Chapter 130

Its performance far exceeds that of most similar products currently available in the world.

Therefore, its detection range should be 30% greater than that of the F-22, reaching up to 400 kilometers for aerial targets.

This is precisely why Lin Yi engaged the enemy from 200 kilometers away.

That was absolutely not a reckless action.

Precisely because of his rigorous training, he knew that at this distance, radar systems including those on the F-22 were rendered blind,

completely unable to detect the J-20, which possessed stealth capabilities.

Just now, when Lin Yi struck an F/A-18E fighter jet, he used the PL-21 long-range air-to-air missile developed by Dragon Nation,

also known as the PL-21 missile, comparable to Russia's R-77 and the United States' AIM-120,

all of which are equipped with active radar homing heads.

This PL-21 missile is a long-range air-to-air missile independently developed by Dragon Nation,

specifically designed for the Air Force's fifth-generation fighters to intercept aircraft. This single fact already surpasses all other military powers in the world except Russia and the United States, greatly enhancing our country's aerial defense capabilities.

With a maximum range of 400 kilometers, it is sufficient to snipe any target from long range and conduct beyond-visual-range combat.

Additionally, the J-20's main internal weapons bay originally possesses only six hardpoints, capable of carrying six missiles,

and besides the weapon bays, there are four heavy-load weapon hardpoints on the wings,

but in actual combat, to ensure stealth capabilities, these are generally not utilized for external mounting.

This means that under actual circumstances, the J-20 can launch six attacks.

However, the fighter jet beneath Lin Yi can automatically replenish its ammunition through the system's weapon catalog once its ordnance is expended.

Unless his funds run out, he possesses unlimited combat capability.

At this moment, although Ugly Nation had lost an F/A-18E fighter jet, the battlefield was so chaotic

that many people assumed this jet had been hit by Xuzheng Prefecture's surface-to-air missiles.

After all, during this period, Xuzheng Prefecture's air defense systems had indeed shot down quite a few F/A-18E fighter jets.

This was not too surprising.

However, soon the aircraft carrier operations command center of Ugly Nation in the Red Sea detected a problem.

Their combat units were decreasing rapidly.

"Oh God, I'm locked onto by a missile, I'm..."

The communication cut off abruptly.

"An unidentified aircraft is attacking us with air-to-air missiles..."

A pilot screamed in terror.

Upon hearing this, the Ugly Nation aircraft carrier command refused to believe it.

Because their E-8 early warning aircraft had not detected any targets.

"I'm locked onto, I'm also locked onto, flares... no!"

Amidst a cacophony of noise on the communications channel, the soldiers on the Ugly Nation aircraft carrier looked at each other in dismay, their faces turning pale.

Because they all knew that this pilot had likely met the same fate as the previous one.

"What exactly is going on?" the Commodore of the aircraft carrier roared.

He watched as the icons representing carrier-based aircraft on the display screens in the carrier control center turned red,

and then disappeared.

Although he understood that something was definitely sniping their aircraft,

he could not immediately figure out what it was.

Even Ugly Nation's latest model of early warning aircraft could not detect the opponent.

However, soon he, like everyone else, formed a hypothesis:

a hostile stealth fighter had joined the battlefield, possessing beyond-visual-range combat capabilities,

able to precisely lock onto Ugly Nation's fighter jets from far away from the battlefield.

Although the Commodore of the aircraft carrier had actually harbored this thought in his heart for some time, he was unwilling to accept it,

because this would mean that a superpower had joined the fight.

After all, in this world, only a few nations possess stealth fighter jets.

Those allies in Europa would not possibly assist Xuzheng Prefecture; furthermore, the performance of the F-35 provided by Ugly Nation could not achieve this.

That leaves only two nations possessing independently developed and manufactured stealth fighter jets.

One of them is Mao Xiong; although in the Commodore's eyes, Mao Xiong's Su-57 has various defects,

it is undeniable that this is one of only three stealth fighter jets in the world.

Regardless of its performance, if pitted solely against F/A-18E fighter jets, there is absolutely no chance of victory.

Aside from that, the only other nation possessing independently developed and manufactured stealth fighter jets is Dragon Nation.

Moreover, Dragon Nation rarely publishes the performance specifications of its weapons,

and to this day, Ugly Nation's intelligence agencies have been unable to fully comprehend the true capabilities of this fighter jet.

Although there are various speculations on the internet, with some saying it surpasses the F-22 and others claiming it still lags behind the F-22,

due to the lack of real data, even Ugly Nation's military cannot determine exactly how powerful this fighter jet is.

For this reason, the military even specially manufactured a model identical in appearance to the J-20 for research purposes.

Thus, in the hearts of this Commodore of Ugly Nation and others, they were guessing which nation this aircraft that suddenly appeared on the battlefield belonged to!

Mao Xiong? Or Dragon Nation?

At this moment, on the aircraft carrier, no one could be certain,

because even the radar systems of the early warning aircraft failed to detect the opponent's whereabouts.

Thus, the carrier command center reported the matter to the U.S. Pentagon on one hand,

and on the other, began preparing the F-22 fighters to engage the enemy's stealth aircraft.

Immediately, the carrier issued its orders.

Soon, the three F-22 fighters wreaking havoc over the Syrian battlefield accelerated toward the same direction, forming a triangular formation as they roared away.

One aircraft flew at the front, with the remaining two flying side by side closely behind.

Their speed approached Mach 2.

Under normal conditions, the F-22's typical flight speed is approximately Mach 1.58 (about 1,934 kilometers per hour),

but when executing combat missions, it can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.25 (about 2,410 kilometers per hour) by engaging its afterburners.

Clearly, after receiving orders from the command center, the three fighters

understood that the opponent they were about to face was not an easy target like those in the past.

Instead, this marked the world's first true combat engagement between stealth aircraft.

This event would undoubtedly be recorded in the annals of global military history.

Therefore, the F-22 pilots dared not take it lightly.

At this moment, they had no idea what model the enemy aircraft were, as their radar systems had not even detected any trace of them.

This situation made the F-22 pilots extremely serious.

It must be known that pilots capable of flying stealth aircraft like the F-22 were carefully selected even within the United States.

They were absolutely not comparable to those who flew F/A-18 fighters.

Every single one of them was an ace.

Therefore, these individuals knew deeply that

in stealth warfare, the fact that their own radar systems could not detect the opponent was a terrifying concept.

However, just at this moment,

three missiles were rushing toward them at high speed.

Their speed exceeded Mach 6, equivalent to 2.052 kilometers per second.

"I've been locked on... the opponent's radar can detect us..."

one F-22 pilot said.

"SHIT, William, I've been locked on too!"

"Damn it!"

— Author's Notes —

(PS: New book seeking flowers, tips, and review tickets; your support is the author's motivation!)