Chapter 469: Battle of Tomcats

"Two targets, for example, one hundred and fifty, altitude six thousand, speed one point two." Christophe looked at his radar screen and reported calmly.

These two targets must have taken off from aircraft carriers, but because the aircraft targets are much smaller than aircraft carriers, it is already quite good that our radar can detect them from 150 kilometers away.

In the distance, there must be American carrier-based early warning aircraft, but they are too far away to be displayed on their radar. Although the Soviet aviation is suitable for fighting under ground guidance, the newly established Soviet Navy carrier-based fixed-wing aviation is an exception. They must be able to fight independently!

Although the long-range radar of the warships in the rear can also serve as a guide for the ground CGI, the distance will not exceed 300 kilometers. The two carrier-based aircraft on our side actually provide more long-range early warning to the warships.

"Monitor the American aircraft. Be careful and do not take the initiative to attack." The voice of the commander on the aircraft carrier behind came through the headset.

Unlike the submarines we just used against the Americans, if a submarine appears in the sea area where we are sailing, we must find the other party. However, the aircraft on the aircraft carrier is different. The aircraft has a long range, and we can't say that all the airspace belongs to us, right? If the other party flies into our aircraft carrier formation, or is too close, such as within 40 kilometers, we can open fire and shoot it down. But now, in the airspace hundreds of kilometers away, we can only approach each other and cannot start a war easily.

"Understood." Christophe turned on the afterburner and climbed quickly. The two American planes were obviously coming towards them. It was obvious that they were Tomcat fighters with air superiority. If they were still the previous models, they might be afraid. But now, their fighter planes were already extremely powerful!

On the opposite side, the two Tomcat fighters of the Coral Squadron had the same idea. Their mission was only to test the Soviets, and they must not open fire first!

Powell, the lead plane, started the afterburner, the F110 engine produced tremendous thrust, the wings were swept back, and it flew forward rapidly and continued to climb.

In order to improve the heart problem of the Tomcat fighter, the US Navy finally made up its mind to gradually replace the TF30 engines of its Tomcat fighters with the latest F110 engines!

As the first turbofan engine used in fighter jets, the original TF30 engine of the Tomcat was not reliable, and the compressor often stalled. In normal flight training, the engine had to be carefully served, and in fierce air combat, the engine dragged down the pilot more than once. Moreover, the thrust-to-weight ratio of the Tomcat equipped with the TF30 engine was only 0.7. If it were not for the advantage of the variable swept wing, the Tomcat would not be able to dominate the sky.

Therefore, the U.S. Navy has long wanted to improve the engine! In 1973, it was equipped with the F401 engine for test flight. Unfortunately, the engine at that time still had various problems.

If it follows the historical progress, the F110 is still extremely immature. However, the war in the Far East caused the US Air Force's fighter jets to be grounded at critical moments, and the F110 engine was almost facing the possibility of falling out of favor in the US Air Force. Therefore, Pratt & Whitney made great efforts to improve it and finally made this engine mature.

The U.S. Navy, facing the threat from the Soviet Navy, also needed powerful carrier-based fighter jets, so the F110 was installed on the Tomcat fighter jets. U.S. Navy pilots have been proud of this since then, because this is a real fighter jet and they no longer need to carefully serve the engine!

The thrust of the F110 is 30% greater than that of the TF30. The air combat thrust-to-weight ratio of the Tomcat fighter has long exceeded 1, which means that we can finally climb vertically effortlessly!

At an altitude of 10,000 meters, breathing the oxygen in the oxygen mask, Powell saw two identical variable-sweep wing fighters in his field of vision. It was heard that the Soviets had modified this fighter to be extremely abnormal. It was a good opportunity to give it a try to see what it was like!

For American pilots, apart from being afraid of the perverted MiG-25, they have never been afraid of anything else!

Both sides were flying head-on. When the fighter planes roared past, they began to turn at the same time. If it was a formal air battle, their omnidirectional combat missiles, Sidewinder, would have been launched! But now, let's have some fun with the Soviets!

The air combat performance of the Panda fighter is the most powerful among all American fighters. Even the F-15 of the US Air Force cannot survive a round under the body of the Tomcat fighter! Powell pulled the lever and pedaled the rudder. The huge overload pressed him tightly on the chair. The wings were fully opened, and its circling radius was the smallest.

It circled in a graceful arc, and Powell looked towards the airspace ahead. It was clean and empty!

Where were the Soviet planes? Where did they go?

"Redwood, six o'clock!" The pilot of another plane shouted through the headset.

The radar operator at the rear tried hard to look back, but unfortunately he was blocked by the tall seat back and could not see directly behind him. However, he was absolutely certain that the other party was right behind him!

Damn it, his hovering was not slow, how could the other party fly behind him with just one turn? How terrible must the other party's hovering ability be? Of course, he didn't know that the other party was not just hovering horizontally, but circling horizontally and rolling vertically, a spiral rise and change of course!

And now, facing the plane behind him, Powell was not afraid at all. He pulled the nose of the engine and turned on the afterburner.

Come on, you Soviet clown, with your rustic-looking second-generation aircraft, come after me!

Flames burst out from the tail of the F110 engine, and the surging thrust pushed the Tomcat fighter to climb rapidly upwards. At the same time, Powell was pulling the stick and pedaling the rudder to make a spiral ascent.

Stupid American, do you think you are flying an advanced aircraft? Christophe sneered in his heart, turned on the afterburner, pulled the control stick, and climbed up.

The two fighter planes spiraled upward like entangled vines. In air combat technology, this maneuver is called a scissors climb.

In this kind of confrontation, whoever has the best vertical maneuverability will have the advantage! Or to put it more simply, this is the thrust-to-weight ratio of the fighter!

If it is a single-engine MiG-23, the thrust-to-weight ratio is definitely not enough, even if it is equipped with the latest turbojet engine! The Americans dared to play this trick with Soviet fighters because they got the performance data of the latest single-engine MiG-23 exported by the Soviet Union.