Chapter 143 Launching the Attack

There are many disadvantages of electron tubes, such as large size, high power consumption and limited functions. However, electron tubes also have their advantages, such as high power!

After the Yak-28's SPS-1 and SPS-2 wide-band clutter jammers were turned on, strong electromagnetic interference filled the entire airspace in an instant.

As electromagnetic interference filled the entire airspace, the pilots of the four F-4 fighter jets of the 201st Squadron of the Chitose Base in front immediately realized that the situation was not good.

"Owl, Owl, Chitose is calling Owl." The lead pilot of the F-4 fighter, Warrant Officer Yamada, a pilot from the island nation who survived the last air battle and the leader of the team this time, shouted on the radio.

Owl is the code name for the early warning aircraft in the rear.

Unfortunately, apart from the crackling sound of electricity, I couldn't hear anything else in the headphones.

Damn electromagnetic interference! Warrant Officer Yamada looked at the sea below. His side had already flown out of the land of Hokkaido and arrived at the Sea of ​​Okhotsk on the east side of the Soya Strait. Thinking of the last battle, Warrant Officer Yamada was still a little scared.

The American pilots flying the F-15 fighters were fine, their fighters were too maneuverable and had advanced missiles, but what about us? We simply couldn't beat the Soviets on the opposite side, and our mission this time was to serve as bait!

Thinking of his mission, Warrant Officer Yamada's fighting enthusiasm was not high. Last time, his three wingmen had all been shot down, and his superiors said he wanted revenge, so they sent him up again.

There is an American F-15 formation behind us. I hope the American fighter planes can arrive soon! Warrant Officer Yamada knew that even though he was unwilling, he had to face the scalp.

"Fox hunter calling owl, fox hunter calling owl." The F-15 fighter formation in the rear was also calling the early warning aircraft in the rear. The same interference sound was heard in the headset, and their contact with the early warning aircraft was cut off.

The strong electromagnetic interference completely cut off the American side's communications. Even the entire 14th Flight Squadron had to shout at the top of their lungs to communicate with each other.

At this moment, the early warning aircraft in the rear could no longer be relied upon, and the overall grasp of the airspace situation in front would be lost. However, Nathaniel was not too worried. Although the opponent was releasing electromagnetic interference, the APG-63 radar in front of him could still work normally!

The radar with a flat slot antenna radiates a very concentrated beam of radar waves with small side lobes and very little interference. Coupled with the digital processing system, there is not a single snowflake on the radar screen.

From here, we can see some radar echoes. The enemy has dispatched two waves of fighter jets to intercept us.

The planes in front quickly climbed to an altitude of 20,000 meters, and they were obviously MiG-25s.

Although their AIM-7F Sparrow missiles were advanced, they could not reach the height of the MiG-25. Captain Nathaniel shouted on the radio: "Fox Hunter calling Tomcat, Fox Hunter calling Tomcat."

The MiG-25 is reserved for the Tomcat fighter, as only the Tomcat fighter's Phoenix missile can reach such high airspace.

However, the crackling sound coming from the headset announced the failure of communication, and it was temporarily impossible to contact the navy's carrier-based aircraft!

"Attention, beware of the MiG-25s at high altitudes!" Nathaniel could only turn his attention back to the battlefield. Air combats are measured in seconds, so they must fight quickly and decisively!

"Attention, prepare to attack!" Twenty-three thousand meters in the air, the captain of the First Squadron, Major Arshavin, the pilot of fighter No. 015, shouted on the radio.

Prepare to attack!

During World War II, the higher the altitude of an aircraft, the more advantage it had in air combat, because when diving from a high altitude, the potential energy was converted into kinetic energy, which greatly improved the maneuverability of the aircraft.

Moreover, if the attack misses, then just fly back into the sky and the opponent won’t be able to catch up with you!

Now, the MiG-25 fleet plans to adopt this high-altitude tactic and fight at the high altitude where they are most advantageous. If they go down to compete with the F-15 in maneuverability, they will be comparing their own weaknesses with the opponent's strengths.

The electromagnetic interference in the rear had reserved fire control and communication channels for the enemy in advance. Now, these improved MiG-25PD interceptors, instead of using the RP-25 radar, turned on the TP-26-SH1 forward-looking infrared search/tracking system (IRST) to search for the F-15 fighter jets in front and below.

This system works well on clear days. At this time, based on the prompts from the early warning aircraft in the rear, the IRST quickly intercepted the target.

The F-15 fleet on the opposite side was also puzzled at this time.

As the radar continuously refreshed its signals, it could be discovered that the MiG-25 fighters flying in from high altitudes did not engage in combat with the F-4 fighters in front. Instead, they flew over the F-4 fighters and continued to fly forward. It seemed that they were here to fight with their side.

But if the enemy wanted to fight us, then they should come down from the sky, right? Was it waiting for us to go up? Or was it planning to cross our defense line and attack from behind?

What's behind? Two hundred kilometers away, there is our AWACS. Could it be that the enemy's target is the AWACS? However, with such a fierce momentum, eight planes came here just to attack the AWACS behind us. Isn't it a bit too much?

As the distance between the two sides gradually closes, the APG-63 radar needs to increasingly raise its head and radiate the radar beam upward. It won't be long before the angle limit of the radar's gimbal is exceeded and the side will lose the target.

I am not willing to accept this. It is all because of our own ceiling problem! Now, our F-15 fleet has risen to 18,000 meters, which is still a five-kilometer altitude difference from the enemy! Nathaniel was feeling depressed when he heard a voice in the noisy interference of the radio: "They are coming down!"

Coming down! When the relative distance was close to 15 kilometers, the MiG-25 at an altitude of 23,000 meters began to dive down. In the sky, the MiG-25's huge rudder pried the nose of the aircraft and completed this chic dive.

Attack, attack! Every pilot had one thought in mind at this moment: they must shoot down the F-15!

The IRST intercepted the target, locked it, and at the same time, passed the target information to the R-60 missile mounted under the wing.

Yes, this time when taking off, the MiG-25 fighter did not carry any medium-range R-40 missiles, but used R-60 air combat missiles!

The R-40 missile is bulky and has poor maneuverability. It is okay to attack a bomber, but it can easily miss the target when attacking the agile F-15. Therefore, since it is an air combat with the F-15, at Andre's suggestion, the R-40 missile was not mounted.