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

Chapter 482 Advanced fighter jets were hampered by outdated missiles!

Eastward, Princess Tomb, Airplane Building.

"The biggest difficulty with cruise missiles is detection. Because they fly close to the ground, they are difficult to detect by radar. However, because of their slow speed and simple flight attitude, they are easy to destroy once they are detected."

“That’s right, Liangzi, you’re right!” Old Lin nodded: “So, how do we deal with cruise missiles?”

"Well, there are many ways to do that."

In earlier years, the military proposed the "three strikes and three defenses," namely, striking tanks, striking aircraft, striking paratroopers, and defending against nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons. In the 1990s, with changes in the international situation and the continuous emergence of high-tech weapons, the military proposed a new "three strikes and three defenses."

Targeting stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, and armed helicopters—that's the "three strikes." Defending against precision strikes, electronic jamming, and reconnaissance/surveillance—that's the "three defenses."

Among them, the three strikes are the focus, especially the strikes against stealth aircraft. For many years, stealth aircraft have been the biggest nightmare for the Air Force. However, cruise missiles are still very important. After all, the motherland has a vast territory and many mountainous areas. Once these missiles penetrate into the mountains, it will be a big problem.

But... there's no need to worry now.

Putting everything else aside, just look at the fact that with early warning aircraft, cruise missiles have nowhere to hide. No matter how low they fly, they will be detected by cruise missiles in the sky and then subjected to fierce attacks!
Once detected, interception is easy; fighter jets, ground-based anti-aircraft missiles, and even anti-aircraft artillery can all intercept this type of missile.

However, Qin Liang knew that since Elder Lin had asked, it was definitely not because he wanted to know these answers.

"The best way is to prevent the enemy from launching cruise missiles. For example, against air-launched cruise missiles, we need to shoot down the aircraft in advance. Once the aircraft is shot down, we don't need to worry about intercepting the cruise missiles. For ship-launched cruise missiles, we should sink the warships. For submarine-launched cruise missiles... we should take out the submarines!"

This explanation stunned everyone.

For a long time, the air force has been focused on homeland air defense, aiming to intercept attacks. Few people have considered proactive attacks from this perspective.

After all, this means a significant increase in combat range!
For example, the Tomahawk missile, an air-launched version, has a range of up to 1,600 kilometers. Even if the enemy wants to attack our inland targets, penetrating 600 kilometers into the land, they can still launch the missile from 1,000 kilometers away.

If our side wants to shoot down the carrier aircraft, it means we have to open fire from a thousand kilometers away!

For a long time, the combat radius of the Air Force's main fighter jets was only five or six hundred kilometers. Who would dare to think that?
However... Qin Liang's method is indeed the most cost-effective!
Once you shoot down the enemy's plane, you won't have to worry about their cruise missiles!
“Are there any other methods? This approach is quite good, but it has many problems,” Old Lin said. “Our principle is not to fire the first shot. We cannot open fire before the other side launches cruise missiles.”

This is a vicious cycle.

Qin Liang smiled and said, "Then we can only defend. Fighter jets, anti-aircraft missiles, and small-caliber anti-aircraft guns will be organized into a dense defensive line... Whether we can defend against it 100% is something no one can be sure of."

Being merciful on the battlefield is the most absurd thing to do. Look at the Middle Eastern little tyrants, they're always fighting in the east and west. Their territory is small, so they have to take the initiative.

"Are there any other weapons?"

Qin Liang thought for a moment: "Yes."

"what?"

"Laser weapon."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Compared to missile launches, the biggest advantage of laser weapons is their low cost. Each launch costs only a few cents in electricity, at most a few dollars. Moreover, they have unlimited use opportunities, as long as there is electricity. Currently, Northwestern Polytechnical University is already conducting research in this area, starting with land-based and ship-based systems, and naturally, air-launched systems will follow in the future."

Everyone was filled with emotion.

This sounds like science fiction, but... when has Northwestern Polytechnical University ever broken its promise? Haven't all the boasts Northwestern Polytechnical University made in the end come true?

