Chapter 849

Chapter 849: A Regrettable Battle

Though military and civilian flight paths did not overlap, there was always the worry that someone might foolishly attempt to invade the military airspace. Despite the clear blue sky and excellent visibility over a great distance, the potential for unexpected danger was high.

To illustrate, it’s like two people walking toward each other, where there is a significant chance they might collide due to awkward, asynchronous sidesteps. For fighter jets, if within visual range, a collision could occur in an instant.

“I have detected two ‘Black Hawk’ helicopters! They appear to belong to the Chengdu Military Region and are currently on a mission.”

As the flight group ascended, Colonel Cao Yueyang activated the active phased array radar, starting to scan the nearby airspace. Soon, he picked up several signal light dots. The onboard computer system immediately filtered out some non-threatening low-flying objects, which were just model aircraft and birds causing clutter.

Noticing the new information on the radar screen, Major Chen Jun added in the communication channel, “There is a civilian aircraft, a 737, heading to Zhuhai, flying at the same altitude as us. It is climbing, with an expected altitude of 10,000 meters. Should we adjust our altitude?”

“Let’s maintain our current altitude,” replied Colonel Cao Yueyang, who was in charge of leading the formation. “The Y-8 can only fly up to 10,400 meters, and anything higher is not possible.”

“That’s right! Colonel Cao is correct; I’m almost at full capacity here, so maintaining our cruising speed is already impressive.”

The pilot of the Y-8 transport aircraft agreed with Colonel Cao Yueyang’s command over the communication channel. The Y-8’s operational ceiling was 10,400 meters, and flying at 8,500 meters while fully loaded was quite satisfactory.

“Detected one ‘Aurora’ high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft, at two o’clock direction.”

Lin Mo’s voice suddenly cut into the communication channel.

“Aurora? A high-speed U.S. reconnaissance aircraft has appeared here? Why is there no response on the radar?” Major Chen Jun reacted with astonishment.

“…Little Lin, you’re not joking around, are you?”

Colonel Cao Yueyang looked toward the empty space at two o’clock on the radar screen. Even with the output power of the active phased array radar at maximum, he still couldn’t find anything unusual.

Beeep!

Almost simultaneously, a non-critical special alarm sound echoed throughout all the cockpits, interrupting Colonel Cao Yueyang’s questions.

“It’s a missile! Something just launched surface-to-air missiles! Another one is heading out; that’s the second one! What’s happening? Is something big occurring?”

Red warning dots popped up one after the other on the radar screen, as Major Chen Jun shouted. It was quite rare for air defense military operations to suddenly occur in the Chinese mainland.

“No, there’s a third, fourth one! They’ve been identified as FD-2000s! There are a total of four, heading to the two o’clock direction. Little Lin, were you right? Is it a brazen incursion by American aircraft into our territory?”

Colonel Cao Yueyang’s voice shifted from doubt to shock. However, he did not issue a directive to change course at the moment. This battle had nothing to do with them, and the higher-ups wouldn’t deploy three J-10 fighter jets with limited attack capability.

From the moment the alarms sounded, the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) signals indicated that the airborne surface-to-air missiles posed no threat to their group. Even flying nearby, there was no need to worry about the missiles misidentifying their targets. This was the benefit of the IFF signal system.

The ground radar network’s air defense system registered all flying objects’ identification signals, automatically discerning which were harmless animals, which were national aircraft, and which were unidentified flying objects, while confirming their threat levels through electromagnetic signals, flight speeds, and postures.

Once a threat was confirmed, ground air defense forces would quickly arrange corresponding surface-to-air strike capabilities based on the opponent’s flight data, just as Lin Mo and his team now witnessed the FD-2000 long-range air defense missiles targeting high-altitude, high-speed objectives.

“The ground has already discovered that high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft! Those FD-2000 missiles are aimed at it. Look to the sky! It’s still at the two o’clock direction; you should be able to see something!”

Lin Mo called out to the two other pilots in the cockpit of his J-10B stationed on the left wing of the triangular formation, pointing at the sky.

Cao Yueyang and Chen Jun both raised their heads, straining to look towards the two o’clock direction in the sky.

Up in the extremely high altitudes, they could faintly see a long trail of what appeared to be white pearls.

That was the intermittent trail unique to pulse detonation engines, further confirming that an American high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft had just zipped past above them at incredible speed.

“It really is the American ‘Aurora’! Your eyesight is remarkable!”

