Chapter 331

Chapter 331: The Duel of Knights

The process of a missile hitting its target took less than a few seconds. Even if Lin Mo could react in time, the “Dark Sabre,” despite its amazing maneuverability, could not match Lin Mo’s speed.

Thus, to deal with the remaining incoming missile, Lin Mo unleashed all his firepower without considering conserving ammunition.

The two missiles used up nearly a third of the “Dark Sabre’s” total ammunition. However, the remaining supplies were sufficient for the upcoming battle.

Lin Mo did not waste any limited ammunition on the Vietnamese, showing his foresight.

As the saying goes in the Zuo Zhuan: “In battle, it is about courage. With the first beat of the drum, morale surges, the second weakens, and the third is depleted. Their courage has waned while ours remains strong, thus we prevail.”

As another enemy aircraft approached, Lin Mo did not adopt a conserve-ammo close-range tactic but instead launched repeated powerful counterattacks to warn the opponent that their tricks were futile.

Hmph! With the threats gone, Lin Mo raised the nose of the aircraft and stopped hovering over the ocean. He began to climb in altitude, heading straight for the pure white unmanned combat aircraft.

Enemy! Lin Mo had completely identified the opponent.

“Report to the command center, I am the ‘Dragon Knight.’ I have spotted a white unmanned aircraft attacking me, and I am preparing to retaliate.”

“Are you certain it is a drone? I see it—it’s radar-invisible. Radar can’t detect it at all; only optical satellites and your onboard surveillance camera can barely capture it. You are authorized to retaliate. I will dispatch a squadron of ‘Dark Sabres’ to support you now!”

“No, no, no, not too many. We only need ace pilots; this opponent is formidable, and their tactical setup is very seasoned, not much inferior to mine.”

“Understood. I will notify Colonel Wu to support you.”

Colonel Wu?! Lin Mo was surprised when he requested only ace pilots for the battle and found the command center directly selecting Colonel Wu Nanjie. He never expected Colonel Wu was also an ace pilot; he had never seen that side of him before.

“Alright!” Lin Mo was very confident in the operational capabilities of China’s ace pilots and continued, “I will activate the battlefield data link now.”

Colonel Jiang at Base 7759 had once nearly defeated the gold giant dragon, leaving him searching for his teeth; he almost exploded that guy. During the India-Pakistan war, the old ace pilot “Wild Chicken” fought alongside him with equal combat capabilities. Although his tactical maneuvers weren’t as dazzling as Lin Mo’s, he achieved victory with a few straightforward tactics.

Activating the battlefield data link meant providing the fighter’s data and communication assistance to teammates for coordinated combat.

Two-plane formations always have an inherent advantage over solo fighters.

“Come on!”

The “Dark Sabre” pulled up slightly, moving closer to the pure white unmanned aircraft. Although a head-on clash would quickly close the distance, it would also put him in the enemy’s most advantageous attack zone.

The attack zone refers to the area where a fighter’s onboard weapons have the most concentrated attack trajectory, representing the most lethal area for a fighter’s attacks.

In the sky, it seemed like two knights on horseback encircled each other, the white unmanned aircraft having a height advantage and stunning speed through its dive, causing the sonic booms in the sky to completely overpower the J-15 “Dark Sabre.”

Thick contrails were clearly visible speeding toward each other, not only from the jet engine’s condensation but also from the water vapor in the air condensed by the sonic boom.

During the large arc engagement, both aircraft tipped their wings, leaving long white trails, dancing gracefully yet deathly.

The enemy aircraft flew at 4.5 Mach, at an altitude of 7,000 meters.

Lin Mo’s aircraft flew at 1.5 Mach, at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

This was the result of laser positioning transmitted by the optical satellite; the radar screen remained completely black.

Climbing higher would give him altitude but at the expense of speed, and Lin Mo would not make such a poor trade.

He activated more Light Mirrors floating before him, enhancing reconnaissance and display effects.

The unmanned combat aircraft did not need to consider the pilot’s tolerance, allowing it to achieve high speeds, which was quite disadvantageous for Lin Mo’s “Dark Sabre,” especially due to the opponent’s aerodynamic layout. Its elongated shape indicated speed, while the extended wingspan and wing area denoted maneuverability. The aerodynamic layout was merely a compromise between speed and maneuverability; the essence ultimately relied on the efficiency of engine thrust.

In terms of speed, conventional fighter jets couldn’t even keep up with missiles.

Regarding maneuverability, no fighter aircraft could match a sparrow. Yes, that’s right—no plane could match the agility of a bird, mainly due to the effect of overload.

As someone new to the aircraft design industry, Lin Mo, collaborating with experts from the 611 Institute on aerodynamic layouts, estimated the maneuverability of the opposing aircraft based on its shape. Removing the tail meant it used vector thrust engines, making rolls more agile and harder to hit.

