Legendary Captain

Chapter 328 Omniscient and Omnipotent!

While the Hawk-Sparrow E missile represents a significant improvement over the Hawk-Sparrow A, it is actually a relatively old model. One of the common problems with medium- or medium-to-long-range semi-radar-guided missiles is their limited maneuverability, making them significantly less capable than close-range air-to-air missiles. This weakness is particularly pronounced in the Hawk-Sparrow E missile.

To increase its range and speed, the Hawk-E missile was equipped with a more powerful and heavier engine. Although the fuel was changed to solid fuel, it was still significantly heavier than its predecessor. The Hawk-E is one of the heaviest missiles in the Hawk-E series. However, the missile's airframe structure remained largely unchanged, resulting in extremely poor maneuverability and a very low hit probability when engaging highly maneuverable military aircraft.

Generally, such missiles are only used to deal with bombers and attack aircraft with insufficient maneuverability. Today's target drones are just basic subsonic low-maneuverability unmanned aerial vehicles. Moreover, Xu Xian was only asked to come and test the missile launch process. There was no need for such advanced missiles. Therefore, the Eagle Sparrow E missile, which is specifically designed to deal with low-maneuverability aircraft, was chosen.

This choice is undoubtedly extremely advantageous to Xu Xian. Any improved version of the Eagle Sparrow series, such as the Eagle Sparrow M, will have greatly enhanced mobility.

In fact, the Hawk-Sparrow E has a sister version, namely the Hawk-Sparrow E2. This model of missile has a modified body structure, which makes its maneuverability extremely exaggerated, even earning it the reputation of "dogfighting Hawk-Sparrow".

Despite its semi-radar-guided designation, it functions as a short-range air-to-air missile – this perfectly describes the Eagle Sparrow E2 missile. If they had been carrying the Eagle Sparrow E2 this time, Xu Xian's operational options would have been significantly reduced.

At this moment, Xu Xian gripped the control stick with his right hand and kept looking back to determine the relative position of the missile to himself. Next, he was about to perform a rather dangerous maneuver.

In the simulation, the controller watched as the dots representing the missile and Xu Xian's aircraft drew ever closer, his tension almost holding his breath. Even with the use of the 39 maneuver, which constantly changed the missile's expected encounter point and increased its flight distance, the Eagle Sparrow missile simply had too much fuel. With its continuous power, it maintained a super-high speed close to Mach 3 for an extended period, stubbornly ignoring Xu Xian's maneuvers.

The principle behind missile operation is not, as commonly understood, to chase after an aircraft; rather, it's the missile that "encounters" the aircraft. The missile's internal computer calculates a point of encounter—a point where the missile and the aircraft meet—based on the aircraft's position changes and the missile's own flight data. The missile doesn't fly towards the aircraft, but rather towards the calculated, predicted encounter point.

The fundamental principle of missile maneuvering evasion is to force the missile to constantly change its expected encounter point, causing it to continuously change direction. Changing direction is the fastest and most effective way to consume energy, whether for missiles or aircraft.

The only difference between missiles and airplanes is that missiles have limited fuel, while airplanes have far more fuel reserves than missiles. In terms of energy consumption, airplanes are undoubtedly extremely advantageous.

However, this raises a problem. Missiles are usually much faster than airplanes, and often the airplane simply cannot sustain itself long enough to exhaust the missile's energy or its energy level drops to a point where it is unable to maneuver and keep up with the target aircraft.

When Wang Qi accidentally launched the missile, he was not far from Xu Xian. This resulted in the Eagle Sparrow missile having ample fuel and power. Even after Xu Xian performed a series of high-maneuver maneuvers, the Eagle Sparrow missile could still maintain a super-high speed close to Mach 3, which was a nightmare for Xu Xian.

If this were replaced by the most common Eagle M model, its maximum speed could reach Mach 4, which is almost twice the maximum speed of Xu Xian's C16C fighter jet. In that case, Xu Xian's escape time would be greatly reduced.

"Too fast! The missile is too fast! Xu Xian's 39 maneuver is ineffective!" The controller's face was extremely grim.

