A short reach meant danger close at hand. Dogfighting sounded romantic, but for every pilot, it was an immensely dangerous affair. If fighters with equal performance entered a dogfight, there was likely only one person who would make it home alive.
"Prepare for dogfight!"
The moment Zhang Peng spoke, they closed to within 1 kilometer of the three unidentified aircraft. Liu Jun felt an indescribable sense of dread and immediately pulled the stick. Under his control, Aircraft 139 executed a Defensive Barrel Roll. The Flying Shark moved as though it were flying along the inner wall of a barrel, performing a Three-Axis Maneuver.
"Xiaojun, what are you—"
Zhang Peng was startled by Liu Jun's sudden maneuver. The J-15S was still a two-seat "trainer," and the rear seat was generally occupied by the instructor or mentor. Its controls took priority over the front seat's unless adjusted. When both pilots controlled the aircraft, the flight-control system would prioritize commands from the rear seat.
Just as Zhang Peng asked that question, the surfaces of the three unidentified aircraft ahead flashed. Aircraft 140 reacted a beat too slowly and was immediately struck by an unknown attack. Its rear Elevator and Rudder exploded with a bang, and one engine caught fire.
The Engine Fire Extinguishing System activated, extinguishing the blazing flames. With part of its Elevator and Rudder gone, the aircraft's aerodynamics were damaged and its handling performance dropped sharply. The left engine shut down.
Amid piercing alarms, the two pilots of Aircraft 140 quickly dealt with the emergency. Fortunately, they were currently diving, allowing the aircraft to accelerate with gravity. The veteran pilot in the front seat fought with all his strength to control the stick. Relying on the J-15S's excellent aerodynamics, with the Canards serving as Elevators, he stabilized the aircraft and prevented it from entering a dangerous Spin.
"What happened?"
Zhang Peng stared in disbelief as the lead Aircraft 140 was damaged. The unidentified aircraft's attack had come without any warning at all, and it had been incredibly fast!
He opened communications to ask about their damage, but every channel was jammed and blocked, making communication impossible. Still, one glance at their flight attitude told him the damage was severe.
Can they make it back? Zhang Peng was deeply worried, but now was not the time to be distracted. In the brief moment his attention wandered, two of the three unidentified aircraft charged toward his and Liu Jun's fighter, while the remaining one continued rushing toward the damaged Aircraft 140.
As they crossed paths, Liu Jun throttled back and pulled the stick, intending to try a Single-Circle Maneuver against these triangular aircraft. Although WJ7's earlier reconnaissance had shown that they possessed decent maneuverability, maneuverability was often tied to speed.
A Single-Circle Maneuver was a close-range dogfighting tactic. After two fighters crossed paths, one side turned away from its opponent. When they crossed again, their flight paths would not form a closed circle.
The opponent had come up from below, so gravity would naturally bleed off its speed. Meanwhile, he was diving, making him faster.
In the instant Zhang Peng froze, Liu Jun pulled the stick all the way back. He heard the max g warning sound beside his ears, but before he could hear it through, his vision went black. The massive G-force knocked the veteran pilot unconscious.
Liu Jun had no time to pay attention to his mentor in the front seat. If he did not pull the stick to the limit, he would lose even that tiny angle advantage.
The J-15S might have been heavy, but the maneuverability provided by the Canards working with the Elevator made it like an agile fat man.
The vortices generated by the Canards on both sides swept over the wings, increasing lift. With the stick fully pulled back and the throttle reduced, the J-15S's nose turned rapidly. At the same time, Liu Jun endured immense G-forces, continuously using trained breathing techniques to resist them. His vision grew darker and darker as the familiar Blackout of positive Gs set in. His blood was flung into his lower body, while the anti-G suit desperately forced it back toward his brain, preventing him from passing out due to oxygen deprivation.
"Hoo! Hah! Hoo! Hah!"
The mask supplied Liu Jun with a large amount of oxygen. At that moment, the enhancement skills G-Force Tolerance and Physique Enhancement displayed unimaginable effects!
In his struggle against the G-forces, G-Force Tolerance allowed him to remain conscious and control the fighter beneath him, while Physique Enhancement prevented his stamina from being drained dry by the brief battle against the Gs. Instead, it was slowly recovering.
Although he could not see with his own eyes where the unidentified aircraft pulling a Single-Circle Maneuver with him was, Situational Awareness clearly "told" him the target's exact position.
Just as the nose was about to point toward it, he found that the J-15S still had an angle offset from the opponent and could not bring its nose around. In an instant, as though his muscles were controlling themselves, his right foot instinctively pressed the Rudder. With the Rudder adjustment, the nose deflected downward by 6 degrees. At that moment, Liu Jun pulled the trigger without hesitation!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The GSh-30-1 cannon roared to life. From behind and to the right of the cockpit, it lashed out with a fiery whip, striking at apparently empty air.
The Blackout faded, and color returned to the world. Yet Liu Jun discovered there was nothing in the firing trajectory. Just as he thought he had missed, flames suddenly burst in the air. The Triangle Aircraft from earlier vanished, and an unidentified aircraft appeared at the cannon's point of attack as if it had shifted through space. It plunged headfirst into the fiery whip and was blown apart in midair with a boom.
Like shattered glass falling to the ground, countless glass-colored fragments tumbled toward the sea below. Liu Jun roughly understood where his strange feeling had come from—his vision and senses did not match!
At that moment, Liu Jun was calm. He felt none of the excitement of shooting down an enemy aircraft. His eyes remained fixed on the Triangle Aircraft flying toward Aircraft 140. After that delay, his fighter had slowed, opening up some distance between them!
He shoved the throttle to the limit. High-quality fuel poured into the combustion chamber, and the engines ran at full power, driving the J-15S upward in pursuit.
Not enough! The thrust was insufficient! Liu Jun discovered that even with the throttle fully forward, he still could not catch the Triangle Aircraft. His fingers pulled the safety mechanism on the throttle. Once the limiter was released, he pushed the throttle forward another notch.
Afterburner Mode activated!
The engines entered afterburner mode. The oxygen drawn into the engines by the compressors was not completely consumed after passing through the combustion chamber. Afterburning injected aviation fuel into the exhaust nozzle to consume that oxygen, providing additional thrust at the same time.
Whoosh!
Long exhaust flames bearing Mach Diamonds blasted from the tail nozzles. The J-15S under Liu Jun's control shot upward as though someone had viciously kicked it from behind.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Peng had only just been knocked unconscious by the G-forces and had not yet had time to see what was happening around him. The next second, his head lolled to one side and he passed out again. His disciple's steep climb had knocked him out once more.
In afterburner mode, the J-15S's internal fuel was consumed at a tremendous rate, but that also reduced the aircraft's weight, rapidly closing the distance to the opponent.
At that moment, Liu Jun glanced at the rearview mirror and clearly saw that another Triangle Aircraft had already latched onto his six o'clock. The feeling of dread kept rising within him.
Dangerous! Extremely dangerous! The J-15S can't take their attack!
After looking at the damaged Aircraft 140, then glancing at the Triangle Aircraft behind him, Liu Jun flew upward with a resolute gaze.
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