Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 426 South Korean Air Flight 007

January 1, 1984, 1:00 PM.

For many, it was just an ordinary day, but for others, it was an absolutely thrilling one.

John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, USA.

Captain Kim Byung-eun's face was somewhat gloomy. He looked out the window from the crew lounge for what seemed like the umpteenth time, staring at the Boeing 747 outside with a somber expression.

"Captain, we'll be departing in half an hour," the flight attendant reminded him as she entered.

"Okay, I understand. You guys get ready, I'm going to... make a phone call."

"Okay, you're talking to your wife, right? You're such a good family man." The flight attendant looked at him with affection.

"Ah."

Watching the flight attendant leave, Kim Byung-eun picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey."

"Honey, is that you? When are you coming back? I'll prepare your favorite rice balls in advance..."

A wave of sorrow washed over Kim Byung-yeon, and he could no longer control his emotions, saying, "This flight is extremely dangerous. I might not return. If..."

beep, beep, beep...

Hearing the busy tone, Kim Byung-eun silently put down the phone. He knew that his call had obviously been recorded, and the eavesdropper had cut off the call when he realized that he might be leaking information.

He... had no other choice. As a retired South Korean Air Force colonel who had once flown the president's private jet, he was the best candidate to carry out the mission...

But... he can carry out the mission, but what about the passengers? They're innocent too!
Kim Byung-eun sighed, picked up his suitcase, and walked towards the plane.

Half an hour later.

"Captain, we're very lucky. Not a single one of us is late, and we can take off on time..."

Is that so? Is it luck, or not?

"Okay, let's take off on time. Hopefully, it will be a smooth trip..."

As Kim Byung-eun spoke, he began preparing for takeoff.

Looking at a map, it seems like you can simply cross the Pacific Ocean from the United States to South Korea. However, this is only on a flat map. If you were to use a globe and measure the distance, you would know that this route is definitely not the shortest!

After all, among the countless arcs connecting any two points on Earth, the arc located on the great circle passing through the Earth's center is the shortest!

Simply put, to get from the United States to South Korea, you need to fly northwest first, and then southwest, with a refueling stop in Alaska along the way.

At 8:30 p.m., after a long flight, the plane arrived at Anchorage Airport. Several passengers disembarked, and several more boarded.

How many people are on the plane right now?

Hearing Kim Byung-eun's question, the flight attendant was a little curious: why was the captain paying extra attention to the number of people on the plane today?

"There are currently 240 passengers on the plane. Oh, and U.S. Representative Larry McDonald is also on this flight."

240 people? Add the crew, and that makes 269 people!

Kim Byung-yeon felt a heavy weight in his heart. He looked down at his instrument panel. For the next flight, because it was close to the Arctic region and the magnetic field was more complex, he should switch from magnetic heading mode to inertial navigation mode according to standard operating procedures.

However... after thinking about his wife and children back home, he decided to give up. If he couldn't complete this mission well, his wife and children would probably be implicated. He had no choice but to take the gamble!

At 9:50 p.m., the passenger plane took off again.

"Heading 245, speed 950."

"Yes."

Half an hour later, at Bethel Air Traffic Control Station.

"South Korean Air Flight 007 has deviated from its course by 11 kilometers to the north," the air traffic controller announced. "Should we alert them?"

"Need not."

"why?"

There's no reason why; if you don't want to use it, you just don't want to use it.

"This……"

The air traffic controller looked at his supervisor, whose facial muscles twitched slightly, and said, "If you don't want to die, forget about this whole thing completely!"

Twenty minutes later, at the U.S. Air Force King Samon Long Range Radar Monitoring Station in Alaska.

"Good, South Korean Air Flight 007 is currently on our designated route! Continuing this flight for another two and a half hours, we'll reach the Kamchatka Peninsula, easily monitoring the Russian nuclear submarine base. Three and a half hours later, we'll reach Sakhalin Island, where the Russians recently deployed a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile site. We need to pinpoint the coordinates of all the launch silos..."

This South Korean Air Flight 007 appears to be an ordinary commercial airliner, but in reality, it has been equipped with advanced airborne radar in the nose, which can be used to map the terrain!

Moreover, because it only flies at an altitude of 10,000 meters, the mapping accuracy is much higher than that of satellites! With a resolution of up to 0.5 meters, it can even detect the latest missile silos built by the Russians!
Therefore, they had to conduct this aerial reconnaissance mission!
They could certainly use the RC-135, but that's a military aircraft and easily intercepted. They've tried many times before, and each time they were driven away. This time, they're using a civilian airliner, determined to succeed!

Russia has a vast territory, but its population is mainly concentrated in the European part. Therefore, the Soviet Union was essentially still a European country, while large areas in the east were barren lands.

Looking at a map of the Far East, you can see that its eastern part extends downwards like a goatee, which is the famous Kamchatka Peninsula.

It is bordered by the Bering Sea to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the southeast, and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the west.

This area is mostly virgin forest with dense vegetation, and the population mainly lives in several large cities.