Colonel Cao Yueyang suddenly realized, “No wonder there was no response on the radar; their altitude is too high, and their speed is too fast. It’s really difficult for the cone-shaped detection area of the active phased array radar on the J-10 to discover a high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft that can reach 40,000 meters!”

The reason Lin Mo could identify this mysterious SR-91 high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft was due to his use of the Light Mirror Technique; the onboard radar couldn’t detect it, so he relied on his exceptional eyesight to find it instead.

“It’s gone! It missed!"

Major Chen Jun shook his head as he looked down at the radar screen. The first three FD-2000 surface-to-air missiles missed their targets and the last one also failed to reach the high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft, exploding mid-air instead.

The speed of the strategic reconnaissance aircraft was not to be underestimated; it evaded the surface-to-air missiles solely through its remarkable speed.

What a waste of these four high-performance missiles! The ground troops could detect the high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft, likely not just relying on the large ground radar systems, but also with the help of laser and optical radars.

“Such a pity!”

Lin Mo’s tone was not one of agreement; he genuinely felt it was unfortunate.

If he were piloting the X-8 “monstrous” variable wings fighter jet now, he would undoubtedly break away from the formation at full speed to race against this aircraft, which could exceed six times the speed of sound.

He might even have a chance to shoot it down and earn a significant achievement.

But here he was sitting in a J-10 fighter jet. Sigh. While advanced, it simply wasn’t up to the task, which truly was a pity.

With the firepower and speed of the J-10, against the Americans’ reckless reconnaissance aircraft, all he could do was watch helplessly.

Major Chen Jun suddenly said, “That reconnaissance aircraft was likely aimed at us.”

“Really? There’s nothing valuable around here.”

The pilot of the transport aircraft voiced his opinion, feeling it would be such a waste if it were truly targeting their formation.

“It could very well be aimed at us. If they carefully plotted our flight path, given the sensitivity of the coastal nations, the Americans might suspect we are amassing forces, so they would definitely come to investigate.”

Colonel Cao Yueyang, seasoned in the Air Force, offered his analysis, rich with experience.

“Colonel Cao’s analysis is quite possible! The ‘Goddess of Dawn’ has always been cautious; it wouldn’t just follow fighter jets for no reason.”

Lin Mo nodded in the cockpit. The force projection of the three J-10 fighter jets was not insignificant; even the slightest change in armed forces along the coast would heighten tensions among neighboring countries and regions.

The sudden appearance of the Americans’ high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft and the interception by ground-to-air missiles were mere interludes on the return journey. During the subsequent flight, the three pilots remained highly focused and vigilant until they completed their landing without any disturbances.

Once back on the ground, Lin Mo and his two instructors quickly received news about the sudden missile launch on their route.

Part of it indeed aligned with Colonel Cao Yueyang’s analysis; the transition of the three J-10Bs toward the coastal area had drawn the attention of the wealthy Americans. However, that high-speed reconnaissance aircraft was merely passing by and scouting them.

Perhaps frightened by the Chinese ground air defense force, it seemed unlikely that the “Goddess of Dawn” would appear over China again for a long time.

Even though the four FD-2000 missiles failed in their first battle, they had demonstrated enough flight speed and maximum strike altitude to threaten the Americans’ expensive strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

After the Y-8 transport aircraft completed its unloading, Lin Mo and the other two instructors took the time to pick up the latest technical data for the J-10B fighter jets.

As finely crafted modern warfare instruments, each batch of products included small improvements.

Along with the fighter jets and maintenance tools came thick technical data, providing trainers and pilots with a deeper understanding of the aircraft’s intricate performance.

If they were lucky, they might even discover the “Easter eggs” included in the materials, which were special techniques designed for pilots by the most experienced fighter jet design experts.

Upon opening these technical documents, Lin Mo did indeed find those hidden “Easter eggs,” but he immediately chuckled wryly. Some of the technological advancements used in the J-10B fighter jet appeared strikingly familiar, resembling the modifications he had originally applied to his J-10A.

He never expected that after receiving these modification plans, Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group would adopt many of them, leading to Lin Mo finding numerous technical documents that were essentially his own designs.

No wonder during the transition flight, he felt a sense of déjà vu in the flying habits of the J-10B, as if the fighter jet had been tailored just for him.

It was likely that the technical experts at Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group had conducted numerous validations before confidently implementing these designs in the latest version of the J-10 fighter jet.