Chapter 102 - Book 4 Chapter 6-1 Expedition to North For Unification: Fierce Dogfight

October 31, 2020, 20:25

Skies 10 km northwest of Shin Ui-ju, North Korea.

Despite the desperate wishes of the Chinese forces, the Chinese early air radars and ground YJ-26B radar did not detect any movement.

When they first heard about the tale of their comrades dying suddenly from an invisible enemy, the Chinese pilots couldn’t understand why, but their heads went blank when they found themselves the subject of that very same tale.

“Do they expect us to just die? Give us some kind of information! Any kind of information!”

1st Brigade Commander Hong Kai-chang from the 1st Fighter Wing shouted on the communication line to the KJ-2000 early air radar forces. However, the KJ-2000 early air radar forces were also dumbfounded. They tried to increase the output of their own AESA radar to attempt detection, but they couldn’t scan anything resembling the Korean air force’s fighter jets.

The Central Military Commission had ordered the early air radar forces to approach the Jizhou and Fu-Xin province area despite the danger. The order would have seemed preposterous if not for the fact that the early air radars were useless in their current position. Therefore, two out of the six air radar jets were escorted by the J-20 stealth fighter jets and headed toward the Jinzhou and Fu-Xin area.

Woosh~ Woooooooo

The long-range missile attacks from the Korean Phoenix jets continued. At five million dollars per round, the missiles were the most expensive in the world, but they proved they were worth the price when the Chinese jets were vaporized in the air.

* * *

October 31, 2020, 20:30 (China Standard Time, 19:30)

Chinese Central Military Commission Joint Command Center.

The faces of the Chinese military commanders and the Joint Command Center staff were grim. Two days ago, they heard the news about the annihilation of the three armored divisions from the 39th Army Group, and the destruction of the 65th Army Group’s headquarters by Korean chopper attacks. The last line of defense in Sun-Yang was about to fall.

When the first strategy of defending the area first and then surrounding the enemy failed, the Chinese military had deployed a large number of fighter jets in the attempt to destroy Korea’s 7th Mobile Corps. However, based on the current situation, their secondary strategy also seemed to be a failure. After the war broke out, there had been battles between the unknown Korean jets a few times, and their own forces were helpless against them, but the Chinese military had not dreamed a large number of their jets would be destroyed.

“As I have reported before, we are still unaware of the Korean jets’ capabilities and identity, sir. If we keep this up, we could lose all the jets we have deployed, and that kind of loss could cause significant issues for our future strategies. Vice-President Kan Kuichou, sir! We must order our surviving jets to return.” The chief commander of the air force, Feng Dai Wang, passionately spoke to the vice-president while spewing spittle everywhere. The other military generals may have thought that the chief commander was just trying to protect his own men, but what he said wasn’t completely wrong. Rather than charging in like a moth drawn to a flame, identifying the exact nature of the Korean air force’s jets and responding accordingly would be a better solution.

“Chief Commander! Are you suggesting we hand over Sun-Yang?”

Vice President Kan Kuichou of the Central Military Commission said, glaring, “We have no other choice, do we? We must conserve our forces so we can use them for future operations.”

Slam!

Vice President Kan Kuichou slammed the desk and spoke angrily. “Don’t you realize if we lose Sun-Yang, it would mean we’d lose all three provinces in the northeast? If the Koreans take Sun-Yang and make an encampment in the area by concentrating their forces, they’ll be able to cut off our supply lines. If they do so, then we can’t defend against the additional Korean forces that will march to the Hei-Long, Liao-Ning, and Ji-Ling provinces with only our infantry forces.”

Refusing to back down, Lieutenant General Feng Dai Wang expressed his opposition to the vice president. “Vice-President, sir! We must retreat when we need to. We can reclaim the area again. In order to do so, maintaining our air forces is vital.”

“Reclaim the area? Do you think we can reclaim our lands when we leave Korea’s 7th Mobile Corps alone? The People’s Liberation Army has suffered casualties, losing three army groups while fighting against the Koreans. Will you as the chief commander of the air force only express concern about the safety of the air force?”

Both opinions from Kan Kuichou and Feng Dai Wang were correct. Vice President Kan Kuichou had his reasons, while Feng Dai Wang had his reasons too. They simply held different perspectives about tactical superiority. When the chief commander of the air force, who was eight ranks lower than Vice President Kan Kuichou, did not back down, the atmosphere in the command center became more heated. Finally, President Xi Jin Ping spoke up.

“Enough. Both of you are right, but I agree with Vice President Kan Kuichou. We absolutely cannot stand idly by and watch as the Koreans take over our three northeastern provinces.”

While the argument of pros and cons was in full swing, the screen in the command center continued to show the Chinese jets being shot down, along with related information. President Xi Jin Ping glanced at the screen and spoke again, his brows furrowed.

“Vice-President Kan Kuichou holds authority over all operations. Therefore, stop making objections, and follow his orders.”

When President Xi Jin Ping supported Kan Kuichou’s opinion, Lieutenant General Feng Dai Wang closed his eyes and nodded instead of answering.

“Vice President Kan Kuichou!”

“Yes, Mr. President!”

“Deploy more jets that are available to send out. Since the situation is how it is, let’s overwhelm them with our material superiority.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

October 31, 2020, 20:40 (China Standard Time, 19:40)

Skies 100 km southwest of Sun-Yang province, China.