"Alright, then let's wait for the laser weapon!" Old Lin waved his hand.

"Report, the Su-27 has initiated the first wave of interception!"

Behind Langtuo, the twin-engine Q-6 was also rushing to the front line, but the first aircraft it encountered was still the Su-27, after all, this aircraft was closer to the battlefield!
Bogdan and Viktor have already gone to rest, and two more Su-27s are undergoing maintenance, so for the time being, only eight Su-27s are available for deployment.
The lead pilot, Sergei, was rapidly manipulating the instrument panel in front of him.

Target locked, missile launched!
Flames flickered beneath the wings as R-27 missiles were launched.

Compared to other missiles of the era, the most distinctive feature of the R-27 is the four inverted trapezoidal control fins in the midsection of the missile body. The warhead also has four trapezoidal stabilizing fins, and the tail has four fixed double delta tail fins.

Its shape is quite different from the sparrow commonly used in the West, especially the central control wing, which has the advantages of a forward-swept wing and a good aspect ratio, giving it a great advantage in roll control.

However, the drawbacks are also obvious. Overload relies on speed. As the engine stops working, the missile's speed will decrease rapidly, and the missile's overload capacity will also deteriorate rapidly!
Although the missile claims to have a maximum overload capacity of 30G, this capability is lost in the mid-course phase, and the target will be lost even with a maneuver of only 6G. In the later stages of flight, the target can easily shake it off with a maneuver of only 2G.

The Russians have always loved to be unconventional, and with the later R-77, they even came up with the bizarre grille-style tail rudder. It sounded impressive, but in reality, the air resistance was ridiculously high.

Looking at us, we've always followed the sparrow's path: four delta wings in the front and four delta wings in the back. It's simple and easy. The PL-15 uses the same structure. The only difference is that the wingtips were cut off to fit into the bomb bay of a stealth aircraft, turning the delta wings into trapezoidal wings.

Of course, the Russians don't think their missiles look bad; they are very confident in them, and after upgrading to advanced avionics, it's even easier!

Two flames shot out, drawing two bright lines across the dark sky.

One of them is a radar-guided air-to-air missile, flying towards one target, while the other is an infrared-guided air-to-air missile, flying towards another target. One against two sounds outdated, but it is the maximum attack capability that Russian engineers could achieve by racking their brains and using Eastern avionics technology!
The earpiece still couldn't pick up any sound, indicating that the enemy's electronic jamming equipment was still nearby. However, the airborne radar was able to clearly detect the target, which was enough to demonstrate the advanced nature of the radar!
The missile continued its flight forward.

Thirty kilometers, twenty kilometers, ten kilometers...

At that moment, the missile suddenly began to tumble up and down!
This is……

"Damn it, what's going on?" Sergei stared at the glowing dots on the radar screen, utterly furious.

It's definitely not a radar problem; there's no snow on the airborne radar. So it must be... a problem with the missile seeker?
Fortunately, the infrared-guided missile continued its flight and finally came head-on into contact with a cruise missile.

boom!
A brilliant burst of fireworks erupted on the sea surface, and the next second, the Tomahawk missile, in flight, crashed into the sea.

A Tomahawk missile was successfully intercepted!
Sergei continued operating the fire control system, and a few seconds later, the second wave of attack began, consisting of one infrared missile and one radar missile!

As expected, when it was a few kilometers away from the target, the radar-guided missile fell into the sea again, while the infrared-guided missile successfully hit the target!
This... there's definitely something wrong with the missile!
The Tomahawk missiles fly very slowly, so after intercepting two waves head-on, the two sides passed each other. The Su-27 fighter jet turned its nose around and began to enter the tail-chase attack mode.

The third wave, the fourth wave...

This is the power of a heavy fighter jet!
For light aircraft, being able to carry four medium-range and two short-range payloads is already quite good! Medium-sized aircraft have a slightly higher payload capacity, but most of them carry no more than six medium-range and two short-range payloads, with at most two additional auxiliary fuel tanks.

