Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1454 Good Luck James (4k)

Captain James was terrified. Impossible, absolutely impossible!
This sound means that radar has already been tracking him, and it's almost impossible for them to detect it.

He was still at low altitude, while the enemy's radar-guided air defense missiles had a minimum firing altitude of 450 meters, and he was still below that altitude.

At this altitude, it's not that the enemy's radar can't track you, but it's almost impossible for them to keep tracking you so persistently, because it's pointless.

Could it be the fire control radar of an anti-aircraft gun?
If that's the case, he's in a very troublesome situation, especially if the other side might have a radio proximity fuse.

People in the north didn't have it, but people further north did. It's possible they handed over something that even the polar bear hadn't figured out yet to the people of northern Jiaozhi.

The idea flashed through his mind, but it was almost impossible, since reconnaissance had been conducted before the attack and there were no organized anti-aircraft artillery positions with fire control radar deployed here.

After all, even if an anti-aircraft artillery position is well concealed, there will still be clues that can be discovered when it is deployed. In addition to the anti-aircraft guns, an anti-aircraft artillery position also needs a series of supporting facilities such as radar vehicles, power supply vehicles, and command vehicles, as well as personnel food and lodging. It is very difficult to remain undetected.

These thoughts flashed through Captain James's mind, but the situation did not allow him to think about them any further.

The urgent beeping and flashing red lights of the radar alarm constantly reminded him that he had to do something.

Instead of immediately pulling up, Captain James tilted the nose of his aircraft downwards. Perhaps he had reached a critical altitude, and the S-75 began tracking him.

Lowering the altitude and getting out of this area would ensure his safety; Captain James made the right decision.

What he didn't expect was that the correctness of his judgment was related to environmental conditions, and the current environmental conditions might not be as he imagined.

Almost instantly, his altitude dropped dramatically, and he could even see every blade of grass and tree on the ground.

The radar tracking warning still hadn't disappeared; it kept ringing shrilly in his ears. At that moment, his eyes vaguely caught sight of a rather strange tracked combat vehicle on the ground.

The vehicle's cannon looked quite thick, but it wasn't pointed at James's F-4. Instead, it was raised high and pointed in another direction, continuously spitting out flames.

Above the turret, a thick, square-shaped plate was rotating continuously. Below this plate, a round disc was pointing towards itself.

Radar! James now understood why his radar warning system was beeping wildly; this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with its own radar was already targeting him!

Judging from the faintly visible thick barrel, it must be a medium-to-large caliber anti-aircraft gun with a proximity fuse. Although it is unknown why the barrel is so short, being targeted by a radar is not good news for James.

The good news is that the enemy's cannons are not pointed at us. Although the cannon is spewing fire at a rate that a medium-to-large caliber anti-aircraft gun cannot match, it is a good thing as long as it is not facing us.

Captain James made a quick decision: Pull up! Get away from that anti-aircraft gun.

He even engaged afterburner, running as fast as possible! With a loud bang, bright flames erupted from the tail of the F-4 as it shot off into the distance.

Meanwhile, inside the vehicle on the ground, several operators were working methodically and efficiently.

"Bearing position XXX, distance XXX, one free-fall bomb, poses no threat to the target..."

"Direction YYY, Distance YYY, One fighter jet!"

"Bearing ZZZ, Distance ZZZ, One free-fall bomb, high-threat target..."

"Lock on! Fire!"

This is what James is glad about. The self-propelled anti-aircraft gun's target isn't him at all, but rather the bombs falling on the target it's protecting!

Although the bomb is small, it is a very conspicuous target for radar at a distance of ten kilometers, since the shells observed by counter-battery radar are even smaller than that.

Free-fall bombs have low speeds and predictable trajectories, making them relatively easy for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns equipped with high-speed computers as their fire control systems to fire.

Some bombs that posed little threat to the protected targets were simply dropped. Shells were precious, and only high-value targets were worth dealing with. These high-value targets were precisely the bombs that might fall on the protected targets.

After all, the ammunition consumption of a 6-barrel 25mm Gatling gun is not ordinary; "the Gatling gun that shoots blue flames"—those who know, know.

Captain James could see everything else clearly, but the few things he couldn't see clearly were this cannon. It was a 625 Gatling gun, so it wasn't surprising that it looked a bit short and stubby.

There is more than one of these somewhat strange self-propelled anti-aircraft guns here.

Amidst the crisscrossing red trajectories, the few bombs that posed a threat to the target were destroyed one by one in mid-air, having almost no impact on the target.

Looking at the blooming red flowers in the sky, Captain James felt as if he were in an unreal world.

It's not uncommon for anti-aircraft guns to destroy bombs, but that almost always relies on luck. However, it's clear that the enemy's anti-aircraft guns weren't relying on luck. Their target was very clear: they were aiming at the bombs, and their hit rate was quite high!
Good news, the other side did not use a proximity fuse.

The bad news is, they rely on direct hits!
It's still quite difficult to fit a proximity fuse into a 25mm gun, but the high hit rate under radar guidance makes up for this.

What do you mean by "near explosion"? I'll just touch it and it'll explode!
Amid the deafening roar of the engines, James vaguely realized this. He felt a great responsibility and knew he had to rush back to relay the message to the base.

With this weapon, it has become virtually impossible for the enemy to achieve their bombing targets using free-falling iron bombs.

After all, the hit rate of free-fall bombs is already quite low, and this new type of anti-aircraft gun that can intercept bombs in the air makes things even worse.

Captain James's only consolation at this moment was that the enemy clearly valued protecting the target more than shooting him down. The anti-aircraft guns seemed not to see him at all, ignoring his relatively large target.