After having 81 of its jets struck down by four rounds of long-range missile attacks, the Chinese forces’ jets made evasive maneuvers and began to scatter into flight wings. Some of the flight wings used their afterburners to move at high speeds, and tried to attack the 7th Mobile Corps. The 8th Fighter Wing’s 103rd Fighter Jet Battalion also split into flight wings and changed their attacks to mid-ranged missile attacks.

-Hummingbird, each flight leader engage offense at allotted targets, go.

-Raison, Copy that.

-Sonata, Copy that.

-Low kick, Copy that.

-Whiskey, Copy that.

-Black Pink, Copy that.

At the flight battalion commander’s order, the six flight wings raised their altitude in the direction of their assigned targets and transitioned into battle positions.

* * *

October 31, 2020, 20:50 (China Standard Time, 19:50)

81st Battalion, 7th Anti-air Brigade, 20 km Southeast of Sun-Yang province, China

The K-SAM-2 Sky Bow A2’s 12-round launch system (6×2) in the anti-air brigade under the 7th Mobile Corps’ 81st Battalion rose up in a right angle toward the sky. The 24 rounds of the S-LAM 300 Sky Bow A2 missiles, with a range of 300 km, spewed white smoke and flew toward the Chinese J-30 stealth fighter jets, which were moving at high speed in order to strike the Korean armored division.

Booooooom.

A round of Sky Bow A2 missiles flew toward the targeted J-30 stealth fighter jet. The J-30 jet had sprayed chaffs and flares while using its ECM jammers in an attempt to jam the missile, but the Sky Bow A2 missile closed the distance between itself and the J-30 stealth fighter jet. Major Long Fai, who was considered an ace in the Chinese air force, was attempting to use a slice turn before the moment of impact. However, the automatic fuse in the missile went off, and its shrapnel flew into the front of the J-30 stealth fighter jet.

Wooosh Booooooom

Bang Boooom!

Some of the shrapnel punctured the canopy and embedded into Pilot Long Fai’s body. The jet spewed black smoke and then crashed into the ground. The pilots of the other J-30 stealth fighter jets also shared Pilot Long Fai’s fate, passing away in battle amidst the dancing flames that lit up the night sky.

* * *

October 31, 2020, 21:00 (China Standard Time, 20:00)

Skies 25 km southwest of Ben-Xi province, China.

Ten minutes later, the Phoenix jets’ radar showed there were only forty Chinese jets left. The Sonata flight wing, which had launched its last round of mid-range missiles, had approached within 50 km of the Chinese jets that were headed toward the 61st Armored Brigade.

-Sonata, west point, 8 Bandit J-11 jets, distance 44 check.

-Tico, Copy that.

-Grandeur, Copy that.

-Tuscany, Copy that.

Major Choi Young-ho, the Sonata flight wing commander, assigned the jets their targets via radio. Major Choi Young-ho, who was commanding the Blackmoon flight wing from the 38th Fighter Wing, had been transferred to the 8th Fighter Wing and was now in command of the Sonata flight wing under the 103rd Fighter Wing battalion.

-Sonata, contact! Grandeur, Tuscany, raise altitude, and S-AAM-50 Magpie Viper standby.

-Grandeur, Copy that.

-Tuscany, Copy that.

The Grandeur and Tuscany fighter jets raised their altitude to 20 km and locked-on the J-11 jets they were assigned to. Then, Flight Wing Commander Choi Young-ho gave the order to launch.

-Fire!

-Tico, Fox Two.

-Grandeur, Fox Two.

-Tuscany, Fox Two.

-Sonata, Fox Two.

Woosh~ Woosh~ Woosh~Woosh~

The J-11 jets that survived the attack from the invisible foes were desperately hoping to return to base once they finished their mission. However, their desperation didn’t pay off. The alarm rang out in all cockpits, warning them of being locked-on by infrared missiles. Soon, the signal changed to alert that enemy missiles were being launched.

Beep beee beee beeeeeeep.

The Magpie Viper missiles flew at high speed and struck the J-11 jets, which were making slice turns and spraying chaffs and flares. The three other missiles also hit the Chinese jets and added to the dancing flames in the sky.

The Sonata flight wing only had four enemy jets left to face. When they closed their distance to 25 km, the order from flight wing leader Choi Young-ho came in.

-Sonata! Transition to dogfight!

The four Phoenix fighter jets all went into free dogfights with their targeted J-11 fighter jets.

Beep beep beeeeeeep.

Flight Leader Choi Young-ho’s wingman, Lieutenant Oh Gil-sung (call sign ‘Tico’), was locked-on by the J-11 jet’s radar, and the alarm rang out from his dashboard. Then, a PL-8B short-ranged missile flew in his direction.

-Launch, launch, launch, arms.

While maneuvering his jet with minimal turning in order to avoid the PL-8B missiles, Lieutenant Oh Gil-sung warned about the danger of the missile attack through the communication line. After making a spirit “S” maneuver, he used the afterburners at a low altitude and shot the laser Vulcan beams at the underside of the J-11 jet that had fired the missile.

The pouring laser beams hit the J-11 jet from the front to the rear engine, and the jet exploded immediately. Through the canopy glass, Lieutenant Oh Gil-sung could see Major Choi Young-ho chasing the enemy jet 4.1 km away from his 3 o’clock.