225: Chapter 225 Allowing Fire

Three hundred nautical miles west of Kadena.

East Sea Fleet, type 055 destroyer, Nanchang.

CIC, Combat Information Center.

The air conditioning was on full blast. The low-frequency hum of electronic instruments filled the cabin.

The chief radar operator, Lao Li, picked up his thermos, blew the goji berries off the surface of the water, and was just about to take a sip of hot water.

"Ding."

A tiny dot of light popped up at the edge of the radar screen.

Lao Li stopped his movement and leaned closer to the screen.

The dot was tiny, and the radar cross-section data was flickering. It was about 0.001 square meters.

The size of a seagull.

The tactical computer suddenly sounded a sharp speed-measurement alarm.

On the screen, the speed data for that "seagull" began to skyrocket.

1.2 Mach.

1.4 Mach.

1.6 Mach!

Lao Li's hand shook, and the hot water from the thermos spilled onto the back of his hand. He didn't care about the burn and grabbed his assistant next to him.

"Check for data redundancy! Is there a bug in the radar?"

Xiao Wang's fingers flew across the keyboard, calling up the raw waveform diagram. Three seconds later, he stood up straight.

"It's not a bug! The Doppler shift data matches! The target is indeed penetrating at 1.6 Mach!"

Lao Li pressed the emergency call button directly.

"Bearing 090, distance two hundred eighty nautical miles, unidentified flying object detected!"

The combat staff officer walked over quickly, his hands supporting the console.

"The target's radar reflection is extremely small, suspected stealth fighter. Heading due west, coming straight for us." Lao Li pointed to the wildly accelerating dot on the screen.

The staff officer stared at the speed data.

"Perform multi-source data comparison! Enable the optoelectronic detection system!"

The sound of keyboards clicking across the entire cabin instantly intensified.

Ten seconds later.

"Data comparison complete. Based on radar characteristics and speed curves, confirmed target model." The operator looked up. "US F-35A stealth fighter."

The command center was silent for a moment.

The staff officer grabbed the internal phone.

"Sound the combat alert! Notify the captain!"

Red alarm lights flashed alternately.

Captain Chen Zhengguo strode into the command center.

"Situation."

The staff officer handed over the tactical tablet.

"A US F-35A is penetrating our Air Defense Identification Zone at 1.6 Mach."

Chen Zhengguo scanned the trajectory map on the tablet.

"Single aircraft?"

"Single aircraft. Transponder cut, full stealth mode. No tactical evasion, flying an absolute straight line."

Chen Zhengguo stared at that dot of light.

When the US military conducts close-in reconnaissance, they always come fully equipped with early warning aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft, and escort formations. Charging in alone with an F-35, not dodging radar, and not maneuvering—this simply didn't fit tactical logic.

"Distance."

"Two hundred fifty nautical miles. Expected to enter anti-air missile range in ten minutes."

Chen Zhengguo tossed the tablet back onto the desktop.

"Full ship to Level 1 combat deployment."

"Coordinate with the Type 052D destroyer fleet, enable fire control radar. Power up the HQ-9B, enter standby status."

Orders were issued layer by layer.

On the foredeck of the type 055 destroyer, the massive vertical launch system covers popped open one after another. The anti-air missile seekers began to warm up.

"Broadcast on the public channel in both languages, warning to turn back. Tell him if he crosses the line, he will be shot down directly." Chen Zhengguo ordered.

The communications soldier cut into the international public channel and broadcast on a loop.

There was no response.

The dot on the screen representing the F-35 did not slow down at all; it even slightly adjusted its heading, aiming completely at the position of the type 055 destroyer.

Chen Zhengguo's face turned cold.

"Fire control radar lock. If he dares to cross the line, shoot him down."

"Report!"

Lao Li's voice exploded in the cabin, with a noticeable crack.

"Behind the target, two hundred nautical miles away, a large number of high-energy signals detected!"

Chen Zhengguo looked up.

"Switch to the main screen."

The massive electronic screen zoomed in. Behind that lonely F-35 dot, dense clusters of light points emerged in groups.

"Quantity twenty-five! Speed 1.8 Mach!"

"Radar signature confirmed, US F-22 Raptor formation!"

Lao Li's fingers tapped heavily on the keyboard.

"Detected air-to-air missile launch signal! The rear formation launched AIM-120 medium-range missiles, and the target is that F-35 in front!"

Everyone in the command center stopped what they were doing.

Chen Zhengguo stared at the data stream on the screen.

Twenty-five F-22s, chasing their own F-35? And they launched live ammunition?

"Captain! The missile speed exceeds four Mach, expected to catch up to the F-35 in three minutes. The heading of this batch of F-22s is also towards us." The staff officer spoke extremely fast.

Chen Zhengguo straightened up.

"I don't care what kind of mess they are having internally. Entering our Air Defense Identification Zone is to be treated as a hostile act."

"Notify the entire fleet, prepare for saturation anti-air interception. As long as they dare to cross over, shoot down that F-35, the F-22s behind it, and the missiles, all of them."

