.It is definitely not a trivial matter to use ballistic missiles, and are medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of more than 1,500 kilometers.

After receiving a call from Mu Haoyang, Huang Zhibo asked him to contact the commander of the Second Artillery Artillery General Zheng Heping to let the Second Artillery prepare to participate in the war, but whether to use ballistic missiles must be decided by the General Staff.

Mu Haoyang is not familiar with Zheng Heping. He used to work in the General Staff. Yu Zhanbing was responsible for the construction of the Second Artillery Equipment, and had little to do with him. In fact, the relationship between the Navy and the Second Artillery is not harmonious, because the Navy vigorously develops strategic nuclear submarines, which poses a great threat to the Second Artillery.

Fortunately, Mu Haoyang has a missile expert with the Second Artillery.

When calling Zheng Heping, Mu Haoyang asked Lu Wen to attend the conference call on the grounds of technical issues, hoping that Zheng Heping could give Lu Wen face.

It was actually a bit redundant for him to do this.

After learning that there was a chance to participate in the war, Zheng Heping was definitely more active than Mu Haoyang.

For the Second Artillery, which has a strategic threat as its main task, there are not many opportunities to participate in the war. If you are not active, you may have no value for existence.

After the East China Sea War, some people suggested that there is no need to continue to retain the Second Artillery.

The reason is very simple. The Navy will obtain six strategic nuclear submarines within ten years, equipped with nuclear warheads equivalent to 40% of the total number, and undertake strategic threat tasks equivalent to 60%. The Air Force is also actively developing strategic bombers and wants to share the pie in strategic threat tasks. By around 2030, the Second Artillery strategic ballistic missiles will become useless, with a maximum of 30% of the total number of nuclear warheads, and the strategic threat tasks undertaken will be reduced to less than 30%, so there is no need to continue to retain the status of independent troops.

The Second Artillery has not been disbanded yet, and there is only one question, namely whether it belongs to the Air Force or the Army.

When Huang Zhibo finished his work, he would definitely reform the Second Artillery, and it is very likely that the strategic missile force would be incorporated into the army and the tactical missile force would be incorporated into the air force.

Zheng Heping knew very well that if the value of the Second Artillery Artillery could not be proved, he was likely to be the last Commander of the Second Artillery Artillery.

During the Second Korean War and the East China Sea War, Huang Zhibo and Teng Yaohui both asked for the use of ballistic missiles, but were rejected by the senior management.

Now, the opportunity has appeared again, and Zheng Heping must not let it go.

After talking to Mu Haoyang, he called Huang Zhibo back, then rushed to the General Staff, and went with Huang Zhibo to report the situation to Fu Xiubo.

In order to convince Fu Xiubo, Zheng Heping made sufficient preparations.

The purpose is only one: the Second Artillery can complete combat missions and will not get into trouble.

In fact, Zheng Heping has this capital in his hands.

After the East China Sea War, when survival was threatened, Zheng Heping, who had just taken office, put forward new requirements on the future construction of the Second Artillery and the role he played in the future war, that is, the Second Artillery is not only a strategic threat force, but also a tactical missile force that can fight tough battles.

To put it bluntly, the Second Artillery will pay more attention to the combat application of tactical ballistic missiles in conventional warfare.

Under this premise, in the past few years, the Second Artillery has invested heavily in the development of several tactical ballistic missiles specifically targeting conventional wars, with ranges ranging from 550 kilometers to 5,000 kilometers. It has also developed various warheads for these missiles, such as electromagnetic warheads, active warheads, child warheads, etc.

Among these missiles and warheads, several types are mainly used to strike against the sea.

This time, what Mu Haoyang needed was one of the missiles and a warhead designed specifically for combating high-speed sports warships.

The problem with missiles is not big, mainly the range and orbital change maneuverability.

The key lies in the warhead, that is, there must be a suitable warhead to deal with early warning aircraft that are much faster than warships and play a role in "pointing acupoints" in combat.

This kind of warhead is a sub-combustion numbered zm-2000.

When developing the zm-2000, the purpose is to deal with warships, destroy exposed equipment on the warships, such as radar antennas, and make the warships lose their combat capabilities.

According to this requirement, the zm-2000 is designed as a very special warhead.

There are two levels of zm-2000, one is equipped with a 500 kg class with a range of less than 1,500 kilometers, and the other is equipped with a 1,000 kg class with a range of more than 1,500 kilometers. The former has 12,000 tungsten alloy sub-munitions with a mass of 25 grams in the spreader. The latter has 18,000 tungsten alloy sub-munitions with a mass of 40 grams in the spreader. This sub-munition is not loaded with explosives, it is a metal rod with a stable tail. After reaching the target, the warhead detonates at a set height, and at the same time, it rotates at a high speed under the push of a small rocket engine, and the sub-munitions are thrown out by centrifugal force. Under the control of the stable tail, the sub-munitions hit the target at a speed of more than Mach. According to the dispersion height and the warhead level, the coverage area is between 50,000 square meters and 500,000 square meters.

