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

Chapter 432 Night Hawk Fall
On the bridge of the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, in the waters east of Sakhalin Island.

"Report! The E-2 early warning aircraft has detected two fighter jets taking off from Sakhalin Island!"

Thomas Muller's expression changed instantly: "What's going on? Could it be... that they've discovered our stealth aircraft?"

The F-117 was less than 100 kilometers from Sakhalin Island and had entered its final bombing route when two fighter jets suddenly appeared. What did that mean?
"It's probably not, it's likely just a routine patrol. However, for safety's sake, I think our EA-6Bs should go up and help," William Bollinger said.

"That's right, take off the electronic jamming aircraft immediately!"

Steam filled the deck as a uniquely designed airplane quickly took off.

With a large nose and a small fuselage, its shape resembles a large-headed fly. The engines are located under the wing roots, clearly indicating an early jet aircraft layout. The air intakes are located on either side below the nose, making it even more peculiar when viewed from the front.

Of course, those familiar with it can recognize it at a glance: it is the A-6 attack aircraft, the most important ground attack force on US aircraft carriers!
However... this aircraft is different from the ordinary A-6. It has two seats side by side in front of the nose and two more seats in the back. Also, it has unique pods under the wings and a bulging thing on the vertical tail.

This is the EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft, codenamed Prowler, which was modified from the A-6. It was developed in the early 1960s and was used until 2015 before being completely retired, which is enough to demonstrate the capabilities of this aircraft.

Since the distance wasn't very far, after takeoff and while still climbing, the three electronic warfare officers besides the pilot began operating the electromagnetic interference equipment to detect the radar wave frequency band from the other side and then adjust the jamming pods...

One minute later, interference waves filled the entire sky.

In later generations, the F-117 was often escorted by electronic jamming aircraft during combat missions, which was safer, but at the same time, it also signaled to the enemy, "I'm here!"
The intense electromagnetic interference would undoubtedly alert the other side, so they wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. But now, the time has come for them to have to use it!

Sakhalin Island, Smirnik Base.

"Report: We've encountered severe electromagnetic interference!"

"Sure enough, it wasn't a mistake at all; it was a genuine aerial reconnaissance mission. Now, they've even deployed electronic jamming aircraft!" At this moment, Lirnukov was overjoyed, which meant that they hadn't made a mistake last time!
Moscow can forget about shifting the blame; they'll have to reward themselves, preferably with the Order of the Hero of the Soviet Union!

"Report: We have lost contact with the fighter jets!"

The intense interference not only rendered their radar inoperable, but also made it impossible for them to contact their fighter jets!

"Damn it, if only we could have installed a frequency-hopping radio. But... I believe in Osipovich. Even without ground guidance, he can find the target and shoot it down!" Kornukov said, a little regretful. If only Osipovich had a few sips of vodka before the mission!

The sky was dark, and Osipovich and his wingman were at a loss after suddenly losing the data link.

The Russians don't like independent operations. After years of training, they are accustomed to dogmatism, especially interceptor pilots. For them, the main task is to operate under the guidance of ground radar. Even with automated guidance systems, they only need to operate the aircraft during takeoff and landing. At other times, they just wait for the aircraft to automatically fly to the target and launch missiles.

Now, suddenly, there is no guidance from the ground, and their own radar screens are filled with static. What should they do?
At that moment, the moon was bright and the stars were few. Osipovich took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then... fired a ball of flame.

Then, the wingman suddenly realized what was going on.

This tactic is a direct return to World War II. Back then, night battles relied on flares. After ground radar detected enemy aircraft, friendly night fighters would quickly take off. Airborne radar was naturally better; if not, two aircraft would work together: one would fire flares, and the other would search for the target.

They certainly don't have flares now, but their planes have flares!

The radio was severely jammed, making it impossible for them to even communicate, but the two still cooperated seamlessly.

Ahead, Greg let out a curse.

"Oh, damn it!"

At night, a person's pupils dilate to let in more light. However, this also means that if a person is suddenly exposed to bright light, their retina will be stung by the sudden exposure to too much light, and in the worst case, it may even lead to blindness.

About ten kilometers ahead, the flashing light made Greg's eyes sting. Everything was blindingly white, and he couldn't see anything. He quickly closed his eyes, and a few seconds later, he opened them again and his vision returned.

"263 calling 261, 263 calling 261, they're looking for us, what should we do?"

The wingman's call came through the headset.

The other plane was flying in the same direction as them, and if they continued flying like that...

Right now, the safest option should be to turn back, but... their mission is very important!

"261 calling base, 261 calling base, enemy aircraft are searching for us, should we terminate the mission?"

The radio traveled via satellite, halfway around the world, to the base, and then to the White House.

"Damn it, of course not! This mission must be completed perfectly. If we are discovered on the first mission, what is the point of the plane that we spent so much taxpayer money to develop?" Ronald roared.

