Lu Zhou swore that this was definitely the most spectacular fireworks display he had ever seen.
Of course, it was also the most expensive one.
The airborne cabins descended from the sky one after another like meteors piercing through the cold night. The surface coating that was vaporized due to friction and the airwaves from the buffer engine weaved into an umbrella-shaped arc of fire, pressing down on the ground at a speed that tore through the sound barrier.
Lu Zhou stood next to a military jeep and looked at the airborne capsule descending from the sky through binoculars. He gradually had a look of shock in his eyes.
After a long time, he put away his binoculars and spoke emotionally.
"… You guys really made this thing?"
As a hostage in this anti-terrorism exercise codenamed "mission", Lu Zhou's position at the moment could be said to be the best spectator seat in the entire exercise.
It was also because of this that the feeling of shock was especially direct and intense to him.
He remembered that when Skyglow first flew, they tested the lightning escape capsule system on their return flight.
At that time, Lu Zhou and Director Li went to the Dourbantunggut Desert to select a site for the Garden plan. Director Li couldn't take his eyes off the lightning escape capsule, and he immediately asked Lu Zhou if he could use this thing in the army.
Because of the cost, Lu Zhou didn't give an optimistic evaluation. He only told him that this thing was equivalent to a space return capsule with an active ejection system. If he could accept the high cost, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
Lu Zhou didn't even remember what he said. He didn't expect that not only did Director Li listen to him, but Director Li actually found someone to do a technical demonstration and create this thing.
Director Li, who was standing next to Lu Zhou, spoke with a smile. He also had a pair of binoculars around his neck.
"Haha, I didn't expect to have a chance to surprise Academician Lu. It seems that the hundreds of millions were well spent."
"… Hundreds of millions?"
"The research and development funding is around this amount." Director Li looked at Lu Zhou and said emotionally, "Actually, when the secretary of the Air Force Equipment Department talked to me about this, I was even more surprised than you."
"When this project was first proposed, not many people were optimistic about it. During the technical demonstration, there was a huge argument. At that time, I also had the thought that I had to give it a try. That's why I resisted the pressure and established the project. I didn't expect the old academicians from the Air Force Equipment Department and the Rocket Research Institute to live up to the expectations of the country and the people. "
Lu Zhou said, "This thing isn't cheap, right?"
Director Li nodded and said, "That's for sure. When it comes to the military, nothing is cheap. Fortunately, our aerospace costs are not high. The cost of sending people and equipment up is still acceptable, and we can save a lot of money. In general, the cost of an airborne capsule is about the same as a medium-range missile, and this thing is a one-time use like a missile. "
"Also, this is the cost of a single airborne capsule. If you include the equipment on the orbital airborne soldiers, as well as the accessories mounted on the capsule itself, the cost is probably equivalent to two medium-range missiles."
After more than two years of continuous improvement, the military version of the "Thunder" airborne capsule had evolved into many improved versions based on the original version of the "Lightning" escape capsule.
Just like its name suggested, compared to the "Lightning" that emphasized crew capacity and survivability, the "Thunder" emphasized the ability to suppress the airborne area.
As the saying went, the best defense was offense. When the airborne capsule was fifty meters away from the ground, it would automatically spray a smoke barrage at the landing area before hitting the target on the ground. Based on the specific accessories it carried, it would also drop simple bunkers, metal fragments, and even cluster bombs. This would give the airborne unit a greater advantage on the battlefield, and at the same time, bring psychological pressure to the defending enemy.
In addition, in order to make more efficient use of space, compared to the Lightning escape capsule, the "Thunder" airborne capsule had a large amount of space used to store food, medicine, and survival tools. It also reduced the maximum number of people from six to four. There was a seat in each of the four directions, which corresponded to the four outward-opening hatches.
Speaking of this, Director Li's voice also carried a little emotion.
"However, even though it is expensive, in terms of strategic value, the effect that five airborne cabins can produce is far greater than ten medium-range missiles!"
While they were talking, the airborne capsule that descended from the sky had already hit the hill two kilometers away. A smoke barrage also exploded as the airborne capsule landed on the ground.
Lu Zhou felt the faint tremor from the ground. He glanced at Yan Yan, who was standing next to the jeep with her arms crossed.
"Speaking of which, should I cooperate and lie down here or something?"
Yan Yan joked, "If you want to cooperate, that's fine. Do you need me to help you?"
Lu Zhou looked at his clothes.
"Forget it, I quite like this white shirt."
Director Li suddenly remembered something. He coughed and said, "By the way, if there is an accident … Your life is more important than your image."
Lu Zhou: "I know this even if you don't say it."
While they were talking, lights had been turned on not far away. A team of orbital paratrooper soldiers armed to the teeth with paratrooper rifles in their hands had advanced to the side of the jeep and formed a defensive formation, protecting the people near the jeep in the middle.
"The Thunder team has arrived at the target area. The target vehicle has been controlled, and the personnel are safe!"
"Continue to the next drill!"
"Roger that!"
Lu Zhou felt like the voice of the person in the lead was a bit familiar, but because these soldiers were armed from head to toe in black combat uniforms, he couldn't remember where he heard it before.
When he passed by, he could feel that the person looked at him a few times, and his intuition told him that it was a look of gratitude.
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded at him. He didn't disturb their performance. He watched them disappear into the woods.
From the launch to the landing of the airborne soldiers, to advancing to the area where the hostages were located, it took a total of 49 minutes and 27 seconds. It was more than ten minutes faster than the original one-hour passing time.
On the battlefield, time was life. Even if it was only an extra ten minutes of evacuation time, it could change the course of the entire battle at a critical moment.
The officer standing next to Lu Zhou looked at the stopwatch and nodded with approval.
"Today is lucky, it's sunny. If it were rainy, I'm afraid it would be a lot more troublesome."
Lu Zhou: "I think it's already very strong."
"Yeah."
Director Li looked at the flare slowly falling from the sky. He nodded and spoke emotionally.
"Even the United States, which has military bases all over the world, can't say that it can send SEALs to any corner of the world within an hour.
"But from now on, we can!"
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