Legendary Captain

Chapter 398 Third Generation vs. Fourth Generation!

In the Star Travel Aviation duty room, Lu Xinyu, as the number one duty officer, makes decisions on all flight matters for the day. Recently, there haven't been any major hazardous weather events in China, so there's no need to decide which flights to fly and which to cancel.

When large-scale weather events occur domestically, they often cause massive flight delays, diversions, and cancellations. Flight cancellations are relatively manageable; aside from addressing passenger issues, other matters are easier to handle. However, diversions and delays are much more troublesome, leading to complete chaos in aircraft and personnel scheduling. In the event of such widespread flight disruptions, the on-duty supervisor must decide which flights need to be cancelled to compensate for the disruptions in aircraft and personnel scheduling caused by delays and diversions.

Or perhaps a major security incident occurs, in which case the decision to handle such a situation would require the approval of the duty officer. However, Star Travel has been operating very smoothly lately, and the only thing to be aware of is tomorrow's evacuation flight.

Lu Xinyu leisurely turned his swivel chair towards the window, twirling a pen in his hand, basking in the sun, gazing at the scenery outside, feeling extremely content.

Just as Lu Xinyu was comfortably enjoying a moment of peace, someone rushed in from outside the door—a staff member from the Operations Control Center.

"Mr. Lu, there's something I need to ask you about."

Lu Xinyu swiveled her chair back and asked the operations control staff, "What's wrong?"

"The Yunnan Provincial Transportation Regulatory Bureau just notified us that they want us to cancel our round-trip flight to Bisu tonight," the staff member told Lu Xinyu. "The losses caused by this flight cancellation can be summarized and reported to the Yunnan Provincial Transportation Regulatory Bureau, and they will provide compensation for the losses."

For flight cancellations not caused by objective reasons, airlines are obligated to provide compensation. This includes not only refunding the ticket price but also providing additional compensation—all of which must be paid out of the airline's own pocket.

Since the Yunnan Provincial Administration of Taxation has required Xingyou Airlines to cancel the flight, it must naturally bear the losses caused by the cancellation.

"Cancel the round trip to Bisso? This is the first time I've seen the authorities proactively ask us to cancel flights." Lu Xinyu grinned. "How many passengers are on the Bisso round trip tonight?"

The operations staff member had clearly done their research; without checking any documents, they answered directly: "The evening round trip to Bisso is all economy class; there are no first-class or business-class passengers. There are 43 people on the outbound journey and 51 on the return journey, which isn't a large number."

Forty-three or fifty-one people is not a large number; not even half the seats are filled.

"Forty-three, fifty-one," Lu Xinyu tapped the table and replied, "Then cancel it. Make sure to compensate the passengers properly. Also, after canceling, notify the bureau, but don't mention the losses."

"Not mentioning the losses?" The operations control center staff member paused, "What if the authorities ask about it?"

"Even if this flight cancellation doesn't cause any real loss, we can let the authorities handle it," Lu Xinyu smiled. "The small loss caused by the cancellation is just a small favor, so why not?"

Staff at the operations control center couldn't help but worry: "If we say the flight cancellations didn't cause any losses, won't the authorities actually think we didn't suffer any losses? Wouldn't that mean we didn't do them any favors?"

"You underestimate the bureau. They know exactly how much we've lost, do you think they don't know? Just do it this way!" Lu Xinyu smiled: "Notify the marketing department to handle the compensation work efficiently, don't drag it out."

"What about the finance department?" The losses caused by this flight cancellation will not be reimbursed. If the finance department asks, the operations control department should have an explanation.

"It's nothing!" Lu Xinyu waved his hand. "I'll talk to the CFO about this personally, you don't need to worry about it. By the way, did the bureau tell us why they asked us to cancel our round trip to Bisu?"

"No!" said the staff at the operations control center. "However, after the Lotoo Airlines round-trip flight at 1 p.m., we're the only flight left. Mr. Lu, I have a feeling that there might be some kind of military exercise at Bisu Airport? Bisu Airport is a dual-use military and civilian airport."

"Military exercises? I haven't heard any announcement about Xiyao military exercises." Lu Xinyu pondered for a moment, "Never mind, this has nothing to do with us anyway, you go ahead and do your work."

Lu Xinyu wasn't in the mood to think about what the authorities were up to; he was only thinking about doing a favor and the welcome ceremony after the evacuation tomorrow.

If Xingyou Airlines can successfully complete this evacuation mission, it will truly enhance its reputation. Lu Xinyu could almost see Xingyou Airlines taking off.

