Chapter 283 Slip away

For a time, the two F4EJs were in a dilemma.

Under such an absolute numerical disadvantage, it takes courage to continue the confrontation.

But after all, they were the ones who took the initiative and rushed towards this side with great force. If they turn around and run away without even seeing each other now, it seems to be too embarrassing...

Kato Hikaru initially thought about whether to request reinforcements from the 302nd Air Force at Naha Base.

However, the current deployment of the air force still follows Cold War habits. The aviation units located in the southwest are not elite, and their combat readiness level is relatively low.

Considering that the base is still about 400 kilometers away from this airspace, even if reinforcements are sent, it will probably take about half an hour to arrive.

If we want to take off the F15J with better performance, it may take longer.

According to the speed at which the two sides are flying towards each other, visual contact will enter in at most three minutes. By then, even if everyone maintains restraint, they will be 2 against 8...

After all, you can't take advantage.

Moreover, the fuel consumption of fighter jets during violent maneuvers is much higher than that of normal level flight. Before reinforcements arrive, both sides may have withdrawn their troops.

In the cockpit, Sora Kato cursed in his mind that the ground radar station that had just provided him with target information was unreliable.

"There are only three large planes", I really believed their lies.

At this tangled moment, the voice of the wingman pilot came over his radio:

"Could this be their trap from the beginning?"

"What trap?"

This sentence made Kato Koichi, who was already in a state of facing fewer enemies and more, even more nervous.

"This...I can't say. Maybe they want to introduce us to fighting within visual range, and then rely on the numerical advantage to prevent us from flying back, or use a camera gun to take a few photos of us being bitten, you know, It’s hard to avoid that in a melee.”

If Kato could be a little calmer, he should be able to tell that the wingman has no clue about this and is just guessing now.

But the content of the other party's wild guess hit exactly what the former was most worried about.

"The Self-Defense Forces are essentially a government agency, while the Self-Defense Officers are essentially civil servants."

This sentence not only describes their training level, but also describes their organization method and operating logic.

If you do more, you will be wrong; if you do not, it will be good.

If what the wingman just said really happened, Kato would have to take the blame.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that it would not be so shameful to turn around and go back...

But before that, the posture and preparations for throwing the blame still need to be sufficient.

"The opponent has a huge numerical advantage, and your concerns are indeed justified."

Kato slightly pulled the throttle with his left hand to allow the plane to continue to slow down, and at the same time slightly changed its flight direction to avoid a head-on collision with the opponent's fleet of aircraft shown on the radar:

"We can't fight them head-on now, call for reinforcements, and delay for a while."

He knew that all conversations would be recorded by the onboard equipment, and if there was any trouble later, it could be used as a tool for him to explain his actions.

After saying this, Kato adjusted the airborne radio to the satellite communication channel and prepared to communicate with the Naha base behind.

"Base, this is COSMO 356. The situation you just reported was wrong. We found 8 more Chinese fighter jets near that large aircraft. They are presumed to be J-8s. Please support us!"

However, a few seconds passed and no reply was received on the radio.

Realizing that the situation was getting out of control, Kato endured his inner uneasiness and called again.

Still no response.

At this time, Yamamoto Kaku's voice came from behind:

"It seems that our satellite communication has been... interfered with?"

"How is it possible? This is communication equipment that was just upgraded last year. Compared with before, the frequency band was even specially switched."

Kato Hikaru subconsciously denied this statement.

But there seems to be no other explanation.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he asked his wingman to try calling again.

Didn't get any response either.

"What the hell..."

Previously, Kato Koichi was still able to persist at a 2 vs. 8 disadvantage, mainly because of the support of the two flight teams behind him. The range and overall performance of the F4EJ exceeded that of China's main models, the J-6 and J-7, and even more Needless to say, the slightly distant Nittahara base also has the world's most advanced F15J, which has an absolute advantage in terms of quantity and performance.

But now, for whatever reason, this advantage no longer exists.

On the radar, the Chinese fleet is only less than 30 kilometers away from its two-plane formation...

"This is over the high seas. We are training normally. It was just an accidental encounter."

"As long as you fly back safely, no one will know what happened here."

"..."

As the saying goes, nothing is difficult in the world, as long as you are willing to give up. After some mental construction, Kato Koichi convinced himself to forget about the thoughts he had when he came to find trouble about twenty minutes ago, and then took a deep breath:

"Let's return."

The two planes performed a 90° roll simultaneously, then turned rapidly and deviated from their original route.

……

At the same time, dozens of kilometers away, the SouShui 8 radar on the Yun-2000J immediately captured the opponent's movements.

"They retreated."

Shen Tao also heard the report coming from the back cabin.

"Did you really scare me away?"

This was a quite surprising result. In fact, he had just prepared for visual contact with two F4EJs.

As a result, the other party suddenly became timid.

As a veteran Hainan Airlines pilot, Shen Tao has naturally had contact with the Air Self-Defense Force.

Although the training level is far inferior to that of the US military, so that experienced radar soldiers can distinguish whether the target is an F15J or an F15C just by looking at the track, but no matter what, relying on more advanced weapons and equipment and the old father behind him as a backup, Kong Zizi has brought a lot of trouble to China's aviation forces in the past few years.

It was indeed the first time that he had seen this kind of situation where both parties turned around and ran away without even seeing each other.

Haven't even heard of it before.

As a result, today, an accidental encounter that was considered unexpected for both parties actually revealed the other party's true form.

This difference made Shen Tao start to think about whether the passive defense strategy in the past was a bit too conservative.

Although the performance of the electronic warfare aircraft was indeed very good, in the previous confrontation exercise, the radar on the Y-8J was rendered useless. Presumably, the two other aircraft also suffered similar interference.

However, this is definitely not a reason to run away from the enemy.

It seems slightly more reasonable to attribute the reason to the lack of courage of the opponent's pilots, and it is also more in line with the writing habits of our army's post-war summary.

But Shen Tao has a deeper idea about this——

A famous senior general of our army once said that if the commander does not understand the environment and is not prepared for the enemy's attack when the enemy suddenly attacks, then even if he is usually brave, he will be helpless and have to do three things. Of the sixteen strategies, running is the best strategy.

In his view, this is the core of the problem.

Kongzi has no plan or preparation to deal with an emergency like today.

They have better radars and more early warning aircraft to provide more complete air surveillance capabilities, but in essence, their adaptability is quite average.

In the final analysis, in the past, the other side had always been fully prepared to take the initiative to provoke, while China was in a relatively passive situation.

But this time, offense and defense have changed.

So, if we can take the initiative a few more times like today (actually it can only be regarded as normal maritime training), will it be possible to disrupt air self-sufficiency and thereby reduce the sea and air pressure faced by the eastern direction?

Shen Tao gritted his teeth and decided to start writing as soon as he returned.

Of course, he alone as the flight commander cannot make a decision on this kind of matter.

But a report from a flight commander can make more people start thinking about this issue.