On the other side, on the Pacific Ocean.
On the plywood of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Jaren Jackson had just landed on the deck in his FA-18. After greeting the crew, he went straight to the bar in the living area inside the cabin.
At this moment, he longed for a glass of ice-cold Coke more than ever, because the intensity of the flight training he had just experienced was too shocking.
Large overload maneuver, beyond visual range attack, low-altitude penetration, high-efficiency take-off, and go-around after touching the ship.
Subjects that were absolutely impossible to train on a regular basis under normal circumstances were almost all covered on this day.
In fact, this is not the first day he has conducted such training.
Since two weeks ago, since they entered the Eastern Pacific region, such high-intensity training has not stopped. Even he, who claims to love flying, feels miserable.
But even so, he didn't dare to complain.
Because he knew that the situation he was facing was no small matter.
What our side is about to face may be the largest conflict in human history - once it occurs, even the "World War II" that has been mentioned countless times in the stories of our parents and ancestors will probably not be able to compare with it.
You know, this is a real direct collision between two hegemonic countries. Once the meat grinder is started, there are only two reasons left to stop it:
Either the energy that supports its operation has run out, or the meat has run out.
Jaylen didn't want to be meat in the meat grinder, so he could only cooperate with the commander's orders, squeeze his potential through high-intensity training, and try his best to gain more chances of survival for himself.
But even so, Jaylen still didn't feel confident.
He had read reports about those ghost fighters. As an experienced pilot, he knew better than anyone that a fighter jet that could not be detected was not only beyond visual range, but could even attack from outside the detection range of one's own radar. How scary fighter planes are.
I'm afraid that when the day comes for a head-on confrontation, our only chance is to rely on our numerical advantage to break through at close range at high speed under the cover of electronic warfare aircraft and early warning aircraft, and exchange for the tragic battle damage of three or even four aircraft for one. Go for a chance to win.
——
However, thinking about it this way, the situation does not seem so pessimistic.
He once saw a joke. Two people being chased by a bear ran away desperately. The purpose was not to run faster than the bear, but to run faster than each other.
Obviously, he must be the faster one.
Thinking of this, Jaylen finally felt a little more relaxed.
He walked into the bar and sat on the bar, ordering himself a glass of iced Coke, but after drinking the cold liquid, his heart could not warm up.
A soldier on the side who was also wearing a flight suit came over and said to him:
"How's it going, Jaylen, how are you doing today?"
Jaylen spat and replied:
"Very good and very bad."
"My girl is getting old. Every time she does an overload maneuver, I feel her wings creaking. Maybe one day she will fall apart."
"Relax, brother, that's just your imagination."
Hearing his words, Jaylen couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Patrick, you are flying an E2C. Of course you won't feel it. You don't have to do a roll maneuver at Mach 1.6."
"Mach 1.6? Are you crazy?"
Patrick was shocked. Before he became an AWACS pilot, he had also flown F-16 and EA-18, but he had never heard of operations like what Jaylen said.
At such high speeds, even a sharp turn may cause the plane to lose control.
Roll?
That's really life-threatening.
"Yes, I also think the commander is crazy. But you have to admit that if you want to survive in the hands of our enemies, you must be crazier than them."
"You've probably seen previous combat examples. Our fighters have no advantage over them. Once targeted, if we can't counterattack quickly, there are only two results: being shot down or captured."
Hearing his words, Patrick nodded seriously.
But then, he said with some relief:
"Fortunately, our destroyers will protect us."
"Have you heard? The Burke-class has been equipped with the latest L-band radar. Its anti-stealth capability is much stronger than the spy-1d we use now."
"At least within two hundred kilometers, their recognition rate of stealth units can reach more than 60%."
".Two hundred kilometers. Patrick, did 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 over 1,000 kilometers."
"You said, with such an attack range, what is the radar identification range of two hundred kilometers?"
"But at least their air-to-ship missiles cannot be carried by stealth fighters."
".Well, this might be our only chance."
Jaylen shook his head helplessly and continued:
"But you have to know that 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 chose to skip the topic and said instead:
"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, the problems he is actually worried about should be solved by them.
But isn’t the problem unsolvable?
Jaylen didn't want to spread his pressure to Patrick, so he turned to ask:
"I heard that you have been looking for the location of the 001 aircraft carrier formation. Is there any progress recently?"
"We don't have it, but there is progress on the NRO side. They have taken satellite images of the 001 aircraft carrier twice, but unfortunately, each time they were right at the edge of the clouds."
"So, they couldn't track it either."
"Is it far from us?"
Jaylen continued to ask.
"I don't know yet, 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, I should say, they are still safe."
The two looked at each other and smiled, each raising their wine glasses.
However, just as they took the last sip of their drinks, a man hurried into the bar.
Then, he walked quickly to Patrick and said:
"Emergency, we need to take off immediately."
