Chapter 196: MiG-25 Carrier Takeoff and Landing

Although the United States does not know the various technical performance data, it can also guess some of them. For example, the take-off weight of this heavy interceptor must be more than 30 tons, and judging from the wing shape, the take-off distance required by the opponent must not be short! With the Soviet Union's usual technical level, it should be more than one thousand meters!

It is quite difficult to take off and land carrier-based aircraft on an aircraft carrier. Previous propeller aircraft required a low speed for takeoff, so they could take off completely on their own power. But in the era of jet aircraft, they needed external help. The British invented the catapult, and it was perfected by the Americans. Now, the United States has become the only country to master modern jet catapult technology!

The powerful American Tomcat carrier-based aircraft weighs nearly 30 tons when fully loaded! Every time it takes off, the catapult power needs to be adjusted to the maximum. The MiG-25 is almost the same level aircraft as the Tomcat, but it has no catapult. How did the Soviets do it?

Colonel Steve turned his gaze to the picture in front of him again. The Soviet aircraft carrier was a weird thing. The front half was completely a cruiser structure. It certainly could not take off from the bow. It could only be the deck on the side of the ship. It seemed that the opponent wanted to take off from the leap deck at the front of the angled deck!

It’s so surprising. I used to think that the jump deck was only used for take-off and landing, but the Soviets cleverly used it to take off and land heavy fighters!

"Could this be a cover-up?" Colonel Steve said, "This Kiev-class ship traveled halfway around the world from Europe to the Far East. We observed it all the way and didn't find that this warship could launch a MiG-25. How did it suddenly appear now?"

Colonel Steve is a smart man. After all, this is too unreasonable. Maybe it is a smokescreen set by the Soviets.

"Yes, the CIA also has such speculation, but this photo was taken accidentally. The Soviets didn't know that our satellite adjusted its orbit half an hour before taking the photo. So, we are more worried that the Soviet aircraft carrier can indeed take off and land MiG-25. They have been confusing us before, making us think that this aircraft carrier can only carry goods like blacksmiths." Colonel Ted said with worry: "Once a war really breaks out, the Soviets can use MiG-25 fighters to gain an advantage in one fell swoop."

Now, the US Navy generally despises the Soviet Navy, especially in the ocean. The Soviet fleet without fixed-wing aviation can only be beaten in front of the US aircraft carrier fleet. Even with fighter planes like the Red Blacksmith, the US Navy did not even look at it. Is that thing a fighter plane?

Therefore, if a war really breaks out, the US Navy's early warning aircraft can fly within 200 kilometers of the enemy's aircraft carrier formation and monitor the enemy's every move! This is even a tactic that the US Navy is formulating! This time, in order to teach the Soviet Navy a lesson, let them know how they will be beaten if they dare to leave the cover of land-based aviation and come to the ocean to cause trouble!

Thinking about it now, this tactic was a bit too reckless. If the Soviet aircraft carrier could really launch the MiG-25, the opponent would immediately climb high after taking off and would almost chase the E-2 to attack. Moreover, our Tomcat fighters would not be able to gain an absolute advantage over the MiG-25!

Especially in the last Hokkaido air battle, the Soviets exposed a new weapon, the MiG-25 was able to launch an attack at a distance of 90 kilometers! The last surprise attack caused the Kitty Hawk to lose two Tomcat fighters, which also made the pilots change color.

In the past, no one had ever observed the MiG-25 launching missiles from more than 30 kilometers away. The Phoenix missile had an absolute advantage in range, so who would have known that the Soviets could catch up so quickly!

Of course, the Americans did not know that the last aircraft that participated in the war was the latest MiG-31, equipped with phased array radar and long-range missiles, and the MiG-25 was still the original combination. When they found that the height and speed characteristics of that aircraft were consistent, they classified it as a MiG-25, or a variation of the MiG-25.

In short, if our aircraft carrier formation really faces the opponent's MiG-25, then the only advantage left is in numbers. Using numbers to make up for the gap? That is absolutely not in line with our strategy!

Steve felt an immense headache. Was his own battle group consisting of two aircraft carriers going to be afraid of fighting in front of that weird ship?

"We'll know if this is a Soviet conspiracy if we give it a try," said Colonel Ted. "The Soviet MiG-25 has a combat radius of less than 1,000 kilometers. We just need to wait until the Soviet aircraft carrier arrives at their scheduled exercise area and observe whether they can take off and land the MiG-25, and we'll know."

Colonel Ted already had a plan in mind. The Soviet Union's scheduled exercise area was thousands of kilometers away from Hokkaido, and the MiG-25 would definitely not be able to take off from land. Therefore, as long as the MiG-25 was observed appearing on the Soviet aircraft carrier formation, it would definitely prove that the Soviets had already deployed this powerful fighter on the aircraft carrier.

If that is really the case, we really have to retreat and not easily clash with the other side.

Fortunately, we were the first to discover the Soviet trick. In fact, in his heart, Colonel Ted already believed that the news was correct. Thinking of the MiG-25 appearing on the Soviet aircraft carrier in the future, it would be a nightmare for us. Moreover, the Soviets had already begun to build aircraft carriers on a large scale, one after another.

Just when the Americans were having a headache, the Soviet naval fleet, braving the wind and waves, had already sailed into the Pacific Ocean.

Now is not the time for the future US Navy to show off its power. Over the years, the Soviet Union's national strength has developed to its peak, and its naval construction has been continuously developing. In terms of total tonnage, the Soviet Union has reached 3 million tons, while the United States has reached 3.6 million tons, which is not much different.

As naval soldiers of the Red Empire, they are also very proud and proud. Every soldier in the entire formation has infinite emotion in his heart. This attack must severely strike a blow to the arrogance of American imperialism!

High on the bridge, Admiral Durt-Spildenov, commander of the Pacific Fleet, looked serious.

General Durt took the initiative to request this mission. When he heard Andre's plan, he was already looking forward to it. If the plan succeeds, the top leaders will definitely approve the manufacture of a real fixed-wing aircraft carrier! Now, the top leaders need to see what kind of aircraft carrier the Soviet Navy needs!