The aliens had not yet arrived on Earth, but the war had already begun.
The threat posed by asteroids to Earth was obvious. On one hand, the military was going all out to build repulsion ships, intending to intercept asteroids in space. On the other hand, they were strengthening Earth's orbital defense system, doing everything possible to enhance terminal destruction capabilities.
The first step was to construct a fleet of orbital laser satellites.
This was not a project of Xia Kingdom, nor the plan of any single ally. It was an international cooperative effort aimed at building the strongest laser defense system to repel alien invasion.
To this end, all nations contributed their most advanced technologies. Those that could not contribute technology, or whose technology was outdated, provided personnel, labor, money, and raw materials. In short, no one was allowed to stand aside.
Yanjing invested heavily, directly providing abundant power through its wireless power transmission network. Consequently, these satellites did not have the large, unfurled solar panels of traditional satellites. They were simply spherical satellites, inconspicuous as they drifted in orbit.
But one should never underestimate the power of these satellites. The launch cavity of each satellite consisted of a parabolic surface formed by dozens of laser emitters. In an instant, they could destroy incoming missiles.
This represented the highest level of achievement humanity could muster. Or rather, laser cannons were the only suitable weapons in humanity's arsenal.
Other particle weapons were either yet to be developed or impractical, not even worth mentioning.
It was still unclear how much threat they posed to alien warships, but if one cannon was insufficient, then five would be used; if five were insufficient, then ten; and if that still wasn't enough, then all laser satellites would fire in unison!
The light cannon defense system could not only repel enemies as they approached but could also alter the orbits of asteroids by prolonged irradiation, serving as a line of defense against them.
Not only were light cannon clusters being built in orbit, but an array of light cannons was also being established on the moon at Luojianshan, with thousands of laser cannons arranged neatly. Their synchronized fire increased their range.
However, despite the long range of this weapon, it still couldn't threaten Earth's near-Earth orbit. It could only be considered an additional safeguard for the moon.
Moreover, while satellites drifting in orbit had a relatively high chance of survival during wartime, the light cannon arrays placed on the lunar surface could be destroyed by a single shot from an alien vessel or by being struck by an asteroid, obliterating the hard-built cannon array.
Therefore, Luojianshan abandoned this thankless and costly plan after constructing only one cannon array.
In comparison, plasma cannons possessed greater destructive power, but their range was too short, making them rather difficult to use.
However, with the aliens having pushed humanity to the brink, range was no longer the primary concern. The ability to destroy alien spacecraft was the priority. Therefore, after completing the light cannon defense system, various countries, following Yanjing's suggestion, also established plasma cannon defense systems.
The range issue of plasma cannons could not be solved by simply increasing the number through synchronized firing; it was determined by the inherent properties of plasma itself.
To address this, all plasma cannons in orbit were disguised as asteroids. Well, the enemy's asteroids were arriving in August anyway, so they could be passed off as debris left behind from their destruction.
The orbits and the moon were only a small part of the defense plan. The defense system within the atmosphere was the main component of terminal defense.
First were the anti-aircraft missiles. This was a technology with the longest development time, the most mature, and the highest reliability.
However, asteroids entering the atmosphere traveled faster than intercontinental ballistic missiles, making interception difficult. Only a few allies, such as Xia Kingdom, the US, and Russia, possessed the technical capability for this.
But it didn't matter. Countries with advanced technology generally had robust production capacities. Without a complete industrial system, they would require global supply chain support.
At this critical juncture, who would dare not support them?
Thus, all nations went all out, working overtime and producing missiles at full capacity.
The ground was not subject to the same restrictions as the moon. When they said they would mass-produce forces, they truly mass-produced forces. When they said they would mass-produce missiles, they truly mass-produced missiles.
Not only were there fixed anti-aircraft missile launch sites, but also truck-mounted mobile launchers, train-mounted mobile launchers, launch silos in the mountains, naval platforms, and even underwater launch platforms. Any location that could deploy missiles was incorporated into the plan.
Missiles were not deployed arbitrarily. Factors such as the trajectory of the approaching asteroids and Earth's rotation were considered. It was meticulously planned which launch site's missiles would be responsible for intercepting an asteroid from a particular direction.
Even if the hit probability could only be increased by 1%, every effort was made.
There were also suicide drones. These were essentially similar to missiles, with the difference being their slightly slower speed but their ability to loiter for extended periods, serving as effective supplements to missiles.
