Great Power Long Sky

The rain grew thicker and thicker.

JH-7 fighter-bomber No. 81291 flew eastward back and forth for thirty minutes, escorting the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group dozens of kilometers to the east.

The large reinforcement group approached the second layer of air defense of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group, continuing to exert pressure.

Unfortunately, the J-8B and J-7E fighters had limited range, and after more than twenty minutes, the large group of aircraft had to turn back.

Bringing up the rear was even the JH-7 fighter-bomber number 81291, which had been airborne for nearly four hours!

The advantages of long-range fighter jets were fully demonstrated at this moment—Li Lu had no need to worry about endurance issues at all.

Moreover, the JH-7 did not even carry external fuel tanks.

The two task forces, one in the north and one in the south, have formed a pincer movement in the third sea area, with their bows pointing directly east of the third sea area, in the direction of the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group.

Even if the navy is completely wiped out, it will still try to stop the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group, which could turn around and approach at any moment.

After flying through the pouring rain in the No. 3 airspace, Li Lu and Xue Shuang successfully returned to the Donghai airfield.

Back in the flight duty room, Li Lu and Xue Shuang went straight to the restroom, finished their business, and returned to the briefing room with relaxed expressions. Xu Hailiang walked in with a serious face.

Everyone immediately straightened up and sat up straight.

Xu Hailiang surveyed the area and said, "The joint military exercise command has issued an emergency order: the original operational plan is canceled, the exercise area has been changed to the mountain island training base, the landing fleet has been redirected, and our operational mission has also been changed accordingly..."

Everyone felt a dull, aching pain in their chests, as if they had been hit by something.

Everyone knows very well that although the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group was forced to turn east and disengage, it does not mean that the threat has been resolved.

Moreover, the Nimitz carrier strike group is accelerating its southward march.

The cancellation of the original combat plan was inevitable.

Xu Hailiang said, "The new training plan is much smaller in scale. The two group armies originally scheduled for the second wave of landings are now on standby, and our ground support scale has also been reduced accordingly."

"From now on, the 8th Air Regiment will continue to perform its guard duties over Airspace No. 3. The 12 J-7Es of the 7th Air Regiment will be transferred to Level 1 combat readiness, and ground support missions will be carried out by J-6s. The specific arrangements will be issued shortly, and everyone will take turns to rest."

"In short, everyone should remain vigilant."

"Disband."

The briefing room was silent for a long time, with heavy breathing rising and falling.

Li Lu was the first to stand up, took his mission chart board, and walked out of the briefing room.

Xue Shuang quickly followed.

The 212 jeep took them back to the inner field, but instead of going back to their dormitory to rest, they stayed in the brigade's duty room.

The atmosphere in the brigade's duty room was heavy. Zhang Fei, unusually, lit a cigarette, while Chen Qi sat there staring blankly into space.

Li Lu used his superb flying skills and tactics to force the USS Kitty Hawk carrier battle group to retreat, indirectly causing it to lose an F-14D.

This is a groundbreaking achievement that will go down in aviation history.

However, neither Li Lu nor anyone else could be happy at this moment.

They were just a hair's breadth away, just a hair's breadth away, and their generation could have made up for the greatest regret of the Chinese nation in modern times.

They were all prepared to give their lives for this.

If we miss this opportunity, the problem will likely be left to the next generation.

However, it wasn't a missed opportunity, but rather a bloody and cruel reality—the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves was far too great.

After a long silence, Li Lu said in a deep voice, "Setbacks are temporary. One day, we will pilot fighter jets that are more advanced than our enemies and bring the entire Western Pacific into our range."

"Get yourself ready, we still have a mission."

Zhang Fei forcefully stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said, "Sixth Brother is right. Setbacks are temporary, and the enemy's arrogance is also temporary. Let's all cheer up."

Chen Qi's eyes slowly regained their sparkle as he took deep breaths and composed himself.

Li Lu said, "This reconnaissance mission fully demonstrated the performance of the JH-7 fighter-bomber, and its long range is a huge advantage."

"The scale of the training exercises has been reduced, but we can't just sit idly by. Director Zhang, I plan to ask the regiment to speed up the modification of the JH-7 fighter-bombers, and at the same time, submit a report in the name of the tactical test group to request the borrowing of more JH-7 fighter-bombers."

Zhang Fei agreed without hesitation.