As the General Manager of Xingyou Airlines' Flight Department, he will soar with the company. Although Qin Zongyang is currently his superior, Qin Zongyang is old and frail; how many more years can he hold the position? Ultimately, isn't the Vice President of Operations a sure thing for him?

After all, the position of Vice President of Operations involves a lot of professional expertise, and the General Manager of the Flight Department is basically a stepping stone to this position. When Qin Zongyang's energy can no longer keep up, won't someone else have to be replaced? Then he can naturally take over.

Thinking about these things, Lu Xinyu felt as if every pore on his body had opened up.

A parking position at Yunnan Airport.

"Kunlong 9334, parking position 103, ready." After closing the hatch and confirming that all work was completed, the co-pilot reported "ready" to the authorities.

"Kunlong 9334, please wait a moment, I'll contact you again when I have time." However, the response of being allowed to proceed was unexpected for the crew. Didn't this mean there was a delay? But before this, the company had not warned them that there might be delays.

One second the captain was whistling and in a good mood, the next his face fell. This was their last segment; the first three segments had been fine, so why was the last one going wrong?

Flying four segments is already quite tiring, so I was thinking of finishing the last segment quickly and going back to sleep. But at the last minute, the last small segment caused a delay.

The captain of this flight has flown many times before and has never been delayed. Why is this an exception?

The captain picked up the headset from the window shade and spoke into the microphone, "Is there air traffic control?"

"Yes."

The captain and first officer's expressions immediately changed. The captain hurriedly asked, "You just said to be prepared to report, you didn't say there would be air traffic control."

"This control measure was just announced," Fang Xing said. "Now all westbound flights will be subject to varying degrees of flow control."

"How long will the flow control last?" the captain asked.

"I don't know, there's no definite time right now," Fangxing said. "Please wait a moment, I'll let you know when it's ready."

The captain of flight Kunlong 9334 was completely dumbfounded. They'd already boarded all the passengers, and now there was no time? What kind of situation was this?

Normally, if there's a serious flow control measure in effect, the flight control center, departure authorities, or on-site command will notify the crew in advance so they can determine boarding times. Otherwise, having over a hundred people stuck in the cabin is unbearable, and it's the easiest way for passengers to "revolt." It's rare for flow control to come on so suddenly and unexpectedly; at least according to the captain, there wasn't any significant dangerous weather to the west of Dianchi Airport. Furthermore, the co-pilot had given them a clearance to prepare their report while repeating the PDC. If there had been flow control at that time, they would have been informed during the clearance. This means that in the ten or so minutes between repeating the PDC and preparing the report, flow control suddenly came on. That's incredibly unlucky.

The authorities had already given their approval, meaning there was no room for negotiation. However, the captain was very curious about what had caused such a sudden and serious air traffic control situation, so he asked, "What caused this?"

This isn't exactly an overstepping of boundaries. After all, the crew also has an obligation to give passengers an explanation and inform them of the reason for the delay before allowing them to depart.

However, the only response to grant permission was a simple, "Military activity!"

At this moment, many airports across the country, especially those with routes that fall within the border area of ​​Nanming Province, have all been subject to temporary restrictions. And the source of all this is naturally the actions of the Western Air Force.

After receiving Xu Xian's operational plan, the Western Air Force Command immediately reported it to the General Staff for a decision. Given the gravity of the situation, the General Staff acted with maximum efficiency, approving Xu Xian's plan within an hour.

Xu Xian's tactic of saturating and occupying fire channels is a classic SEAD tactic, especially suitable for dealing with small-scale air defense systems.

The Konbaung rebels only had one S-300 air defense missile system, so in practice, the difficulty wasn't that great. Ultimately, they were taking advantage of Konbaung's lack of resources. If it were the country that developed the S-300 system, with its vast resources, using tactics that saturate and occupy firing channels would be somewhat beyond their capabilities.

The Western Air Force reacted very quickly this time. While the General Staff was making the decision, the Western Air Force had already transferred a squadron of C-16s to Bisu Airport. They were just waiting for the General Staff and the Air Force Command to make a decision before they could launch the attack immediately.

Moreover, according to the pre-arranged plan, a squadron of five fighter jets transferred from the West Air Base will not land when they arrive near Bisu Airport. Instead, they will circle around and wait for Xu Xian and his team's planes to take off from Bisu Airport. Then they will join forces to attack the rebel air defense missile positions without wasting any extra time.

At the Bisu Airport tarmac, Xu Xian had already donned his new equipment. The support team had reloaded Xu Xian's vehicle, as he was now the main attacker, so his weaponry would be upgraded with a number of anti-radiation missiles.

