Great Power Long Sky

The only system capable of threatening aircraft flying at this altitude is the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, which is the last line of defense in the carrier battle group's air defense perimeter.

Li Lu had already anticipated the enemy's close-in weapon systems.

Seeing flames continuously emerging from the starboard side of the Kitty Hawk, he immediately frantically maneuvered the stick to change course.

His choice was to evade the Kitty Hawk to its starboard side.

A very, very risky barrel roll maneuver was performed, after which the nose of the aircraft pointed to the starboard side of the Kitty Hawk.

At an altitude of only fifty meters, if you perform a barrel roll maneuver and make even the slightest bit too large a stick movement, the plane will crash into the sea without hesitation.

As he rolled over, headfirst, Li Lu even felt the canopy touch the waves!

At that moment, Li Lu's hair stood on end.

The barrage fired by the Phalanx CIWS became ineffective. Li Lu used an extremely risky low-altitude barrel roll maneuver to reach a distance of more than 200 meters from the starboard side of the USS Kitty Hawk, only a dozen meters above the sea surface!

This range is outside the firing arc of the Phalanx CIWS—the depression angle is insufficient.

Without hesitation, Li Lu immediately shifted the control stick to the left, bringing the aircraft close to the USS Kitty Hawk, which was maneuvering at high speed.

A low-altitude SH-60 "Seahawk" helicopter was circling overhead. It is a means of dealing with unexpected situations during takeoff and landing, such as when the pilot ejects due to a failed takeoff or landing, and this helicopter is responsible for the salvage operation.

At this moment, the crew of the helicopter clearly saw that the J-6 modified fighter jet No. 101 was flying close to the starboard side at a height lower than the flight deck of the Kitty Hawk. Judging from the position of the flaps, it was obviously controlling its speed and using the Kitty Hawk as cover.

The crew reported it immediately.

Li Lu, however, did not give them a chance.

Without the slightest pause, he immediately followed up with the next maneuver after completing one lever maneuver.

Suddenly, J-6 modified No. 101 did a pigeon somersault, flipping up from the starboard side of the USS Kitty Hawk and appearing abruptly above the flight deck runway. Its relative position was in front of the superstructure, and it appeared gracefully in front of the American soldiers.

Li Lu did not stop, but continued to roll across, from the starboard side of the Kitty Hawk to the port side. Then, he engaged afterburner and made a sharp turn. While his position remained relatively unchanged, he even freed one hand to pick up a camera and take close-up, continuous photos of the Kitty Hawk!

Close-up, front, side, multiple angles!

The Kitty Hawk and its escort ships no longer had a chance to fire, because Li Lu's current position was in the most critical area of ​​their formation. If they fired, the shells would damage friendly ships!

The Lone Ranger returned, and without waiting for instructions, he immediately descended to pursue the J-6 modified No. 101.

Li Lu completed his task, and even exceeded expectations.

He didn't engage the Lone Ranger, instead flying at high speed close to the sea, constantly changing course, and skillfully choosing blind spots in the escort ships' firepower. The Lone Ranger, receiving no orders to fire, could only spread its wings and follow closely.

Li Lu did not return to base along the planned route. With the remaining fuel unable to return to the airfield, he flew at extremely low altitude over the sea to escape the inner air defense zone of the Kitty Hawk carrier battle group. He immediately climbed to cruising altitude and flew at cruising speed, while simultaneously calling East Command to activate the backup plan.

On the other side, Xue Shuang, who was responsible for providing cover, received the order to return to base, and he returned to the field as planned.

After the Mavericks returned to base, a second batch of F-14s followed Li Lufei for over 100 kilometers before confirming that the threat had been eliminated.

The shock they felt from this outdated jet fighter, which seemed to be from the last century, was profound.

Their supposedly impregnable three-layered air defense system on the aircraft carrier proved utterly ineffective against an old-fashioned jet fighter.

The lessons learned by the British Navy in the Falklands War are still fresh in everyone's mind: a Super Étendard fighter jet, flying at low altitude, sank the newly built destroyer HMS Sheffield, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, with just one anti-ship missile.

The ability of surface ships to withstand attacks from low-altitude fighter jets will be a long-term research topic.

For the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Li Lu's heroic act paved the way for dealing with aircraft carriers—the high success rate of aircraft penetrating at extremely low altitudes has great practical significance.

Li Lu wanted to take a shortcut back. He calculated it three times and found that, theoretically, he had enough fuel to fly to the 16th Regiment Airport of the Naval Aviation, which later became the very famous Dachang Airport.

His current location is closest to the Dachang Station in a straight line.

The alternate landing at Dachang Station is a backup plan.

By flying at the most appropriate altitude and the most economical cruising speed, Li Lu increases the success rate of making an emergency landing at the Dachang airfield by saving every gram of fuel.

The East Command cleared the entire airspace in front of Li Lu. Before Li Lu made an emergency landing at Dachang Station, no aircraft, regardless of altitude, was allowed to enter this airspace.

The Ninth Regiment scrambled two Su-27s to escort Li Lu back to base. Once the two Su-27s were in position, the two F-14s that had been following Li Lu had to turn back.

Even if the Su-27 is not well-suited to local conditions and is merely a shell of its former self, it is still one of the world's best third-generation fighter jets, an air superiority fighter primarily designed for air control.

The F-14 has no advantage over the Su-27.

The lead pilot of the Su-27 was Gao Wei. Before takeoff, he already knew that one of his J-6 fighters had found the USS Kitty Hawk in the vast ocean and had broken through the Kitty Hawk's three layers of air defense.

He didn't know it was Li Lu, he only knew it was someone from the Seventh Regiment.

After driving away the two F-14s, Gao Wei and his wingman flew alongside the No. 101 J-6 modified fighter jet, escorting it like two young men welcoming a veteran returning from the battlefield.

Looking at the pilot in the cockpit of J-6 Modified fighter jet No. 101, Gao Wei felt an overwhelming sense of envy. He believed that among the pilots of the 7th Regiment, Xu Hailiang and Zhang Fei were the two with the best skills and the most experience.

If it weren't for communication regulations, Gao Wei would have loved to ask right now.

He could only patiently escort the J-6 modified No. 101, and then call the 7th Regiment to ask after it landed.

The Su-27 cannot make an emergency landing at Dachang Airfield because there is no relevant support equipment there. This is also why the Su-27 that made an emergency landing at Donghai Airfield has been stuck there ever since.

After entering the airspace, Gao Wei called out to J-6 Modified No. 101, "Yaodongyao, this is where we'll escort you. Have a safe journey, goodbye."

"Thank you for the escort, goodbye," Li Lu replied.

Gao Wei felt the voice was quite familiar, but couldn't quite place it for a moment.

The two Su-27s wobbled their wings and then detached themselves in a southwest direction, forming a two-aircraft formation to return to Guanqiao Airfield.

Li Lu maintained his course, altitude, and speed and continued flying. Half an hour later, he would be able to land at the Dachang Airport.

However, the East Command suddenly reported that the weather ahead had changed drastically!