Great Power Long Sky

The JH-7 returned to sea-skimming altitude, and this time, Li Lu controlled the flight altitude at 30 meters.

This is a fairly extreme low sea-skimming altitude.

The aircraft's length exceeds twenty meters, meaning its flight altitude is only a few meters longer than its length.

Li Lu didn't want to take any risks. This place was in the middle of nowhere, and the slightest mistake could mean two lives and a fighter jet that was more valuable than several J-7E fighters.

We have no choice but to take the risk.

Although the entire process from afterburner climb to completing the attack takes no more than two minutes, no one can guarantee that this extremely short exposure time will not result in being detected by the enemy's shipborne phased array radar or early warning aircraft.

If our location is exposed, the enemy will definitely send fighter jets to search further. At that time, it will be unknown whether we can fly back safely, let alone carry out reconnaissance missions.

Li Lu flew towards the location where the two RF-5Es crashed into the sea, circled it once, and only after seeing that all the wreckage had sunk did he adjust his course and continue flying eastward at extremely low altitude.

This is both a way to confirm the results of the battle and a way to adjust one's own position.

While Li Lu was launching his attack, Xue Shuang was not idle. He successfully received the radio signals continuously transmitted by the Air Force East China Sea Front Command Post and confirmed his current location through the radio signals.

In this way, errors can be corrected.

To Xue Shuang's surprise, after correcting for the wireless signal, they found that the error in their own position calculations was almost zero.

In other words, Li Lu flew over hundreds of kilometers at extremely low altitude with incredibly precise control.

Li Lu's control precision is comparable to that of an autopilot.

"No problem. Maintain the heading and speed for ten minutes, and we'll be in the designated airspace," Xue Shuang said over the radio. "Should we enter radio silence?"

Li Lu nodded. "Enter silence."

The two immediately resumed communicating via gestures.

When passively receiving radio signals, its location will not be exposed. It will only be detected by the enemy's radio detection methods when it transmits radio signals.

The four EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft on the USS Kitty Hawk are equipped with electronic jamming and radio detection capabilities.

Before taking action, the Americans usually send electronic warfare aircraft to sneak over and conduct reconnaissance. If there is an opportunity to interfere, they will not hesitate to carry it out. They can use one or two EA-6Bs to mobilize dozens or even hundreds of enemy aircraft, making it difficult to defend against the real and fake attacks.

They might even launch electromagnetic pulse missiles to paralyze all of the opponent's electronic equipment with invisible area-of-effect damage, a ruthless tactic known as "blinding by dust."

A line of fire suddenly appeared from the right front, rapidly closing in and heading straight for the flight path.

Without hesitation, Li Lu rolled the barrel to the right.

"Enemy attack!" Xue Shuang decisively broke the radio silence and issued a warning.

Li Lu instantly identified it as a string of bullets or shells, interspersed with tracer rounds, which were clearly visible against the backdrop of the ocean.

After the barrel roll, the JH-7 was only 15 meters above the sea surface. After accounting for the wave height, the actual distance between it and the sea surface was only a little over 10 meters.

If Li Lu's hand on the control stick trembled even slightly, he and Xue Shuang would have piloted their fighter jet into the sea.

"Armed vessel! To the right!" Xue Shuang's gaze locked onto the small black dot on the sea.

Li Lu calmly replied, "I see it, it's a gunboat."

A gunboat of two or three hundred tons does not appear large at this distance. The cannons on such gunboats are usually not large in caliber and have a short range.

By combining the size of the black dots observed, the distance between them can be determined.

After a meticulous analysis lasting half a second, Li Lu decided not to raise the height but to attack the target directly from this height.

He switched on the 90mm aircraft fire control switch, released the firing safety, and said, "I'll fire, you observe!"

"Understood!" Xue Shuang quickly surveyed the surroundings and, seeing no other target within sight, promptly provided Li Lu with the wind speed and direction.