Xue Shuang, however, poured cold water on the idea, saying, "HNA itself doesn't have enough, so they probably won't borrow any more. We'll have to think of other ways."

The atmosphere that had just started to lift has turned somber again.

Li Lu suddenly remembered the Su-27 still parked in the maintenance hangar, and slammed his hand on the table, saying, "That Su-27, we must make use of it this time, no matter what! It's just sitting there as a decoration!"

Having an extra long-range fighter jet means having extra strength, and at critical moments, it can even change the course of the battle.

In current non-contact combat, the number of fighter jets is not the decisive factor; the individual skill of the pilots is more important.

"I'm going to find Deputy Feng!" Li Lu said, and did just that.

Previously, all the fighter jets except the J-6s at the East China Sea Air Base had been deployed. After completing the return landing command for all the fighter jets, Feng Liang left the flight control tower.

For a certain period of time, only J-6s will be available for deployment at the East China Sea airfield. The J-7E, J-8B, and JH-7 will all undergo comprehensive overhauls. Until this work is completed, these aircraft will be unable to take off for combat.

Li Lu found a tired-looking Feng Liang in the office and offered his suggestions directly.

The flight parameters of JH-7 fighter-bomber No. 81291 have not yet been deciphered. The data in the reconnaissance pod is being analyzed. The photos and videos taken by Xue Shuang at that time are also being deciphered. Li Lu and Xue Shuang have not yet written the flight report.

Feng Liang knew that Li Lu's crew had forced the USS Kitty Hawk carrier strike group to retreat, and that an F-14D had crashed into the sea, but he did not yet know the specific details.

But one thing he was certain of was that Li Lu's crew had made a great contribution to the reconnaissance mission!

Feng Liang pondered for a moment and said, "We can submit a report to our superiors for instructions, but the problem is that the Donghai Station does not have the capability to support the Su-27."

Li Lu said, "Old Squad Leader Peng Fei had already led a team to conduct research in this area. I had previously reported to Station Chief Wu Jinzhong, and they had tested it. By making some modifications to the existing support equipment, it was possible to support the Su-27."

Feng Liang nodded slightly and said, "Since you were prepared, I will immediately ask my superiors for instructions. However, don't have too high hopes; Gao Wei is not easy to talk to."

Li Lu curled his lips and said, "The emergency scramble for reinforcements that just ended, which forced back the enemy carrier battle group, was mainly carried out by the 7th and 8th Air Regiments. The 9th Air Regiment's performance was mediocre, so he didn't have the confidence to refuse."

"I hope so." Feng Liang nodded, picked up the receiver of the red telephone, contacted the division, and asked the division commander for instructions.

Li Lu didn't leave; he stood to the side waiting, eager to get behind the wheel of the Su-27.

A few minutes later, Feng Liang put down the microphone and said, "The division commander agreed, and he will immediately ask the military region for instructions. But there is still a problem. The Russian flight instructors are all leading the 9th Regiment in conversion training. If the instructor problem cannot be solved, the trainer aircraft problem cannot be solved either. You will not be able to make use of that Su-27 in a short period of time."

Li Lu said without hesitation, "The Su-27 is also a fighter jet, and the principles are the same. I have studied the cockpit. As long as the division approves our repair of the Su-27's malfunction, I guarantee it can fly again."

Feng Liang laughed angrily, "Are you kidding me? We're not going to let you risk a fighter jet worth tens of millions of dollars."

The Su-27 is a third-generation fighter jet. Ninety-nine percent of the pilots in the People's Liberation Army Air Force have never been exposed to a third-generation aircraft. The 9th Air Regiment had to be modified with Su-27UBK (two-seat version) with the help of Russian flight instructors. The entire modification process was very rigorous.

Even if Li Lu were incredibly capable and knew how to fly a Su-27, his superiors wouldn't allow him to fly solo.

After thinking for a moment, Li Lu said, "Deputy Feng, could you ask the Ninth Regiment to send a two-seater to fly over for two days? As long as you can fly it for two days, I'm sure I can pass the test. If you can't do that, I'll never bother with that Su-27 again."

"Two days?" Feng Liang's eyes widened in surprise.

Li Lu corrected, "Two flight days."

Thinking about how fast Li Lu was modifying the JH-7 and J-8B fighters, Feng Liang couldn't help but think that maybe this kid really could do it.

Even if it doesn't work out, two flight days on either side would still allow the 7th Air Regiment to get some early exposure to the Su-27...