What about the Su-27?
The Su-27 has three hardpoints under each wing and four hardpoints under the fuselage, totaling ten hardpoints! Moreover, the Su-27, a fighter jet that can travel three to four thousand kilometers on internal fuel, doesn't need external fuel tanks at all and can carry all its weapons!

Therefore, even without using composite pylons, the Su-27 can carry at least ten missiles on each sortie. In later years, the Russians felt that the number of pylons was not enough, so they added an extra pylon on the inside of the wing, bringing the total number of pylons on the Su-27 to 12.

Of course, the actual load is around ten, with the two on the wingtips often used to carry electronic countermeasures pods. As for their actual effectiveness, that remains to be seen.

All four medium-range missiles were launched, and Sergei hit... three Tomahawk missiles. Unfortunately, all four radar-type missiles missed their targets, and one infrared-type missile also missed its target.

Of course, he wouldn't just go back like that; he still had short-range air-to-air missiles and machine guns!

In the airspace, the other eight fighter jets achieved similar results to him.

Their purpose in flying here was to test the Su-27's combat capabilities in actual combat, and as it turns out... the missiles were terrible!

The fighter jet continued to fly forward. Sergei easily locked onto the Tomahawk missile flying slowly ahead using his helmet-mounted sight, and then pressed the launch button!
A burst of fire erupted as a close-range air-to-air missile exploded in mid-air! A minute later, he caught up with another missile and repeated the attack.

All the missiles on the rack were launched!

He switched the weapon to machine gun mode.

By this time, the missile had already crossed the ocean and arrived over Qeshm Island.

Closer, closer!

Sergei's eyes were fixed on the missile. To attack it with the machine gun, he would have to chase it from the rear and get close enough!

Finally, the head-up display locked onto the target. Just as he was about to press the launch button, the target suddenly pulled up.

what's the situation?
Sergei suddenly realized that the sky in front of him had disappeared and turned into... a hillside!
Sergei's back hairs stood on end. He activated the boost, pulled the lever... His actions were swift and fierce. As the dark hillside drew closer, his pupils dilated rapidly.

Climb, climb some more!

Finally, the sky was in front of me, which meant I had gotten back up!
Just then, BOOM! A terrifying collision sound rang out.

Sergei glanced in the rearview mirror; the rear was already on fire.

It's all that damn tailbone's fault!
He had already pulled himself up, but unfortunately, his tailbone was too long and made intimate contact with the hillside!
At this moment, saving your life is the most important thing!

Without the slightest hesitation, he put his legs together and pulled the ejection pin with his right hand.

Bang!
The canopy above his head flew off first, then flames surged beneath his rear as the rocket ignited, carrying him out of the cockpit.

At this moment, he was almost flying horizontally.

Just as he was about to dodge the suddenly appearing mountain, he pulled the plane to an angle of attack of almost ninety degrees and flew out perpendicular to the fuselage, which of course meant he was flying horizontally.

If he continues in this position, he will fall to his death. He is too close to the ground, and the parachute will not have a chance to open!

Just then, two stabilizer bars extended from behind the seat, stretching backward like the antennae of an insect.

The seat, as if sensing the situation, suddenly turned ninety degrees!
That's right, Sergei, who was lying down, was pulled back into a sitting position by the stabilizer bar.

The ejection rocket beneath my buttocks also began to propel the seat upwards!

In the night sky, the bright lines trailed by the ejection seat flames were still flashing, as if showing off.

No matter the position, even if it's upside down, it can straighten the pilot because it's the famous K-36 ejection seat!

At air shows, Russian fighter jets have showcased their advanced capabilities, but what truly stands out are their ejection seats, which eject pilots from seemingly impossible angles!
The survival rate was 100%! In fact, after being examined by a doctor, the pilot took off again that afternoon in another aircraft of the same model.

Martin-Baker is nowhere near as good as the K-36!

In later generations, carrier-based pilots who died during training were also saved because they were equipped with domestically made ejection seats. If it had been a K-36, it would have definitely given the pilots a chance to survive!
Of course, domestically produced ejection seats are also making progress. They have absorbed the technology of the K-36 ejection seat and developed the HTY-8 ejection seat. However, in many performance indicators, they still lag behind the K-36.

