Anti-Radiation Missile

Even though the Americans were praying silently in their hearts, objective reality wouldn't change just because someone was "praying." Guided by the KJ-3000, the PL17 was approaching the Sky Pit.

"Are they using joint guidance, terminal infrared imaging? A passive radar seeker? Or did they crack the optical decoy?" the General kept guessing what technologies East University was testing.

To be honest, as a superpower, America should have been doing this too, but their execution was completely incomparable to East University's. Even if they couldn't compare, it was because they gave their employees freedom.

"Sir, we don't know yet," the bespectacled Asian technician shouted back. "But they should be testing all of them!"

"Tell the media to block the news."

The Lieutenant General said solemnly. Some things couldn't be known by the public. If their media hegemony collapsed, it would be an incredibly heavy blow to America. Moreover, letting East University test was also a good thing for America. They could use the excuse of human safety to demand test data, which was completely a no-brainer.

Thinking of this, the General's tone shifted, and he continued, "What are our experts doing?"

Since East University had taken action, even if it was just for show, America had to follow suit. Even if it was just making an app, then letting the media hype it up and go public to raise money.

"Sir, Dr. Frank is researching the communication methods of alien civilizations."

Unlike East University testing weapons, America's Congress and politicians first discussed whether they could communicate with alien civilizations and solve problems through "peaceful" means. It would be even better if they could do business with alien civilizations.

Meanwhile, in the East University command center, the leaders, technicians, and officers present were staring at the triangular symbol on the large screen. This symbol represented the PL17, and next to it were annotations for the missile's speed, altitude, guidance status, and whether the seeker was active.

When the missile flew past its highest point of trajectory and entered the parabolic descent phase, it used Earth's gravity to increase its speed, which was another form of gravity assist.

[20 seconds until seeker activation.]

[Data link is being jammed.]

[Anti-radiation seeker activated.]

An anti-radiation missile is a type of missile specifically designed to attack enemy radar systems. Its core principle is to use the electromagnetic waves emitted by the enemy's radar for targeting and guidance.

This PL17's seeker covered a wide frequency range, capturing the electromagnetic interference emitted by the Sentinels.

In the electromagnetic spectrum, invisible to the naked eye, a large amount of electromagnetic clutter was captured by the seeker. In the seeker's view, these wandering Sentinels were as conspicuous as fireflies in the dark.

"Is the PL17 equipped with a Yingji-91 seeker?" the commander asked, looking at the PL17 whose data link was being interfered with by electromagnetic clutter, making the transmission signal unstable and about to be interrupted.

"Reporting, Commander. Considering the PL17's diameter and the need to increase warhead yield, we are currently using the Yingji-91 seeker. A new seeker is under development," the technician shouted.

Humanity had never faced such an enemy. It was impossible to have an enemy today and a targeted technological product the next day, and the reliability of such a product was still a problem. They could only look for suitable technologies in their existing weapon arsenal.

This was the importance of technological reserves. They could be taken out and used directly through system integration.

Just like the seeker installed on the PL17, the Yingji-91, 28cm x 55cm, 2-18 GHz, used a medium-sized seeker with a wide frequency coverage and high sensitivity, which was a typical configuration for current main anti-radiation missiles.

By installing it on the PL17 airframe, it could be used by adjusting the counterweight and integrating the system. Of course, its combat effectiveness wouldn't be the highest and would require subsequent optimization.

However, even so, the anti-radiation seeker could still be jammed. They had to fully consider the advantages of the PL17 airframe and use an upgraded version with a diameter of about 30-40 cm and a length of about 60-80 cm, suitable for being carried by the J-15, a heavy naval fighter jet, which had stronger anti-jamming capabilities and target recognition.

[Data link interrupted, switching to optical capture.]

The moment the data link was broken, the WZ7s hovering nearby switched to optoelectronic mode, capturing the PL17 and tracking it.

With the data link disconnected, the PL17 lost its guided correction and had to rely entirely on the anti-radiation seeker to capture the target.

The PL17, in inertial flight, activated its dual-pulse engine. The tail nozzle once again spewed out a long flame, replenishing energy for the missile. The already fast missile accelerated again, bringing the attack target into the no-escape zone.

The control surfaces adjusted the fins, and it flew towards one of the Sentinels captured by the anti-radiation seeker, streaking across the sky like lightning!

As the distance between the two sides closed, the anti-radiation seeker's accuracy was affected by the large amount of electromagnetic clutter emitted by multiple targets. The system automatically switched to inertial navigation mode. The missile was no longer interfered with and flew towards the intersection point of its trajectory and the Sentinel's flight path. This was also thanks to the Sentinel not changing its flight path.

The PL17, with its replaced seeker and warhead, detonated its warhead upon approaching the enemy!

Swish! Swish!

The explosion's fire appeared first in the sky, followed by the whistling sound of air being torn apart.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Chemical energy was converted into kinetic energy, and thousands of 1cm steel balls and fragmentation warheads rained down like pear blossom needles, covering the surrounding airspace in a wide-area attack.

In the WZ7's optical sensors, it could clearly see one Sentinel optical decoy locked by the PL17 disappear. In the air not far away, the surface of the glazed triangular aircraft was covered in tiny bullet holes, and countless fragments flew out. The heavily damaged aircraft spiraled towards the sea below.

It wasn't just this one. Another Sentinel further away didn't immediately descend; its flight attitude changed, indicating it was damaged.

When the explosion's fire disappeared, the damage assessment for this attack was: [1 destroyed, 1 damaged.]

"Red Fox One is sending a message! Anti-radiation missiles are effective! Repeat! Anti-radiation missiles are effective!"

After changing the seeker's guidance method, it could effectively guide and inflict damage on the Sentinels. This made everyone in the command center breathe a sigh of relief.

The old leader's stern face also showed a smile. As long as they could effectively damage the enemy, the People's Army and the aliens could fight for as long as they wanted, until complete victory!

"Reporting, Commander, data has been collected. The Sentinels did not change their flight trajectory during the attack. If the target had performed evasive maneuvers during the attack, the PL17's hit probability would have decreased."

"Upload data to the command center."

The commander's job was to command the battle. As for the shortcomings of the anti-radiation seeker, someone else would naturally solve them.

"Understood!"

The success of the PL17 was considered a "flying start" for them. Red Fox-2 had already entered the range of the PL15, and the focus of the mission was yet to come.