Capturing the Eagle

"Hello, Professor?"

"What is it, Xiao Chen? Did you finish reading the books from last time?"

From the other end of the phone, Professor Zhang's hearty, smiling voice rang out. It seemed he was in a good mood today.

"No, I've been tinkering with machines these past two days."

Chen Yi didn't bother to lie or put on an act. Looking at the AR glasses projecting the image, he got straight to the point: "I finished building the new drone today. While test-flying it to collect data, I discovered an 18-meter Big Black Eagle crossing the border."

"But my drone is still in the test-flight data collection phase, so I can't do anything about it for now. I'm calling to inform you."

"An 18-meter Big Black Eagle."

Professor Zhang was stunned for a moment, then immediately seemed to realize something. His pupils contracted as he shouted, "Where? Latitude and longitude, altitude, speed, direction!"

"24.35 degrees North latitude, 118.05 degrees East longitude, altitude 18,000 meters, cruising at Mach 1.8 supersonic speed, heading 2.3 degrees North."

"Okay, help him keep an eye on it. I'll notify them immediately for handling!"

Professor Zhang didn't delay. He spoke quickly and hung up the phone just as fast.

Less than two minutes after the call ended.

Chen Yi's drone's radar imaging detected takeoff signals on their side.

Four consecutive flight formations.

Master Wei, number 20, was leading, with Brother Lang, number 16, following.

After flying a certain distance, the four flight formations immediately engaged their afterburners, scattering supersonically in a pincer movement towards the Big Black Eagle.

"1 minute 54 seconds. The takeoff speed is a bit beyond imagination. It seems they have hot engines ready on the ground at all times. But why isn't Master Ba in the formation? The altitude ceiling and speed of these fighter jets can't compare to the Big Black Eagle; if they're discovered, it'll be easy for it to escape."

Chen Yi watched the radar image projected by his AR glasses, picked up the cola placed by the air vent, and took a sip, a hint of confusion in his mind.

After a moment's thought, he put down the cola bottle and controlled the drone to fly outward, skimming the sea's surface.

Meanwhile.

Command Center.

On a large screen exceeding 20 meters, scanned interfaces from land-based radars were displayed in separate zones, along with the real-time positions of the four flight formations.

In addition to this, the most eye-catching display was a real-time map on the center screen, shown in equal proportion.

A red dashed trajectory was extending across the map. A Big Black Eagle, also composed of dashed lines, was flying north along the line at a speed of Mach 1.8.

"This is the Wildlife Protection Center, calling all units. Report in order. Have any rare Big Black Eagles been spotted?"

The person in charge of the command center waited for a moment. Seeing that the four flight formations were almost approaching the Black Eagle, he picked up the microphone and inquired about the situation of each team.

"Team 1, no Big Black Eagle sighted."

"Team 2, no Big Black Eagle sighted."

"Team 3, no Big Black Eagle sighted."

"Team 4, no... Target sighted by Team 4! Rare Big Black Eagle sighted. The target is within the intelligence flight path. Request permission to execute the Eagle Capture mission?"

Following Team 4's shout, a large number of radar parameters began to refresh on the big screen. The Big Black Eagle, formed by dashed lines, instantly solidified, and its trajectory changed from dashed to solid.

"These parameters..."

Looking at these precious radar cross-section parameters, the person in charge's breathing quickened. Then, seeing that the Big Black Eagle was still flying along its calculated trajectory, clearly unaware it had been discovered, he quickly issued an order.

"Hunter Eight hasn't arrived yet. No hunting for now. Continue building the cage. Maintain distance, collect as much information as possible before the target discovers us, flank and encircle, block all escape routes."

"Understood!"

Having confirmed the target's whereabouts, the four flight formations no longer rushed. They once again increased their distance, flanking and encircling, intending to block all of the Big Black Eagle's escape routes.

Everyone understood that as a hypersonic drone, the Big Black Eagle's altitude ceiling, flight speed, and even its turning and acceleration capabilities far surpassed those of their manned fighter jets. After all, drones had no pilots and didn't need to worry about a pilot's tolerance limits, allowing for more unrestrained acceleration and maneuvering.

Before the encirclement was completely sealed, the cage was built, and the hunters were in position, if they were discovered by the target, the duck that had flown into their mouths might very well escape.

As the encirclement was forming.

Meanwhile.

The operator of the Big Black Eagle checked the map and positioning, which was also connected to the base.

"Sir, the Black Eagle has entered the target airspace. Do you authorize activation of reconnaissance and monitoring mode to scan and collect intelligence?"

"Base received. Authorization granted to activate reconnaissance and monitoring mode."

"Yes."