Because of its advanced performance, the K-36 is not only equipped on third-generation fighter jets, but also on other spacecraft, such as the Buran space shuttle. If the project is successful, we will be able to see astronauts taking off in K-36RB ejection seats.

In outer space, ejection is unnecessary. However, the most dangerous parts of space engineering are takeoff and landing. Astronauts wearing spacesuits can still escape using this ejection seat if they encounter danger.

A prime example of the opposite is the Challenger, which exploded shortly after liftoff. If it had ejection seats... it's said that ejection seats were actually used during the first four launches, but they were later removed.

Now, with Sergei in the K-36 ejection seat, after rising to a sufficient altitude, the rocket shuts off, the man and seat separate, the parachute opens, and Sergei descends unsteadily.

He looked down at his fighter jet, feeling somewhat...helpless. He had considered all sorts of ways it could crash, but he never expected it to be like this. However...he had done his best, and the Soviet Union had done its best too!
Of the hundreds of cruise missiles that flew in, the Su-27 formation helped intercept about thirty, and the rest were left to Lang Tuo!

Just as he landed, the twin-engine Q6 squadron arrived in the sky!

"One hundred kilometers away!"

"Phoenix missile, fire!"

For remote interception, we still need this kind of powerful weapon!
Huge missiles fell from beneath the fuselage, igniting a meter or two later.

Four shots, fire all at once!
Only active air-to-air missiles can do this: four missiles flying towards four different targets simultaneously! The current situation is similar to the US Navy's test of taking on six targets at once.

The fire control system has sufficient processing power, but the key is the target. It cannot be too scattered, otherwise the airborne radar antenna will have to be deflected at a large angle, taking care of one target but not another.

Only with the advent of phased array radar did the limitations of fighting multiple targets become less significant.

The Tomahawk missiles are still in close proximity, within a very narrow radar cross-section – it's practically a victory delivered right to our doorstep!
Flames flickered in the sky.

Twelve twin-engine Q-6 fighter jets launched forty-eight missiles, their flames slicing through the night sky in the shape of a comb.

At this moment, the Tomahawk missile had already flown over Qeshm Island and was about to hurtle toward Bandar Abbas, which was protected by the island!

Boom, boom, boom!
Explosions echoed one after another, and the defenders of Bandar Abbas could see fireballs blooming in the night sky. Each fireball represented a Tomahawk missile being shot down!

After this round of attacks, only about twenty Tomahawk missiles remained!

Meanwhile, the twin-engine Q-6 fighter jets had already reached a distance of fifty kilometers.

This is the benefit of being able to cruise at supersonic speeds!

"Launch Lightning Ten!"

After the second volley of bullets, only a dozen or so Tomahawk missiles remained!

"AWACS calling: To avoid friendly fire, Q-6 fighter jets are withdrawing from the battlefield!"

If we get any closer, we'll be entering the airspace above Bandar Abbas! There are anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft artillery units deployed there, and the shells are particularly unpredictable; if one of them is shot down, it will be disastrous.

"Roger that!"

Twin-engine Q-6 fighter jets spread their wings and turned back in the sky. On the ground, the flames of anti-aircraft guns pierced the night sky, and anti-aircraft missiles were also rapidly flying into the sky.

Behind them, aboard the E-3 early warning aircraft, the commander was completely dumbfounded by the results of the battle.

Even if each Tomahawk missile costs a million dollars, that's still a hundred million dollars. And they were all shot down like that?
The initial interception by the Su-27s was not very efficient, which was acceptable to them. However, the second wave of interception was unexpectedly fierce!

What's coming in the second wave?
Long-range missiles launched, fighter jets cruising at supersonic speeds... this batch is most likely Eastern weaponry, and there's also that early warning aircraft...

The Americans looked grim. This round of missile attacks had only caused a few splashes. What should they do next?
This is a headache for the Pentagon and the White House. Now, they need to return home. Tonight's battle is over, ending in defeat for the Americans!
Cheers erupted in Bandar Abbas.

(End of this chapter)