Chapter 966 No retreat
Wuuwuwuwuwuwu————
Just after Wei Jingfang's order was issued, the entire Western Theater's military camps scattered across the northwest began to sound shrill combat readiness alarms one after another!
At the Golmud military airport in Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the reinforced bunker that was originally silent and filled with the smell of engine oil and rust inhibitors, the alarm lights suddenly burst into a dazzling red light!
A large number of maintenance personnel in dark blue work clothes rushed out from all corners like awakened worker ants, running towards the steel behemoths covered with thick dustproof cloth.
The G-7G fighter is hailed as the pinnacle of Zhou Bang's second-generation aircraft and is known as the "most powerful direct descendant of the Maoge-21 on the earth."
The maximum flight speed is 2.0 Mach, the practical ceiling is 17300 meters, the range is 1900 kilometers (on-board fuel), which increases to 2200 kilometers after hanging auxiliary fuel tanks, making it suitable for high-altitude interception missions.
武器配置方面：有1门30-1型航炮（备弹60发）+ 5个外挂点，支持周邦国产雷电-8乙（大离轴角发射）、LD-5C空空导弹等，可挂载500公斤炸弹或火箭巢，具备有限多用途能力。
In terms of avionics configuration: it is equipped with a pulse Doppler radar with a search distance of 30 kilometers, and for the first time realizes the ability to look down and shoot down. It is also equipped with a helmet sight that is the same as Zhou Bang’s new generation G-10A, supports PL-8B off-axis attacks, and greatly improves close-range combat effectiveness8.
Defense system: omnidirectional radar warning device + chaff/infrared jammer dispenser.
With such parameters, it is definitely the most powerful main aircraft except for Zhou Bang’s new fighter G-10A!
...
"Start the emergency power supply! Check the hydraulics! Prioritize refilling the duty machine with fuel!" The ground crew leader held a checklist in his hand, and his energetic roar echoed in the huge cave.
Upon hearing the order, the ground crew responsible for refueling immediately dragged a thick, black oil pipe and inserted it into the deep fuel tank of the G-7G fighter.
At the same time, the heavy door of the cave opened synchronously with the groaning sound of the hydraulic device, and the dazzling sunlight poured in instantly!
"Turn on the radar! Scan at full power! Filter out all clutter! Keep your eyes on the sky!"
In the airport control room on the other side, the commander's voice was hoarse and urgent.
As the radar console was quickly opened, snowflakes flickered on the screen. Technicians frantically tapped the keyboard, their fingers trembling slightly with nervousness.
Soon, the long-range early warning radar array, which had been in a "dormant" state for a long time due to the energy crisis, began to rotate its huge antenna with difficulty and creaking in the Gobi Desert, greedily sucking precious electricity and sweeping invisible detection waves into the crisis-ridden sky!
...
The rough runway is exposed to the dry, hot, dusty winds of the northwest wilderness.
The first G-7G fighter jet to be towed out of the reinforced hangar by a tractor still had traces of sealing grease on its fuselage. It looked particularly old under the glaring sky light, like a dusty sword.
The pilot, who was already fully dressed with his helmet and visor fastened, did not hesitate at all. With the assistance of the ground crew, he moved as smoothly as if he had practiced it thousands of times. He quickly climbed the boarding ladder and got into the G-7G's narrow and almost suffocating cockpit.
"boom"
The hatch closed heavily, blocking out the howling wind and dry air from outside.
Time is life, and the pre-takeoff inspection procedures are compressed to the limit, retaining only the critical items that are related to survival in the air.
Only about five minutes later—
Buzz~~~Boom——!!!
The engine of the G-7G fighter jet kept building up momentum from a dull roar until it suddenly erupted with a violent roar that tore through the air!
The orange-red hot tail flame gushed out violently from the nozzle, instantly distorting the scorching air behind it, as if it was going to ignite the runway!
Whoosh-!
The next second, this iron eagle carrying the last dignity of the sky in the Western theater, like an arrow shot from a strong bow, suddenly broke free from the gravity in the wind and sand, with its nose raised high, resolutely piercing the lead-gray sky full of dangers!
Subsequent fighter planes followed one after another, and the roar of their engines intertwined into a tragic war song over the desolate airport.
In the pre-departure briefing, the cold data was like a hammer, hitting every pilot's heart:
'Based on the radar characteristics and performance, the opponent is most likely a fourth-generation fighter jet that the entire Zhoubang aviation industry has never been able to achieve!'
The peak of the second generation versus the fourth generation...the gap between them is more than just a generation gap.
It was a crushing defeat of an entire era! It was enough to make anyone who understood the cruelty of modern air combat instantly fall into a cold, suffocating, and boundless despair!
Back off? No choice!
Fear? Bury it deep in your heart!
Just because this is the western war zone and the airspace belongs to Zhou Bang!
Therefore, even if there is a Shura field ahead where one has to face death, or a killing array where one is doomed to fail, they - must move forward courageously!
"Fourth-generation aircraft?" In the cockpit of the G-7G, Captain Xu Feng's helmet visor reflected the dim light of the instrument panel.
The knuckles of his fingers gripping the joystick turned white from the force, but the look under the helmet was like tempered ice, dignified and sharp, burning with a fierce will to 'draw the sword when encountering the enemy, and to fight to the death when drawing the sword'!
"Come on! Even if it means risking my life or crashing into you with a plane, I will pull you down from the sky!"
...
Golmud Airport Control Tower, in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
Liu Guangpu, deputy commander of the Western Theater Air Force and major general, was wearing an air force uniform that had been washed so much that it looked bleached, and his body looked like a solidified sculpture.
His red eyes were fixed on the runway outside the window, where one G-7G fighter after another was taking off like moths to a flame. His Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and his voice was hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against it and with uncontrollable pain:
"Commander, is this...really worth it?"
Every word seemed to be torn out from the heart: "Those...are the last sparks of our theater air force!"
At one side, Lieutenant General Wang Zhiming, commander of the Western Theater Air Force, also stood at the window with his hands behind his back.
His straight back was like a weathered poplar tree in the Gobi Desert, revealing an almost tragic hardness. At this moment, he deliberately put his hands behind his back, as if to hide the slight trembling that could not be suppressed due to extreme pain.
"Guangpu..." Wang Zhiming's voice was low and hoarse, like the sound of wind in the depths of the Gobi Desert:
"We have no retreat."
He paused, his eyes piercing through the thick glass, looking at the lead-gray sky torn apart by the fighter planes, and also at this desolate and vast land:
"This is the territory of the Zhou State. Our ancestors have lived here for generations. If we retreat further, where can we retreat to..."
"But Commander!" Liu Guangpu turned around suddenly, his red eyes seemed to be bleeding!
This was the first and only time in his decades of military career that he contradicted and disobeyed his superiors. His growl was accompanied by a whine that sounded almost like a plea:
"Second generation aircraft! Go intercept fourth generation aircraft! How can this be called a war?! This is clearly... clearly sending our pilots to their deaths! It's like using an egg to hit steel!!"
He was heartbroken, because each of those pilots who took off was a rare treasure, the only spark of hope for the future of the Air Force!
...