With its remote location and advantageous terrain, it became the nuclear submarine base of the Russian Pacific Fleet. At the same time, it also has the main Kula test range on land, where various ballistic missiles are tested.

At 00:51, Yelizovo Air Base, radar station.

"Target detected, heading towards our base!" radar operator Yakstov shouted nervously.

"Damn it, here it comes again. Ignore it. Once it gets close, call for MiG-25s from base to scramble and intercept it!"

"Ok."

Inside the base, pilots on combat readiness duty quickly left the duty room, ran to their aircraft, sat in the cockpit, and were ready to take off at any time.

On the radar screen, the target was getting closer and closer.

Half past one in the morning.

"Take off and intercept!"

On the airport runway, a roar resounded as the MiG-25, trailing two long tongues of fire, soared into the sky and disappeared from sight.

The nose of the aircraft, with its legendary Cyclone A fire control radar capable of roasting rabbits, and its antenna with a diameter of over one meter, also began to work. Its peak power of up to 600 kilowatts was enough to make many airborne radars blush with shame. However, most of the energy was dissipated as heat, and only about one-tenth was actually converted into electromagnetic waves.

A 60-kilowatt radar wave scanning in all directions is actually quite powerful, but due to outdated radar technology, it can only use a single-pulse system for searching, so its efficiency is still very low.

Once, twice, three times...

The radar screen was completely empty; nothing could be seen.

Ground radar station.

Why is our radar screen just filled with static?

"Damn it, it failed at the crucial moment! Shut down and repair it!"

At an altitude of 10,000 meters, Kim Byung-eun looked at the fighter jets flying overhead like shooting stars and breathed a sigh of relief.

This passenger plane is not only equipped with advanced airborne radar equipment, but also with electronic jammers. Moreover, these jammers only activate after the aircraft detects that it is being watched. Now, the electronic jammers must have activated automatically to prevent the other side from finding them!

Don't be fooled by the size of the passenger plane; the sky is even bigger. In the sky, it's just an inconspicuous little dot. Plus, with the curtains on the windows drawn, no light can get through, making it hard for the other side to spot.

The Kamchatka Peninsula flew overhead, marking the successful completion of the first reconnaissance mission! Kim Byung-eun breathed a sigh of relief and continued flying forward. In about an hour, he would reach Sakhalin Island. As long as the reconnaissance there could be completed smoothly, he would be able to successfully complete this mission!

Once he gets back, he'll resign. The commission from this mission is enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. There's no need for him to continue doing this dangerous work. If something really happens, the more than two hundred people behind him will all be buried with him!
Kim Byung-eun gazed at the dark night sky, his feelings a complex mix.

"Captain, would you like a drink?" came the flight attendant's voice from behind.

"Of course, please give me a cup of coffee."

"I need a Coke," the passenger in the front seat said, accidentally pressing a switch as he turned around.

He accidentally turned off the automatic start switch of the electronic jammer!
Kim Byung-eun didn't notice. He picked up his coffee and sipped it slowly. The unsweetened coffee had a strong bitter taste that stimulated his body and made him more energetic.

What a long flight!

Sakhalin Island, Smirnik Base.

Originally built by the island nation's army, this was a 1,200-meter-long concrete runway. After World War II, the Russians controlled the entire Sakhalin Island and named it after Battalion Commander Smirnik, who died in the battle. The 528th Fighter Squadron was stationed there.

In the 1960s, the airport was renovated to 2,500 meters, and reinforced concrete aircraft shelters and fan-shaped taxiways were built around it.

Over the years, the castle has become covered with lush vegetation, and the entire base is now hidden among the trees.

At this moment, at the end of the runway, two Su-15 interceptors were ready to take off.

A message came from the Kamchatka Peninsula: a plane flew over them, but... they couldn't find it. If that plane hadn't changed its route, it would be flying right over here right now!

They are on high alert!
Inside the base's control tower, Commander Anatoly Lirnukov, wearing a military overcoat, stared coldly at the radar screen.

"Hmph, these damned bastards, if they dare to keep flying over our Sakhalin Island, then let them know how powerful we are!"

"Report! A target has appeared on the radar screen! According to its flight path, it's passing right between our two air defense missile battalions on Sakhalin Island. No one can hit it!"

"What are you waiting for? Order our fighter jets to take off immediately!"

MiG fighters are well-known in the Russian arsenal, as most of them are exported and frequently appear on the battlefield.

Most of Sukhoi's aircraft were used by the national air defense forces. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, only a few, such as the Su-22 attack aircraft, were exported. Most of the Su-series fighter jets were used domestically.

This includes the Su-15.
With its pointed nose and side air intakes, and early versions featuring a pure delta wing, it resembled the J-8 in appearance. This led many experts to assert that the J-8 was a copy of the Su-15, without even considering whether the East had the capability to acquire such an aircraft as the Su-15 at the time.

This layout, adopted by both fighter jets, naturally has its advantages; in the pursuit of rapid interception, both take different paths to the same goal.

