Chapter 168
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Chapter 168: Knights To Battle!
“‘Meat Sauce’ received!” The voice of “Meat Sauce” came through the earphones. Despite being an elite pilot with abundant combat experience and a shootdown record against invading aircraft, this was the first time he took off alongside Lin Mo as his wingman. Their coordination seemed flawless, as if they had practiced together numerous times.
The two FC-20s glided through the sky like fairies, leaving graceful trails behind them and leaving fluffy white clouds below. The dazzling golden sunlight immediately illuminated the cockpit.
“Ghoul Squadron, airborne!”
Through the radio, they heard another J-10 twin team reporting their takeoff from the ground.
“We go east; you head north! Return after one hour of patrol!”
Lin Mo connected to the other squadron’s channel. The communications team handled the connections, so he only needed to speak directly with ground control, which simplified many unnecessary operations.
“Ghoul acknowledged!”
The IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system coordinated with the radar screen showed two sets of dots flying in different directions.
“Patrol starting! ‘Dragon Knight’ and Meat Sauce, initial area 25 airspace!”
The Chinese volunteer pilots carried out their routine armed aerial patrol duties. Though Pakistani pilots also provided air vigilance, the Chinese personnel often chose more complex airspace, which represented a challenge and demonstrated their sincerity.
On the ground, the Pakistani army was responsible for security, while Lin Mo’s small team primarily aimed to drive off any invading Indian fighter jets. If necessary, bringing one down would be even better.
The FC-20s were fitted with two AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles under their wings. This was simply a habit of the Pakistani Air Force, which preferred to buy airplanes rather than missiles and adapted to using American air-to-air missiles through modifications.
Though the SD-10 air-to-air missile produced in China was excellent, it was not cheap, so the Pakistani Air Force had to opt for the more affordable AIM-9P Sidewinder for close-range air combat.
In addition, they typically carried infrared decoy flares and had their cannon ammunition fully ready. Their aerial patrol focused on air defense, without mounting a rocket pod.
The satellite positioning system indicated that the “Knight” squadron had just flown over the important Pakistani city of Rawalpindi when an alert sounded on the radar screen.
“Indian aircraft detected, two Su-30MKIs, cruising along the ceasefire line,” the wingman “Meat Sauce” reported via radio to Lin Mo. “Using C-band encrypted channel!”
“‘Persian Cat’ has confirmed the report, airborne warning aircraft in fifteen minutes!” A sweet voice from the ground, likely a female soldier, brightened the mood.
Peshawar Air Force Base immediately got busy, with an F-16 squadron mobilizing into standby status, while the ZDK-03 airborne warning and control aircraft underwent final checks, and the crew prepared for takeoff.
In the sky, sometimes the fight was not only about weapons but also about suppressing electronic systems. With the electronic warfare systems onboard the warning aircraft, they could render enemy radars and missiles ineffective.
“Alright, ‘Meat Sauce’, should we go over and greet them?” Lin Mo’s handling of the situation clearly wasn’t as experienced as “Meat Sauce.” He simply knew to rush in and knock the adversary out of the sky.
It seemed Lin Mo had been doing exactly that since arriving in this world.
“That’s a good idea; let’s go tease them!” “Meat Sauce” was seasoned in these matters and had played such games before. “‘Dragon Knight’, be careful; don’t let them shoot you down!”
“Don’t worry; I can shake them off even without missiles or cannons.” Lin Mo joked, although it wasn’t really a funny joke since he had done it before. If not for many of his shootdown records being kept secret, he would have already been a true ace.
“Then let’s go; hard left turn, activate fire control radar, lock onto them!”
“Meat Sauce” became excited. This wasn’t like back home; the actual ceasefire line was merely a political cover. The real conversation would be settled by strength. Wearing helmets, who could tell whether the pilot was a true Pakistani or Chinese, as long as they used a specially encrypted channel.
The two Su-30MKIs were still unaware. The old Russian version’s radar lagged behind China’s active phased array radar. When Lin Mo and “Meat Sauce” were ready, the enemy’s radar screen just then revealed the signals of two J-10s and they were very unstable.
“Activate ECM!” Lin Mo and “Meat Sauce” synchronized turning on the electronic countermeasure systems. How to counteract was predefined and would operate automatically. Though the fighter jet’s ECM capabilities were quite rudimentary compared to specialized electronic warfare or warning aircraft, they could effectively disrupt enemy communication and radar locking.
