the other side.
Leon sat slumped in his exclusive seat, with a sluggish expression on his face, as if all his strength had been drained away.
And that was indeed the case - within just a few days, he suffered another major blow.
The first time he was electronically suppressed, his first reaction was to fight back immediately.
After all, in addition to the EF-18 on Ishigaki Island, there are also several EA-18G and EA-6B in the Kadena base.
Logically speaking, such a powerful electronic warfare force should be able to fight no matter what force it confronts.
But the reality was completely opposite to what he expected.
Facing the opponent's electronic warfare aircraft that came from nowhere, our own air units were completely unable to fight back. From the beginning to the end, they did not even touch the opponent's real radar signal.
The only time, an EA-18G had a lucky break. During a high-speed maneuver, it approached within 30 nautical miles of the opponent, burned through the opponent's electromagnetic interference, and successfully locked onto the opponent's fighter plane that was performing interference operations.
At the first moment, the pilot subconsciously turned on the fire control radar, but then, the opponent's escort wingman - a stealth fighter - appeared behind the EA-18G.
When the radar warning device sounded, the pilot immediately understood that he had been completely defeated.
Therefore, he no longer struggled, but shook his wings in a friendly manner, turning around and returning in a "letting others be slaughtered" posture.
Fortunately, the J-20A did not seem to intend to push the already tense situation into the fire again. After continuing to track for several minutes, it also turned around and returned.
After it left, the electronic interference against the Kadena base finally ended, and those fighters that were almost lost in the air were able to return.
After this battle, Lyon no longer had the idea of "going further".
In the report, he deliberately downplayed the process of this electronic warfare and did not exaggerate the opponent's strength as usual in order to gain more support.
Now he doesn't seek to make any achievements, he just wants to finish the remaining time as soon as possible, and then return to his hometown to be his chief officer.
It is precisely because of this mentality that the entire Kadena base fell into a strange calm.
Even if the radar captures an abnormal signal, the base will no longer enter an emergency state like the first time. Instead, after slowly verifying the signal, it will symbolically take off two EA-18Gs to perform the so-called "driving away" action.
Everyone could see what Leon was thinking, and some even secretly criticized his weakness behind his back, but Leon didn't care at all.
No matter how unpleasant it is, there is not much time left, so why bother with yourself?
Just do whatever you want.
I used to be a passionate patriot, but now there is no need.
Thinking of this, Leon straightened up slightly.
He looked at the assistant opposite and asked:
"As for the island country, have their helicopters picked it up?"
After hearing his words, the assistant shook his head and replied:
"The location where it fell is deep sea, and it will be impossible to fish it out in the short term."
"Not to mention helicopters, even the bodies of the fallen soldiers have not been recovered. It is estimated that they will be forced to invest a lot of resources in this matter for some time to come."
"Well, that's their business."
Leon replied indifferently.
Then, he continued to ask:
"When can those four EF-18s be recovered?"
"It is expected to be recovered within two weeks - the island country will fly it back to Tokyo, where we will receive it."
"The originally proposed development plan for Ishigaki Island has been cancelled. At present, such plans have completely lost their meaning."
"If electronic interference cannot be solved, building more bases will be in vain."
"Having the electromagnetic advantage means taking all the advantages."
"It can only be left to the country. Raytheon has begun to work with Mercury Defense to analyze the interference signals we have collected during this period. It is expected to complete the analysis within one to two months and formulate a dedicated response strategy. "
"By that time, the impact of this system will be significantly reduced - at least, it will no longer affect the daily operations of the entire base."
"The requirements are really low."
Leon laughed disdainfully, but then he sighed and said:
"We're improving, they're improving."
"As long as you take a step slowly, the follow-up will continue to be slow."
"Our advantage in the Pacific is getting smaller and smaller. It started with island building, followed by fourth-generation aircraft, bombers, radars, and now, even electronic jamming and electronic countermeasures, they have begun to gain the upper hand."
"If this continues, what else can we do after their new generation of nuclear submarines is born?"
"I don't know what we need to do to curb the decline in relative combat effectiveness."
"Maybe, no matter what you do, it's impossible."
"We are destined to lose this sphere of influence. I only hope that it will not be lost in my hands."
Hearing this, the assistant couldn't help but reveal a secretive smile.
He looked at Leon and said slightly teasingly:
"Even if you want to personally destroy the advantage, it's not that simple."
"After all, it has been less than a month since you left."
"As long as you can leave smoothly, do you care whether it will be lost? That is no longer something you need to consider."
"Yeah, it's really not something I should consider."
