What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 685 Tomcat VS Flanker
Formula Port

An abandoned military airfield.

As night fell, the cargo door of a Y-8 aircraft on the runway was wide open, and more than a dozen figures sat around under the fuselage lights, next to a fuel truck.

He Huaide, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, and Zhao Yaohua across from him, both puffed out smoke, gazing thoughtfully at the dark night sky shrouded in a light drizzle.

Tang Wen's offer of a flyable F-14 overjoyed the Air Force, which immediately began to consider dismantling and transporting it inland again. However, this time, Tang Wen's idea was to fly it directly inland.

The F-14's ferry range is over 3600 kilometers, allowing it to fly directly from the coast to desert bases.

The flight path was also quite interesting. Tang Wen explained that the F-14A would fly from the South China Sea to the coast, resupply once, and then fly directly to the base.

To intercept (monitor) the F-14, the naval aviation was ordered to cease patrols, and four specially vetted pilots in Su-27SKs were assigned to escort it. Two of these aircraft would refuel the Tomcat before taking off together to fly to the base.

A Panda aircraft is about to travel 2000 kilometers across China; it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous.

"The eagle calls to the vulture, the eagle calls to the vulture, the tiger is coming in!"

A call came through the portable phone, and the two immediately perked up:

"Tiger" is naturally the code name for the male cat. According to the plan, they have already met off the coast of Qiongzhou!

……

In the darkness, the two Su-27SKs could only spot the target more than ten kilometers away on radar, and immediately adjusted their communication frequency to the designated range:
"This is the Eagle, please provide the air defense identification code."

"The tiger comes down the mountain, repeat, the tiger comes down the mountain."

"Very good, we will accompany you. Please do not change course. Ground personnel will guide you shortly!"

"The tiger understands."

……

Airports on the ground also began to get busy, turning on navigation lights when F14 was 50 kilometers away.

Night landings are always a high-difficulty training exercise, especially since this time they were commanding unfamiliar fighter jets, so everyone was inevitably a little nervous.

But as the roar of jet engines began to appear in the sky and grew louder, all eyes turned to the boundless darkness.

A broad and robust silhouette emerged under the halo of the navigation lights. The Tomcat's width was astonishing when its wings were spread, and the headlights on the lowered landing gear illuminated its distinctive nose.

zizi...

Without attempting a go-around, the F-14 slammed its main landing gear into the ground with a rather violent acceleration, while simultaneously plunging its nose down sharply and slamming on the brakes, causing the tires to screech violently against the runway.

The ground crew waiting to work were all startled by the smell of burning in the air, and panicked, thinking that the tomcat was about to crash.

Although Zhao Yaohua was shocked, he realized something and quickly said:
"No, he was demonstrating a carrier-based aircraft landing, which is a typical short takeoff and landing maneuver and may look a bit exaggerated."

"I was just afraid the landing gear would break if it crashed down like that, given the trajectory..."

He Huaide's mouth dropped open. Air Force fighter jets are always very careful when taking off and landing, almost as if they're drifting halfway down the field before gently landing. Anyone who dares to make such a violent crash landing will definitely be locked in a dark room and forced to write a 50,000-word self-criticism.

But his idea was not strange. At that time, the J7 and J8 in China were light and medium-sized aircraft, and the Su-27 was cherished as a treasure. The only aircraft that needed to take off and land violently, the J-7J, was not noticeable because of its light weight and could not be compared with the big cat at all.

Just then, two escorting Su-27SKs deliberately lowered their altitude and flew over the airport, finally revealing the incredible silhouette under the navigation lights.

Is it really a male cat?
However, as the Tomcat came to a stop, the bright navigation lights suddenly went out, plunging the airport into darkness once again.

……

"Hello, you can call me James. We will follow your instructions."

The two pilots on the Tomcat were naturally the system pilots in disguise, wearing Imperial Navy carrier-based pilot uniforms with the insignia removed, which made He Huaide, who came forward to greet them, take a deep breath of the humid southwest air to replenish his moisture.

"Hello, hello..."

He secretly observed the other person's expression, attire, and subtle movements. He was definitely a seasoned veteran pilot, but he didn't know whether it was Hans or an Imperial recruit.

The ground crew quickly refueled the aircraft and also made sure to check that everything was in order.

With little time left in the night, the scheduled flight time arrived in an hour, and the runway navigation lights were turned on again. The Tomcat's two F110s immediately engaged their afterburners and extended their wings, taking off with a deafening roar and a long, imposing trail across the runway in a very short distance.

The Su-27SK, which took off from a nearby airport ten minutes earlier, followed suit, and He Huaide and his men boarded the Y-8.

……

three days later

Although the presence of F-14s exposed at the Northwest Base would be noticed by Imperial satellites, fortunately, space launches cannot be kept secret, and Imperial reconnaissance satellites also have their downtime.

After inspecting the F-14 piloted by James, the Air Force and Navy are eager to organize a combat exercise.

