When the first ray of sunshine appeared on the third day at sea where the sea and sky meet, the No. 53 ship had already entered the Andaman Sea. In front of it was Jiangdao, a very special island with no fresh water resources, covering an area of nearly 80 acres.
Two hours ago, Ship No. 53 and Blackfish No. 11 broke up. Neither of them knew what the other was going to do.
According to the established escort plan, Li Hai arrived here, and Jiangdao was about one nautical mile in front of him.
Jiangdao is not small in area and has woods and vegetation. However, Country T has no way to extract fresh water from the island, so that even a good island cannot be put to its proper use.
Chang Haizhou said, "There used to be a radar station on this island, and a platoon of troops stationed there. The supplies were shipped from the mainland. It was a dual-use island for both military and civilian purposes. It was used as both a military alert and a civil aviation navigation station."
After a pause, he said, "Later, the civil aviation sector no longer needed this navigation station, and there were no related subsidies. It was hundreds of kilometers away from the mainland. Country T thought the cost was too high, so it withdrew the radar station, and it gradually fell into disuse. Come down."
Gunnery Chief Zhang Lei said, "It didn't take long for this island to become a shooting range for the navy and air force of country T, and it was also rented out. What's amazing is that the forest vegetation on the island quickly grew back after it was flattened by bombing. Yes, it means there are fresh water resources underground, but it’s a pity that country T cannot develop them.”
"So, we have also rented it?" Li Hai asked.
Zhang Lei said with a smile, "I have used it for free several times. The two militaries have a cooperation mechanism, so there is no need to spend money."
In South Asia, the navy of country T is not weak. It has several Chinese-made frigates and even a light aircraft carrier. It had an aircraft carrier twenty years earlier than the Chinese navy.
However, since the financial crisis in the 1990s, the economy of T country has declined sharply, and the huge naval equipment procurement plan previously formulated was forced to be suspended. Since then, it has been at a barely usable level.
"If you want to fight, you have to apply, right?" Li Hai asked unwillingly.
Zhang Lei said, "I definitely need to apply. That's the maritime shooting range of country T."
Li Hai smiled and said, "Let's start the cruise as planned."
"Yes!" Chang Haizhou went immediately.
During the special escort mission of the No. 53 ship, the first action when entering the Andaman Sea was to cruise in the vast sea area south of Jiangdao, providing protection and emergency response to passing merchant ships at any time.
The enemy information report showed that pirates appeared in the waters south of the Andaman Sea, and several merchant ships were looted. The looting techniques were professional and cruel. That is the main channel out of the Strait of Malacca, and the emergence of pirates threatens my country's maritime security.
However, after several looting incidents, those pirates suddenly disappeared and did not appear again for a long time.
In view of this, the superiors decided to dispatch the No. 53 ship, which has outstanding maneuverability and relatively low profile, to perform a special escort mission. The first stop was the Andaman Sea.
Maritime cruising is boring, and it is simply tasked with testing new equipment at the same time. At the request of Yao Xianyun and other ship's technicians, the No. 53 ship conducted one practical experiment after another during the cruise. Except that no live ammunition was used, other Have been through it all.
A single dispatch can achieve multiple tactical and technical objectives, fully carrying forward the fine tradition of diligence and thrift in our military.
Li Hai was surprised to find that the H/LJQ-364 search radar works well with the new 76mm main gun. It can be said that it is like an arm with fingers, with fast response, fast firing rate and high accuracy. Moreover, the H/LJQ-364 Search radar also has multiple functions, such as sea and air search.
Under normal circumstances, enabling the 364 radar can meet basic needs, greatly save the power consumption on the ship, and at the same time reduce interference between electronic devices as much as possible.
The current situation is that the H/LJQ-364 search radar can guide the 70mm main gun and the 1130 close-in defense gun in combat, relying on the integrated system to integrate the firepower of the artillery.
During the test, Chen Hongwei was able to use the 76mm main gun and the 1130 type close-in defense gun to hit the same aerial target at the same time, which shocked everyone. This is partly due to the system integration, and it also reflects the capabilities of Chen Hongwei, a naval master gunner.
In terms of firepower, except for missiles and torpedoes, Li Hai is satisfied with all other improvements. The old No. 53 ship seems to be much more pleasing to the eye.
On the fifteenth day at sea, when Li Hai filled in the date in the logbook, the duty officer reported that the radar had detected the supply ship and immediately went to rendezvous as planned for the second supply. This time we need to replenish more supplies, especially daily necessities.
Li Hai came to the supply location and his mouth watered when he saw several baskets of fresh vegetables.
Talents who have been at sea for a long time understand the value of fresh vegetables. For old-fashioned ships, it is more difficult for officers and soldiers to take a bite of fresh vegetables. New ships are equipped with refrigeration equipment, which greatly extends the preservation time of vegetables. Old ships do not have this condition.
The fresh vegetables I brought with me when I went to sea have already been eaten, and they will go bad if I don’t eat them.
At this time, Li Hai had a deeper understanding of the importance of logistical support, and a deeper understanding of large-tonnage ships.
Li Hai supported the deck guardrail and looked at the supply ship opposite. The officers and soldiers on the operation deck were busy and had just completed the docking of the oil supply pipes.
