Chapter 158
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Chapter 158: Fighting Enemies Beyond the National Gate
In one corner of the hangar, the sound of clanging filled the air every day as laser welding machines and ultrasonic melting equipment flashed continuously, creating a bustling production scene. After the funding was secured, the speed of assembling aircraft increased significantly.
However, Old Pan frowned deeply. Lin Mo was great at many things, but once he got serious, it was impossible to pull him back, as if he were dragging ninety-nine cows. After all, building a fighter jet was no small task for any individual.
Everyone informed about the situation had little hope for Lin Mo. It was one thing to get the plane in the air, but reaching supersonic speeds was another matter. What about the engine? How would wind tunnel testing be handled? How could they achieve the balance needed for weapons payloads and high-g maneuvers? These were all obstacles as challenging as reaching the heavens.
It was expected that only after Lin Mo retired would he be able to smoothly transition to the aircraft design institute and start his career as an aircraft design researcher.
Watching the weekly arrivals of massive shipments of parts, the Aircrew Group shook their heads in unison. How much was all of this going to cost? An actual aircraft couldn’t afford to miss even a tiny component; thousands and thousands of parts had to be assembled. They estimated that Lin Mo would not see the final product until after his retirement, along with many of the technical aspects involved.
In early July, the long summer entered its hottest phase. An alarm rang out in the aircrew group’s hangar, and the doors of the underground warehouse opened to reveal a J-10A freshly painted in military green camouflage, ready for takeoff.
An urgent scramble order came; the original operational plan was generated a week prior but was only kept on standby until now.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Lin Mo had entered a standby status, going through adjustments and preparations for the fighter jet.
A neighboring country’s anti-government rebels were about to cross into China’s Xinjiang border, prompting the neighboring government forces to issue a warning to China. They allowed for limited Chinese military participation in the elimination of the rebels since this involved both countries’ territorial security. These rebels, acting like stray dogs with no home, cared little about national borders and were fleeing in a panic, not choosing their paths wisely.
“Come back early! We have senior leaders visiting this afternoon! Finish up quickly!” Captain Pan shouted loudly at Lin Mo while pointing to his watch next to the aircraft.
“Understood!” Lin Mo replied, taking the helmet handed to him by the ground crew and giving Old Pan a thumbs-up.
The first priority was completing the combat mission; this was the longstanding rule of the Night Special Forces. When military situations became urgent, orders from higher-ups were not to be questioned—even if it was the highest authority.
The J-10A warmed up on the runway for a while before accelerating fast, roaring as it shot into the sky at a 30-degree angle, heading straight into the blue.
Once airborne, the landing gear slowly retracted into the fuselage, as the small, hilly terrain below provided enough cover, allowing Lin Mo’s fighter jet to rise undetected.
“Direction, southwest. Rendezvous at coordinates, longitude XX, latitude XX!”
A voice came through the headset from the operational department. Lin Mo responded, “Call sign One is received.”
This time, he was not flying solo; he was to merge with another J-10B. The two fighter jets would operate in tandem.
Since the Night Special Forces acquired J-10 fighter jets, their combat efficiency had significantly improved. Casualties among personnel had decreased sharply, and the rates of mission completion had risen accordingly. They could now undertake high-risk combat missions.
Other special forces tasked with securing national territories and areas near their borders grew envious of the Night Special Forces’ achievements and considered forming their own aerial attack units.
However, not everyone could enjoy the unique advantages of maintaining fighter jets and pilots like the Night Special Forces. In addition to necessary facility hardware and logistical support, high standards were required for personnel staffing as well.
After joining the Night Special Forces for more than half a year, Lin Mo’s J-10A, code-named “Gold Coin,” was now responsible for coordinating operations in nearby task areas, whether for combat or reconnaissance missions, providing an insurance policy for various operational units on their tasks.
Today was the second time he had been called to duty this week. According to the data on his tactical tablet, the enemy was not just a small-time band of thieves but rebel militants with organized armed forces. After suffering defeats in combat against the government forces, they began fleeing in disorder, potentially crossing into China’s borders under pursuit from the neighboring government’s military.
These uncontrolled, lawless individuals could create significant troubles if they entered China.
With 9.6 million square kilometers of land and a long border, it was impossible to intercept all the numerous illegal intruders, classified by the level of threat and handed over to local violent agencies for resolution.