Patrick didn't say a word, but just followed the man out of the bar, leaving Jaylen alone in a daze.
At this time, he didn't know what happened, but a few minutes later, he received the same order.
Emergency liftoff order.
The fleet has not yet entered a state of emergency, but Jaylen knows that this will happen sooner or later.
"Report, the ship's location has been found, it is 600 nautical miles away, and its intention is not clear yet."
"The early warning aircraft reported that according to the radar signal, there were two E2-Cs and four EA-18s taking off."
"It is speculated that the other party has discovered our position. Please give us instructions whether to launch an interception!"
In the bridge, the editor-in-chief Luan Yijun listened to the captain's report calmly, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the cup in his hand.
At this moment, he was caught in a long test like a game of chess, and the question he was thinking about was:
At such a sensitive moment, what does the other party want?
——
Of course, they must be for investigation, there is no doubt about that.
But what about after the reconnaissance?
Is it to be deployed for enemy operations, or is it just a reference for routine activities?
The difference between the two will determine the difference in our response measures.
It is true that from a purely "military" perspective, one's own side can adopt the most radical approach. After the opponent enters the air defense identification zone, it immediately takes off to intercept it, or even turns on the fire control radar to force the opponent to react.
However, such a move does not meet the requirements of the current overall strategy because the risk of conflict it brings is simply too great.
During the process, no matter which side it is, as long as there is a slight misjudgment, the final result will be to open fire.
Pulling the trigger and relieving your anger only takes a moment, but the trouble it can cause is immeasurable.
Thinking of this, Luan Yijun asked:
"Did you get the satellite pictures? Did the opponent's fleet make any steering movements?"
"I got it. No other movements have been detected so far. It is still moving forward according to the planned route."
Having said this, Captain Cao Gangchuan paused for a moment, and then continued:
"I don't feel like the other party wants to take action."
"The maximum combat radius of the EA-18 is less than 800 kilometers. The distance between us is still close to 1,100 kilometers. Taking off for combat at this distance is purely to deliver food."
"Their purpose should be to send EC2 within a 360-kilometer radar scanning range to detect and identify the configuration of our fleet."
"This is a purely provocative act, but the intensity of the provocation is, how should I put it, not too great."
"My suggestion is that there is no need to confront them head-on, and there is no need to carry out evictions."
"Our training mission has ended, and we will return to Hong Kong for supplies soon. At this time, it is neither necessary nor profitable to create extraneous matters - 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 their first takeoff was not to launch an attack. It was just a pure reconnaissance operation."
"What I'm worried about now is that after the other party has mastered our specific location and ship configuration information, it will conduct joint operations with other aircraft carrier formations that we have not yet discovered to contain us."
"You have to know that they currently have three aircraft carrier fleets in the Western Pacific, but we have only discovered one."
"Where are the other two? Can you tell clearly? What if it's such a coincidence that they happen to be behind us?"
Cao Gangchuan on the side frowned. He originally wanted to say that the possibility of this situation happening was too low. After all, the sea area swept by the Air Police-500 was much larger than the sea area that 001 actually sailed.
But on second thought, this idea was indeed too hasty.
Moreover, it is not that our own ships have never experienced being surrounded by the opponent.
If this kind of thing happens a second time in this era, no matter who it is, it will be unforgivable.
So, he was silent for a moment and asked:
"Then execute the eviction? But if we want to completely cut off the other party's tracking chain, based on the current distance, we must implement uninterrupted electromagnetic interference on them for at least four hours."
"This is very risky for us. The current maximum combat radius of the J-10D is only 900 kilometers, and it also requires the cooperation of the Kongjing-500 and Rainbow-9. If friction occurs during the process, we will not have time to provide support."
"Carry out an emergency maneuver first to get out of the opponent's detection range."
Luan Yijun put down his teacup and replied decisively.
"Like us, they rely on satellites for positioning. Neither early warning aircraft nor reconnaissance aircraft have intervened yet, so they can't wait to move forward, even without hesitation to reveal their exact location."
"In this case, the probability of us successfully escaping 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 only that long, unless they are really desperate and send E2C to attack us without escort."
"But I don't think they can do this strategy of exchanging lives for information."
"Give me an order. Order. Two J-20Bs will immediately take off in conjunction with the J-10D to drive away the approaching opponent's military aircraft."
"We must ensure that within one hour, the other party will not come within 400 kilometers of us. After completing the eviction, we will return 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 each other's active airspace. Before the E2C approached the sea radar scanning range, Interception and electronic jamming completed.
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 had left the exposed area.
At a speed of nearly 40 knots, No. 001 dived 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 seemed to have been resolved in an optimal way.
However, he did not know that just a few hours later, a piece of news began to spread explosively in major media around the world:
"The two formations met in the Pacific Ocean, and the other side made a sharp turn and fled!"
(End of chapter)
