Experts, seasoned in various types of fighter jet parameters, widened their eyes, fixating on the massive black structure before them; they wished they could take it home and study it slowly.