Chapter 294

Chapter 294: "Dark Sabre" vs "Lightning II"

Although Lin Mo lacked air-to-air weapons, the cannon was a formidable close-range dogfighting tool, and his dazzling maneuvers forced the two F-35 "Lightning II" fighters from the U.S. military to scramble.

Indeed, Lin Mo, known as the "tactical maneuvering warehouse" ACE air combat ace, maximized his fighter jet’s advantages.

Weight, speed, endurance, payload capacity, and maneuverability combined formed critical parameters for assessing an aircraft’s performance.

Without Gold Coin’s assistance, the odds of a "Dark Sabre" taking on two "Lightning IIs" were quite unfavorable. Underestimating the F-35 pilots would be a grave mistake; those flying the world’s most advanced models were all elite pilots from their respective countries. Even without combat achievements, their skills rivaled those of true ACEs.

Lin Mo had successfully matched aerial combat experience from another world with this world’s dogfighting techniques, allowing him to quickly become an ACE. However, he now faced ACE pilots of equal caliber.

“Damn it! If Gold Coin were here, I’d show you what it means to be the ‘Ripper of the South China Sea’!”

After all, while the fighter jets in this world boasted speed, range, and firepower, their reliability was quite disappointing; even small injuries severely impacted aircraft performance.

Lin Mo even started to miss the days with Gold Coin around, as having the gold giant dragon by his side would make his fighter invincible, slicing through enemy jets and making the U.S. carrier aircraft flee at the sight of their Chinese counterparts.

Right now, Lin Mo relied solely on his understanding of the "Dark Sabre" and his superb dogfighting skills.

If an accident were to happen now, he would have no choice but to eject; otherwise, his life would be in danger. He wondered if Gold Coin was nearby—if only he were.

Unfortunately, he had given that guy a week off; otherwise, he wouldn’t feel so restrained. Many special dogfighting techniques came at the cost of structural damage to the aircraft, meaning they could be risky to employ, unlike when Gold Coin was around, where he could unleash them freely.

He kept the "Dark Sabre" maneuvering under 9G overload. The two C-802 anti-ship missiles under the wings weighed 1.5 tons, and combined with the two auxiliary fuel tanks, this cancelled out the weight advantage compared to the F-35s.

If Lin Mo turned the J-15 "Dark Sabre" and flew away now, the two F-35 "Lightning IIs" likely wouldn’t pursue heavily; however, that would signify retreat.

As an elite strategic force on the battlefield, a Dragon Knight’s dignity did not allow Lin Mo to flee without fighting, and the honor of being an ACE air combat pilot in this world required him to embrace challenges to maintain it.

The two F-35 "Lightning IIs" began to exchange roles for cover while executing assault maneuvers—one created a barrier to restrict the "Dark Sabre’s" maneuvering space, while the other switched to a tailing attack, ready to merge into a double-ship formation, maintaining their numerical advantage.

You could not see behind you; even if the enemy attacked from below, you were unaware… If you became isolated, blind spots would increase. —The world’s top aerial combat ace killer: German Air Force Colonel Erich Hartmann.

Alright, this tactic might work against ordinary pilots, but it was completely ineffective against Lin Mo, who had the Light Mirror Technique. As a light-element Dragon Knight, he effectively had no visual blind spots.

Lin Mo, the "tactical maneuvering warehouse," executed various post-stall maneuvers in sequence, switching positions midair while alternating between offense and defense, leaving the enemy unable to secure an advantageous position and resulting in a stalemate.

“I’ve got the reach and the teeth of a killing machine,

with a need to bleed you when the light goes green,

best believe, I’m in a zone to be,

from my Yin to my Yang to my Yang Tze.

Put a grin on my chin when you come to me,

cuz I’ll win, I’m a one-of-a-kind and I’ll bring death…”

Major George Ell, codename "Rocky Mountain," directly opened the public channel, howling the song as he pursued the "Dark Sabre" with his comrade, Major Minick Jerry, codename "Swallow."

To him, it had almost become a game; since neither side was likely to open fire first, he eagerly entertained the idea of "teasing" the enemy while continuously locking them with fire control radar.