Leon nodded in agreement, but soon, his brows wrinkled again.
".But the thing is, I have to think about it."
"You have to know that this sea is not as calm as you think from beginning to end. Every wave of it affects our global layout."
"Without the electromagnetic hegemony in the Pacific, we will no longer be able to defend the areas we care about, and we will no longer be able to use a few warships to contain their submarines under a narrow water surface as we did before."
"Isn't their new destroyer, 055, or Renhai class, already approaching us?"
"The reason why they are so unscrupulous is definitely not without reason."
"Behind this large destroyer, maybe they have already made complete combat arrangements and are just waiting for us to take the bait."
"You're awake."
The assistant said in agreement.
"Losing electromagnetic rights means losing Asia-Pacific. We really can no longer restrict them."
"I can even guess the other party's plan."
"First it was electromagnetic suppression, then the 055 and the aircraft carrier were officially put into service and started patrolling, and then they accelerated the reclamation of islands, captured cities and territories, and disintegrated the order we had finally established."
"Not just in this sea, in fact, I even heard that the situation in Africa is not optimistic either."
"Their defense-changing ships have arrived in the Gulf of Aden, and the Fifth Fleet does not seem to intend to continue the blockade - they do not know the equipment configuration of the 052C and do not want to risk creating friction."
"This is really scary. In just a few years, our advantages have disappeared, while their technology is increasing day by day."
"I really don't know where they got the technology from. Maybe they are really aliens."
"It would be nice if they were aliens."
Leon said with a wry smile.
"If the technology is provided by aliens, it is at least irreproducible."
"Now, the opponent's situation is obviously different."
"They are not only copying, but they are constantly climbing forward and creating more and newer technologies."
"Seriously, it's only now that I can understand why they are so powerful, even powerful for thousands of years."
"This country - or rather this nation is really terrible."
"On the surface, they're competing with us."
"But really, they're always only comparing themselves to themselves."
"And we may be just a slightly larger stepping stone on their way forward."
Meanwhile, the Gulf of Aden.
A cargo ship departing from Shanghai is heading towards the Red Sea. Their goal is to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait within two days, then cross the Red Sea and then head to Europe through the Suez Canal.
The captain of this ship is named Wang Xianzong. Although his name sounds grand, in fact, he is a slightly thin and old middle-aged man.
Of course, after wandering at sea for a long time, it is impossible for his body to stay young.
His only wish is to make enough money in the shortest possible time, and then take his family back to his hometown to live.
After nearly two decades of hard work, his goal is about to be achieved.
If all goes well, it is likely that this voyage will be the last of his career.
——
Of course, he never told anyone about this matter, and even in his own mind, he didn't set any specific goals.
He has watched a lot of movies, so he also knows that, generally speaking, all actions that are advertised as "the last time" often don't end well.
But luckily, everything has been going smoothly so far.
This cargo ship has crossed a distance of tens of thousands of kilometers and passed the most dangerous stage. Even in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates are said to be most prevalent, they have not encountered danger.
Everything should go smoothly for the rest of the journey, but Wang Xianzong always felt a little uneasy.
He held the rudder tightly with his hand and asked the first mate beside him:
"Have you contacted Djibouti? Can our warships provide escort?"
The first mate shook his head and replied:
"I got in touch, but they haven't responded yet."
"The old Americans are too tight. They can't leave the base at will."
"It seems that all Chinese ships have not been escorted recently."
"But it's not a big problem. I contacted the ships in front of me and they said that the probability of hitting the American ship is low."
"Even if you get hit, it usually won't be a big problem. At most, you'll be stopped and questioned for a few words, and you'll be released soon."
"The only exception was Lao Xutou's ship. He was smart and hired a security company to escort him across the Gulf of Aden. However, Lao America found out that the security company had connections with Sudan, and the ship was delayed for several hours."
Hearing the first mate's words, Wang Xianzong couldn't help but frown.
He took a deep breath and cursed:
"Damn it, these naughty Americans are really looking for trouble!"
"This is fucking high seas. What right do they have to inspect our ship? Do they really think they are the world's police?"
"So awesome, why don't they just kill those pirates? Why are they always making things difficult for us!"
"Return to the Somali pirates, I think they are the biggest pirates!"
The first mate sighed helplessly and replied:
"There's no way to do that. People are under the eaves and have to bow their heads."
"Haven't you heard? Recently, more than a dozen ships from the United States and the United States have been crowded in the Gulf of Aden, including aircraft carriers."
