Changkong Fighter

Chapter 16: Flying Shark Attacks
When the alarm sounded, the naval aviators waiting in the combat readiness duty room picked up the helmets beside them and ran towards the fighter planes on the deck that were ready for attack.

Liu Jun had just run a few steps forward when he remembered that his fighter plane was still in the hangar. He quickly followed his master Zhang Peng and ran towards the J15S [139] plane.

When I ran to [139], I saw an auxiliary fuel tank on the belly rack of the J15S. I immediately realized that the range of this operation would be very long and an auxiliary fuel tank must be brought to meet sufficient fuel consumption.

"Sit in the back."

Zhang Peng spoke to Liu Jun, and then climbed up the boarding ladder in the front seat to the cockpit. Liu Jun watched his master sit in the front seat, and climbed up to the cockpit in the back seat. After adjusting the position of the helmet, he began to check whether there were any loose or unfixed objects in the instruments and cockpit.

The two-seat J15S carrier-based aircraft has a pilot in the front seat and a weapons officer in the back seat. One is responsible for flying and the other is responsible for operating the onboard weapons. This division of labor can reduce the pilot's operating intensity. A single-seat operator has to attack and control the aircraft at the same time, which is very mentally exhausting, and human energy is limited.

As an experienced pilot, Zhang Peng has far more flight hours than Liu Jun. He is much more familiar with the control of fighter jets and the probability of making mistakes in fierce battles is much smaller. If Liu Jun controls the weapon system, he can launch the missile as long as he follows the training step by step.

But these are superficial reasons. There is another deeper reason, that is, once there is danger and the plane has to be abandoned and parachuted, the rear seat of a two-seat fighter has a tandem parachute mechanism, and the rear seat will parachute earlier than the front seat. In a critical situation, a little bit earlier can help you survive.

After confirming that there were no problems, the ground crew started the tow truck and dragged the J15S to the take-off position. Amid the sound of mechanical operation, the three deflectors at the rear of the aircraft slowly rose, and [139] it entered take-off preparation. The mechanical wheel chocks in front of the wheels also locked the rear landing gear.

As the trailer drove away, the ground crew leaned over to check the exterior of the J15S. After confirming that there was nothing abnormal, they signaled to Zhang Peng, "No problem."

As the engine screamed, the engine on one side of the J15S started, and a few seconds later the engine on the other side started. The instrument panel began to show that the engine status was normal. The folded wings were unfolded, and the air crew checked the various aerodynamic surfaces of the Flying Shark, including the canards, ailerons, horizontal rudders, and elevators.
After making sure the aircraft was in good condition and re-confirming that the instruments were normal, Zhang Peng placed his left hand on the throttle valve, gripped the joystick with his right hand, and pushed the throttle valve slightly. The engine ejected high-temperature combustion gas, which was scattered upwards by the deflector.

The J15S had a tendency to rush forward, but was restricted to the takeoff position by the wheel chocks in the takeoff area. It began to accumulate energy for takeoff, and the engine's scream continued to sound.

When the Flying Shark was ready, Zhang Peng looked at the yellow vest beside him and signaled that it was time to take off.

Swish! The wheel chocks on the rear landing gear were retracted into the deck, and the J15S, already poised for launch, surged forward. Zhang Peng continued to push the throttle, and the fighter plane glided to a 14-degree angle at the bow. Suddenly, he felt as if his body had hit a wall. As soon as this feeling reached his brain, the J15S, with its flaps spread, flew out of the aircraft carrier deck along the angle.

The Flying Shark sank slightly a few meters, and the familiar feeling of weightlessness came over him. Zhang Peng pushed the throttle all the way down. Once the J-15S's attitude stabilized, he pulled the lever to climb higher, retracting the landing gear and flaps. Sitting in the back seat, Liu Jun watched his master perform a textbook-like aircraft carrier takeoff. No wonder the chief engineer had told him he had something on his mind.

Next, Zhang Peng almost roughly controlled the Flying Shark to climb to a higher altitude. At this time, Liu Jun noticed that another wingman [140] had also taken off. The two J15S formed a two-plane formation, heading to 030, and climbed to an altitude of 8000.

[Aerial situation in the distance indicates that our electronic reconnaissance ship is being entangled by three unidentified aircraft. 139, 140, your mission is to cover the retreat of 815A.]

The voice of air traffic controller came from the communication channel, explaining the combat mission to them.

[Note: These unidentified flying objects are armed.]

【139 received】【140 received】

After the report, the double-click formation climbed to high altitude. In the radar's IFF identification, we can see that several other Flying Sharks are on guard in the waters around the Liaoning. They have consumed a lot of fuel, and because the combat area is far away, only the four J4S on the Liaoning can perform this mission.

This was Liu Jun's first time to carry out a mission at night, and it was a combat mission. It would be a lie to say that he was not nervous. He checked the J15S's mounts and found two PL2 air-to-air missiles on the wingtips, four PL10 medium-range missiles, and 4 rounds of spare machine gun ammunition.

The J15S's mounting capacity is more than this. Due to the Liaoning's ski-jump takeoff method, it cannot take off with full fuel and ammunition, so it can only give up some weapons and increase its range.

"Xiaojun, are you nervous?"

When the J15S flew to a sufficient altitude and its attitude was stable, Zhang Peng asked on the in-flight channel that even he, an experienced pilot, felt very stressed about this combat mission, not to mention Liu Jun.

Through satellite remote sensing imaging, air police radar, and the battlefield situation feedback from the subsequent WJ7 drone reconnaissance, it was found that although no ships of the American Carl Vinson aircraft carrier battle group had been sunk, they had been badly hit. Almost all the ships were damaged, thick smoke continued to billow out, and the ignited fire was burning the hull.

This battle is not easy to fight. Zhang Peng was alert in his heart. His many years of flying experience made him instinctively feel the danger. He glanced at his apprentice who was concentrating on looking at the radar in the rearview mirror.

"I'm a little nervous."

Liu Jun spoke the truth. After all, this was his first time participating in actual combat, and the enemy was an aircraft of unknown origin.

Information received through the data link showed that there was severe electromagnetic blockage in the mission area and the radar signal was suppressed. In such a complex environment, even the PL12 medium-range missile could not guarantee a % hit on the enemy, especially when the enemy was still at low altitude. Multipath clutter would also affect the missile's seeker's search for the enemy, and the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier battle group in the center was beaten badly by these unidentified flying vehicles.

If the enemy really wanted to be that simple, the Americans would have shot down all these UFOs long ago and then publicized it to the international community.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the aviation fuel in the auxiliary tank was exhausted. At this moment, they were approaching the mission area. According to the data link, 815A was still 30 nautical miles away from them.

[Ditch the auxiliary fuel tank]

With a thud, the fuel tank on the belly rack fell off and fell towards the sea below. The auxiliary fuel tank without oil was a dead weight for the fighter.

Under the control of the hands-on control system, the PL12 seeker mounted under the wing started to preheat, and the airborne radar searched hard for the signals of those unidentified aircraft. Even though it was known that the hit rate of the medium-range missile was not high, the missile had to be launched!

(End of this chapter)