Great Power Long Sky

After successfully executing the third turning command issued by the East China Sea Front Command of the Air Force, the reflected signal of the JH-7 completely disappeared from our radar screen.

This not only means that the enemy's radar network can no longer detect the JH-7, but also that our command system has completely lost control of the exact location of Li Lu's crew.

From then on, the East China Sea Front Command of the Air Force was no longer able to provide Li Lu's crew with any form of route guidance and navigation support, and they had to rely entirely on their own judgment and operation to cope with the subsequent flight.

Because satellite positioning systems are unavailable, aircraft cannot obtain real-time coordinate information, making it difficult to determine their exact location.

Under these severe conditions, the only way for Li Lu and his team to ensure accurate heading was to do their utmost to control the error between flight speed and altitude within an extremely small range that was close to zero!

After completing the third turn under the guidance of the command post, Li Lu needs to stabilize the course in the due north direction, maintain an average speed of 700 kilometers per hour, and fly at an ultra-low sea level of 50 meters for a full 15 minutes, covering a total distance of exactly 175 kilometers, before he can perform the fourth critical turn.

In other words, Li Lu must strictly maintain an average airspeed of 700 kilometers per hour for the next 15 minutes—exceeding this speed would cause the aircraft to overshoot the designated turning point; insufficient speed would mean turning too early before reaching the correct position.

In either case, the crew would inevitably miss the target area where the Kitty Hawk carrier strike group was located, and as the flight time progressed, the deviation in flight path would continue to accumulate, ultimately leading to the complete failure of the mission.

Therefore, Li Lu had to be absolutely precise in his flight control. At the same time, Xue Shuang, who was in the rear cabin, had to report the current average speed and heading error to Li Lu every minute.

For the two of them, this kind of work requires them to maintain a high level of concentration, which is a very high-intensity mental labor, and their energy is being consumed at an extremely rapid rate.

Doesn't the JH-7 have a satellite positioning device?

In fact, the aircraft was equipped with the American GPS system, but the key issue is that the other side has cut off access to the system.

Even if it were to reopen now, Li Lu and his team could not use it—because activating GPS would be tantamount to actively exposing their real-time location to the enemy.

Not only can they not be used, but in order to prevent any possible signal leakage, the relevant positioning equipment even needs to be removed or completely shielded before the mission.

Just then, Li Lu suddenly raised his right hand and struck the canopy above his head three times clearly and forcefully.

Xue Shuang immediately received the signal and responded with three taps – this meant that the 15-minute flight segment had ended and they were now in the correct position for the fourth turn.

Without hesitation, Li Lu pushed the stick to the right, completing a standard 90-degree turn, adjusting the course from due north to due east, and continuing to fly forward at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour.

If they hold on for just 10 more minutes, they will reach the core operational area of ​​the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group.

Fuel was plentiful, and Li Lu didn't have to worry about fuel availability this time—the JH-7 took off with a full tank of fuel and could fly 2500 kilometers even at extremely low altitudes.

"Enemy aircraft! High altitude to the right!" Xue Shuang suddenly shouted, breaking the radio silence.

Li Lu quickly looked up and saw two blurry outlines appear before him. They were a formation of two fighter jets flying northeast and would soon cut into the flight path of the JH-7.

If our aircraft are not operating in this airspace, then it can only be enemy aircraft!

"It looks like an F-5E, and its flight altitude is about three thousand meters." Li Lu's voice was steady as he quickly judged the distance between them and the altitude of the enemy aircraft.

The enemy aircraft formation was flying at a much higher altitude, and they obviously did not spot the JH-7.

At this altitude, the fighter jet's silhouette blends into the ocean background. The F-5E, being a second-generation aircraft, lacks look-down search capability on its onboard radar. Even advanced third-generation fighters like the F-14 and F-18 would struggle to detect the JH-7 flying at a sea-skimming altitude of 50 meters without early warning, even if they used their onboard radar's look-down search function.

"These two Tigers flying northeast is not right," Li Lu said thoughtfully.

There are one hundred F-5E Tiger fighter jets on the island, provided by the Americans.

The size of this fighter jet is almost the same as that of the J-7E. However, the F-5E is a twin-engine aircraft, while the WP-13F turbojet engine used by the J-7E has a greater thrust than the sum of the two engines of the F-5E. Therefore, the J-7E has a higher top speed.

After adopting a double delta wing aerodynamic layout, the J-7E's low-altitude, low-speed maneuverability is no worse than that of the F-5E.

In short, the J-7E can outperform the F-5E, even though the latter has a slightly larger payload.

However, the F-5E has an advantage that the J-7E can't match – its maximum ferry range is as high as 3700 kilometers and its maximum combat radius is 1200 kilometers!

At this moment, Xue Shuang glanced down at the navigation chart and said, "Could it be heading straight for the First Fleet?"

The navy's three major fleets mobilized in full force, forming three task forces to attack the enemy fleet from three directions. The first task force was positioned in the northeast direction.

Li Lu quickly assessed the situation and shook his head, saying, "It's unlikely. First, two F-5Es are pointless. Second, in terms of distance, the Kitty Hawk carrier strike group is closer to Task Force 1, so there's absolutely no need to take off these outdated planes from the island."

"unless……"

He suddenly thought of a possibility, his gaze fixed on the F-5E twin formation flying at cruising speed across the flight path, and said, "These two Tigers are not fighters at all, but reconnaissance aircraft."

A thought flashed through Xue Shuang's mind, and he said, "The intelligence department once provided a piece of information that it is very likely that some of the Tiger aircraft on the island have been converted into dedicated tactical reconnaissance aircraft."

Li Lu also thought of this intelligence, and the performance parameters of the RF-5E flashed through his mind.

With its embedded sensors, forward-looking camera, panoramic camera, and infrared scanner, this aircraft possesses almost all the functions expected of a tactical reconnaissance aircraft, except for its lack of electronic reconnaissance capabilities.

The Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group dared not send fighter jets to conduct aerial reconnaissance of Task Force 1. They could not afford the cost of provoking an incident, even though they greatly looked down on our weapons and equipment!

If the enemy wants to figure out the tactical deployment, ship configuration, and so on of the First Task Force, they can only send scapegoats on the island to conduct reconnaissance.

In modern warfare, reconnaissance comes first, and it is common for reconnaissance to take several months before the war begins, with the war ending within a month of the start of combat.

This shows how important reconnaissance intelligence is.

"We can't let them find Task Force 1. Task Force 1 is the main force against aircraft carriers. Once exposed, the consequences will be unimaginable," Li Lu said in a deep voice.

Xue Shuang asked in a low voice, "What do you want to do?"

They continued to communicate after breaking the radio silence, but the East China Sea Command Post did not receive any instructions, indicating that the East China Sea Command Post could not receive communication signals due to distance and altitude.

Li Lu and Xue Shuang need to handle the situation on the spot.

At this moment, Li Lu slowly uttered a single word, "Damn it!"