"They seem to be preparing to go to war in Sudan - but I think the war is fake, and the disgusting thing about us is real."
"Over in Djibouti, our warships are blocked and can't get out. Can't we just leave it like this for the time being?"
"They can't do anything, what else can we do?"
"Be patient, we are not strong enough now. When we have an aircraft carrier one day, we will let them see how we behave."
Wang Xianzong nodded silently and said nothing.
In fact, in just a few words, he had even thought about how he would drive this huge cargo ship to fight with the opponent if he was really stopped by an American warship.
The bow of a cargo ship is much harder than that of a warship. If the angle is controlled well, it can even directly ram through the warship.
If you are lucky enough to sink a warship, then you can be regarded as an anti-American hero who has made great contributions, right?
Thinking of this, he smiled to himself.
In fact, this can only be thought about.
I want to be a hero, but the crew on this ship still have to eat.
We all have a family and we must not ruin other people's families just because of impulse.
Therefore, Wang Xianzong silently suppressed the anger in his heart, and then said:
"Go down and check again later, prepare all the procedures, and if there is any contraband, clear it out as soon as possible."
"If we are unlucky and encounter them, we must make it clear that we will not dock at the Red Sea and will go directly to Europe through the Suez Canal."
"In short, we just can't let them think that we might pass through Port Sudan."
"To put it bluntly, they just don't want our country to evacuate overseas Chinese so easily and do all these roundabout things!"
"Understood, I'll get ready."
The first mate agreed and left the captain's cabin, while Wang Xianzong continued to sail the ship.
He kept praying in his heart, hoping that he would have some luck.
But unfortunately, what you are afraid of will come true. After a while, the signals of other ships appeared on the radar screen.
Immediately afterwards, a call in English came from his radio.
The content is simple, let him slow down and wait for inspection.
"His grandma's!"
Wang Xianzong couldn't help but cursed. He wanted to ignore it and rush over, but unfortunately, not long after, he saw a warship flying the Stars and Stripes appearing on the sea in the distance.
People have been waiting for a long time.
Now that you've come, let's make peace with it.
If it's a little troublesome, just be a little troublesome. When the time comes, say a few more nice words and treat them as auspicious words to them when visiting their graves.
The cargo ship continued to move forward, and the outline of the warship in the distance became clearer.
Wang Xianzong soon saw that in addition to warships, several speeding boats appeared on the sea and were heading in his direction.
This is the US inspection ship.
He continued to slow down the boat, feeling unwilling to do so.
In fact, judging from the feedback from other ships, these old Americans did not do anything too extreme. Although they blocked the road for inspection, they basically followed the rules.
But even so, Wang Xianzong still felt angry, and the point of his anger was just one sentence:
Why?
What law enforcement power do you have? Why can you investigate me?
Seeing the boat getting closer and closer, Wang Xianzong became more and more irritable.
He felt that his dignity had been trampled on.
——
No, not only one's own dignity, but in this case, the dignity of the entire country has been trampled on.
It would be nice if we had more warships.
Even if there are two or three more ships here, the United States will not dare to be so arrogant, right?
His hand let go of the rudder and silently clenched his fists.
At this time, the two small boats were only a few hundred meters away from the cargo ship. Wang Xianzong was about to go to the deck to wait, but the next second, something unexpected happened to him.
The boat that was heading towards them actually turned around.
The originally noisy radio suddenly became silent.
He looked at the scene in front of him strangely and subconsciously asked the first mate:
"What happened? Why did you leave again? No more checking?"
The first mate also shook his head inexplicably. After observing for a long time, he replied:
"It seems that they stopped checking. Look, the two warships have turned around. It seems like they are giving way?"
"Make way for us? How is that possible!"
Wang Xianzong sighed and continued:
"Are they still afraid of us? It's impossible. There must be something else."
"wrong!"
The first mate suddenly came to his senses.
"They are not making way for us. Rather, they are making way for the boat behind us!"
After saying that, the first mate quickly ran towards the stern of the ship.
Wang Xianzong followed closely behind, looking towards the sea in the distance with him.
And soon, he understood the reason why the American ship "gave way".
At the junction of sea and sky, a silver-gray warship slowly rose to the surface of the sea.
And above the mast of the warship, a bright red color was flying.
That was the Zhengzhou ship that had just arrived in the Gulf of Aden.
At the same time, a call in Chinese came from the radio.
"This is the ZZ ship."
"Please note that cargo ship number sanjiangkou19801465227153 ahead, we have received your ship escort application."
"We're following you, don't stop the boat, keep moving forward."
(End of chapter)