In a typical launch position for a medium- or medium-to-long-range semi-radar-guided missile, by this stage, the missile should be nearly out of fuel or even already running on inertia. At this point, the target aircraft can perform a 3x3 maneuver to deplete the missile's remaining energy, and then release chaff to jam the missile's internal active radar, causing it to deviate from its intended trajectory. Even if the missile removes the jamming and re-tracks the aircraft, it will lack sufficient energy to return to the correct path, thus losing its final threat.

The crucial problem was that the Eagle Sparrow E missile was still at full power, and with its speed far exceeding that of the fighter jet, the distance between the missile and the aircraft continued to shrink. Even though Xu Xian was constantly maneuvering the missile and taking unnecessary detours, it couldn't compete with the missile's superior speed; in fact, it was much faster than him. By covering the extra distance, it could still take him down!

If Xu Xian continues in this flight state, it will only be a matter of time before he is hit by a missile.

As for Wang Qi's comment on the channel about Xu Xian not deploying chaff, Wang Chenchen could understand. Or rather, given Wang Qi's skill level, he should have realized that in Xu Xian's current situation, facing the highly resistant Eagle-E missile with ample propulsion, deploying chaff would be a wasteful and meaningless act. Unfortunately, Wang Qi was already somewhat flustered by his accidental missile launch and had lost his composure; it was really no wonder he was acting this way.

Wang Chenchen's fingers were both loose and tight, revealing his own extreme tension.

"What should we do?"

Inside the C-16 cockpit, Xu Xian could now clearly see the missile. He anticipated it would hit him within seconds. Xu Xian knew perfectly well that continuing like this would inevitably result in the destruction of the aircraft and his own death. However, he couldn't maneuver immediately; he needed to bring the missile close enough. Only in a confined space could he fully utilize the C-16's high maneuverability and highlight the Eagle Sparrow E's insufficient maneuverability.

This ebb and flow is the only chance of survival!

Xu Xian gripped the control stick tightly with his right hand, his gaze almost entirely fixed on the missile to his left rear. The missile was now too close for him to focus all his attention on. As for controlling the fighter jet, he relied almost entirely on his sense of touch.

For a pilot like Xu Xian, even without looking at the instruments, he can roughly judge the aircraft's status. Moreover, he doesn't need to hold out for long; in just a few seconds, he will be performing a massive maneuver.

With the missile almost within reach, Xu Xian felt it was about time. So he immediately looked away, turned back, and pushed the lever to the right, filling it completely.

At near Mach 2 speeds, a supersonic steep turn was being made. As soon as the gradient was formed, the overload display on the head-up display soared from 1.2G to over 7G and continued to rise.

At this moment, the enormous centrifugal force pressed Xu Xian heavily onto the seat. Xu Xian felt as if there was a thousand-pound burden on his shoulders, as if it was going to crush him flat.

Detecting the increased overload, the airbags in Xu Xian's legs inflated first, followed by the abdominal airbags. Xu Xian's clothes, which were initially only slightly thick, suddenly appeared much larger. A tremendous feeling of compression filled Xu Xian's lower limbs, forcing blood that had been concentrated there due to centrifugal force back into his upper body. Otherwise, Xu Xian would have quickly experienced blackouts and dizziness.

Previously, the overload of 7G would have been enough to cause Xu Xian to lose his sight and become incapacitated, even with the aid of an anti-G suit. Yes, Xu Xian's physical condition was that weak before.

But Xu Xian is different now. After a period of physical training, Xu Xian's physical fitness is truly different from before. Under an overload of more than 7G, Xu Xian did not perform as easily as before. At this moment, Xu Xian's heart was like a powerful living pump, sending blood to all parts of his body, especially his brain. Even though he felt a little dizzy, Xu Xian managed to hold on.

Under Xu Xian's reckless move, the C-16 fighter jet completed a 180-degree turn in a short period of time. The Eagle Sparrow missile following behind was faster, and if it wanted to keep up with the trajectory of Xu Xian's fighter jet, it would have to withstand greater overload. The Eagle Sparrow E model, whose maneuverability was already questionable, obviously hit its weakness.

After Xu Xian made a sharp turn, the expected point of impact for the Eagle Sparrow missile changed dramatically, shifting directly from its position to its right rear, a change of nearly 180 degrees.

Even under the extreme overload maneuver of the Eagle Sparrow missile, the missile still circled forward quite a bit before turning back, which further increased the distance between Xu Xian's fighter jet and the missile.

