250: Chapter 250 Peregrine S-15 Short-Range Air Defense Missile System

When the third product debuted, four low-profile launch vehicles rose onto the stage.

Each vehicle featured an 8x8 wheeled chassis with a rectangular launch box at the rear. The vehicles lacked the rotating radars of traditional air defense systems, possessing only small optoelectronic sensors.

"Peregrine S-15, a Distributed Air Defense Node," Gu Xinghe introduced. "Traditional air defense systems rely on large radars, making them easy to detect, suppress, and destroy. Peregrine Falcon follows a different logic."

The large screen displayed a combat concept animation:

An armored battalion was on the move, with four Peregrine Falcon launch vehicles dispersed within the column at intervals of 500 to 1,000 meters.

An enemy aircraft approached, and the passive optoelectronic system of one Peregrine Falcon detected the target.

Target information was shared with the other three vehicles via a high-speed data link.

The four vehicles simultaneously calculated interception plans, and the most suitable one launched a missile.

After the missile took off, it could be guided by the launching vehicle or by other vehicles in a relay.

"This is 'A-Launch B-Guide,' or even 'C-Launch D-Guide E-Guide,'" Gu Xinghe said. "The system is decentralized; destroying one or two vehicles does not affect the overall combat capability."

The live-fire demonstration began.

The range footage showed four Peregrine Falcon launch vehicles dispersed across an area of two square kilometers.

Targets approached: a simulated Drone Swarm attack—twelve small drones swarming from different directions at low altitude, along with four simulated Cruise Missiles attempting an ultra-low-altitude penetration.

Sixteen targets entered almost simultaneously.

The Peregrine Falcon system activated.

There were no obvious signals like a radar turning on, only the silent scanning of the optoelectronic system.

The large screen showed the system interface: sixteen red dots were marked one by one, followed by threat assessment and fire allocation.

"Launch."

The four launch vehicles fired almost simultaneously. The launch box covers on each vehicle opened to reveal quad-packed missiles. In the first wave, sixteen missiles took flight.

The missiles were small, weighing only 30 kilograms, but their acceleration was extremely fast. After takeoff, they quickly turned and lunged toward their assigned targets.

The interception process was as smooth as flowing water:

High-altitude targets were locked by infrared imaging seekers.

Low-altitude targets were locked by active millimeter-wave radars.

Cruise Missiles were intercepted using composite guidance: data link + inertial navigation + terminal active radar.

Sixteen targets, sixteen missiles.

All hits.

Interception rate: 100%.

"Single-shot interception probability is 92%, while the system's success rate against saturated attacks is 100%," Gu Xinghe provided the data. "It specifically counters Drone Swarms and low-altitude penetrations. One system (four launch vehicles) can protect the airspace over an armored battalion for a price of 30 million USD."

In the audience, the UAE representative raised his hand directly—an unusual move in such a formal setting.

Gu Xinghe looked at him: "Please, go ahead."

"First batch, 10 sets!" the UAE representative shouted in accented English. "Cash payment!"

This caused a stir. Ten sets meant 300 million USD, and that was just the beginning.

Prince Fahd frowned and whispered to his assistant, "Tell the Emiratis not to be in such a hurry. Let's see the rest first."

But in his heart, he had already increased the planned procurement of Peregrine Falcons from 20 sets to 50.

What was feared most in the desert? Drones. Drones from Iran, drones from the Houthis, drones from ISIS... With the Peregrine Falcon, these threats would be reduced by at least eighty percent.

Fourth item: Comet Ultra-Long-Range Air-to-Air Missile

There was no physical display for the fourth product, only a video on the large screen, though a mock-up missile was present in the venue.

Because this kind of missile was inherently unsuitable for public display.

"The Comet series, ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles," Gu Xinghe said. "The design goal is simple: destroy enemy fighters before they enter effective range. Shoot down enemy AWACS before they can establish aerial command."

The video started.

The footage was a recording of a highly classified live-fire exercise (which had been declassified). The angle was captured from the targeting pod of a J-16 fighter flying alongside.

Ahead, a J-20 stealth fighter cruised above the clouds.

"Distance to target: 150 kilometers," a voice-over explained (with voice modulation).

What was the target? The screen switched to the perspective of an AWACS: in the distance, a large target drone modified from an Il-76 transport plane was flying, simulating an enemy AWACS.

The cockpit footage from the J-20 showed the pilot locking onto the target and pressing the launch button.

The missile left the rail, the first pulse motor ignited, and it accelerated away, trailing fire.

"The Comet uses a Dual-pulse Solid Rocket Motor," Gu Xinghe explained. "The first pulse accelerates it to Mach 4, then it enters the cruise phase. The second pulse ignites before terminal engagement, providing high energy for the no-escape zone."

Real-time missile flight data was displayed:

100 kilometers from target: Speed Mach 3.8

80 kilometers away: Mach 3.5

60 kilometers away: Began receiving data link updates for target information

40 kilometers away: Second pulse ignited, speed surged to Mach 5.2

At this point, the target drone had received a simulated missile warning and began emergency maneuvers, releasing chaff and infrared decoys.

But the Comet's seeker was already active: active/passive composite guidance.

The passive broadband radio frequency seeker locked onto the interference source (chaff)

The active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar identified the true target silhouette amidst the interference

The infrared imaging seeker captured the engine's heat signature

Tri-mode composite, intelligent fusion.

In the final ten kilometers, the missile performed a spiral maneuver with an overload as high as 50G, bypassing the last wave of decoys.

Hit.

The target drone's left wing was torn off, and it fell, trailing thick smoke.

"Maximum range is 180 kilometers, with a no-escape zone of 40 kilometers," Gu Xinghe said calmly. "Currently, no active-duty fighter in the world can escape within this distance once locked."

In the audience, Jean-Pierre Leroy, a representative from France's Dassault Aviation, closed his eyes.

He was a participant in the "Meteor" missile project, and he understood the data comparison all too well:

Meteor missile: Maximum range 120 km, no-escape zone 25 km

Comet missile: 180 km, 40 km

This was a generational gap—a blatant generational gap.

If the Chinese Air Force fully equipped itself with the Comet, European "Typhoon" and "Rafale" fighters would be at an absolute disadvantage in aerial combat. Even the American F-22 and F-35 would not hold an advantage in beyond-visual-range combat.

"The Comet missile is priced at 1.5 million USD per unit," Gu Xinghe gave the price. "First batch order, minimum procurement: 100 units."

1.5 million USD sounded expensive. But compared to the 1.8 million USD for the American AIM-120D, its performance was at least 50% stronger.

People in the audience were already calculating: a squadron of 24 fighters, each carrying 6 missiles, would be 144 missiles, roughly 216 million USD. For countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, this was just a few days' worth of oil revenue.

Prince Fahd had already written on his list: Comet missiles, 500 units.