The Merman Brothers United Consortium finally showcased its industry rank as the eighth juggernaut.
For Aircrew Base 911, the pressure was immense.
Enemies on all sides, a massive force bearing down, overwhelmingly outnumbered... but still they had to fight!
Even in this scenario, Aircrew Base 911 saw no deserters, for all the cowards had already perished, recently felled by an anti-air missile.
Whether it was Manager Hanna, Rookie Chen Fei, Big Brother Xiao the chief mechanic, or Chekhov Big Bear, they all agreed that this was refreshingly straightforward, as every department within the base united like never before.
Only the damned had died, and those who should not have died also perished.
One after another, fully loaded A-39B "Big Mouth Monsters" turboprop attack aircraft followed by MiG-28 jet fighters took to the sky in succession.
All thanks to Chen Fei and his team of veterans who discovered the "wool" of Aircrew Base 909, after a fierce plundering session, the maintenance team assembled several more "Big Mouth Monsters," surpassing even the number of pilots in the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron.
One MiG-28 and fifteen "Big Mouth Monsters" summed up the total aerial combat power that Aircrew Base 911 could muster, but against the approaching swarm of nearly a hundred enemy aircraft, the effectiveness of tactics was virtually negligible.
Faced with the almost hopeless disparity in numbers, the pilots of the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron decisively committed themselves to the struggle, excluding Squadron Leader Chekhov, who flew a MiG-28 on his own; all other pilots did the same, abandoning the two-person operation mode of the "Big Mouth Monsters," to ensure as many fighters as possible were airborne to maximize firepower in combat.
Even the four pilots of two Z-9 armed helicopters temporarily switched to flying the "Big Mouth Monsters."
With the relatively low difficulty of flying turboprop aircraft, the transition came without any pressure.
Launching this desperate attack being outnumbered, none thought of a safe return; an extra hand meant extra combat power, and with no need for the normal "scavenging" service, there was no use for armed helicopters.
The sixteen fighters that took off one after another didn't disperse, nor care for formation, with jet fighters in the lead and turboprops lined up behind, they directly faced the enemy squadron approaching from the east.
The direction was chosen arbitrarily, without any particular reason.
In fact, regardless of which direction's enemies they chose to engage first, the outcome would have made no difference.
While the enemy hadn't completely closed off their surrounding, it was better to go for injuring one finger rather than ten; by eliminating the invaders from one direction first, there might be a hope of survival in the subsequent battle.
"Damn, this time we're really gonna die, huh!"
Yamada Takebu, who had nearly a hundred hours of turboprop flight experience, wasn't unfamiliar with the cockpit of A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" and while watching the enemy identification signals transmitted from the ground-based radar through the battlefield data link, seeing as they were rapidly closing in, he couldn't help but remark.
Abiko Fushi, now the wingman pilot who once co-piloted a Z-9 armed helicopter seriously said, "Hey, Yamada, see you in the underworld!"
Seemingly affected by his old partner's mood, Yamada Takebu spoke solemnly, "To the underworld, Abiko!"
Squadron Deputy Leader Irinei Rusios, known as "Devil Pepper," said in a resentful tone over the comms channel, "I am still a virgin, Chekhov Leonidovich Ivanov, you're responsible."
God damn responsible, just because you're a virgin, you blame me?
Big Bear didn't dare to utter a word, figuring it was better to avoid trouble.
If only the girl had at least a C cup, he would be all in, but alas with an A... well, that's a different story...
"Chekhov, say something for God's sake! Don't play dead!"
The short-haired girl, Little Chili, living up to her fiery South American reputation, was instantly inflamed.
Kid Cheng Fei, with cunning in his eyes, said slyly, "Deputy Leader, actually Chekhov really loves you, you're the only one for him; he's just playing hard to get, he's quite sincere at heart."
(*￣(エ)￣╬): I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!
Everyone loves pleasing words, and Devil Pepper Irinei Rusios was no exception, instantly delighted by the flattery.
"Rookie, who the hell is using the fire control radar to paint me!!! Who?"
Chekhov Big Bear was about to refute when the cockpit suddenly blared with the unanticipated warning sound of being locked on—the infuriating fire control radar signal was even from behind.
Goddamit, which dumb teammate turned off IFF friend-or-foe identification, painting their own side?
Wasn't this the same as having a gun pointed to the back of one's head, daring to say a word in opposition, you'd be directly executed by missile!
Or was it Little Chili?
Big Bear didn't dare to ask or object.
Chen Fei snickered gleefully as he quietly turned off the fire control radar and reactivated the IFF friend-or-foe identification, then acted completely oblivious with an innocent expression.
The comms channels filled with cheerful voices, the tense atmosphere of the looming battle dissipated entirely.
You're all terrible people!
As the latest dynamics of the enemy squadron were captured by ground-based radar, Manager Hanna Gagel, who personally supervised from the control tower, promptly warned the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron taking off.