"As expected, it's a useless missile!" Xu Xian looked at the Eagle Sparrow missile, which had widened its distance, and couldn't help but mock it.

At this moment, after a 180-degree turn, the missile changed from the plane's position at approximately nine o'clock to that of nearly three o'clock, and Xu Xian still maintained the principle of maneuvering at three o'clock.

In the control tower, Wang Chenchen slapped his thigh and almost shouted excitedly, "What audacity! Absolutely incredible audacity! To actually place a missile so close!"

Why did Xu Xian wait until the missile was almost upon him before performing a sharp turn? If he had done it earlier, the missile would have had more room to maneuver, reducing the need for high maneuverability. Furthermore, as Xu Xian's fighter jet turned, there was a brief moment when the distance between the fighter and the missile would actually decrease. If the missile could turn around at that moment, it would be walking right into a trap.

Therefore, Xu Xian had to bring the missile close enough to compress the Eagle Sparrow missile's maneuverability, so that even if he turned, the Eagle Sparrow missile wouldn't be able to catch up. Moreover, due to its poor maneuverability, it would be thrown off by inertia, giving Xu Xian more room to maneuver.

The principle behind this maneuver is well-known and quite simple; it's all about the fine line. However, in practice, it's incredibly difficult. Only a monster like Xu Xian, who can remain calm and collected even when two C-16s with afterburners are flying relative to each other at speeds approaching Mach 4, can remain hundreds of meters apart with only a blink of an eye in his reaction time, would dare to do this.

Wang Chenchen knew about Wang Qi's provocation of Xu Xian, intending to intimidate the newcomer. For this, Squadron Leader Li Cheng specifically ordered Wang Chenchen to discipline Wang Qi. However, putting aside Wang Qi's mischievous style, Xu Xian's spatial awareness during the "two-plane collision" flight was astonishing, almost the strongest Squadron Leader Li Cheng had ever seen. It was precisely because he witnessed Xu Xian's formidable talent that Li Cheng was willing to cooperate with Ye Qing regarding Xu Xian's affairs.

Otherwise, even if Ye Qing were the director of the Advanced Technology R&D Department at headquarters, he wouldn't have the influence to the point where he could control everything at the flight base and do whatever he wanted to anyone. Only with the tacit approval of Li Cheng, the captain of the Luohang Flight Squadron, could all of this proceed without any obstacles.

This maneuver was extremely simple for Xu Xian, after all, making a sharp turn at nearly twice the speed of sound involved a huge overload, reaching almost 9G at the point of maximum overload, which put a great strain on Xu Xian's body.

However, Xu Xian is different now than before, and he managed to pull through.

It was exceptionally difficult for Xu Xian, and equally difficult for the missile. Since a missile is not a physical body, it naturally wouldn't feel physical pain. However, under prolonged extreme overload conditions, the Eagle Sparrow missile's energy was rapidly depleting, and its previously ample power was now showing signs of fatigue.

Xu Xian temporarily increased the distance between himself and the Eagle Sparrow missile, gaining a brief respite. He immediately brought up the display of navigation point number three, slightly corrected his course, and then flew rapidly toward navigation point number three.

Navigation point number three was a point created using the latitude and longitude coordinates of the center point of airspace number three, and it had been entered shortly after takeoff. However, since Wang Qi was the navigator previously, Xu Xian hadn't used navigation point number three. This time, he had to rely on himself, so naturally, he needed navigation point number three to provide him with navigation.

The 39 maneuver does not require strictly maintaining the relative position of 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock at all times; slight deviations are not a major problem.

When Xu Xian pulled up the location of navigation point number three, he looked at the digital display screen and, just as he had predicted, navigation point number three was on his left, at approximately nine o'clock.

Xu Xian glanced at the ground; he could vaguely make out some villages. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it!"

Xu Xian already had a general idea of ​​the location of the third navigation point.

They were originally flying towards navigation point number three. Then Xu Xian made several right turns, used the 39-degree altitude reduction technique, and flew perpendicular to the left side of the original route. After that, he turned 180 degrees to the right and flew perpendicular to the right side of the original route. So, navigation point number three should be on the left side of the aircraft.

The actual location was basically in line with Xu Xian's prediction, but this was not good news.