To ensure the complete and thorough destruction of targets, each suicide drone was equipped with a miniature nuclear warhead. Even asteroids several kilometers in diameter could be shattered in one blow, minimizing the damage caused by impact.
Then there were the electromagnetic cannons. These belonged to the final link in the terminal defense system. Once the previous two rings failed, the electromagnetic cannons were relied upon to salvage the last hope. If the electromagnetic cannons failed to hit the target, then all that was left was to submit to fate.
Finally, there was the organization and deployment of ground forces. Although the threat came from outer space, the ground could not be neglected. Firstly, to prevent civil unrest due to war, and secondly, to guard against alien species emerging from the sea to cause trouble. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Even the public's reactions were considered by the various countries. If the aliens were repelled, there would be nothing to say. However, if the defense system collapsed and the aliens landed in large numbers, the plan covered where weapons and equipment would be, where combat shelters would be, and how urban warfare and positional warfare would be conducted.
In short, the goal was to sow the seeds of resistance in the hearts of the people. Even if all countries were annihilated in this world-ending battle, a last sliver of hope for human resistance would remain.
What if, by some chance, they managed to drive the aliens away again?
In late March, the first repulsion ship was successfully commissioned. However, the issue of how it should set sail led to intense debate.
"Celestial bodies originating from the asteroid belt are primarily divided into three groups," Gong Yiding stated, pointing to a diagram of the solar system during a meeting. "The first group is the fastest, and their current position is here, expected to reach Earth by the end of August. The second group is slightly slower, arriving in November. The third group has just passed Mars' orbit and will arrive around March of next year."
He turned to face everyone. "The first two groups of celestial bodies are not numerous but are very dispersed, requiring a significant amount of time to deal with them. The third group is very numerous and relatively concentrated. However, alien warships are following closely behind. To deal with the asteroids, we must first confront the aliens."
Upon hearing his explanation, everyone immediately understood the problem.
The first two groups appeared easier to handle, but this was only a general classification. There were many scattered asteroids between these two groups.
This meant that once the repulsion ship set sail, there would be no opportunity to return to Earth for resupply!
From August to next March, a period of more than seven months, the fuel carried by the repulsion ship would certainly not be enough, requiring at least two to three resupply missions.
This was a very troublesome issue.
However, the first two groups merely meant more time spent. The third group was the real priority.
Sending out only the repulsion ship would undoubtedly make them no match for alien warships, which was tantamount to a voluntary sacrifice. However, dispatching warships would weaken Earth's defensive capabilities, creating a dilemma.
The group deliberated for a long time but couldn't come up with a good solution, as the decision to sortie was not solely up to Luojianshan.
The military's final decision was to equip the repulsion ships with two external pods, each containing a space-air combat aircraft armed with a nuclear warhead, as a means of countering alien warships.
No one expected two aircraft to make any significant impact on enemy vessels. It was merely a desperate attempt, a shot in the dark to gauge the opponent's reaction.
Thus, from late March to mid-April, six repulsion ships set sail in succession, heading in different directions to intercept asteroids.
In the common understanding, these small celestial bodies originated from the asteroid belt, and their flight direction would be perpendicular to Earth's orbit.
In reality, when the alien species began their movements, Jupiter and Earth were still on opposite sides of the sun. When the alien warships propelled the asteroids, their position was in front and to the side of Earth.
After the celestial bodies departed from the asteroid belt, they orbited the sun while approaching Earth's orbit. Their speeds differed, but their directions were the same.
If Earth were considered a normal-speed heavy truck, then the small celestial bodies leaving the asteroid belt would be a convoy of small cars, heedless of danger and eager to change lanes!
Furthermore, neither side had brakes, and a collision was unavoidable.
The repulsion ships operated on a similar principle. Instead of departing in a perpendicular direction, they accompanied Earth in orbit at the same speed. When they were about to encounter the rogue asteroids, they would slightly alter their course, allowing them to blend into the asteroid clusters and implement their intervention plan.
Starting in June, the repulsion ships successively approached their targets, using their unique repulsion systems to alter the orbits of the asteroids, achieving favorable results.
During this period, supply ships from the moon conducted seven resupply missions for the repulsion ships, more than double the planned number of resupply missions.