All ship personnel were in position. The missile launch button was about to be pressed.

An encrypted communication channel was forcibly cut into.

"Calling Nanchang, this is East Sea Fleet Command."

Chen Zhengguo grabbed the microphone.

"Nanchang received. A large number of abnormal US aircraft movements appeared ahead, our ship has entered the highest combat level, requesting fire authorization."

The other end of the communicator was silent for two seconds.

"Fire authorization approved, but the target needs to be changed."

Chen Zhengguo didn't reply.

The duty officer at command spoke extremely fast, his voice filled with an irrepressible, bizarre emotion.

"Nanchang, listen to the order."

"Immediately move out to meet that F-35 in the lead. Cover it as it enters our airspace."

"Carry out a comprehensive interception of the US F-22 formation and all missiles pursuing from behind."

"Repeat, protect the F-35, intercept all targets pursuing from behind."

The command center was deathly silent.

The thermos in Lao Li's hand tilted, and goji water dripped onto the console.

Chen Zhengguo gripped the microphone.

Protect a US F-35? Shoot at US F-22s?

"Command. I need a reason." Chen Zhengguo spoke. "That is the most advanced stealth fighter currently in service with the US military. Why do we need to protect it?"

The officer in the communicator let out a long breath.

"Because two hundred fifty million people around the world just watched a live stream."

"President Trump's personal live stream."

The officer's words seemed extremely magical at this moment.

"The pilot of that F-35 just completed a 'zero-dollar shopping' spree at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, right in front of the US President and two hundred fifty million netizens around the world."

"He just drove that fully fueled plane away."

Chen Zhengguo opened his mouth, unable to utter a single syllable.

"And." The officer added, "That pilot is highly likely one of our comrades."

Chen Zhengguo's breathing stopped.

One of their own went to the biggest US base in the Far East and stole their F-35? And did it in front of President Trump?

He turned to look at the lonely dot on the big screen that was desperately sprinting this way.

"What's the big deal about zero-dollar shopping? If you've got guts, go to Kadena and put on a show for President Trump."

Chen Zhengguo slammed the microphone onto the console.

"Did you hear me clearly!"

The roar shook the entire command center.

"The entire fleet's anti-air missiles, re-lock the targets!"

"Let the first F-35 go! Lock onto those F-22s and missiles behind it, all of them for me!"

"Even if the King of Heaven himself comes today, we must bring this F-35 home safely!"

On the sea surface.

The type 055 destroyer and Type 052D fleet broke through the waves at full speed.

The covers of the vertical launch system were all wide open. Radar power was at full capacity, and powerful electromagnetic waves swept toward the sky two hundred nautical miles away.

"US AIM-120 missiles are fifty nautical miles from the target!" Lao Li stared at the screen. "The target F-35 hasn't activated electronic countermeasures! He didn't bring any chaff!"

Chen Zhengguo stared at the screen.

"HQ-9B, fire."

"Boom!"

A bright light erupted from the foredeck of the type 055 destroyer.

Four HQ-9B anti-air missiles soared into the air, dragging long exhaust plumes, piercing the firmament at a speed exceeding six Mach.

Immediately afterward, firelight rose from the Type 052D destroyer.

Eight anti-air missiles formed an interception net, crossing over the F-35, and rushed head-on toward the pursuing US missiles.

In space, military satellites from both China and the US turned their lenses, locking tightly onto this sea area.

Inside the F-35 cockpit.

Li Li watched the missile approach warning flashing wildly on the HUD.

Four AIM-120s were rapidly closing in from behind.

No chaff, no electronic warfare pod, not a single live round in the cannon. Apart from a full tank of aviation kerosene, this plane was as clean as a large-scale figurine fresh out of the factory.

The throttle was pushed to the max, and the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine emitted a shrill roar. But a speed of 1.6 Mach was meaningless in the face of four-Mach air-to-air missiles.

The beeping of the radar warning became a long, continuous sound.

Ten seconds.

Five seconds.

Li Li pressed down on the control stick. The G-suit inflated rapidly, tightening around his thighs and abdomen. He prepared for a final high-G evasion. Even if he pulled this plane apart, he had to save his life.

The clouds directly ahead suddenly broke open.

Four streaks of fire, thicker and faster than the US missiles, whistled past the airspace above his head.

The powerful airflow shook the F-35's fuselage violently.

Li Li looked up.

In the rearview mirror, those four AIM-120s that were about to bite into his tail collided head-on with the oncoming HQ-9Bs in mid-air.

A massive fireball exploded in the blue sky of the East Sea. The shockwave swept across the clouds, directly clearing a large area of the sky.

On the radio, the public channel, which had been full of Japanese-accented English and US military cursing, was forcibly cut off.

A male voice with standard, clear Chinese, carrying absolute majesty, sounded in Li Li's helmet headset.

"Calling JP-0047."

"This is the East Sea Fleet of the People's Navy, Nanchang."

"You have entered our Air Defense Identification Zone."

"Continue to maintain your current heading."

The male voice paused for a moment, and the tone changed slightly.

"Welcome ba... uh, just keep going forward."