Western Pacific, 17,000 meters altitude.
Liu Jun pushed the J-15 to its service ceiling and entered the A-2 mission airspace, 100 nautical miles from Sky Pit, preparing to launch another PL-15 with its seeker replaced as instructed by Red Fox-1.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Liu Jun noticed his Flight Experience had increased by one point. He immediately realized that the PL17 he had launched earlier had successfully shot down a Sentinel. No—judging by the experience gained from downing three last time, it had probably also damaged another one. He could not help feeling a little strange. His human radar was far more precise at assessing damage than all the instruments used to observe the battlefield.
On the KJ-3000's S-band radar, of the ninety-six tracked targets, six broke away from the formation almost the instant the J-15 closed to within 100 nautical miles and headed toward Liu Jun.
The six Sentinels formed two triangular formations. Their speed increased steadily, quickly reaching Mach 1 as they approached the Flying Shark head-on. Their time to contact was now measured entirely in seconds!
"Red Fox-1 to Red Fox-2, attention! One o'clock high, distance 200, Type 1—Sentinels—number: three, approaching you head-on. Estimated 310 seconds. Crossing in 300 seconds."
"Red Fox-2, received."
Listening to the warning transmitted by the AWACS, Liu Jun gained a fairly accurate grasp of the situation and mentally prepared himself.
Two hundred kilometers. They were closing head-on, with less than 300 seconds before the Sentinels were right in his face!
He tightened his grip on the control stick slightly. As he considered how to deal with a close-range dogfight, he locked onto the lead Sentinel among the six incoming targets!
"Locked! Fire 3(?)!"
Boom!
The PL15 dropped free from its pylon. The first stage of its dual-pulse engine ignited, sending it rapidly toward the distance. This, too, was a modified version equipped with an anti-radiation seeker.
Linked through the datalink, the KJ-3000 commander watched the PL15 (HARM) appear on the tactical display and guided it toward the Sentinels until its passive radar locked onto the source of the electromagnetic interference.
After launching the PL15, Liu Jun checked his remaining weapons: four missiles and 150 cannon rounds.
Ready—PL11A Ready—PL8B Ready—Cannon
"Red Fox-1 calling Red Fox-2, please—shhh—attention, 200 seconds. Shhh—crossing."
"Red Fox-2, understood!"
Hearing the static interference in the communications, Liu Jun knew the Sentinels were closing in without needing the AWACS to tell him. At that moment, the Flight Experience in his mind increased by another point. It seemed the modified PL15 he had launched earlier had hit its target.
Just as he had expected, one of the six targets disappeared from the S-band radar, its RCS gone. The next second, the AWACS transmission came through: "Good kill!"
Liu Jun merely acknowledged the commander's praise. Most of his attention was focused on the radar. Even with the J-15's radar turned off, the Flying Shark could still detect approaching enemies through the AWACS datalink.
On the HUD, five boxes appeared, displaying their flight data.
Vector: 3.5 (angular unit; directly ahead of the nose is 0 degrees, increasing clockwise; each unit equals 1 degree, 360° per circle) Head-on IFF Identification: Enemy aircraft (EN) VEL. 1M (flight speed Mach 1) AGL. 17500 (altitude) Crossing in 100 seconds
Although he still could not see the targets visually, Liu Jun's nerves had already tightened!
The PL11A had a lock-on range of roughly forty to fifty kilometers. That meant they would be face-to-face in less than eighty seconds. Considering the Sentinels' range, he had to leave himself a safe distance to turn.
Turning did not mean he could instantly change direction. Like a car taking a corner, a fighter slowed during a turn and then needed distance—and time—to accelerate again. During that process, the head-on Sentinels would not slow down!
Liu Jun activated the seekers of the two PL11As on the pylons through the HOTAS controls!
A humming sound rang inside his helmet, informing him that the PL11A seekers were active and searching for heat signatures within their field of view.
Crossing in 80 seconds!
Five conspicuous dots appeared within Liu Jun's visual range. Almost at the same time, the PL11A seekers captured the Sentinels' heat signatures.
Continuing forward under these circumstances would undoubtedly shorten the time until contact. He banked left, preparing to enter a left turn early rather than waiting until they were face-to-face. By then, it would be difficult to escape the enemy's pursuit! This also counted as a kind of lead turn, except now it was being used to shake them off.
The J-15 Flying Shark's nose shifted off-angle from the five incoming Sentinels, and the missile launch envelope changed accordingly. Liu Jun turned to look at the five slightly enlarging dots. With the helmet sight's assistance, the PL11A seekers locked onto the incoming targets!
No matter what heat the Sentinels themselves produced or whether they employed infrared suppression, at Mach 1 their fuselages would rub against the air at high speed. That friction heated the skin, and that was the heat source the PL11A seekers captured!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The seekers firmly locked onto the heat signatures within their field of view!
"Fire 2!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The rocket motors ignited, and the PL11As shot forward along the pylon rails. Unlike a conventional launch, however, this was an off-boresight launch, carried out while the seeker's line-of-sight indicator was offset from the missile's axis.
After the two PL11As flew forward to a safe distance, their rocket motors propelled them ahead while the actuators controlled their fins, adjusting their flight paths.
At 17,000 meters, their white exhaust trails clearly traced their trajectories. The two PL11As carved wide arcs through the sky, flying toward the incoming Sentinels. Their seekers remained fixed on the imaging plane, waiting for the missiles to enter the damage radius and detonate their enhanced warheads.
Liu Jun did not even look to see what damage the PL11As had caused. In that brief moment, the distance between both sides had already closed to within 30 kilometers. At this range, crossing would occur in less than a minute.
He banked and rolled, pulled positive G, and dove downward in a break-S maneuver. Sacrificing altitude for speed, he also changed his heading by 180 degrees.
The instant the nose dipped, Liu Jun pushed the throttle forward, using Earth's gravity to accelerate and recover the speed the Flying Shark had lost in the turn.
Watching his airspeed climb, Liu Jun did not forget to look back and check the enemy's exact position. In his field of vision, two dazzling fireballs appeared, while the remaining three Sentinels flashed with brilliant seven-colored streams of light across their surfaces. They dove after the Flying Shark, clinging tightly to Liu Jun's six o'clock!
At that moment, inside the Combat Command Center, Red Fox-2 had merged with the enemy. A technician reported the situation:
"Report, sir! Red Fox-2 merge—Target Merge, the radar encounter where friendly and enemy markers overlap on the radar display—Type 1, bandits: three!"
In an instant, the atmosphere throughout the entire Command Center grew solemn. Even the quiet conversations disappeared as everyone stared at the main screen.
On the screen, the fighters assigned to provide cover were closing in on the battlefield.
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