Seeing an opportunity, Lin Mo pressed a button, firing a short burst from the cannon. It was just a quick shot; he didn’t want to waste valuable ammunition.

Two auxiliary fuel tanks dropped from the undercarriage, and since there weren’t many weapons loaded, the “Dark Sabre” was exceptionally nimble.

The 30mm cannon shells could reach a distance of 3,000 meters. During the brief moment the shells flew toward the pure white unmanned combat aircraft, it quickly dodged, slipping past the barrage.

It seemed to possess bullet-dodging skills comparable to Lin Mo’s.

Lin Mo nodded; with a single shot, he confirmed that the maneuverability of this white unmanned combat aircraft was even better than that of the F-22, and extraordinarily responsive.

While its speed was inferior to the enemy’s, that didn’t constitute a complete disadvantage; exterminating the opponent only required one opportunity. As long as he kept the nose of his aircraft aimed at the target, he would be fine.

The two aircraft quickly entangled at an altitude of four thousand meters, going back and forth for several rounds, each unable to find a suitable firing position.

Since it was a remote-controlled unmanned combat aircraft, it couldn’t perform full-band jamming, and Lin Mo’s electronic warfare system appeared to be ineffective.

After nearly two minutes of entanglement, neither side attempted risky maneuvers like hooks and Cobra maneuvers. Instead, they fully utilized their respective aircraft’s strengths for small maneuvering adjustments to seize attack positions.

Perhaps in the next second, they would unleash all their firepower, or perhaps nothing would happen, still engaging in mutual maneuvers.

Lin Mo and the opponent both understood that reducing speed would mean exposing vulnerabilities, providing an opportunity to shoot down the other, perhaps in less than a second.

Beeep! The missile lock alarm sounded multiple times in the cockpit of the “Dark Sabre,” but Lin Mo had no intention of pressing the launch button.

His fire control radar had locked onto the enemy multiple times, yet he remained cautious. The two short-range air-to-air combat missiles under his wings were omnidirectional, but he was wary of the opponent’s speed.

If he launched carelessly, the opponent might easily evade and counterattack.

Previously, Lin Mo had encountered mostly reconnaissance drones, and while there were occasionally drones armed with anti-ground weapons, he had never dealt with uncrewed aerial combat aircraft. He regarded the opponent as if it were a manned fighter.

The capability of supersonic cruising at 4.5 times the speed of sound meant that the opponent was on the level of fifth-generation fighters, capable of completely disregarding Lin Mo’s short-range combat missiles.

The difference in aircraft performance meant he could not take the initiative like in conventional combat.

As he executed a cross-scut maneuver, just as they were about to intersect, Lin Mo suddenly pressed the missile launch button. He didn’t aim directly at the pure white unmanned combat aircraft but left a lead.

The PL-9 “Pillager” short-range combat missile came off its rack, and at that moment, bright flames and white smoke erupted from its tail. The pure white unmanned combat aircraft immediately released a shower of infrared decoys, mixed with aluminum strips, while rolling.

The TS-091 “Longyan” aviation tactical helmet had already coupled with the PL-9 “Pillager” for guidance, as Lin Mo’s gaze fixed on the target.

The PL-9 “Pillager” supported four combat modes: fixed-axis (seeker) scanning and tracking, fixed-axis targeting, radar-synchronized targeting, and helmet-mounted sight tracking. This complemented Lin Mo’s aviation tactical helmet perfectly, achieving an 80% single-shot kill rate.

The radar invisibility of the pure white unmanned aircraft was nearly perfect; it seemed clear that its structure used a lot of composite materials, or else its radar reflection wouldn’t be so low. Even the “Dark Sabre’s” active phased array radar showed no response at such close range.

The missile launch completely relied on Lin Mo’s “Longyan” for target indication. As an optical reconnaissance method using the Light Mirror Technique, the enemy’s radar invisibility didn’t make much of a difference to Lin Mo—just a minor influence on the fire control system, but very limited since it was just two short-range combat missiles; the Rocket Pod and cannon didn’t follow suit.

Shortly after launch, the PL-9 “Pillager” suddenly wobbled and lost direction as if it were drunk. Lin Mo’s aviation helmet, combined with the onboard electronic warfare system, detected strong interference; the opponent had hidden secret weapons.

“Longyan’s” continuous tracking was also affected, and before the PL-9 could cover its range, it plummeted toward the sea below.

Amazing! Lin Mo sighed, “Skills inferior to theirs.” Before he could even finish his thought, he saw a black hatch open beneath the opponent, and a short, black gun protruded.

While it might not be visible to the naked eye, the Light Mirror Technique in the cockpit delivered clear feedback. Lin Mo twitched his mouth; the opponent’s counterattack was swift. He quickly maneuvered the “Dark Sabre” to roll away from the enemy’s scissor maneuver.

Almost faster than Lin Mo could react, a dark red beam swept past, scorching a long scar into the left wing of the “Dark Sabre.”