Spark

On the other side, in the Pacific Ocean.

On the plywood of the Reagan aircraft carrier, Jaylen Jackson had just driven his car FA-18 to land on the deck. After greeting the maintenance, he went straight to the bar in the living area inside the cabin.

At this moment, he yearns for a glass of iced Coke more than ever, because just now, the intensity of the flight training he experienced was too astonishing.

Large overload maneuver, beyond visual range attack, low-altitude penetration, high-efficiency take-off, touch-and-go-around.

Under normal circumstances, it is absolutely impossible to normalize the subjects of training. On this day, almost all of them have been taken.

In fact, this is not the first day he has had such training.

Since two weeks ago, since they entered the Eastern Pacific region, such high-intensity training has never stopped. Even he, who claims to love flying, feels miserable.

But even so, he dared not have any complaints.

Because he knows that the situation he is facing is not trivial.

What our side is about to face may be the largest conflict in human history - once it happens, even the "World War II" that has been told countless times in the stories of our parents and grandparents, I am afraid it will not be able to compare with it.

You know, this is a direct collision between two overlord-level countries in the true sense. Once the meat grinder is turned on, there are only two reasons to stop it:

Either it's running out of energy to keep it going, or it's just... out of meat.

Jay doesn't want to be the meat in the meat grinder, so he can only cooperate with the commander's order, squeeze his potential through high-intensity training, and try his best to fight for more chances of survival for himself.

But even so, Jay still had no confidence in his heart.

He has read the reports about those ghost fighters. As an experienced pilot, he knows better than anyone else that a fighter that cannot be found, and not only beyond the visual range, can even launch attacks from beyond the detection range of his own radar. How terrible the warplane is.

I am afraid that on the day of confrontation, the only chance for our own side is to rely on the advantage of numbers, under the cover of electronic warfare planes and early warning planes, to penetrate to close range at high speed, and exchange three or even four planes for the tragic battle damage of one plane. Chance to win.

——

However, thinking about it this way, the situation does not seem so pessimistic.

He once saw a joke that two people who were chased by a bear ran away desperately, not to run faster than the bear, but to run faster than each other.

Obviously, he must be the one who runs faster.

Thinking of this, Jay finally felt a little relieved.

He walked into the bar and sat on the bar counter, and ordered himself a glass of iced Coke, but his heart couldn't warm up after drinking the cold liquid.

The soldier who was also wearing a flight suit leaned over and said to him:

"How is it, Jalen, how are you doing today?"

Jaylen spit and replied:

"Very good and very bad."

"My girl is old, and every time I do a loading maneuver, I feel its wings creaking, and maybe one day it will fall apart directly"

"Relax bro, that's just your illusion."

Hearing his words, Jaylen couldn't help but rolled his eyes.

"Patrick, you fly E2C, of ​​course you don't feel it, you don't need to do roll maneuvers at Mach 1.6"

"Mach 1.6? Are you crazy?"

Patrick was shocked. Before turning into an early warning aircraft pilot, he had been assigned to F-16 and EA-18, but he had never heard of the operation as Jay said.

At that high speed, even a sharp turn could cause the aircraft to lose control.

roll?

That is really fatal.

"Yeah, I also think the commander is crazy. But you have to admit that if you want to survive our enemies, you have to be crazier than them."

"You may have seen the previous battles. Our fighters have no advantage in front of them. Once they are targeted, if they cannot counterattack quickly, there will only be two results: being shot down or captured."

Hearing his words, Patrick nodded heavily.

But then, he said with some relief:

"Fortunately, our destroyers will protect us."

"Have you heard? The latest L-band radar has been installed on the Burke class, and its anti-stealth capability is much stronger than the spy-1d we use now."

"At least within two hundred kilometers, their recognition rate for stealth units can reach more than 60%."

"...Two hundred kilometers. Patrick, do you know? Their latest air-to-air missiles have a range of 200 kilometers, and the range of air-to-ship missiles can reach an astonishing 1,000 kilometers or more."

"Tell me, with such an attack range, what is the radar recognition range of 200 kilometers?"

"But at least their air-to-ship missiles can't be carried by stealth fighters."

"...Well, this may be our only chance."

Jaylen shook his head helplessly, and continued:

"But you know, those missiles were launched from the H-20."

"."

Patrick was completely speechless. He looked around, as if he wanted to find someone to stand up and speak for him.

But in the end, he still chose to skip this topic, and instead said:

"Okay, Jaylen, don't think too much."

"Since the commander decided to participate in this battle, it means that they must be prepared."

"Instead of worrying blindly here, it's better to do your own thing."

"A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier."

Jaylen shook his head again, but he also saw Patrick's helplessness.

After all, as an AWACS pilot, in fact, the problems they are worried about should be solved by them.

But isn't the problem just that it can't be solved?

Jaylen didn't want to spread his pressure on Patrick, so he asked instead:

"I heard that you have been looking for the position of the 001 aircraft carrier formation. Has there been any progress recently?"

"We haven't, but the NRO has made progress. They have taken satellite pictures of the 001 aircraft carrier twice, but unfortunately, each time they are right on the edge of the cloud."

"So, they failed to achieve tracking as well."

"Is it far from us?"

Jaylen continued to ask.

"I don't know now, but according to the last information, they are at least two thousand kilometers away from us, which is beyond our warning range."

"That is to say, at least for now, we are still safe-no, my fault, it should be said, they are still safe."

The two looked at each other and smiled, each raising their glasses.

However, just as they were taking the last sip from their glasses, a man rushed into the bar in a hurry.

Then, he walked quickly to Patrick and said:

"Emergency, we need to take off immediately."