"The missile is starting to slow down!" In the control tower, the speed display on the simulation image showed that the Eagle Sparrow missile had begun to decelerate slightly. This indicated that the missile's fuel was almost exhausted.

This is a very good sign. Once a missile, a type of flight weapon that is losing momentum, begins to decline, it is irreversible.

The air traffic controller was somewhat excited; the missile's slowdown was a sign that victory was in sight. One more sharp turn to deplete the missile's last energy, followed by the deployment of chaff under its weakened, low-maneuverability conditions, would render the missile insignificant.

However, this kind of high-risk maneuvering is still risky. Turning too early or too late could result in being hit by a missile. Only by seizing that extremely dangerous moment can one "play trick" on the missile.

However, even if Xu Xian is exceptionally talented, doing too many high-risk things will inevitably lead to mistakes. As the saying goes, "He who walks by the river will eventually get his shoes wet."

Let's see if Xu Xian dares to do it again.

However, just as the tower controllers were wondering if Xu Xian dared to make another steep turn at twice the speed of sound, Xu Xian turned left without any warning.

The air traffic controller's eyelids twitched violently. The fighter jet was still some distance from the missile, and the timing of the turn was clearly too early. This meant the missile could have made an even smaller turn and intercepted Xu Xian's fighter jet directly.

"Something went wrong?" the tower controller blurted out. His first thought was that Xu Xian had made a wrong judgment under immense psychological pressure. The timing of this turn was ridiculously early; wasn't he sending the missile flying? This was a world apart from the precise timing of the turn just now, as accurate as a gazelle leaping over a cliff. At first glance, it didn't seem like the work of a single person.

Given the stark difference between then and now, the tower controllers could only attribute it to Xu Xian's psychological endurance reaching its limit. Under immense pressure, he finally began to make some basic decision-making errors.

However, Wang Chenchen thought more and further ahead than he did.

Suddenly, Wang Chenchen's pupils contracted, and her right hand clenched into a fist: "No!"

"Huh?" The tower controller was shocked. Then he saw in the simulation that Xu Xian had stopped turning after turning 90 degrees and started to level off!

"What is he doing? Isn't he courting death?" the tower controller exclaimed. As a result, the missile, originally at Xu Xian's three o'clock position, was now at the six o'clock position, pursuing Xu Xian's fighter jet from behind. Although the missile's speed had decreased, it was still significantly faster than the fighter jet; wasn't this like walking into a trap?

wrong!

The air traffic controller, a former pilot himself, immediately thought of a possibility: "Is he going to use a swerve to evade?"

The drag-and-go maneuver is also a missile evasion maneuver, but knowing that the 39 maneuver followed by a steep turn is effective, is changing the evasion method to the drag-and-go maneuver really a good choice?

From the perspective of the tower controllers, this is not a good option.

Dodging missiles is inherently a risky operation. Now that one method has proven effective, why risk switching to another evasion method only to have it fail? Missiles don't give you a chance to try and fail!

At that moment, the controller in the control tower was utterly baffled: "What is he thinking?"

"He's going to lure the missile into airspace number three!" Wang Chenchen's eyes gleamed. "Project the high-altitude map data onto the screen."

Under Wang Chenchen's instructions, another team member operated the system, converting the simulated image into a 2D high-altitude overhead view, and then overlaying another layer of high-altitude data onto the background of the large screen. Looking at it this way, it was clear that Xu Xian's fighter jet was flying roughly towards the center point of airspace number three.

"Just as I expected!"

With the high-altitude map for comparison, Xu Xian's flight path became obvious, heading towards airspace number three.

The air traffic controller in the tower became suspicious: "What is he trying to do?"

Why risk turning the 39 maneuver into a dragging-sword evasive maneuver just to fly towards airspace number three?

"What's the difference between Airspace No. 3 and other places?" Wang Chenchen asked.

The air traffic controller was momentarily speechless: "Differentiation? What difference? Airspace 3 is for target practice... no, the ground. Airspace 3 is an uninhabited area!"

Because Airspace No. 3 is a dedicated airspace for air-to-ground target practice, lethal weapons or debris occasionally fall from it, making the area below completely uninhabited. While the outer perimeter is sparsely populated, there are still a few villages.

