Chapter 591 Tomcat Vs. Tomcat (I)

When fighter jets fly in dense formations, they appear as a bright spot on the opposite radar screen. This is also a move that pilots must master. However, the fact that Iraqi pilots dare to fly in dense formations shows that their combat skills are also good.

However, no matter how powerful their technology is, the performance gap cannot be made up. It can be said that as long as the opponent is not a MiG-25, there is no pressure on our side!

The Tomcat continued to fly, and the radar operator in the rear cabin was also curious: "They are also turning on the afterburner to climb, the same tactics as us!"

This is rather strange. There can only be one explanation: the other party has installed an omnidirectional warning receiver. Although our current radar has not yet switched from scanning to locking mode, it has been discovered by the other party. Therefore, when the other party discovered the threat, it adopted the method of climbing to a higher altitude to deal with it.

No matter what era, energy is the most important factor when fighter jets are in combat. Climbing in advance is a process of accumulating energy.

Regardless of the opponent's response, we must shoot down the Phoenix first! Even if the opponent discovers our attack and shakes off the Phoenix, we have no choice. After all, it is impossible to enter combat with a heavy Phoenix missile!

Therefore, during this attack, because the Iraqi Air Force was already very weak, the Tomcat fighters only carried two Phoenix missiles. This was not a long-range interception mission, so two were enough.

"The target has been locked." The distance between the two sides gradually closed. At 120 kilometers, the radar operator in the rear switched the radar to the locked state, ready to launch a missile. Almost at the same time, a harsh sound came from his own radar warning receiver, indicating that he had been locked by the other side!

Being locked by the enemy? At that moment, Hughes had a bad feeling. The enemy was able to lock on to him even at a distance of more than 100 kilometers. Could it be a MiG-25?

However, no matter what the situation is, you must first shoot out the Phoenix you are carrying! Otherwise, if your fighter wants to maneuver, you will have to throw away the Phoenix.

"Fire!" At Hughes' command, the radar operator in the rear cabin pressed the button. There was a shaking under the belly of the plane, and two Phoenix missiles flew out, dragging tongues of fire!

The radar operator in the rear cabin was staring at the radar screen nervously. He needed to guide the Phoenix missile and at the same time, observe the incoming missiles from the other side! Because almost at the same time, the other side also launched a missile!

At this time, the pilots of the pirate flag squadron were all puzzled. They could launch missiles from a distance of 100 kilometers. It seemed that Iraq only had MiG-25 fighters. But if it was MiG-25, why didn't the other side fly higher and faster? That would provide more initial energy for the missiles!

The air battle was very short. Just when the missile flew to the target and the autonomous seeker started to capture the target, the missile from the other side also flew over! Hughes operated his fighter and rushed forward. The swept-wing Tomcat fighter looked extremely beautiful. At this moment, Hughes felt that he had merged with the fighter.

When the missile appeared in his field of vision, Hughes compressed the engine nose and stepped on the rudder. The huge overload caused him to have black vision, but he was confident.

Nothing unexpected happened to the fighter plane. The missile passed by the Tomcat fighter, and the radar operator in the rear cabin saw the appearance of the missile in a flash before his vision went black.

How come it looks the same as our Phoenix missile? No wonder the Soviet R33 was mocked by its own side as Phoenixski's.

"The Jolly Roger 2 is normal."

"The Jolly Roger 3 is normal."

As the sound of the air communication sounded, Hughes was very satisfied. He had dodged all the missiles fired by the enemy! The Pirate Flag Squadron had a total of 14 Tomcat fighters. Except for two fighters that were under maintenance and did not go into battle, they had a total of 12 fighters this time, and all of them dodged the missiles fired by the eight fighters on the opposite side!

"The targets also exist." The radar officer in the rear cabin continued to report.

Hearing this, Hughes was stunned. This shouldn't happen. Our fighter planes had an advantage in numbers, so they fired more missiles. The enemy fighter planes might face three or even four Phoenix missiles. How did the enemy avoid them? Not even one was destroyed?

"Attention, we are facing the elite air force of Iraq. Cheer up, the Blackjack Squadron is invincible!" Hughes shouted on the radio: "Prepare the Sparrow!"

Although the previous evasion had resulted in a loss of energy, the two sides were getting closer and closer, so they would soon be able to reach the distance for launching Sparrow missiles. After another round of concentrated firing, if the situation did not improve, they would have no choice but to defeat the opponent through close combat.

Prepare the Sparrow missiles! The two-person driving system greatly reduces the burden on the pilots. The Sparrow missiles are still operated by the radar operator in the rear cabin, while the one in the front cabin is responsible for flying and close combat.

At the same time, the plane on the opposite side was approaching rapidly.

Although the Phoenix missile has a long range, it has a small overload and can be easily thrown off by the opponent's high-overload maneuvers. The Sparrow missile, on the other hand, has a much larger overload. Supported by the most advanced electronic technology in the United States, the AIM-7F missiles they are using now are much more powerful than those used in the Vietnam War and are no longer uncontrolled rockets!

At a distance of 30 kilometers, the two sides fired a second round of missiles at each other. Sure enough, the opponent's tactics were exactly the same as ours! At this moment, Hughes was a little conflicted. Unlike the Phoenix missile's active guidance at the end, the Sparrow missile required the radar guidance of the carrier aircraft throughout the entire process. If our side wanted to make a high-overload maneuver, the missile would lose the target! At this time, should we continue to fly steadily as a target aircraft, or quickly maneuver to get rid of the missile?

"Maneuver to get rid of it!" After a brief hesitation, Hughes finally made his choice. Throwing away one or two missiles was not worth much, but the fighter plane he was flying was valuable, and his own life was more precious.

A good pilot must have the courage to face death! Being targeted by missiles is very common in air combat! Flying head-on, Hughes continued to use this seemingly risky but actually the most practical method to shake off the missiles fired from the opposite side.

"Boom!" At this moment, an explosion sounded in his earphones. Damn, one of our fighter planes was hit! Xiu's heart sank immediately. How could this be possible?