He looked up at the mast of the supply ship and said, "It seems inevitable that the frigate will become larger. A ship of three to four thousand tons can go to sea for a quarter and eat fresh fruits and vegetables. How can it maintain combat effectiveness?"
Whether you eat well or sleep well is directly related to combat effectiveness, there is no doubt about it.
At this moment, Chen Qiming was at the side. He put his hands behind his back and said with the style of a veteran cadre, "Of course, the bigger the ship, the better, and the longer the self-sustainability, the better. However, a frigate is a frigate after all, and it cannot be built as big as a destroyer."
Li Hai smiled and said, "Some countries in Europe have built frigates of seven to eight thousand tons."
"That's because they only have frigates." Chen Qiming also smiled.
What is the difference between frigates and destroyers? Let alone ordinary people, many officers and soldiers serving on ships may not be able to figure out this issue.
"Zhuang Xiaoying asked me this question. They all look similar. Why are some called frigates and some called destroyers? If divided according to tonnage, should the European frigates of 7,000 to 8,000 tons be classified as destroyers." Li Hai recalled that Zhuang Xiaoying had followed Zhuang Xiaoying before. Definition and usage questions asked during the interview.
Chen Qiming is a veteran of the Navy. He was a military cadre many years ago and became a political worker as a monk.
He said, "The definition is that frigates are traditionally light ships. Their main tasks are to defend merchant fleets, aircraft carrier battle groups, amphibious battle formations, etc., and what they do most is submarine search and anti-submarine warfare. Destroyers are the main combat ships and can perform many tasks. This mission is mainly to attack enemy surface ships."
Shaking his head, Chen Qiming said, "However, the traditional concepts between the two are becoming increasingly blurred. We usually distinguish them based on the task classification and economic efficiency. Frigates undertake a large number of daily combat duties, while destroyers are responsible for wartime duties. The absolute main ship fighting for sea control."
Li Hai said sharply, "I think it would be better to make the distinction based on price. Destroyers are too expensive, and using them to perform daily combat duties would be overkill. Using cheap frigates with appropriate combat capabilities is just right. If As long as the military budget can support it, just use destroyers, that’s what the Americans do.”
"That's true." Chen Qiming smiled and nodded.
After the supply was completed, the No. 53 ship said goodbye to the "nanny" and continued its cruise. After running for more than three hours, it returned to the waters south of Jiangdao where Jiangdao could be seen visually.
Li Hai, who was resting in the captain's cabin, was suddenly awakened by a slight shock. He sat up as a reflex and immediately realized that something was wrong. He quickly put on his clothes, buttoned his buttons and headed to the bridge as he walked.
Chang Haizhou was already in place. When he saw Li Hai coming, he immediately reported, "A gas turbine is faulty. The chief engineer is already in place to organize personnel to repair it."
One host is broken, which is troublesome.
The No. 53 ship is equipped with two gas turbines and two diesel engines. The gas turbine is the main power source. If one of the engines is broken, the No. 53 ship can only run at most 20 knots, and its maneuverability is severely hampered.
You know, the biggest advantage of ship No. 53 is that it can run fast.
Li Hai immediately went to the engine room.
Wang Fugui, the squad leader of the engineering squad, has already led the whole squad to troubleshoot the faulty gas turbine. The manufacturer's technicians on board the ship operated circuit inspection instruments to check. The chief engineer looked at the square gas turbine with a frown.
Professionals were working, so Li Hai couldn't wait in a hurry, so he simply waited with peace of mind.
The house was leaking and it was raining all night, but at this moment the bridge called him, "Captain, our ship has received a distress signal!"
Li Hai immediately returned to the bridge, and Chang Haizhou handed over a distress message, "Avatars, a Chinese bulk carrier, was attacked by pirates eighty-eight nautical miles north of Jiangdao. They are resisting."
Li Hai immediately checked the chart and found that the No. 53 ship was ninety-five nautical miles away from the sea area where the incident occurred.
The war situation report shows that the pirates in the Andaman Sea appeared in the southern waters, and the location where the Avatar sent the distress signal was in the northern waters, which is not within the established patrol range of the No. 53 ship, so it is far away.
"Let the helicopter take off for reconnaissance immediately." Li Hai ordered decisively.
"Yes!" Chang Haizhou informed immediately.
The Z-9 carrier-based helicopter can only conduct reconnaissance and cannot effectively deal with pirates. It is necessary to rush to the sea area where the incident occurred as soon as possible.
Li Hai issued several orders in succession, "Notify the chief engineer to squeeze out all the power. I will rush to the sea area where the incident occurred in the shortest possible time; report the situation to the Fed; contact Avatars to inquire about the specific situation."
"yes!"
The bridge became busy and the entire ship shifted to first-level combat deployment.
Ship No. 53, which had been in the Andaman Sea for more than ten days, finally got the opportunity to show off its skills.
It happened that a gas turbine broke down at this time and one leg was lame.
Even so, even if you are jumping around, you must rush to the sea area where the incident occurred.
The Avatars went north, where there were two relatively large ports, one was Chittagong and the other was Yangon Port. Li Hai would not dare to neglect what was happening in northern Myanmar! (End of chapter)