Ordinary checkpoints and entry points were controlled by border soldiers and customs officers, typically sending back common illegal entrants through public security. Armed police dealt with drug trafficking and smugglers, while dispersed armed militants were eliminated by local soldiers or nearby military. More dangerous groups, such as numerous terrorists and illegal armed forces, were dealt with by special forces.
If the situation escalated further, they would have no choice but to engage in live-fire exercises in collaboration with the neighboring army, treating it as a small-scale war against the rebellion.
The news reported on television and in newspapers often hinted at double meanings behind so-called exercises.
“Two is in position! Target has been identified as One!”
Lin Mo heard the voice of the second aircraft’s pilot over the encrypted channel. The onboard radar displayed a green friendly signal, indicating that the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system was activated.
“Confirm! One is at an altitude of 7,000 meters. Calling Two—form a close formation with a lateral distance of 2,000 meters and a height difference of 500 meters. Target is to the northwest!” Lin Mo commanded, holding the authority to direct his wingman as the lead aircraft.
“Received! Formation will be completed in 30 seconds! Beginning engagement now!” The second aircraft, codenamed “Azure Wolf,” initiated a temporary dual mission. The pilots only knew their partner’s code, flying habits, and strengths; Lin Mo remained unaware of any other information.
Maintaining a straight cruising speed, Lin Mo did not alter his flight path. After a moment, a similarly camouflaged J-10B slowed down and maneuvered into formation 2,000 meters to his right.
Both J-10s were equipped with two rocket pods, two 250-3 air-to-ground cluster bombs, and an LT-2 Thunder 500-kilogram laser-guided bomb hanging beneath the fuselage. They had only used 5 of the 11 mount points available, and their main mission lay in raiding critical targets, dealing devastating damage, and utilizing their cannons to eliminate fire points.
Though the J-10 was an air superiority fighter, perhaps due to the army’s excessive confidence in its strength, the domestic Q-5 jets did not live up to expectations. The J-10, originally designed solely for aerial combat, had to also possess ground attack capabilities.
“Connect with operational units, Night Second Squad, ‘Hidden Dragon’ First and Second Squads.” Lin Mo began calling the ground forces. The J-10’s speed was incredibly high, allowing it to approach the battlefield without much delay.
The battlefield was already outside the Chinese border. Both countries had communicated with each other, and the neighboring government was gathering forces to wipe out the bulk of the rebels. For this small group of fleeing insurgents, the Chinese military was permitted to send a limited force for cross-border interception.
To handle the invading rebels, China deployed several special forces teams for interception and eradication, with two teams from the Night Special Forces joining the effort—around 200 personnel and two armed helicopters.
A soft beep echoed over the communication channel as the ground forces’ channel integrated into the aircraft’s communication system, with a team assigned to manage the calls.
Just as the connection was made, intense gunfire and explosions roared in their ears. “One, Two, are you almost there?”
It seemed that a low-intensity conflict had already erupted into a small-scale war.
“Reconfirm coordinates, longitude XX, latitude XX. We will arrive overhead in 5 minutes!”
Lin Mo replied methodically. From the sounds background, the ground forces seemed engaged in heavy combat; otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent two J-10 fighter jets to assist.
“Great! Four armored vehicles need to be dealt with. We’ll provide ground laser guidance shortly! The enemy has armed helicopters and several Stingers! Our WZ-10 is pinned down! The enemy has roughly 300 personnel.”
“Understood!” Lin Mo switched channels again: “Two, altitude 2,000 meters. Any issues with the bombing? I’ll go first, you cover me. Once I’m done, you follow up while I cover you.”
“Not a problem! Let’s get started! Connecting to the battlefield data link!”
Pilot Two, Azure Wolf, operated the electronic systems and synced with the ground command operation system. Several screens on the dashboard began to switch, providing basic battle status feedback on the terrain map.
“Report! The J-10 formation is in position and ready to commence!”
Within 20 kilometers on the Chinese side of the border, several large green command vehicles and radar systems were fully operational. A tent had been set up, not with paper maps but a complete set of tabletop 3D display screens, receiving satellite reconnaissance data from WZ-10 on the battlefield to visualize the entire situation during the confrontation.
Standard military maps used different colors and symbols to express quantities.
Not far away, military vehicles and tanks were hastily heading to the border to assemble, carefully positioning ambush positions based on the terrain layout.