In August, the first batch of asteroids was about to reach Earth. The space defense system and ground defense system were on high alert. All spacecraft were prepared for impact. Any spacecraft that could take cover on the far side of Earth adjusted their speed to avoid the asteroid clusters.
This included the fleet.
In the early morning of August 6th, the first asteroid crossed the moon's orbit. Countries immediately issued collision avoidance alerts, and all citizens were instructed to prepare for evacuation.
Half a day later, the asteroid appeared at Earth's periphery, and citizens in various regions had already entered air-raid shelters or evacuation centers.
However, its orbit was influenced by the repulsion ships, and it ultimately passed by at a distance of over 90,000 kilometers from Earth.
Humanity's threshold was 65,000 kilometers. Once a celestial body entered this range, the space defense network would immediately open fire to destroy the incoming celestial body.
Subsequently, more celestial bodies flew towards Earth, but the vast majority of them passed by, heading towards Venus' orbit.
Within 12 hours, over four hundred asteroids posing a significant threat passed by Earth. Of these, only about thirty celestial bodies crossed the 65,000-kilometer line and were destroyed by the space defense system.
Fragments that entered the atmosphere exceeded forty thousand. For the next three days, the skies worldwide were filled with falling stars, and even in broad daylight, fireballs could be seen descending from the sky.
The ground defense system conducted an unprecedented large-scale live-fire exercise, destroying more than a dozen relatively large meteoroids in mid-air, thereby verifying the reliability of the ground defense system.
Afterward, the meteors gradually decreased until, a week later, this unprecedented meteor shower finally concluded. From then on, no one viewed meteor showers with romantic connotations.
Only over a hundred asteroids ultimately landed on Earth, with only seven falling into cities, causing minimal damage.
Citizens worldwide breathed a collective sigh of relief, and their persistent worries were somewhat alleviated.
On August 14th, the meteor shower left a final gift. The first space-air carrier completed its acceptance and was officially commissioned into service. The military named this warship Guanghan, in commemoration of humanity's first permanent research base on the moon.
Luo Tu was transferred to serve as captain, and Ling Xiao also departed from Luojianshan base to officially assume his duties.
This was the first space-air carrier in human history, entering service with a full complement of over five thousand personnel. While the people rested, the equipment did not; they conducted training day and night.
In November, the second space-air carrier, Antarctic, was officially commissioned. Captain Liu Wenwen, along with over two thousand personnel, including Ling Xiao, transferred to Antarctic. Both ships were replenished with personnel, with experienced members training new recruits to form combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time.
With this, two major combat clusters, centered around space-air carriers and primarily composed of expedition-class warships, were officially formed.
At this point, there were still four months remaining until the arrival of the alien fleet, which perfectly matched the countdown signal discovered earlier!
Luojianshan's monthly warship production had increased to three vessels. However, the military did not form new fleets. Instead, all new warships were sold to other parties.
It wasn't that they didn't want to continue. The remaining time was too short for new ships to become combat-effective. Rather than holding onto them, it was better to sell them to other allies, even if they could only serve to attract enemy fire and alleviate some pressure on the main force.
In the following months, Russia, the US, and the European Union successively received warships delivered by Yanjing. They also possessed decent manufacturing capabilities and, with Yanjing's strong assistance, had successively built several warships.
However, they did not have the advantageous conditions of Luojianshan. Not only were the construction costs exorbitantly high, but most of the equipment on the ships was also provided by Luojianshan.
By this time, Luojianshan was no longer a secret among the allies on Earth. The envy of the other nations was beyond words.
Allies with insufficient strength had no particular aspirations. However, Russia, the US, and the European Union had been contacting Yanjing through various channels, hoping to receive assistance from Luojianshan and establish a base on the moon as well.
Yanjing's reply was a single sentence: "Let's talk after we defeat the aliens!"
Thinking about building a base on the moon at such a time was wishful thinking! If they had the capability, they should do it themselves. If they didn't, they could only watch. Assisting them? They weren't their parents!
In late November, the second wave of asteroids arrived at Earth.
This time, Earth was better prepared. Various countries had carried out comprehensive mobilization beforehand, taking this opportunity to conduct a large-scale space defense exercise and destroy over a hundred passing asteroids.
A synchronized ground defense exercise destroyed over six hundred fragments that entered the atmosphere.
The density of the second wave of asteroid attacks was far less than the first, but it lasted longer. Asteroids of various sizes continuously entered the atmosphere, with the onslaught lasting for half a month!