"He's making sure the missile lands in the uninhabited area below Airspace 3!" The air traffic controller was almost speechless with shock. If Xu Xian continued his 39 maneuver, the evasion would be very effective, but the missile would most likely land outside Airspace 3. Although the population density in the vicinity outside Airspace 3 was very low, no one could say for sure whether an accident would occur. After all, lives were at stake, and everyone would be extremely cautious in such a situation. Therefore, Xu Xian was taking a huge risk to guide the missile into Airspace 3, hoping to ensure its success.

The air traffic controller was so excited he could hardly speak. Even at this critical moment, Xu Xian still considered the safety of the people below, which was truly commendable.

"But at this point, they are in pursuit, and the missile is still traveling at a high speed. Will the drag evasion tactic really be effective?" the tower controller worried.

The 39-degree high-altitude maneuver is the most common way to evade missiles, and the most common means it is the most effective. In his view, the dragging knife maneuver is inferior to the 39-degree maneuver.

Wang Chenchen was also extremely nervous: "The missiles are at their last gasp. If we can just hold on a little longer, and go a little faster..."

At that moment, Xu Xian's extremely calm voice came through the radio: "Zhiyang, 054 crosses the boundary of airspace number three and jettison its auxiliary fuel tanks."

As he spoke, Xu Xian selected the auxiliary fuel tank option on the attachment page, chose SJ mode, and then pressed the weapon fire button. In SJ mode, the selected attachment, namely the auxiliary fuel tank, would be dropped.

Xu Xian's mind was incredibly clear, so clear that he felt almost no panic. The plane was already very low in altitude, and he had just clearly seen sparse signs of human activity below. So, at that moment, Xu Xian decided that the missile couldn't be allowed to land in this area, and that airspace number three was the best place for the missile to crash.

Therefore, based on this idea, Xu Xian took a huge risk and turned ninety degrees to the left, forcibly switching to a dragging-blade evasion method.

However, just as the tower controllers thought, the evasive maneuver of dragging the blade was indeed less effective than the 39 maneuver at this point, so Xu Xian had to give his fighter jet another boost to hold up the missile's final high-speed phase.

This training flight was quite long and involved multiple afterburner maneuvers, resulting in high fuel consumption. Therefore, two additional external fuel tanks were added. At this point, only a short time had passed, and the two external fuel tanks still contained a large amount of fuel. This meant the C-16 was carrying two significant burdens. Only by jettisoning these burdens could the C-16 achieve its maximum performance.

However, the original plan was not to discard these two fuel tanks. Xu Xian's discarding of them at this time was definitely unplanned. Even in an emergency, it would not be a big deal to discard the auxiliary fuel tanks without informing the control tower. But Xu Xian, who had everything under control, even had the spare capacity to report to the control tower. He was extremely carefree!

Upon hearing this, both Wang Chenchen and the air traffic controller were shocked. They had never considered the possibility of jettisoning auxiliary fuel tanks. Actually, Wang Chenchen was a bit nervous; he knew Xu Xian and his team had two extra auxiliary fuel tanks, but he hadn't immediately thought of the idea of ​​jettisoning them for performance gains!

"He knew everything, he planned it all out!" Wang Chenchen even sensed a chilling atmosphere. Even as an observer, it was a feeling of tension that was almost suffocating, let alone Xu Xian, who was directly involved.

However, even under immense pressure, Xu Xian remained remarkably clear-headed, almost frighteningly so, like a robot unaffected by external influences.

In the critical moment of being pursued by missiles, Xu Xian could still think about whether the missile's impact point would cause casualties, that the No. 3 airspace was absolutely safe, and that he could compensate for the lack of effectiveness of the drag evasion maneuver by jettisoning the auxiliary fuel tanks!

He knew, he knew everything! It was all part of a plan!

Xu Xian was like an omniscient and omnipotent god. He had a complete grasp of the battlefield dynamics, everything that was planned and unplanned! Even with simulation images, they, who had a comprehensive view of everything, seemed to be no match for Xu Xian's wisdom.

Li Cheng, the former captain of the Luohang Flight Squadron, once told him that Xu Xian, whom Ye Qing brought over, would be the most dazzling star in the history of the Luohang fleet, and that everything in the team could take priority over him.