When Xu Xian arrived at the plane, the maintenance crew pointed to it: "Four Flamingo anti-radiation missiles, two Viper missiles, one Eagle missile, and one high-power microwave missile. Please check them."

Originally, the mission was intended for hard-kill purposes, so high-power microwave bombs were not required. However, at Xu Xian's insistence, they were still chosen to carry high-power microwave bombs.

"Hmm!" Xu Xian nodded and began the final inspection of the machine.

The mechanic said from the side, "Your left and right load distribution is unbalanced. Pay attention to adjusting it when you fly."

Because the high-power microwave missile and the Eagle Sparrow missile have different weights, the C-16's left and right wings are actually loaded differently, each normally having its own deflection moment. However, as long as Xu Xian pays attention to corrections, it's not a major problem.

"I know." Xu Xian smiled. "No problem, just sign the form."

The maintenance worker handed the confirmation form to Xu Xian, saying, "I wish you every success!"

After signing the form, Xu Xian slapped it into the maintenance worker's hand: "Just for saying that, I'll treat you to dinner when I get back!"

"Haha! I'll be waiting!" The maintenance worker laughed as he put away the form, glanced at his watch, and said, "If we set off now and hurry, we might make it in time for dinner! I guess I can wait for your meal, right?"

Xu Xian laughed heartily: "Of course!"

"031, 032, 033 in position." The reports from each aircraft came over and over again in the queuing channel.

Five aircraft were transferred from the base this time, plus Wang Qi's, making a total of six aircraft, which corresponded exactly to the six fire control channels of the S-300. After all six aircraft reported that they were in position, it was finally Xu Xian's turn to lead the attack.

"054, we have reached our designated combat position." Xu Xian's voice sounded incredibly calm, as if he felt no pressure whatsoever about the upcoming raid.

"Except for the Type 054, all other aircraft will be used for support." Over the radio, Wang Zhaoxin began his final pre-mission briefing: "All aircraft occupying fire control lanes are only permitted to operate at the edge of the S-300 missile's range. Entering the effective kill zone of the S-300 air defense missiles is strictly prohibited. Understand?"

"031, received!"

"032, received!"

After six consecutive responses, Wang Zhaoxin gave Xu Xian a final reminder: "054, you only need to remember one thing! If the other six fighter jets lose their fire control radar lock, immediately cancel the mission and return at full speed. Your safety is the most important thing, understand?"

Xu Xian took a deep breath: "054, received!"

"Received everything?" Wang Zhaoxin exclaimed. "Then, let's begin the mission!"

The key to this SEAD operation lies in how the six fighter jets, excluding Xu Xian, can hold off the S-300 air defense radar system.

The moment Wang Zhaoxin announced the start of the mission, six fighter jets, excluding Xu Xian's, roared toward the rebels' anti-aircraft missile positions, while Xu Xian deliberately slowed down, falling behind most of them.

Xu Xian had to wait until the six fighter jets in front of him occupied the S300's fire control channels before he could enter the rebels' air defense zone.

Knowing the type of air defense missile they were facing, they could input the corresponding data into the fighter jet's computer to generate the range of the S-300 air defense missile on the navigation screen. The six fighter jets other than Xu Xian were merely "provoking" the enemy's air defense forces at the edge of the S-300's range.

The range of an air defense search radar is usually greater than the actual range of a missile. Therefore, before entering the missile's range, the six fighter jets began reporting that they were locked by the search radar. However, this does not mean that they were locked by the fire control radar; only when locked by the fire control radar is it a signal for missile launch.

Therefore, after being detected by the search radar, the six fighter jets continued to penetrate deeper, waiting for the enemy's fire control radar to lock onto them.

Wang Qi was among the six fighter jets. Suddenly, his RWR warning became abruptly urgent and low-pitched. Wang Qi was overjoyed: "Their fire control radar has locked onto me! Hahaha!"

After Wang Qi announced that he was locked onto by the fire control radar, the remaining five fighter jets also discovered that they were locked onto by the fire control radar.

Hearing the reports of fire control radar lock-on over the channel, Xu Xian sneered, "As expected, they don't know how to use anti-aircraft missiles. They fire as soon as they get within range, hah!"

After all six fighter jets were locked onto by the fire control radar, the six jets, fully loaded with chaff, began frantically releasing chaff while simultaneously probing the edge of missile range.

They cannot immediately leave the missile range, otherwise the fire control radar may become unlocked, making it impossible to occupy the fire control channels. Once the fire control channels are cleared, the enemy will have the resources to deal with Xu Xian, who is leading the main attack.