It truly was an intriguing "game." It was rare for two nations’ carrier-based aircraft to engage under such circumstances, and higher-ups had raised no objections. They eagerly anticipated the outcome of the two nations’ aircraft confrontation.

In their eyes, the pilot of that "Dark Sabre" was certainly no ordinary pilot; his elaborate maneuvers were ones they had never seen before. They were astonished that the J-15 "Dark Sabre," modified from the Su-33, was capable of such peculiar movements.

While Major George Ell remained utterly calm, singing as he piloted, his teammate, Major Minick Jerry, appeared flustered. From the very start, he had regarded the "Dark Sabre" with trepidation and suddenly exclaimed, “Amazing! It just made a sharp turn and nearly shot me down—no, no, it used a tail chase! A tail chase! I’ve been hit! I’ve been hit!”

He was horrified to realize that for that brief moment, the enemy’s nose had aligned with him for a second. With the reflexes of a professional fighter pilot, that was enough to get hit by enemy cannon fire. If this had been real combat, he would have been in serious trouble.

“Okay, okay, we’ll shoot it down! This is just a game; damn it! It actually used rudder turns. I didn’t hit it? Isn’t it afraid of stalling? How fierce! It actually managed that. Okay, let’s continue to push it and make it convinced, ‘Swallow,’ cover me while I attack from the side.”

After pausing his howl of "Song of Warriors," Major George Ell pulled the joystick and executed a Mongoose maneuver to dodge the "Dark Sabre’s" sudden fire control radar locking on him.

Almost simultaneously, Minick Jerry, though not as carefree as George Ell, exchanged offensive and defensive roles with the "Dark Sabre" using a Cobra maneuver.

Both fighter jets utilized vector-thrust engines and could perform various post-stall maneuvers.

But as the wingman, "Swallow" quickly returned to the rear 60-degree cone of "Rocky Mountain," forming a common trapezoidal formation for vigilance.

George Ell completely dismissed the idea of his wingman being simulated and shot down. As long as they could recover even a point, it wouldn’t count as a loss. However, if they were both shot down, they would definitely face consequences upon returning; the enemy could rightfully paint two F-35 emblems beneath the cockpit, but that was impossible!

Compared to the main attack of the leader, the wingman’s tasks were more complex; not only did they have to cover the leader’s blind spots, but they also needed to constantly remain vigilant for the leader, making them a prime target for the "Dark Sabre’s" sneak attacks.

Both were high-performance supersonic fighters; at subsonic speeds, they could close almost 200 meters in one second. Not to mention air-to-air missiles, even their cannons wouldn’t hit. They both possessed lethal capabilities, yet they could never seem to find the opportunity for a decisive strike.

Positioning—a term from basketball that could equally apply to aerial dogfights.

Both sides were well aware of each other’s weapons envelopes, trying to avoid lingering too long within them. In real combat, once locked on, shooting the opponent down would just take seconds.

“Don’t forget to close your airway. Right, right, Mongoose, counteract the overload! Damn it, how many super maneuvers has it made? Ten or twenty? Can’t it get injured? It’s doing continuous super overload maneuvers! If it were me, I would have passed out by now. This guy’s stamina is enviable and astonishing—he’s definitely cheating!”

“‘Rocky Mountain,’ the bait tactic isn’t working on him; he’s too clever for that. Hurry up with a different strategy; I’d bet he’s a Chinese major-general pilot. Nobody else could hold out for so long against both of us together. He must be an ace.”

“I understand, ‘Swallow.’ You’re right; he’s a cunning guy. No wonder he dared to come out alone! In a one-on-one, whether it’s you or me, even with no one on the aircraft carrier, nobody would come out unscathed. It’s infuriating!”

As time passed, Major George Ell gradually lost patience. This level of air combat was burning through fuel too quickly. Although the opponent had auxiliary tanks attached, their fuel reserves were nearly equal. If they kept engaging like this, they would run out of fuel and crash into the vast ocean, which would be utterly embarrassing.

“Calling C Squadron, calling C Squadron, your air combat area is nearing the ‘George Washington’s’ core control airspace. Your target has become a serious threat to the ‘George Washington’s’ air supremacy. You are ordered to expel it immediately.”