Great Power Long Sky

Li Lu and Xue Shuang's "outrageous antics" alerted the enemy command center that something was amiss.

First, two RF-5E reconnaissance aircraft heading north lost contact, losing radar signals and radio response.

Secondly, the patrol submarines operating in the waters east of the island have also lost contact.

At this time, Li Lu was unaware that he had sunk a submarine chaser, and that the explosion was caused by depth charges stored inside the submarine, which was why the explosion was so powerful.

The RF-5E and submarine chasers wouldn't have gone missing for no reason, nor could they have malfunctioned. There's only one explanation—homicide.

Someone slipped over.

But where are they?

The ship capable of simultaneously engaging both aircraft and vessels is most likely a vessel with both air and sea combat capabilities, therefore the RF-5E and submarine chasers are not far apart.

They determined that one of our ships had slipped over.

There is another basis for this judgment: our aircraft do not have the capability to strike surface targets. To sink a submarine chaser of two or three hundred tons, missiles are required, and our aircraft capable of carrying air-launched anti-ship missiles are only the H-6 and JH-7.

Large aircraft like the H-6 can be detected by radar as soon as they leave the sea, and the same is true for the JH-7. They are very confident in their air defense detection capabilities.

Some people also drew a connection to the brief aircraft signal that appeared two hours earlier west of the median line, but this was immediately refuted—it was impossible for such a distant aircraft to slip silently into the airspace east of the island.

As for the idea of ​​diving at an extremely low altitude, skimming tens of meters above the sea, they simply didn't believe it, because it was practically impossible.

Short-duration, short-range ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming flights are not difficult; what is difficult is long-duration, long-range ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming flights.

The human eye is not a radar instrument. When flying at extremely low altitudes for extended periods, fatigue can easily cause illusions, leading to confusion about the position of the sky and sea. Even the slightest mistake can result in a crash and loss of life.

This is why Li Lu had to be in charge of this reconnaissance mission.

When Li Lufei led the 8th Air Regiment in a low-altitude penetration mission, he flew three long-duration low-altitude sea-skimming flights. He flew from the sea east of the East China Sea Air Station, along the coastline, all the way to the Dachang Air Station, and then returned along the same route at low altitude. The entire journey was 1200 kilometers and took two hours.

He had undergone targeted training.

The reason why the pilots of the 7th and 8th Air Regiments have not yet fully realized the difficulty of ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming flight is because they do not understand it!

Without a standard for comparison, there is no full understanding or awareness.

It can be said that the subject of ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming penetration flight was a blank before the tactical test group.

All the training methods, standards, and operational procedures for this subject were developed by Li Lu and his tactical testing team.

The most difficult challenge to overcome is visual fatigue caused by prolonged ultra-low-altitude penetration flights.

Fortunately, the JH-7 is a two-seat fighter jet, and with Xue Shuang in the rear cockpit sharing the burden, Li Lun, as the navigator, was able to relax a lot.

The advantages of two-seat fighter jets were fully demonstrated.

The enemy's joint command center misjudged the situation, believing it to be a destroyer or frigate approaching. Furthermore, the anti-submarine patrol boats made a fatal mistake—they failed to report immediately and instead opened fire first. This prevented the enemy's joint command center from obtaining crucial intelligence.

At this moment, Li Lu checked the time: 8:45.

One hour and 25 minutes have passed since takeoff.

He glanced at the remaining fuel and quickly calculated a fairly accurate remaining flight time in his mind—based on the current fuel consumption rate.

The remaining range is sufficient to support the completion of the reconnaissance mission.

Strictly speaking, shooting down enemy aircraft and sinking enemy submarine chasers are unexpected situations. If the exact location of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group cannot be determined, this reconnaissance mission will be a failure.

Locating the exact location of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group was only one part of the reconnaissance mission. Li Lu and his team also needed to find out as much as possible about the defensive deployment of Beach No. 3 and collect enemy radio signals.

We haven't even finished the first task yet.

However, Li Lu's intuition told him that the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group was just ahead.

Battlefield intuition is extremely important.

This intuition is well-founded.

New recruits won't have battlefield instincts, and neither will veterans with less combat experience.

Only combat personnel with rich combat experience and keen insight into changes in the battlefield environment are likely to develop battlefield intuition.

In the jungle, an experienced squad leader might suddenly order the entire squad to halt and go on high alert, even if no one else notices anything amiss.

This is battlefield intuition sending out a safety warning.

Li Lu currently has this strong intuition.

He freed one hand, raised it, and gave a thumbs-up.

This is the agreed signal – flying at the lowest altitude and fastest speed.

Xue Shuang immediately knocked on the hatch twice to indicate that he had received it.

Li Lu let out a soft breath, shifted his position slightly, and relaxed his limbs—a relaxing and invigorating action.

Fortunately, I urinated before takeoff, otherwise I would be in a real hurry to pee right now.

In fact, whether it is a military pilot or a civilian pilot, strong psychological qualities are an essential basic requirement. Of course, the standard for psychological qualities is the highest for military pilots.

One reason is that when a person is suddenly subjected to strong stimulation, the secretion of urine will be accelerated—when a person is suddenly frightened, they will have a strong urge to urinate, which everyone has experienced.

A strong heart is an essential physical and mental quality for pilots.

As anyone who has watched the news knows, when pilots are interviewed, they usually downplay the process of handling a very dangerous in-flight emergency. That's not an act, but a professional habit.

If a pilot doesn't have a strong mental fortitude, he'll most likely never have the chance to appear on camera.

Li Lu glanced at the instrument panel: 30 meters above sea level, 700 km/h speed—extremely extreme flight parameters.

He also needed even more extreme flight parameters to ensure that he could completely avoid any radar detection sources that the Kitty Hawk carrier strike group might have.

He was well aware of the customs and trends, and quickly calculated them in his mind.

Strong crosswinds and turbulent airflow.

In less than two seconds, he began to operate.

He didn't move the control stick or the two rudders, but only used the throttle to control the altitude—and could also fine-tune the altitude by adjusting the speed.

He developed this control method during his second ultra-low altitude long-range flight training, and it is particularly suitable for use in situations with strong crosswinds and turbulent airflow.

The faster an aircraft travels, the more lift it generates, and vice versa. Therefore, every type of aircraft has a minimum airspeed envelope for level flight. Below this airspeed, the aircraft will stall.

At this point, Li Lu had a lot of speed redundancy, and the risk of stalling was extremely small.

He slowly retracted the pole to reduce the speed. The altimeter needle didn't move at first, but then it slowly began to descend.

25 meters, 20 meters, 15 meters.

Li Lu stopped reducing the throttle, then slowly pushed the throttle back up, and the speed steadily increased.

The flight altitude stabilized at ten meters.

This process took more than 30 seconds, which is a rather long operation.

Xue Shuang unconsciously wiped away his sweat, but instead touched his flight cap.

Ten meters high...

The JH-7 is practically skimming the surface of the sea!

Xue Shuang looked to the side and felt as if he were riding a speedboat, with the waves seemingly within reach!

Stimulate!