At the time, Wang Chenchen was still somewhat unconvinced. The Luohang Flight Squadron was full of talented people, and even those with the reputation of geniuses had to tone down their brilliance here.

But after meeting him today, Wang Chenchen felt that Li Cheng's evaluation was still too low!

Having discarded its two cumbersome auxiliary fuel tanks, the C-16 fighter jet, like a bird released from its cage, achieved an even higher top speed, breaking through Mach 2 and reaching Mach 2.1.

At this point, the missiles were already at their limit. Every additional point in the performance of Xu Xian's fighter jets would widen the gap even further.

Moreover, Xu Xian also possesses the ability to drag a sword!

At that very moment, Xu Xian pressed the lever to the right, pushing the slope to sixty degrees, then held the lever, instantly pulling the overload to over 6G. At the same time, Xu Xian began to release the foil strip for the first time.

As Xu Xian turned right, the missile's calculated predicted encounter point also changed, and it followed Xu Xian's right turn as well. However, due to Xu Xian's deployment of chaff, the missile was initially interfered with by the chaff and actually focused its target on the reflective cloud formed by the chaff, abandoning its pursuit of Xu Xian.

This further increased the distance between Xu Xian and the missile.

However, the Eagle Sparrow E missile lived up to its reputation as a missile with extremely strong anti-jamming capabilities. After being interfered with for a moment, it actually locked onto Xu Xian's fighter jet again, changed direction, and chased after him once more.

While the Eagle Sparrow E missile lacks maneuverability, its anti-jamming capabilities are truly exceptional. Chaff only slightly interfered with it, but did not completely disengage its active radar.

However, all of this was within Xu Xian's expectations.

If the missile had been operating at full power earlier, this small interference wouldn't have been a problem. But things are different now. The missile is clearly running out of options, and by interfering with it and creating distance, it will be very difficult for it to catch up with Xu Xian.

Next, Xu Xian used the same method to switch from a right slope to a left slope, while continuing to release chaff to continue interfering with the missile.

The so-called "drag-and-pull evasion" is a maneuver involving alternating deflections on both sides while simultaneously releasing chaff. The basic principle of this evasion maneuver is the same: by continuously deflecting left and right to change the expected encounter point, the missile is made to continuously change direction, and then chaff is used to interfere, thereby evading the missile.

"Xu Xian, the missile is starting to slow down noticeably!" Just then, Wang Chenchen's voice came through the radio.

They could see the missile's speed data on the screen. At this moment, the missile was no longer just slowing down slightly, but exhibiting a very obvious deceleration behavior.

Xu Xian remained completely calm, replying simply, "Received!"

At this point, although the missile began to slow down significantly, which meant victory was in sight, Xu Xian continued to use his flanks to evade, just to be on the safe side. Finally, after the missile was interfered with by the chaff, it had no power to maneuver and pursue Xu Xian, and continued to fall downwards in the wrong direction towards the chaff.

With the Eagle Sparrow missile truly unlocked, Xu Xian's radar warning finally disappeared, and Xu Xian knew that he had finally escaped death.

In the control tower, Wang Chenchen and the controllers were overjoyed. The accidental missile launch had thankfully been resolved satisfactorily. Even if Xu Xian had parachuted to safety, the higher-ups would likely have pursued accountability. Fortunately, Xu Xian handled the situation exceptionally well, minimizing the damage; it was at least a false alarm.

Wang Chenchen couldn't help but exclaim, "Of all the people I've met, he's number one!"

Wang Qi also witnessed the missile losing power and falling, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, could finally be put at ease; a terrible thing had almost happened.

Just as Wang Qigang breathed a sigh of relief, Xu Xian's ear-piercing roar came through the radio: "You son of a bitch Wang Qigang, I'll fuck your grandpa!"

This is my first time writing a story about fighter jets. Aside from the plausibility of accidental missile launches (which have happened several times in reality, including accidental launches of cruise missiles), what do you all think of the rest? Is it impressive enough?

Give me a score out of ten! That way I'll know how I've done it!

In addition, the update volume these past few days has been quite impressive. There were even two extra updates in a row before, and recently the daily update volume has been maintained at eight or nine thousand.

Just for this update, shouldn't I vote for it or give it a reward?

(End of this chapter)