Even with the use of mature technologies, such as the fly-by-wire system of the F-16 and the landing gear of the A-10, the entire F-117 project still cost a huge amount of money to develop. Including the production of 59 aircraft, the total cost was a staggering $65.6 billion!

That comes to over $100 million per plane. If that can't even accomplish the mission, what's the point of having it?

After waiting a minute, he finally received the order from the rear. Greg took another deep breath. There was no other way; it was a death order, and he had to brave any danger.

Moreover, the F-117 was designed to perform the most dangerous missions, not to mention facing enemy fighters, as well as terrifying anti-aircraft fire and countless searchlights... They all had to grit their teeth and fly in.

Now, let's just grit our teeth and fly!

Just then, the night sky ahead was lit up once again.

“Oh, damn it, it’s so close!” came Fister’s voice through the earpiece.

The first wave of flares hit an airspace ten kilometers away from them. The second wave hit an airspace five kilometers away. Will the next wave hit right above their heads?

"Lower altitude!"

Although maintaining stable flight is necessary once the bombing route is entered, evading interception is the top priority right now!

Two F-117s swooped down.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Osipovich became excited: "Damn it, what am I seeing!"

They were looking down, so they couldn't see very clearly, but the appearance of the plane was still enough to terrify them.

The entire aircraft is full of sharp angles, as if the designers didn't understand aerodynamics at all! Especially the vertical stabilizer, that V-shaped vertical stabilizer is absolutely unique in the world!
What is this?
Whoosh!
The two sides have already missed each other!

Turn around and head back!
Two Su-15s drew a huge circle in the sky, turned around and returned to base, while the two targets had already disappeared into the night!

How to do?
Keep firing flares!

One wave, two waves, three waves...

After all the flares were fired, Osipovich's eyes finally caught sight of the target again.

By this time, the enemy had descended to an altitude of one thousand meters! They readjusted their flight path, preparing for the final bombing raid!

Osipovich pushed the lever and chased after him, carefully getting behind him.

The radar had been jammed and was no longer functional, so radar-guided air-to-air missiles were naturally ineffective. He skillfully operated the infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, and then…

How is that possible! It's a tail-chase attack now, and his infrared air-to-air missiles can't even lock onto the target!

The F-117 aims to achieve not only radar stealth but also infrared stealth. Its tail nozzle is not round like that of conventional fighter jets but flat. The engine is located inside the engine, and the exhaust is cooled by the air as it moves backward.
Although the exhaust flame wasn't only 67 degrees Celsius as some forums claim, it was at least 200-300 degrees Celsius. However, this temperature was enough to prevent the outdated Russian infrared missiles from locking on!
Only infrared missiles with head-on attack capabilities can lock onto targets from their tails!

Now that we've caught up, there's nothing else we can do!
At this moment, Osipovich missed the old cannons terribly. The Su-15 was originally designed with a 23mm cannon, but later models removed it. After all, for a professional interceptor, there is no need for air combat, so the cannon is useless.

In those days, the F-4 fighter jet, which was required for air combat, was not equipped with a cannon!

How to do how to do?
Ahead, a piece of land loomed in the distance; we had arrived at Sakhalin Island!
The other side is about to spy on our secrets; we absolutely cannot let this happen!
Osipovich gritted his teeth, pushed the control stick to tilt his plane slightly downwards, and then pushed the throttle stick.

The two turbojet engines at the tail roared, and the fighter jet surged forward, its nose passing under the opponent's wing, then the fuselage, and finally the vertical stabilizer...

The Su-15's tall single vertical tail slammed into the Nighthawk's wing!

For the Russians, ramming is nothing new; it's standard practice! They'd do it even without drinking vodka before takeoff!
"Hey American, come on, let's see who's better!"

For a fighter jet with a single vertical tail, the consequences of damage to the vertical tail are very serious. Osipovich was prepared for the vertical tail to be destroyed and for him to be forced to eject. In any case, the chance of survival is much greater when ejecting over land than at sea.

Boom!
A collision occurred.

However, the expected violent collision did not occur. His tail easily smashed half of the Nighthawk's wing and then flew away!

For Greg, this was like falling into hell in an instant!
Because the cockpit had no rearward view, he had no idea about the plane flying behind him. Although the E-2 AWACS could monitor the Su-15 and communicate with them through the channels reserved by the electronic jamming aircraft, the E-2 AWACS could not see the location of the F-117!

Especially under electromagnetic interference, the E-2 early warning aircraft could only detect the Su-15. According to the original plan, the F-117 was flying at an altitude of 3,000 meters, so that it could drop bombs from a distance, land accurately, and fly away, avoiding the risk of being accidentally hit by anti-aircraft guns if it flew too low.

The Su-15 was flying at an altitude of 1,000 meters, which should have been risk-free, so they didn't give any warnings.

