144: Chapter 144 The Forbidden Zone of the Azure Sky: The Myth of the Fallen Invisible

Inside Mandalay, Zhang Cheng's command vehicle.

An alarm suddenly sounded.

"Master! A large number of aerial targets are approaching from the southeast!" Old K's voice carried a rare sense of urgency. "Distance is three hundred kilometers, speed is Mach 0.9, altitude is eight thousand meters. Radar signature analysis... a mixed formation of F-35s and F/A-18s, numbering over thirty."

The atmosphere inside the command vehicle instantly froze.

"They've finally come." Zhang Cheng laughed instead. "Order the 'Sky Dome' system to start at full power. All air defense units are to enter the highest state of combat readiness."

He turned to Old K: "Can 'Sky Dome' lock onto the F-35s?"

"Yes, but they need to enter a range of one hundred and fifty kilometers." Old K pulled up the data. "The 'Sentinel' radar's detection range for stealth targets like the F-35 is one hundred and twenty kilometers, with a lock-on range of one hundred kilometers. For non-stealth targets like the F/A-18, the detection range can reach four hundred kilometers."

"That's enough." Zhang Cheng said. "Order the frontline troops to prepare for air defense concealment. Especially the 'Thor' Brigade's rocket artillery positions; they must all enter underground bunkers."

The order was quickly transmitted.

Across the entire Mandalay war zone, Zhang Cheng's troops curled up like a hedgehog, instantly revealing their sharp spikes.

...

In the sky, the F-35C formation.

Lead pilot Major Matthew Cooper looked at the data on his helmet display, his brows slightly furrowed. He was a veteran who had participated in multiple actual combat missions in Syria and Iraq, but this mission made him feel uneasy.

"Dagger 01 calling Eagle's Nest, we have entered Myanmar airspace, altitude unchanged, no aerial threats detected." He reported routinely.

"Received. Continue flying along the predetermined route, and execute according to plan upon reaching the attack position." The reply from the carrier command center was calm.

Cooper glanced at the formation status—twelve F-35Cs were in a loose formation, spaced five kilometers apart. This was the standard tactic for stealth fighters to avoid being wiped out all at once. Twenty kilometers behind were the F/A-18 attack formation.

Everything seemed to be going very smoothly.

Too smoothly.

"Attention all aircraft, activate electronic warfare systems, watch for ground radar signals." Cooper reminded his wingmen.

"Dagger 02 received... wait, we have a situation!" The wingman pilot suddenly exclaimed. "My APG-81 radar has detected multiple ground radar signals, but... but the signal characteristics are very strange, they don't look like any known air defense system."

Cooper's heart tightened: "Specific characteristics?"

"Multi-band, frequency hopping, extremely high power... Good god, they are actively scanning us! Our stealth coating has failed!"

No sooner had he spoken than the onboard warning system began to scream frantically:

"Warning! Radar lock! Warning! Missiles incoming! Quantity... twelve! Speed Mach 6!"

"How is that possible?!" Cooper widened his eyes. "We are still two hundred kilometers away! What air defense missile can fire from that far?!"

But the twelve rapidly approaching light spots on the screen would not lie.

"Release interference flares! Entire formation, emergency evasive maneuvers!"

Twelve F-35s simultaneously deployed infrared flares and chaff, with the airframes performing violent evasive maneuvers. But the TY-30 missiles were traveling at Mach 6, while the F-35's maximum speed was only Mach 1.6—there was no escaping.

The first missile was decoyed by flares five kilometers from Cooper's aircraft and exploded in mid-air. However, shrapnel still struck the wing, and the plane vibrated violently.

"Left wing damaged! Hydraulic system alarm!"

"Dagger 01, return to base immediately!" The command center ordered.

But it was too late.

The second wave of missiles had arrived.

This time there were twenty-four, coming from different directions—Zhang Cheng had deployed eight "Thunder" air defense missile battalions around Mandalay, each equipped with a complete fire control radar and launch system.

"Bang, bang, bang—!"

Fireballs bloomed in the night sky.

Cooper watched helplessly as three wingmen were hit directly and disintegrated in mid-air. Two others trailed black smoke as they fell downward, the pilots ejecting, their parachutes slowly opening in the night sky.

"Retreat! All formations retreat!"

The remaining eight F-35s turned around in a panic, pushing their afterburners to the max, fleeing frantically toward the coastline. But the missiles were still in pursuit.

"Dagger 07 hit! I... I'm going down!"

"Dagger 11 is hit, requesting rescue!"

The communication channel was in chaos.

Cooper's aircraft was severely damaged, unable to increase speed. A missile exploded three kilometers behind, and shrapnel pierced the engine compartment.

"Warning! Engine fire! Warning! Control system failure!"

"Eject! Eject!"

Cooper pulled the ejection handle, the cockpit canopy blew off, and the rocket ejected him along with the seat. A few seconds later, his F-35C turned into a fireball, plummeting toward the earth below.

He watched this scene from the air, his heart turning cold.

Twelve F-35Cs, five shot down, three heavily damaged, only four escaped with injuries. And they hadn't even seen the outline of Mandalay.

How... how could this war be fought?

...

In the rear, the F/A-18 attack formation received news of the crushing defeat ahead.

"What? The F-35 formation lost more than half? Order: Cancel the attack mission and return to base immediately!"

But Zhang Cheng had no intention of letting them go.

The "Sky Dome" system's radar firmly locked onto these non-stealth targets. The second wave of TY-30 missiles took to the sky, this time forty-eight of them, a saturation attack.

"Warning! Missiles incoming! Quantity over forty!"

"Release all interference flares! Emergency maneuvers!"

The F/A-18's maneuverability was better than the F-35's, but facing Mach 6 missiles, it was still powerless.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Continuous explosions bloomed in the night sky. Of the twenty-four F/A-18s, eleven were shot down within five minutes, seven were heavily damaged, and only six managed to escape.

The first wave of air strikes ended in a crushing defeat for the coalition forces.

Total combat losses: Sixteen advanced fighter jets shot down, ten heavily damaged, five pilots killed in action, eleven ejected (seven of whom were captured).

And the losses for Zhang Cheng's troops were: Seventy-two TY-30 missiles expended, some radar systems needing cooling due to prolonged full-power operation.

Zero casualties.

...

The USS "carl vinson".

The command center was deathly silent.

Vice Admiral Harris stared at the green dots constantly disappearing on the big screen, his hands trembling slightly.

"Thirty fighter jets... lost more than half..." His voice was hoarse. "Zhang Cheng's air defense system... is even more powerful than we estimated."

"General, should we launch a second wave of attacks?" The chief of staff asked cautiously.

Harris was silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head: "No. Order all air units to retreat within the carrier-based aircraft operational radius. We need to re-evaluate."

He turned to face the staff team: "Contact Washington immediately and request the dispatch of EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft and F-22 'Raptor' fighter jets. Tell the Pentagon that Zhang Cheng's air defense capability has reached a world-class level, and we need more powerful suppression measures."

"What about the ground troops? The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is already prepared for landing..."

"Postpone it." Harris said decisively. "Without air superiority, letting the ground troops land is suicide. Order the amphibious assault group to retreat one hundred nautical miles and stand by."

The order was passed down, but everyone knew what this meant—the coalition's first move had been slapped down hard.

And it was under the watch of the world's media.

One could imagine what tomorrow's news headlines would be.