The radar alarms are still blaring, but things may not be as bad as they seem.

"God help me," James said, making a gesture across his chest as he flew.

He forgot one thing: if the other side wasn't interested in him, why would the radar alarm keep going off? Why would the other side waste a precious guidance channel, staring intently at him? It's important to understand that for modern radar, the cost of a guidance channel is enormous.

"Enemy aircraft locked on! Fire!" A roar rang out from a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on the ground.

Slightly different from interceptor bombs, the operator shouts "Fire!" instead of "Fire!"

What was being launched? Missiles, of course. There were four long, thin tubes on each side of the vehicle's turret; if James could see them clearly, he would realize how dangerous he was.

This vehicle is extremely expensive, even more so than a tank, because it has many radars!
Rotating search radars are used for searching and artillery control. For anti-aircraft guns, it is only necessary to calculate the lead based on the target's azimuth, speed, and distance. Continuous tracking is not necessarily required. As long as the search radar refresh rate reaches a certain level, the accuracy required to make the lead is achieved, especially for targets such as bombs and missiles.

These days, let alone bombs, even missiles have virtually no maneuverability.

The tracking radar below the rotating search radar is for missiles.

Artillery needs to be constantly aimed at the target, but missiles don't; a general direction is enough.

As the operator inside the combined gun and missile air defense vehicle pressed the launch button, two slender missiles shot out like arrows from the launch tubes on both sides of the turret, making a slight turn in the air before chasing after James's F-4.

In Captain James' cockpit, the radar alarms were still blaring and the red lights were still flashing, but James had gotten used to it. He even tapped his head to the rhythm of the alarms, as if he were hitting the beat.

It's nothing, it's just an alarm, their anti-aircraft guns are too busy to handle it!

James's good mood lasted until two missiles exploded behind his plane.

The F-4 in flight trembled as if it had been gently stroked by a small hand.

The hit rate of such inexpensive anti-aircraft missiles is limited, especially considering they were facing an F-4 with afterburner engaged and fleeing at high speed; only one missile hit the target. It's worth noting that the top speed of the F-4 is not significantly different from the top speed of a missile in a combined gun and missile system.

Captain James in the cockpit felt the vibration, and his hair stood on end, as if his skull were about to explode.

He's been hit!

At this moment, he no longer had time to think about why he was hit or what exactly hit him.

Now is not the time to dwell on this matter; the most important thing now is to find out exactly how the plane is doing.

Throughout the cockpit, various alarm sounds rose and fell, intertwining and flashing with various colors of warning lights.

This actually reassured James somewhat. As an experienced pilot, he knew very well that the lively atmosphere in the cockpit proved at least one thing.

The system is still working normally, able to collect the status of the entire aircraft and issue warnings.

If the cockpit becomes completely silent after being hit, that would be a real problem.

He quickly checked the plane's status.

A single engine failure leads to near-complete steering failure and difficulty in balancing.

Fortunately, James even felt fortunate.

A single engine failure is not a major problem; it's a basic requirement for military aircraft. A single engine can still fly normally, which is why major powers use twin-engine fighters as their core main force.

Even if steering fails, it's not a big problem; you can use the ailerons and flaps to control the aircraft.

Balancing is difficult... and that's where the real trouble begins.

This means he has almost no control over the direction of the plane; he's lucky if he can keep it from crashing. He wouldn't dare to make any rash changes to the plane's attitude, for who knows what the consequences would be.

But he was thankful that he was still alive, and that the aircraft's systems were at least functioning normally in terms of output.

This is already quite remarkable. Compared to the S-75's one-shot kill capability, the JINGQ-7 cheap air defense missile is characterized by its low price, ample quantity, small size, and ability to provide sufficient firepower sustainability.

A warhead weighing a few kilograms is very effective against targets such as bombs, missiles, and helicopters, but it is rather small for a twin-engine heavy fighter like the F-4. It may not be enough to scratch the surface, but whether it can be taken down in one shot depends on luck.

James was lucky this time. The missile that exploded at the right rear of the tail only destroyed the vertical tail, the right horizontal tail, and the right engine, and damaged the right fuselage and wing.

This is precisely why single-shot failure, directional failure, and balancing difficulties occur.

James just watched as the plane flew forward, but there wasn't much he could do. He was merely struggling with the erratic pitch of the plane; maintaining altitude was already extremely difficult, and as for turning, that was wishful thinking—the plane could fly whichever way it wanted.

James took a break to check the flight mission map using navigation data, and he discovered a major problem.

—This plane is flying north!

He and his colleagues all knew what was to the north.

Holy shit!!!

However, after the initial panic subsided, he was actually somewhat relieved that his plane had chosen this direction after losing control of its course.

God bless!

Compared to landing on the land below, going over there is actually a better choice, after all, the other side has a well-known reputation for treating prisoners well.

As long as you can land there, your life is saved! And you can even live a decent life. The experiences of many of my fellow air force comrades more than a decade ago have already confirmed this.

Even though James was a naval carrier-based pilot, it's unlikely that the other side would change its consistent prisoner-of-war policy because of this difference in status. Even a fourth-class prisoner could live a very comfortable life with them.

This is undoubtedly much better than landing on this land right now. After all, since I threw a bomb at the other side, I should be prepared to die a terrible death if I fall into their hands.

As the plane flew north, going up and down, James's mood became increasingly relaxed.

We absolutely cannot fall off this land; as long as we can fall into the northern area, it will be a victory!

As he struggled with the erratic pitch of the plane, he consciously controlled its direction. As the plane's navigation data drew closer to the invisible dividing line in the mountains, his anxiety began to grow.

This is the last chance! You'll be okay, good luck James!
(End of this chapter)