Patrick didn't say a word, but followed the man and left the bar, leaving only Jaylen in a daze.

At this time, he didn't know what happened, but a few minutes later, he received the same order.

Scramble order.

The fleet has not yet entered a state of emergency, but Jay Chou knows that this will happen sooner or later.

"Report, the location of the ship has been found, the distance is 600 nautical miles, and the intention is not yet clear."

"According to the feedback from the early warning aircraft, according to the radar signal, there are two E2-Cs and four EA-18s taking off."

"It is speculated that the other party has discovered our position, whether to launch into the air to intercept, please instruct!"

Inside the bridge, editor-in-chief Luan Yijun listened to the captain's report calmly, tapping the cup in his hand rhythmically with his fingers.

At this moment, he is caught in a long exam like a game of chess, and the question he is thinking about is:

At such a sensitive moment, what is the other party's intention?

——

Of course, they must be for investigation, there is no doubt about it.

But what about after the scouting?

Is it intended for deployment against an enemy, or is it merely a reference for routine activities?

The difference between the two will determine the difference in one's own countermeasures.

It is true that from a purely "military" perspective, one's own side can adopt the most aggressive approach. After the opponent enters the air defense identification zone, it will immediately rise into the air to intercept it, and even turn on the fire control radar to force the opponent to respond.

But such a move does not meet the requirements of the current overall strategy, because the risk of conflict it brings is too great.

In the process, no matter which side it is, as long as there is a slight misjudgment, the final result must be to open fire.

When the trigger is pulled, it only takes a moment to relieve the anger, but the trouble it will bring is immeasurable.

Thinking of this, Luan Yijun asked:

"Have you got the satellite image? Has the opposing fleet turned around?"

"I got it. No other actions have been found so far, and it is still advancing according to the scheduled route."

Having said that, Captain Cao Gangchuan paused for a moment, then continued:

"I feel that the other party doesn't seem to want to do something."

"The maximum combat radius of EA-18 is less than 800 kilometers, and the distance between us is still close to 1,100 kilometers. If we take off at this distance, it is purely to deliver food."

"Their purpose should be to send EC2 within the radar scanning range of 360 kilometers to detect and identify the configuration of our fleet."

"This is a purely provocative act, but the intensity of the provocation... how should I put it, is not too great."

"My suggestion is that there is no need to have a confrontation with them, and there is no need to carry out expulsion."

"Our training mission is over, and we are about to return to Hong Kong for supplies. At this time, it is neither necessary nor profitable--it is better to just leave."

Hearing Cao Gangchuan's words, Luan Yijun nodded first, and then shook his head.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Judgments that cannot completely eliminate risks are invalid judgments."

"We are indeed not within the opponent's combat radius, but they did not take off for the first time to launch an attack. This is just a purely reconnaissance operation."

"What I am worried about now is that after the other party has mastered our specific location and ship configuration information, it will cooperate with other aircraft carrier formations that we have not yet discovered to surround us."

"You have to know that now they have three aircraft carrier fleets in the western Pacific Ocean, but we only found one."

"Where are the other two? Can you tell? What if it is such a coincidence that they are right behind us?"

Cao Gangchuan on the side frowned. He originally wanted to say that the possibility of such a situation was too low. After all, the range of seas swept by KJ-500 was much larger than the range of seas that 001 actually sailed.

But after thinking about it, such an idea is indeed too hasty.

Moreover, one's own ships are not without the experience of being surrounded by the opponent.

If this kind of thing happens a second time in this era, no one can forgive it.

So, after a moment of silence, he asked:

"Then carry out deportation? But if we want to completely cut off the tracking chain of the other party, based on the current distance, we must implement uninterrupted electromagnetic interference against them for at least four hours."

"For us, this is very risky. Currently, the maximum combat radius of the J-10D is only 900 kilometers. It also needs the cooperation of KJ-500 and CH-9. If friction occurs during the process, we will not have time to support it."

"Make an emergency maneuver first, and get out of the opponent's detection range."

Luan Yijun put down his teacup and replied decisively.

"Just like us, they rely on satellites for their positioning. Neither the early warning aircraft nor the reconnaissance aircraft have yet intervened. That's why they can't wait to go forward, even at the expense of revealing their exact location."

"In this case, the probability of our successful escape is still very high."

"It doesn't take four hours, it only takes one hour, and we can get out of the opponent's maximum warning range."

"The range of the EA-18 is that big, unless they really want to die and send E2C to touch us without escort."

"But I don't think they can do this strategy of exchanging lives for information."

"Let's give an order, order, two J-20Bs, cooperate with J-10D to take off immediately, and drive away the approaching opponent's military aircraft."

"It must be ensured that within 1 hour, the other party will not approach within 400 kilometers of our side. After completing the drive away, return to the flight quickly, and the early warning aircraft will recover and land!"

"clear!"

Cao Gangchuan answered loudly.

In just five minutes, the J-20 and J-10D took off one after another. Under the guidance of the KJ-500, the four fighters quickly approached the opponent's active airspace, and before the E2C approached within the scanning range of the sea radar, Interception and electronic jamming are done.

The stalemate between the two sides lasted for more than an hour, and at this moment, the No. 001 aircraft carrier formation after an emergency turn has left the exposed area.

With a speed close to 40 knots, No. 001 got under the clouds at the fastest speed, completely blocking the opponent's satellite tracking route.

Luan Yijun breathed a sigh of relief. In his opinion, this potential crisis seems to have been resolved in an optimal way.

However, he didn't know that just a few hours later, a piece of news began to spread explosively on the world's major media:

"The formations of the two sides met in the Pacific Ocean, and the other party made a sharp turn and fled!"