The 90mm aircraft-launched missile has a range of several kilometers, which is sufficient to cover the target.

To ensure strike efficiency and a successful first hit, the closer the distance, the better.

The target flashed again, but this time no light was visible, indicating that the barrage of shells was aimed directly at the JH-7.

Li Lu maneuvered the stick and rudder, easily dodging the oncoming shells with a somersault. This point-to-point attack method poses little threat to high-speed fighter jets; an experienced gunner would fire a line to cover the target's flight path.

Clearly, the gunboat below was quite nervous when it saw the JH-7 approaching at extremely low altitude, and its reaction was inappropriate.

They didn't get a third chance to shoot.

Li Lu had already locked on, gripped the control stick, braced himself against the control surfaces to maintain flight attitude, and steadily pressed the launch button.

He chose both 90mm aircraft cannons. These launchers fire all twelve aircraft cannons at once, unlike cannons which fire a few and leave some behind.

However, Li Lu did not intend to keep the aircraft carrier.

A gunboat of two or three hundred tons is obviously a tiny vessel compared to a destroyer that weighs several thousand tons. However, compared to the main battle tank, the king of land warfare, a gunboat is an absolute behemoth.

That's equipment made of steel, weighing two or three hundred tons!

Li Lu didn't expect the 90mm rockets to sink the target gunboat; his goal was to destroy its guns and antennas, and ideally, disable the target gunboat altogether.

The greatest threat to the JH-7 comes from the gunboat's cannons; other weapons, including heavy machine guns, are unlikely to pose a significant threat.

The purpose of destroying the antenna was simpler—to prevent it from tipping off the JH-7's location.

Li Lu had no idea whether the target gunboat had reported their location beforehand.

However, their communication equipment must be destroyed as soon as possible.

Without an antenna, the radio couldn't even transmit a cough.

Twenty-four 90mm rockets were launched in succession. Their initial velocity was very high and the interval between launches was very short. The exhaust flames formed several fire dragons in the air, which looked very spectacular.

When a missile is launched, there is only a faint trail of flame, which is not as impressive as aerial fire. To people who are not familiar with weapons and equipment, the grand spectacle of aerial fire may seem awe-inspiring, and they may subconsciously think that it is the most powerful weapon. In fact, the opposite is true.

To achieve the best striking effect, Li Lu subtly adjusted the gun depression angle, ensuring that the last few 90mm guns landed at the waterline of the target gunboat.

He didn't know if the high-explosive warhead could penetrate the target gunboat, but how would he know if he didn't try?

The antennas on the mast of the target gunboat were destroyed first, with not a single shot missing, which also blew the entire mast askew. Then the gun position at gun emplacement A was hit by the most airborne fire, and thick smoke billowed out.

All the air-to-air fire was fired. Li Lu pulled up the nose with a stick, then engaged afterburner to turn right, accelerated, and suddenly climbed several tens of meters. He then quickly pushed the stick down to descend, and finally used a series of rolls to change course, thus avoiding possible counter-fire.

After completing this series of maneuvers, the target gunboat's position changed to the left of the JH-7.

Li Lu turned his head to the left, and Xue Shuang's voice rang out, "The target is sinking!"

Sure enough, the bow of the target gunboat rose slightly, and most of its stern was submerged in the water.

"Even if you break through it, this thing isn't sturdy enough," Li Lu laughed.

He guessed correctly; two aerial bombs pierced the waterline of the target gunboat's stern, creating two gaps several tens of centimeters wide, allowing seawater to rush in.

In fact, if the damage control of the target gunboat is effective at this time, the sinking of the ship can be avoided.

However, at that moment, the A gun position, which was billowing thick smoke, suddenly exploded!

"boom!"

The massive explosion tore the target gunboat apart, ripping open its entire bow section before it sank rapidly. In less than half a minute, the entire gunboat disappeared beneath the surface of the sea.

Li Lu couldn't help but grin. "Hey! We're lucky to have triggered a secondary explosion!"