Therefore, according to the plan, these six fighter jets were to deflect the missile at the edge of its range. The reason for choosing the edge of the missile range was mainly because at this distance, the missile's energy was already relatively low, and these six fighter jets were carrying a large number of chaff and decoy flares, which allowed them to deflect the missile relatively safely.

Actually, this is thanks to the Konbaung rebels' clumsy use of their anti-aircraft missile system. As Xu Xian just mentioned, the Konbaung rebels couldn't resist provoking them when their six fighter jets reached the edge of missile range and hastily launched their missiles. Any operator with a little experience would have fired closer.

If these rebel operators had some experience, they would have remained calm and waited until the six planes were close enough before launching their missiles. In that case, Xu Xian and his men would have been in a rather awkward situation.

If the six fighter jets used as decoys are too close together, it will be more difficult to deflect the missiles. Even if they are carrying a lot of chaff, they may still be shot down by mistake.

However, Xu Xian had previously assessed that while the Konbaung rebels possessed many excellent weapons, their personnel were of questionable quality and unable to effectively utilize their capabilities. Now, it seems the Konbaung rebel missile operators performed exactly as Xu Xian had predicted.

At this moment, with six fighter jets occupying all the fire channels of the S300, Xu Xian brazenly charged towards the rebel air defense zone without any hesitation!

When entering the enemy's air defense zone, Xu Xian's RWR did not even receive any warning, meaning that even the search radar did not illuminate him.

"I thought it would be much more difficult, but it turned out to be a false alarm." Xu Xian sneered. Not long ago, they were racking their brains over this S300 air defense missile site, and even managed to request electronic warfare aircraft from the Northern Air Force and the Southern Navy.

As it turned out, the weapons were good, but the people were not! With just a little enticement, they all took the bait. Even Xu Xian, who proposed the battle plan, did not expect the progress to be so smooth.

They penetrated deep inside, and the anti-radiation missile's computer detected the radiation source. Xu Xian clicked his tongue: "How boring!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed the weapon launch button, and all four anti-radiation missiles were launched at once. This time, only one radiation source was detected, and unsurprisingly, that source was the S-300's radar.

Xu Xian didn't believe they could intercept four anti-radiation missiles. The S-300 could defend against air attacks, but not against missiles. Anti-missile systems were toys only powerful nations could afford to play with.

Xu Xian was incredibly arrogant. After launching the missile, he didn't immediately turn around. Instead, he waited until he could see the distant explosion before reporting in the queue channel: "Target confirmed destroyed!"

At the same time, the RWR warnings of the remaining decoy aircraft all disappeared. Without the guidance of fire control radar, the missiles following them darted around aimlessly like headless flies.

This undoubtedly confirms that Xu Xian did indeed destroy the S-300 missile site.

"Mission accomplished! 054 Return!" Satisfied, Xu Xian pushed off the control stick and flew back. He still hadn't expected the operation to go so smoothly.

"Hahaha! They really are a bunch of barbarians. We used a little trick and they took the bait!" Wang Qi shouted wildly in the queue channel. The mission was over, and they began to fly back. This operation was a complete success, another great achievement.

Xu Xian was in a great mood and was just about to tease Wang Qi in the queue channel when the RWR warning, which had been silent, suddenly sounded.

Xu Xian's expression changed drastically, and he shouted in the queue channel, "I've been locked on!"

"What! Wasn't the missile site just destroyed?" Wang Qi, who had been smug just moments before, was shocked. The lock-on Xu Xian mentioned must have meant being locked on by the fire control radar, which meant that a missile was very likely heading towards Xu Xian.

But weren't the missile sites just destroyed by them? How come missiles are flying over here?

"No!" Xu Xian took a deep breath: "This isn't a surface-to-air missile, it's an air-to-air missile!"

"Impossible!" Wang Qi immediately refused to believe Xu Xian's explanation. If the enemy aircraft that launched the missile was locked onto by the fire control radar, it certainly wouldn't be too far from Xu Xian, yet Xu Xian hadn't detected it at all. Not to mention Xu Xian, none of the six of them had detected the so-called enemy aircraft signal on their radars.

Wang Qi didn't believe that the search radars of seven fighter jets couldn't detect an enemy aircraft that wasn't far away!

"It's possible, it's possible!" Xu Xian's pupils dilated. "What if the opponent has a fourth-generation stealth fighter?"

Realizing what was happening, Xu Xian shouted in the queue channel, "All of you, go all out and fly towards the border!"

"And what about you?" Wang Qi asked anxiously.

Xu Xian's hands were trembling as he gripped the control stick, but he still firmly said, "I'll cover the rear!"

(End of this chapter)