Just as Greg was mustering his courage and flying toward his target, bang!

With a loud bang, Greg was startled and quickly pulled the control lever.

Ordinary aircraft use aluminum or titanium alloys for their frames and aluminum alloy skins. However, the F-117 is an exception; to reduce its radar cross-section, its fuselage is covered with composite materials! As for the wings…

The wings are made of composite materials, with only the front spars made of aluminum alloy. The rest of the wings are made of composite materials. So, when it was hit, the wings were smashed apart, just like wooden furniture!
The only source of drag was the wing spars, but by the time it hit the spars, Greg had already pulled up the nose. In that brief moment, the Su-15's vertical stabilizer successfully escaped a direct collision with the wing spars!

The nose of the plane was pulled open for only a moment before the fuselage began to roll. While struggling to control the plane, Greg looked at the flat glass on his side and saw... scattered pieces of wood, like... broken plywood.

Finished!

The wings are completely destroyed!
If it were a different aircraft, such as the F-14, with its wide fuselage that can provide lift on its own, there have been instances where aircraft with wings that spread at different angles have still managed to return safely.

Take the F-15 for example. It has an excellent aerodynamic design and there have been instances where it returned to base after losing half of its wing in an accident.

However, the F-117 is good at nothing.

At first glance, you might doubt whether this kind of aircraft can even fly. If the wings are damaged, it can only crash!
Seeing that the plane was out of control, Greg had no choice but to pull the ejection pin.

Bang!
The canopy flew off, and then a burst of flame rose from the rear, like a rocket soaring into the dark night sky.

"We've taken it! We've taken it!"

"Smirnik base," the lookout shouted.

With radar unusable and signals from early warning aircraft unavailable, the only thing they could do was send out more reconnaissance posts to observe with the naked eye. This method was incredibly inefficient, but now... it has finally come in handy!

Someone jumped out of the sky!
Lirnukov rushed out and looked up at the night sky: "Can you be sure they're our people, or the Americans?"

A plane did crash, but... could you see what model it was?
"It's definitely an American!"

"why?"

"Because I saw our plane in those flames!"

The flames illuminated the night sky, and also lit up the Su-15 fighter jet that had just completed its impact and was turning back in the airspace ahead! Our plane was in the air, so the one that was shot down must have been an enemy plane!

Snapped!
Lirnukov slapped the lookout's head: "Idiot! We've taken two planes on board!"

Just because you see one plane, do you think it's ours?
"Hurry up and send a search and rescue team over! It's probably more than 50 kilometers away! Deploy a helicopter!"

The flames quickly died down, the man and chair separated, and the parachute deployed. At that moment, Greg felt a deep sense of fear.

What should he do next?
Flying into enemy airspace to bomb carries the risk of falling into enemy hands. Nearby carrier strike groups will certainly dispatch rescue helicopters immediately, but... can they find us faster than the Soviets? Will these two groups clash?
A cold wind was blowing, and his whole body became icy cold.

Whoever you are, hurry up and find yourself, or you might turn into an ice pop!

USS Kitty Hawk, captain's cabin.

Boom, boom, boom!

"What are you doing?" came a groggy voice from inside.

The continuous work had left everyone exhausted, so everyone was resting tonight. This was also the Americans' idea; what if these Asians cracked the F-117's radio and overheard their sortie?
Let's take a rest!
As a result, I had only been asleep for a short while when I was woken up.

Crunch!

As the door opened, Ben Ritchie rushed in: "Quickly, fully monitor the Russians' radio communications!"

"What?"

"Listen to their frequency-hopping radio communications!"

If we're talking about who's the first to get anxious, it's definitely not the U.S. Air Force, but Lockheed Martin, Skunk Works, the designers of the F-117!

What does it mean that the stealth attack aircraft, developed at great expense, has been shot down in its first combat mission?
Will the U.S. Air Force suspect Lockheed Martin of awarding the contract to develop the next generation of fighter jets to their competitors?

We must find the pilot as soon as possible to find out what exactly happened and how he was shot down! Otherwise... Lockheed will be in big trouble!
Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier's deck was also bustling with activity.

Seahawk helicopters quickly took off to rescue the ejected pilots, while F-14 fighter jets also took off. If the helicopters were detected, they would have to gain air superiority and cover the Seahawk helicopters' operations.

As for whether a major war will break out next... that's not something they need to consider.

Moreover, the wreckage of the F-117 must be destroyed as soon as possible, lest the Russians obtain the technology on it!
Professor Liu frowned: "Has something serious happened?"

"Something has indeed happened. You...please listen in as soon as possible."

"Okay." Professor Liu nodded and directed the students to get to work. The first thing they did, of course, was to report the accident that had occurred here back to Northwestern Polytechnical University through the Beidou terminal.

(End of this chapter)