Chapter 169

Relying on this, Lin Yi managed to dodge under the pursuit of this missile.

It was not until he deployed another decoy missile that he finally got rid of this troublesome projectile.

This demonstrated just how perilous active radar air-to-air missiles could be.

Only at this moment did Lin Yi discover that two enemy aircraft had appeared within visible range.

However, when he checked his radar, he found nothing at all.

Without needing to think further, any aircraft capable of evading the F-22's radar system to approach this closely

must undoubtedly be two stealth fighters.

In this region, such stealth fighters could naturally not be Dragon Nation's J-20 or the Su-57.

They could only be F-22 fighters from the Old Sand Nation's air base.

"Ugly Nation Air Force?!"

Lin Yi snorted coldly.

His full attention had just been focused on pursuing the Israeli fighter jets,

and he truly had not expected Israel to request the Ugly Nation Air Force to dispatch F-22 fighters.

This was what allowed these two aircraft an opportunity to strike.

Naturally, the two opposing pilots had also spotted the unfamiliar F-22 fighter nearby.

They had believed their two surprise air-to-air missiles would achieve results,

but what they did not expect was that the opposing fighter's piloting skills were so exquisite.

He continuously executed several high-difficulty maneuvers, successfully causing the decoy missiles to detonate the two incoming projectiles.

Thus, he escaped a certain death scenario.

"Alman, use Plan B!"

"OK, Mike, Wrench Protocol!"

The two F-22 pilots immediately flew in opposite directions.

Since both sides now possessed identical radar stealth systems, the key to victory lay in timing and manual missile launch techniques.

They intended to eliminate the enemy using active radar and infrared guidance technology.

Seeing them flank him from left and right to encircle him,

Lin Yi felt his desire for battle ignite within his heart.

He directly pulled back on the stick, climbing upward.

Seeing their target escape the aiming devices on their helmets, both F-22 fighters sharply pulled up their noses and surged skyward.

After all, since everyone was flying F-22s, pilots Alman and Mike did not believe the opponent's aircraft possessed superior performance to their own.

However, what they did not know was

that although everyone was piloting F-22s with no external changes whatsoever,

Lin Yi possessed the title bonus of "True Arms Dealer,"

which increased the performance of all aircraft by 10% over the original version.

This enhancement boosted the F-22's performance by a significant margin.

In terms of speed and climb capability, ordinary F-22 fighters simply could not compare to the Super F-22.

Indeed, after climbing to 19,500 meters,

the ordinary F-22 fighters began to slow down.

Within the stratosphere, Ugly Army pilot Alman gasped heavily for oxygen through his mask, cursing:

"Damn bastard, how high does this guy intend to climb? We are nearly at our limit!"

At this moment, he could already feel the aircraft trembling.

It was well known that the maximum climb altitude for an F-22 was merely 20,000 meters,

yet Lin Yi was leading them directly through the 20,000-meter limit and continuing to ascend.

However, at this altitude, the engine thrust of ordinary F-22 fighters was already insufficient;

if they continued, they would be unable to rise any further.

Yet, they then saw the opponent still sprinting, directly breaking through to above 21,000 meters.

Then, at that distance, he suddenly turned his aircraft around.

This situation was quite detrimental to the two Ugly Nation pilots; their inability to climb this high

meant the opponent could directly look down upon their fuselages from above.

In aerial combat, seizing the high ground is also a tactic.

After all, the advantage of looking down from above is simply too great.

Of course, the viability of this tactic depends on the fighter jet's performance.

In fact, the two American F-22s had considered using missiles to stop the enemy aircraft from climbing.

Unfortunately, during its ascent, the opponent frequently traced an S-shaped trajectory.

While climbing, it was nearly impossible to get a lock.

Furthermore, they subconsciously assumed the enemy aircraft's performance was no different from their own.

As a result, they found themselves in this current predicament.

Looking at the two F-22 fighters below them, they were now caught in a dilemma.

They could not climb higher; their aircraft noses could not even pitch upward at this angle.

They dared not descend either, because as soon as they dropped,

the missiles above would immediately chase after their tails.

In reality, even if they did not descend, the missiles were already incoming.

Two AIM-120C missiles shot straight out.

"Shit!" Almann spotted the missiles overhead.

Without a second thought, he deployed decoy flares and rolled his aircraft sideways.

In the blink of an eye, the missiles pierced through the space his plane had just occupied, missing him by a hair's breadth.

They were then detonated by the decoy flares.

But by now, Almann was drenched in cold sweat.

Had he been even one second slower, destruction of the aircraft and death of the pilot would have awaited him.

However, his teammate was not so lucky; even though he attempted an S-maneuver,

Lin Yi, who did not worry about ammunition capacity in the slightest, simply took aim and fired a missile at the opponent.

The left wing of the aircraft piloted by Mike was struck, and the entire F-22 fighter suddenly seemed to lose all power.

It plummeted rapidly toward the ground below.

With no other choice under these circumstances,

pilot Mike could only press the emergency ejection button after descending to a certain altitude.

Lin Yi ignored the falling F-22 and turned his attention to the remaining intact aircraft.

The opponent immediately rolled and dove downward at high speed.

Lin Yi gave chase.

A game of pursuit unfolded in the sky.

Two missiles were fired directly, but due to the distance, they simply flew straight ahead.

Their tracking systems had not been activated.

Seeing the enemy aircraft in pursuit, Almann immediately performed a Kulbit maneuver, something hardly imaginable in real aerial combat.

He pulled the nose up sharply, completing a full loop in mid-air, attempting to seize the position behind his pursuer.

"Flashy tricks! Do you think this is a special effects show?"

Watching the opponent's move, Lin Yi immediately understood his intention.

During virtual training in combat simulations, he had performed this maneuver countless times.

Generally, this maneuver is only suitable for jet aircraft equipped with thrust vectoring.

Coincidentally, the F-22 possessed exactly that capability.

— Author's Notes —

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