"This is the command center, 'Genuine Fragrance' squadron, there are 24 enemy aircraft from the east, and enemy aircraft from three other directions are closing in on you, you best finish the battle within fifteen minutes."
No sooner had her words ended, someone reported, "Air-to-ground missile detected, direction 270, quantity 3, speed 3.1 Mach, target is the control tower, radar, and anti-air missile sites."
While veering from their intended routes, the enemy squadrons from the other three directions didn't forget to launch long-range strikes on Aircrew Base 911.
"Air defense formation ready."
"Anti-air missiles locked on the target, Launcher 1, fire! Launcher 2, fire! Launcher 3, fire! Launcher 4..."
"Increase jamming power!"
"Missiles detected again, bearing 180, count of 5, identified as anti-radiation missiles."
"Prepare to release decoy flares!"
"Charge the Faraday cage to 100% load."
"Certain units, proceed with the plan to retreat to the underground bunkers and activate the second backup command center!"
The various posts inside the tower began their respective response operations in an orderly manner; an Aircrew Base prepared for defense and one unprepared were completely different matters.
Aircrew Base 911 was not as easy to bully as the destroyed Aircrew Base 897, especially since a batch of electronic and electronic warfare experts had recently arrived.
Within the Aircrew Base, one missile after another, trailing thick smoke, soared into the sky, aiming for enemy fighters 50 kilometers away.
The just-emptied missile launchers were still scorching hot when the ground crew began loading new missiles.
The ground command center at Aircrew Base 911 hadn't had a chance to assist the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron that had departed for battle before it ran into trouble itself.
Squadron Leader Chekhov didn't hesitate any longer and said over the comm channel, "Command center, please assist with guidance!"
Originally planning to close the distance with the enemy to improve missile accuracy, there was no longer time for that.
The enemy squadrons from the other three directions had already launched their attack on the Aircrew Base en route, so it was best to fire a volley of missiles first while the ground-based radar could still be of help.
"Genuine Fragrance" Squadron, lock onto your respective targets, Fox-1 mode, launch two missiles simultaneously!"
The sight of the turboprop aircraft lined up and launching missiles alongside a MiG-28 Jet Fighter was spectacular, embodying the morbid beauty of a firing squad execution.
The enemy squadron approaching from the east had just come into visual range when it uncontrollably widened its eyes at the sight of the thirty-two missiles coming head-on.
With the assistance of ground-based radar for guidance, the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron, led by Major Chekhov, tilted their noses upward and began a steep climb without needing to worry about the missiles they had fired.
The ground-based radar was much more powerful than the electronic pods and even more so than the early warning aircraft; within a certain range, it could greatly amplify combat effectiveness.
This was also why the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron's first target when ambushing other Aircrew Bases was the enemy's radar systems.
A warning sound from the enemy's fire control radar echoed in the cockpit.
"Ignore it, climb at full speed!"
Squadron deputy leader "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios shouted in the comm channel.
Following the Energy Maneuver Tactics rule, having altitude means not having to worry about those missiles, especially since a sizable portion of the enemy's hastily launched missiles hadn't locked on to their targets yet.
On the other hand, the "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron had a higher hit rate with their programmable combat bombs, now under the control of ground-based radar.
Strike first to gain the upper hand, hesitate and suffer the consequences.
At an altitude of 6700 meters, more than ten missiles closed in on the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron.
Chekhov loudly reminded everyone, timing it just right as the turboprop squadron gained enough altitude to evade being stuck in the inescapable range of the enemy's combat bombs.
Trading altitude for speed made it easier to shake off the missile pursuit.
Chen Fei, on the other hand, steered his control stick to meet the incoming missiles.
The task of dancing with the missiles began its ticking countdown again.
In the distance, a series of explosions flared, with at least nine fighters unable to evade the thirty-two combat bombs, bursting into balls of flame in the sky.
At least three missiles for each downed fighter jet, the combat results were highly fruitful under the guidance of ground-based radar.
This barrage had taken out at least a third of the enemy force, with the surviving number of enemy fighters even one less than the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron.
But that would depend on the "Genuine Fragrance" Squadron's ability to evade the return missile salvo in the second round.
System: Dodging missiles for a cumulative 31 seconds/60 seconds, maintain elegant posture, receive Energy Points +200!
Activate "Basic Optical Observer Level 4."
One, two, three, four...
In the blink of an eye, the skill-enhanced vision immediately spotted six blue thick lines connecting to his own "Big Mouth Monster" unit number 211.
The predictive trajectories were clearly visible.
While everyone was maneuvering wildly to avoid the fast-approaching missiles, Chen Fei, seemingly confused, was the only one piloting his aircraft head-on into them.
Upon noticing this, "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios urgently said over the comm, "Rookie, what are you doing?"