Great Power Long Sky

The waters east of the island are currently bathed in warm, bright sunshine.

The sky was clear and azure, with a few wisps of white clouds floating leisurely in the vast expanse of the sky. They moved gracefully and slowly, as if gently caressed by an invisible hand, adding a touch of liveliness and beauty to the tranquil sea and sky.

The vast and boundless sea appeared exceptionally calm, with almost no wind. The seawater spread out like a large, smooth, deep blue silk, shimmering and reflecting the clouds and sunlight in the sky, presenting a peaceful and serene scene, as if nature had specially arranged a tranquil afternoon for this sea area.

It's a beautiful day.

For submariners who spend long periods of time underwater, taking advantage of the opportunity to surface for recharging and get some fresh air on the outer deck, even if it's just breathing fresh air in the sail, is a rare treat and a great way to relax.

However, the unexpected happened at this moment.

A P-3 anti-submarine patrol aircraft accidentally spotted the Type 033 conventional-powered submarine floating on the surface and charging its batteries on its return flight. After circling the submarine once, the aircraft quickly flew away, but this brief encounter was enough to break the tranquility of the sea.

However, the captain of the Type 033 submarine knew that more aircraft would soon come to reconnoiter or monitor the submarine, and the submarine had to dive immediately to avoid being exposed.

Unfortunately, at this critical moment, the battery malfunctioned, and there was not enough power to support the submarine's maneuverability and stealth after it submerged. If it were to dive by force, the submarine would become an easy target underwater, putting it in a very dangerous situation.

The captain acted decisively, immediately reporting the emergency to his superiors and requesting instructions and support.

Conventional submarines rely on batteries for underwater navigation and maneuvering. When the batteries run out of power, they need to surface to start the diesel engine to generate electricity, fully charge the batteries, and then submerge again.

However, diesel engines consume a large amount of oxygen when they are running, and cannot be used directly when navigating underwater, which is an inherent limitation of conventional submarine design.

In contrast, nuclear submarines are highly regarded not only because their power is virtually unlimited, but more importantly because they do not consume air. As long as the crew can stay afloat, the nuclear submarine can remain submerged for as long as possible. Theoretically, it could even circumnavigate the Earth indefinitely, giving it a tremendous strategic advantage.

However, only a handful of countries are capable of independently building nuclear submarines, and even those countries that possess the relevant technology often do not have the opportunity to use this powerful weapon, which is extremely expensive and complex to maintain.

In order to effectively solve the problem of conventional submarines needing to surface frequently to recharge, or to significantly extend the underwater endurance of conventional submarines, the military industry has developed the "air-independent propulsion system", or AIP system for short. This has brought revolutionary improvements to the stealth and endurance of conventional submarines.

The Type 033 conventional submarine is a copy of the Soviet R-class submarine, which was produced in the 1960s. Its technology is relatively outdated, and its maximum underwater displacement is only a little over 1,800 tons, making it relatively small in size.

However, this submarine possesses formidable offensive capabilities, equipped with eight 533mm torpedo tubes, making it extremely powerful.

Theoretically speaking, a Type 033 submarine can sink a large aircraft carrier. No aircraft carrier can survive being hit by eight 533mm torpedoes.

This type of submarine is currently the mainstay equipment of the People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine force.

The biggest enemy of submarines is anti-submarine aircraft, especially submarines that have already been detected. When facing anti-submarine aircraft, they can only be attacked.

The captain organized an air defense squad, took out rifles and machine guns, and conducted air defense at the conning tower, which was their only means of air defense.

After takeoff, Li Lu and Xue Shuang immediately engaged afterburner to climb to cruising altitude and maintained maximum cruising speed.

They were flying J-7E fighter jets, carrying three external fuel tanks.

The J-7E fighter jet, the preferred choice for carrying out combat readiness missions, is the most advanced fighter jet in the hands of the 7th Air Regiment.

With three auxiliary fuel tanks, its combat radius can reach nearly 800 kilometers, but it cannot carry air-to-air missiles and can only use its cannons.

Under the guidance of the Eastern Command, Li Lu and his team took a shortcut to intercept the P-3 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, while the first batch of J-7E fighters that took off were responsible for intercepting the two F-15 fighters.

"Attention, Dongsanguai! The third group of targets is located 80 kilometers to the northeast. It's a formation of two F-15 fighter jets, right behind the anti-submarine aircraft!" The East Command suddenly reported a new situation.

Li Lu immediately looked down at the chart board and marked the position of the third batch of enemy planes with a pencil.

It was clearly a fighter formation escorting the P-3 anti-submarine aircraft.

"Dong Sanguai received!"

At this time, the first batch of J-7Es had already engaged the enemy and were entangled with the first two F-15s, with both sides engaging in a battle of wits and courage in the air and sea.

Just as Li Lu was about to call Xue Shuang to confirm the tactics, the East Command issued another order: "Dong Sanguai! The Navy requests emergency support! One of their submarines is being entangled by an anti-submarine aircraft, another anti-submarine aircraft! You go there!"

There's also a P-3 anti-submarine aircraft!

"Go immediately, Dong Sanguai understands!" Li Lu replied decisively.

The East Command issued guidance instructions: "Adjust course to 188dong, maintain course and altitude!"

"Heading to 18th Hole, maintain course and altitude, understood!"

Li Lu and Xue Shuang executed a clean and decisive formation turn, adjusting their heading to 180 degrees, meaning the nose of the aircraft was pointing due south.

They engaged afterburner to increase their speed to near the speed of sound, then deactivated the afterburner and maintained this speed at maximum throttle.

At that moment, the captain of the Type 033 submarine, who was searching the sky with binoculars on the conning tower, spotted a dark shadow in the eastern sky.

"Prepare for battle!" the captain ordered without hesitation.

The air defense team immediately cocked their guns, released the safety, and pointed them at the sky, even though they knew that small arms posed a limited threat to aircraft in the air.

The enemy dispatched two P-3 anti-submarine aircraft from two different directions to the area where the Type 033 submarine was located. The P-3 anti-submarine aircraft that had entered visual range was the first to depart, but because it was flying at low to medium altitude and circled eastward, our radar only detected it now.

At this time, Li Lu was still more than 100 kilometers away from the sea area where the Type 033 submarine was located. Moreover, the direction provided by the East Command was only a rough location. After arriving at this sea area, a search would still be needed to find the Type 033 submarine.

The crew of the submarine did not place their hopes on reinforcements. The only thing that could arrive in the shortest time was an airplane, but they knew that it would be difficult for either the air force or the naval aviation to reach that area.

They pinned their hopes on the repair team; the faster the battery was repaired, the greater the chance of escaping the P-3 anti-submarine aircraft's pursuit.

The deterrent power of a submarine lies in its stealth capabilities; once a submarine has been exposed, its tactical significance is practically nonexistent.

The Type 033 submarine is in a very dangerous situation.

The early warning aircraft behind the second batch of F-15s discovered the intention of Li Lu's formation and immediately ordered the two F-15s to accelerate and catch up, changing their mission to escort the P-3 that was already approaching the Type 033 submarine.

A fierce air and sea battle ensued over an anchored submarine.