Great Power Long Sky

(The ending of the previous chapter has been revised. Please take a look back so that it will connect with this chapter.)

Now that the exact location of the Kitty Hawk carrier strike group has been found and their current course has been determined, why not turn and disengage at extremely low altitude?

The safest course of action would be to move north, south, or even east to create distance from the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group, and then accelerate back from high altitude or fly back over the strait.

Choosing to disengage in the same direction as the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group is by no means the most dangerous option.

Li Lu was, of course, very aware of these circumstances.

But he had to do it.

At its current full-speed sailing speed, the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group will appear in the waters north of the island in a maximum of three hours.

From that position, all naval formations participating in the large-scale live-fire military exercise "Joint 1996" would be within the most comfortable strike range of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group.

There is also the Nimitz nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group that is nowhere to be seen, but they are definitely not far away!

Li Lu not only had to send more intelligence back, but also had to find a way to deter the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group from continuing westward!

If deterrence cannot be achieved, large-scale military exercises risk being forced to stop!

Three hours at most!

Xue Shuang was also very clear about what they had to do.

The idea that a single JH-7 fighter-bomber could deter an entire carrier battle group is wishful thinking.

Moreover, it was a JH-7 that no longer had any ground or sea attack weapons!

If the USS Kitty Hawk were to carry two C101 anti-ship missiles, it would be wary. It would be virtually impossible for it to be sunk, but it would certainly be severely damaged.

Li Lu had only one option: to expose himself.

He took a rare deep breath, his brain once again entering extreme combat mode, frantically processing all the information in front of him, and then quickly forming routes, nodes, manipulation actions, etc., which were then compiled into a schematic diagram and continuously improved.

"Visibility is three kilometers," Xue Shuang reminded Li Lu.

The rain was getting thicker and the rain lines were getting denser. The clouds were hanging low. This weather was favorable to Li Lu's plan, but unfavorable to flight control.

Two faint trails of flame appeared in the sky to the left front, and then it made a sharp turn and flew behind Li Lu.

"The Kitty Hawk has called for the return of its carrier-based aircraft," Li Lu said.

Those were two recalled F-14D carrier-based fighter jets. They flew towards each other from the port side of the aircraft carrier according to the standard landing procedure. After visually confirming the relative position with the aircraft carrier, they turned around behind the aircraft carrier, their flight path overlapping the aircraft carrier's flight path. With their noses aligned with the aircraft carrier, they then established a landing path under the guidance of the landing commander and completed the arrested landing.

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the combat group commander aboard the USS Kitty Hawk ordered the recovery of all aircraft.

This sea area is safe. The island to the south is densely populated with air force bases and has an even higher density of air detection radars, forming a cross-air defense situation with their massive fleet. They believe that no aircraft bearing the August 1st Army Flag has the ability to fly here.

The weather is getting worse, and it doesn't discriminate between aircraft and other flying vehicles. Any aircraft flying within the airspace will be affected.

Therefore, Vice Admiral Max, the operations commander of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group, was very reassured.

So when he saw a plane flying close to the sea surface from about three kilometers away on the starboard side of the aircraft carrier, heading in the same direction, he assumed it was the Lone Ranger or the Goose crew.

Of all the air wing crews, this one was the most troublesome, always getting into mischief. However, this crew was also the most capable, and their mischief was harmless enough that Lieutenant General Max usually let them have their way.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Max suddenly remembered that the crew establishing the landing route was none other than the Lone Ranger and the Goose crew!

There were also Icemen and Glider crews in the sky, second in line to land.

In addition to the two F-14Ds, there are two F-14Bs and four F-18C carrier-based fighters in the air ahead of the aircraft carrier that need to be recovered and lined up to return to the mother ship.

That's not one of our own planes!

Just as Max realized this, the operations staff beside him suddenly shouted, "Unidentified aircraft sighted! Level 1 alert! Unidentified aircraft sighted! Three kilometers to starboard! My God, they're three kilometers to starboard!"

The highest level alarm suddenly sounded, and the lights turned red, indicating a high degree of danger. The tactical command and intelligence center immediately entered emergency response mode.

"Make them cancel landing!" Max quickly regained his composure and immediately issued the order.

The Maverick crew, who had already established a landing path, received orders to immediately increase throttle, tilt the aircraft to the right, and deviate from the landing path.

"Lone Ranger! Two o'clock!" The goose spotted the JH-7 and suddenly exclaimed, "My God, it's flying so low! It's practically skimming the sea surface!"

The maverick calmly replied, "I see it, watch me!"

He immediately adjusted the variable-sweep wing, minimizing the leading-edge sweep angle. In this configuration, the F-14D's wing shape is very close to that of a straight wing, providing excellent low-altitude, low-speed performance.

The entire battle group received an emergency alert order. Max ordered the Ticonderoga-class and Arleigh Burke-class ships on the left and right flanks ahead to immediately turn, lock onto the unidentified aircraft, and prepare to fire.

Max then requested a halt to the aircraft recovery.

The aircraft carrier is most vulnerable when taking off and recovering aircraft. It is as if it is wide open, the ship's close-in weapon system is unusable, and the fire channels are blocked by friendly aircraft.

Therefore, the unidentified aircraft must be driven away before the aircraft can be recovered.

Li Lu turned his head and saw the F-14Ds that were catching up. He knew that more planes would come rushing over, and the escort ships on the water would adjust their positions to drive them away.

This time, Li Lu will not try to break away and return to base like last time. Instead, he will try to deter the "Little Hawk" and force them to change course.

Li Lu engaged afterburner, and once the aircraft reached speed, he abruptly pulled back on the control stick, causing the JH-7's nose to lift and begin a steep climb.

The lone wolf chasing from behind reduced its speed to thirty meters above the sea, only to find that it was still much higher than its target. At this point, it dared not make a big move.

Pilots who can fly at such low altitudes are no ordinary people, especially in such terrible weather and with such low visibility.

If you can't maintain the same altitude as the target, you can't drive it away by maneuvering—the JH-7 flies close to the sea surface, and any maneuver you make at a height of tens of meters will have no effect on it.

Just as the Mavericks were racking his brains for a solution, he saw the target plane begin to climb!

It must have been terrified and was trying to climb higher to escape!

"Alright, you can't escape this time." The Lone Ranger was full of confidence and immediately pulled back his wings, increasing the sweep angle of the wing leading edge, and urging the fighter jet to accelerate and catch up.

He chuckled inwardly. The target plane's pilot was indeed a skilled pilot, but his mental fortitude was lacking; he made the wrong choice after being startled...