“Detected… FC-20… Warning, this is Indian airspace… Otherwise… Open fire…”
The public channel buzzed with the threats of the Su-30MKI pilot.
Lin Mo paid them no mind and directly locked on using the fire control radar. As expected, a signal was sent out, indicating small black dots thirty kilometers ahead, swiftly changing direction and darting northwest.
Even though the two AIM-9P Sidewinder missiles under the wings had an effective range of only five kilometers and they did not carry medium-range air-to-air missiles, they still gave the enemy a real scare, successfully intimidating them.
“Um! Calling ‘Dragon Knight’, did you lock on?!” “Meat Sauce” queried in confusion through the channel. Thirty kilometers seemed beyond a normal human’s effective visual range, making Lin Mo’s sight seem extraordinary.
“Yeah, my eyesight is better! Hahaha!” Lin Mo replied with a smile; he was indeed known for his sharp vision, comparable to a close-range radar.
“Zing!” A wave of interference swept through both Lin Mo and “Meat Sauce’s” radar screens, and the ECM system blinked a red light indicating interference. Clearly, it had surpassed the equipment’s defense capacity. The defensive module was gradually weakening under the increasing influence.
“What’s happening? Calling ‘Persian Cat’, are there electronic jammers nearby?” Lin Mo inquired through the encrypted channel. The FC-20’s radar began operating at full power to search the surrounding airspace.
“There are no electronic jammers; the enemy has activated their ground radar countermeasure systems.”
“Is their position crossing the border? Find that radar station!”
“Meat Sauce’s” voice began to crackle with interference. Though using an encrypted channel, it couldn’t cope with the enemy’s full-band, high-power coverage. This output power was clearly beyond what a normal fighter jet could possess.
“‘Persian Cat’, ‘Meat Sauce’, I’ll find them; I excel at this!” Lin Mo volunteered while the signal remained unbroken. The yellow LED light representing signal interference started flashing rapidly; the source of interference was escalating its output power, trying to capture the FC-20’s communication channel.
“You’d better return and load anti-radiation missiles…” Gradually, the voice of the sweet-voiced soldier in the “Persian Cat” command center rose and fell, indicating the command center’s electronic systems were struggling to boost communication power.
“‘Dragon Knight’, I suggest…”
“Too late, damn, Surface-to-Air Missile!” Lin Mo’s warning radar blared a sharp alarm. Due to the interference, the warning radar’s operation range was suppressed, and when it finally alerted, Lin Mo could see with the naked eye a trail of white smoke rapidly rising from the mountains below, heading for the “Knight” FC-20 duo formation.
“Damn, damn, that’s no single-man weapon!” Lin Mo attempted to deploy infrared decoy flares, but just as he did, the operation was interrupted. “Meat Sauce, act as bait; I’ll deal with it!”
Inside the cockpit, Lin Mo gestured to “Meat Sauce” from a distance before sharply turning toward the oncoming missile’s direction and executing wide-banking maneuvers.
The onboard computer system had already identified the incoming missile type; this wasn’t a simple weapon. It was the SAM-22 “Greyhound” surface-to-air missile system (Russia’s Pantsir-S1), utilizing the high-speed 9M311M missile, capable of striking from 1200 to 20000 meters with an altitude reach of 10000 meters—a very tricky adversary.
It seemed that the Indians and Pakistanis were absolutely at odds; they seized every opportunity to strike hard. Despite years of ceasefire, when it came to combat, it was all-out.
“Meat Sauce’s” FC-20 immediately broke off from the duo formation, pulling a sharp line toward the missile, evidently exposing itself within the missile’s guiding angle.
This was made possible by the absolute trust in Lin Mo; the FC-20 chosen as bait occasionally scattered several bright red fireballs in the air, trying to draw the unwanted surface-to-air missile’s attention.
“9M311M missile, old Russian stock; I really should let ‘Caviar’ see how this firework is produced!” Lin Mo muttered to himself while activating the Light Mirror Technique, simultaneously maneuvering the FC-20 to bring the incoming missile into the cannon’s aiming reticle.
The gold giant dragon Gold Coin melded into the aircraft as usual before the Light Mirror Technique activated, controlling the black box to filter and record video and audio.
Timing perfectly, a burst of fire erupted, and Lin Mo’s aircraft launched fiercely toward the 9M311M missile, akin to a sheep charging at a big bad wolf.
Would he be chased forever by a natural predator, or would he become a hero? Even if just for a few seconds, Lin Mo ignored the missile that might abandon “Meat Sauce” for him.