Obviously, these sub-munitions weighing only a few dozen grams cannot sink the warships.

However, it is enough to destroy any exposed electronic device. For a large radar antenna, it will be scrapped as long as it is hit by a sub-munition. Any modern warship has a large number of electronic devices and a large number of antennas. After the electronic device is paralyzed, the warship cannot fight.

During the finalization test, the performance of the zm-2000 was very satisfactory to the Second Artillery, and even received attention from the Navy.

The reason is simple. If a hostile country also has similar weapons, the Chinese fleet will be threatened and the navy must seek effective protection.

However, the Second Artillery did not purchase a large number of zm-2000, because in the Second Artillery tactics, the zm-2000 only undertakes the first round of assault missions. The subsequent strikes still have to rely on other ammunition, such as ballistic missiles with last-minute ability, to achieve the goal of sinking warships.

When the combat plan is handed over to Fu Xiubo, the warhead is not a key issue, but the range of the missile.

If a missile is launched from the homeland, the range will definitely be more than 2,000 kilometers. Although India does not have a strategic early warning system, it is difficult to detect ballistic missiles launched by its enemy countries in time, but the United States has it, Russia has it, France has it, and Japan has it. As long as China launches ballistic missiles, it will get into trouble.

The biggest danger is that it is mistaken for a strategic strike.

There is a huge risk in this, that is, other nuclear powers feel threatened, thereby increasing their strategic alert level and even launching counterattacks.

Then, this is not a local conflict.

"We can launch missiles on Hainan Island, with the ballistic end point set to the central waters of the Bay of Bengal. The United States' strategic early warning satellites can definitely make correct judgments and will not think that our missiles will fly to the United States. In addition, the use of medium-range ballistic missiles is very different from infrared radiation and strategic ballistic missiles." Zheng Heping is very active and hopes that the Second Artillery will play a key role in this war. "If possible, we can also inform other nuclear powers in advance. We will use ballistic missiles carrying conventional warheads to perform conventional strike missions."

"Do you have to do this?"

Zheng Heping did not speak because he was asking Huang Zhibo.

"I have talked to Mu Haoyang and have also seen the tactical plan he sent back. Using ballistic missiles is the only way to reduce our army's combat losses. If ballistic missiles are not used, the carrier-based aviation can only perform assault missions. Even if the mission can be completed, there will be great losses."

“How old?”

“It is not possible to ensure that the next phase of combat operations continues.”

Fu Xiubo nodded, indicating that he understood Huang Zhibo's meaning, because he also knew what to do next.

"If there is no choice, you can only let the Second Artillery Artillery participate in the war." Lu Fenglie paused for a moment and said, "You can take diplomatic actions a few hours in advance to see the reactions of other countries. If there is no problem, let the Second Artillery Artillery participate in the war. If diplomatic failures, let us consider it."

Fu Xiubo nodded and said, "I can only do this. I'll go find Yi Yuanchao."

"Prime Minister..."

"You go and talk, you can talk to him anyway." Fu Xiubo smiled and said to Huang Zhibo, "I will officially retire next year, and Lao Lu will also go home to retire. In the future, I can only rely on you and Li Pingko. No matter what, the future will be of you young people."

"Old Fu, I'm not a young man." Huang Zhibo smiled and knew what Fu Xiubo meant.

"Compared with us, you and Xiao Zheng are young people." Lu Fenglie said the following for Fu Xiubo, "As long as the army is as stable as Mount Tai, other problems are not a problem. As a senior general of the army, you can even be said to be a soul-level figure, your position is crucial."

Huang Zhibo nodded to show that he understood.

Zheng Heping also nodded, but felt that it had nothing to do with him, because as the commander of the Second Artillery, he would never be the Chief of Staff.

"Okay, it's getting late, you guys go and do it."

Huang Zhibo and Zheng Heping did not hesitate and immediately stood up to say goodbye.

After the two left, Fu Xiubo called Lu Fenglie and went to the head of state together. In diplomacy, the most important thing was to communicate with the United States. Only Yi Yuanchao could speak with the US President.

Huang Zhibo was not idle either. After asking Zheng Heping to go back and prepare, he went to the State Council to visit Li Pingko.

After the Washington Conference on Disarmament, the ballistic missile forces of the five nuclear powers were subject to more severe surveillance and constraints. Therefore, to use ballistic missiles in war, especially ballistic missiles with a range of more than 500 kilometers, the most important thing to consider is not military issues, but political issues.

From another perspective, what the United States cares most is whether China will make this war comprehensive.

Between local wars and total wars, the use of strategic weapons is a very critical reference factor, and the weapon that can attack the enemy's territory and constitute serious damage to the enemy's country is strategic weapons. In the Chinese army, all ballistic missiles with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers can be regarded as strategic weapons. More importantly, China is a nuclear power and has the ability to install nuclear warheads for any ballistic missile. In this way, China uses ballistic missiles in wars and shoots them to India, which is likely to be considered a sign of a total war.
Chapter completed!