With the base's approval, the operator activated the reconnaissance camera, infrared and electronic detectors, synthetic aperture side-looking radar, and other reconnaissance and monitoring instruments, aiming them at the area below and in front.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The radar and other systems had just been activated.

A piercing alarm suddenly blared.

The operator looked at the drone's radar interface.

Seven or eight targets were scanned.

According to the radar data analysis.

These were Weilong fighter jets and Roaring Wolf electronic warfare aircraft.

Judging by their flight paths and formations, they had already formed several flight formations and were encircling the drone from the outside.

"Shit! Who leaked the intel!"

A trace of panic flickered in the operator's eyes.

If this Big Black Eagle was captured while in his hands, he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison.

"Calling base, intel leak, intel leak!"

"After the Black Eagle activated its reconnaissance scan, it detected enemy Weilongs and Roaring Wolves forming flight formations to surround the Black Eagle. The closest distance is less than 80 kilometers. Please authorize the Black Eagle's emergency return!"

"Base received. Authorization granted for return!"

Receiving the order to return from the base, the operator breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately pulled up the altitude and intended to reverse the aircraft to head back out.

Zzzt!

But as soon as he gained less than a thousand meters in altitude, the avionics control screen in front of him filled with static and mosaics; the signal was unstable.

"Oh God, electronic jamming, Roaring Wolves!"

The operator cried out in panic, quickly pushing the throttle and accelerator to the maximum.

Before the signal was completely lost, he activated the Black Eagle's autopilot program, requesting maximum speed for its return.

The Black Eagle, on its way back, had its tail flame surge.

It shot up to an altitude of 20,000 meters as if pulled from dry land.

In less than a minute, the Black Eagle crossed 20,000 meters, reaching Mach 3.

Rumble!

The turbofan engine shut down, and the ramjet engine ignited.

Entering the 20,000-meter altitude, the Black Eagle's acceleration did not stop; instead, it surged further.

The altitude rapidly climbed to the critical altitude of 40,000 meters, and the speed increased from Mach 3 to Mach 4.8. It switched to super-combustion mode, continuing its sprint towards Mach 6.

Command Center.

Looking at the Big Black Eagle, which had suddenly accelerated to 40,000 meters and was sprinting towards Mach 6 as if injected with adrenaline.

The person in charge angrily slammed his fist on the table.

"Damn it!"

"Is our True Eight drone coming?"

The Big Black Eagle had now gained altitude and speed, exceeding the ascent and speed limits of four flight formations, and even exceeding the speed limit of air-to-air missiles.

To intercept it, they could only hope that their Eighth Hunter would arrive as quickly as possible.

"It's coming at full speed, but it's still 102 kilometers away."

"At this distance, it's too late to intercept and capture. By the time it catches up, the Black Eagle will have already left the boundary."

The staff member next to him reported through gritted teeth.

As he spoke, he looked at the image displayed on the big screen, his eyes reddened, and his fists clenched tightly.

"Continue the electronic jamming. Even if we can't capture it, we can't let them have an easy time."

The person in charge took several deep breaths, trying to control his emotions.

Although the failure to capture the eagle was anticipated during the planning phase.

But seeing the other party roam freely within their territory while they were powerless to stop them.

He could only watch as the other party left openly, and he couldn't help but feel stifled and angry.

Meanwhile.

Chen Yi, who was enjoying snacks and soda, saw Master Ba's signal appear on his radar interface.

He calculated the distance between Master Ba and the Big Black Eagle and couldn't help but shake his head.

At this distance, by the time Master Ba caught up, the Black Eagle would have already crossed the boundary.

By then, it would be difficult to make a move.

"This is a bit awkward. I shouldn't have planned for electronic suppression to try and capture it completely.

I should have just fired a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile the moment we met.

It's a drone anyway, with no one inside. It wouldn't matter if it exploded within the boundary."

Chen Yi shook his head.

When he made the call earlier, he thought it would be an ambush to deliver a missile strike.

After all, a Big Black Eagle like this costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Destroying it would be a significant achievement, and picking up some debris afterward could also help analyze some of its technology.

But he didn't expect their appetite to be so big, actually thinking of electronically suppressing and capturing a whole Black Eagle.

"Fortunately, I felt something was wrong when Master Ba didn't show up at the beginning, so I hid in the bushes along the way in advance."

"Now it's my turn to play!"

After finishing the last sip of his soda, Chen Yi looked at the drone, which had 48% battery power remaining.

He sent a signal, discarding the depleted battery into the sea.

He maxed out the power of the ion thruster, and the drone, light as a swallow, shot up into the sky, charging from the outside in, heading towards the Big Black Eagle signal on the radar interface.

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