The J-8 is limited by its engine and can only fly up to Mach 2.2, while the Su-15 can fly up to Mach 2.5, and most importantly, its climb rate reaches 228 meters per second! However, it also has its drawbacks. For example, its takeoff and landing speed is as high as 395 kilometers per hour, and the slightest negligence could result in the destruction of the aircraft and the loss of life.

Therefore, the later Su-15 adopted a double delta wing to increase the span and area, and combined it with flaps to improve takeoff and landing characteristics.

In the Soviet arsenal, the Su-15 was the first aircraft to adopt side air intakes, which freed up the nose to install a large-caliber radar. However, as an interceptor, its main combat method was to be transported to the vicinity of the destination via data link from the ground.

That's right. The pilot's main task is to control the takeoff and landing of the aircraft. After takeoff, everything can be controlled automatically by the ground, including launching missiles!

Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich heard the call in his headset and immediately began preparations for takeoff. With the roar of the engines, the two turbojet engines were started in sequence, and the plane took off!
The whole movement is done in one go.

Behind them, the wingman also took off and disappeared into the dark night.

On the ground, the radar station's data link was rapidly transmitting commands; the two Su-15 fighter jets' lights gradually approached the target, and then closer still...

It was 3:08 AM.

"Report! Visually spotted the outline of a large four-engine aircraft!" Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich shouted.

A cheer erupted on the ground.

They were worried that, like their counterparts on the Kamchatka Peninsula, they wouldn't be able to accurately locate the target! Unexpectedly, they approached the target so quickly!

"Keep following them and drive them away! Report to your superiors immediately!"

There were too many of these standoffs during the Cold War, but there weren't many instances of accidental clashes!

In Vladivostok, General Ivan Tevichyanko, commander of the Far Eastern Front, was woken up. After hearing the news, he also felt that the situation was troublesome. Since he hadn't slept well, he couldn't let the people in Moscow sleep well either!
The news was then reported to Moscow.

In Moscow, a large group of people were still awake. Ustinov and Olgakov couldn't make a decision and decided to continue reporting. The news could only be delivered to Andropov's ward.

Outside the ward, Lieutenant General Alexander Korzhakov paced anxiously. No one dared to make a decision and could only report to the top leadership, but the top leadership was unable to focus on its work. In short, the Soviet high command was paralyzed!

Meanwhile, in the distance, the invading passenger plane continued its advance towards Sakhalin Island.

"Report, radio calls to the other party, no response!" Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich called from the sky.

"Warn them with machine guns!" Anatoly Kornukov shouted.

"Yes!"

Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich pushed the control stick, aligning the nose of the aircraft with the airspace in front of the target.

Thump thump thump... 23mm shells flew by.

The passenger plane is still flying smoothly.

"Captain, there seems to be some movement nearby?" In the cockpit, the co-pilot looked at Kim Byung-eun.

"No, we'll continue flying." Kim Byung-eun certainly sensed that the shell had just grazed the nose of the aircraft and flown forward, but... he couldn't back down! In fact, when the Su-15 flew over, he had already spotted it based on his more than 6,000 hours of flight experience, but... he had to pretend he didn't know, and he even secretly turned the radio knob to leave the international standard frequency band.

Otherwise, if the co-pilot finds out, he might also make changes.

They have to fly along this route!
Since it flew over the Kamchatka Peninsula without any damage, it should do the same over Sakhalin Island!
"Report: The other side is not responding and is still flying over the countryside!"

On the ground, Anatoly-Lirnukov was furious.

"We can't let them fly any further; our military base is just ahead! Have we received a reply from higher-ups?"

"The higher-ups are still waiting for orders from Moscow."

"damn it!"

Reporting upwards layer by layer wouldn't have enough time, and besides, if it reached the highest level, Andropov might be ill and unable to handle government affairs. If things continued like this...

On the radar screen, the bright spot is still getting closer to Sakhalin Island!
One minute, two minutes...

It was already 3:20.

"Report, the target has been raised to a higher altitude!"

Raise the price?

Damn it, that's definitely a reconnaissance plane, so we don't need to wait any longer!

At this critical moment, the decision to attack was made by a commander of a frontline air force base!

Anatoly-Lirnukov picked up the radio: "Order, shoot down that damned reconnaissance plane immediately!"

"Yes!"

Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich gave chase, skillfully locked on, and then pressed the launch button.

Two flames shot up into the night sky and rushed toward their target!

boom!
The first missile struck the tail of the passenger plane, and as flames rose, Osipovich was able to make out the plane's exact outline.

The nose is very large, and there is a long row of windows on the side of the fuselage. If I remember correctly, this should be a... Boeing 747?

The next moment, an even brighter fireball rose up, and the engine was hit!

Lieutenant Colonel Osipovich closed his eyes; the bright light would temporarily blind him!
On the passenger plane, upon hearing the explosion, Kim Byung-eun was stunned. Those damned Russians actually dared to open fire. Sure enough, they're the type who would rather take action than talk!
What do we do now? What do we do?
Inside the cabin, sleeping passengers saw the flames outside and screamed in alarm.

A disaster is unfolding!

(End of this chapter)