Su-27SK VS F-14A (F-110 version)
These two destined rivals have never met or clashed head-on due to real-world reasons. Their unexpected reunion in China is quite a remarkable achievement.

The exercise involved one F-14A conducting a long-range incursion, with two Su-27SKs scrambling to intercept it. The engagement took place at three phases: long-range, medium-range, and close-range, starting from a maximum distance of 300 kilometers. The aircraft carried training missiles of the same shape and weight, and the radar lock-on method was used for identification. After launching the missiles, the corresponding training missiles were discarded to reduce weight.

F14A挂载4枚AIM-54A“不死鸟”，2枚AIM-7“麻雀”，2枚AIM-9“响尾蛇”；
苏27SK挂载4枚R27和2枚R73；

An electronic machine, modified from a Tu-154, served as the recorder and referee.

观战的导演组认为F14A最大的变数在于AWG-9雷达和AIM-54“不死鸟”，相互搭配在240公里外就能发现苏27SK，并在180公里外发射中距弹，而后者的N001雷达探测距离只有100公里，R27最大射程80公里，在初始阶段会吃很大亏。

The production team envisioned the F-14A taking the initiative with its long-range advantage, but the two Su-27SKs would cover each other to close the distance, ultimately achieving a victory under pressure through numerical superiority at close range.

However, things took an unexpected turn from the very beginning of the exercise. Within five minutes of detecting the Su-27SK, the F-14A launched all four AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. Although the Su-27SK tried its best to avoid releasing chaff, the F-14A maintained its lock on one of the aircraft due to its long-range advantage. The F-5A then launched a second round of missiles when the Su-4SK's kinetic energy was decreasing due to the evasion. The overall hit rate of the four missiles was calculated to be as high as 95%. The commander on the Tu-154 determined that one of the Su-4SKs was shot down at a distance of 160 kilometers.

The poor start provoked the remaining Su-27SK lead aircraft to become angry. Knowing that the Tomcat had run out of medium-range missiles, it immediately went all out and advanced. However, the unruly F-14A relied on its radar advantage to appear and disappear on the N001's radar, making it difficult for the Su-27SK to accurately determine the direction of the opponent, as if it were toying with the opponent.

The Tomcat, equipped with the F110, had ample power and would often escape far away with an afterburner as soon as it was spotted, then circle around and continue to harass from other directions, giving the R27 no chance to fight back.

Seeing their own side being tricked and confused, the production team had no choice but to use external forces to force the two aircraft into close combat within an 80-kilometer radius. Seizing the opportunity, the Su-27SK immediately tried to use its maneuverability to find an angle of attack.

苏27SK的瞬盘和稳盘性能都要更好机动性占优，然而现在它因为挂载压根无法发挥到极限，反而是丢掉近2吨导弹的F14A更加灵活，反复在50到80公里拉扯让N001难以锁定。

At this point, both sides were actually evenly matched, but an off-field factor emerged:

Air combat is a high-intensity mental and physical activity. The Su-27SK pilot, who had been arm wrestling for a long time in the Russian-style gym, was already a little tired, but the transformed pilot James was still full of energy and had maximum endurance.

当苏27SK找机会发射2枚R27后，F14A收拢机翼在加力推动下迎头冲过来并启动AN/ALQ-126干扰系统和抛撒箔条。

Although Figure 154 felt sorry for its allies, it still determined that the R27 could not have hit its target if it had been launched head-on at 60 kilometers and was jammed.

At the same time, two Sparrow missiles were launched, and the oncoming F-14A used the Sparrows to force the Su-27SK to evade and take the opportunity to launch an attack.

The alarm in the latter cabin began to beep wildly, a sign that it was being continuously locked on.

“判定，苍鹰3号被绕后的老虎在345方位角、4500高度使用AIM-9击落，攻击时苏27SK无法离开不可逃逸区！”

Figure 154: A merciless voice rang out on the channel.

"damn it!"

Both the cockpit of the Su-27SK in the sky and the ground directing team simultaneously uttered a curse.

To be easily defeated in a 1v2 situation is an utter disgrace.

"Don't be angry, Lao Lin. This is just a one-on-one combat exercise, which is impossible in reality. Our Su-27 didn't carry a jammer this time, otherwise the AIM-54 wouldn't have been able to shoot one down so quickly."

"You mean the L005 'Sorbtsiya' jamming pod? Even the Russians themselves don't believe that thing can jam the Phoenix? A loss is a loss!"

"That's not fair! Let's send our capital's ace!"

"Old He, are you sure this is an F-14A?"

"It's the real deal. Except for the engine, which is an F110, all other technical aspects are identical."

The Air Force directing team's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot, and their expressions were worse than if they had stepped in dog poop.

However, the navy's eyes lit up:
As expected, it still has to be the Tomcat. Now we don't have to go through the trouble of asking the Air Force for Su-27s; we have enough F-14s!
(End of this chapter)