287: Bonus Chapter ● The US-Iran Conflict in the Persian Gulf (Part 3)

"Whoosh—!"

Two Tianlei Type IV Anti-Aircraft Missiles, trailing scorching exhaust flames, soared into the sky from the launch vehicle, carving two graceful arcs through the air as they lunged straight at the Reaper Drones.

The drone operator was jolted into awareness as the radar warning receiver screamed frantically.

He shouted in terror, "Incoming missiles! Deploy flares! Retreat, quickly!"

The two drones banked sharply, scattering a sky full of flares in an attempt to decoy the missiles.

But the infrared seekers of the Tianlei Type IV Missiles had long since locked onto the heat sources of the drones' engines, ignoring the false flares and pursuing them straight on.

"Boom—!"

The first drone was struck precisely by a missile, instantly exploding into a massive fireball, with debris showering the surface of Camelman Bay like a meteor shower.

The second drone frantically released flares, desperately executing high-G maneuvers.

The missile grazed past it, the violent shockwave causing its fuselage to shudder intensely, snapping a wing and causing the control system to fail.

It limped and veered toward the UAE, barely managing to maintain flight.

Inside Al Dhafra Air Base, the operator slumped in his chair, covered in cold sweat. "Two drones... one shot down, one heavily damaged, currently returning..."

Inside the command center at Bandar Abbas, Brigadier General Jafari stared at the screen, watching the fireball vanish, and said coldly, "Report the results."

Ali Hosseini said with a trembling voice, "Report, General... one shot down, one damaged. The enemy aircraft have fled our airspace!"

The command center was silent for a moment, then erupted into thunderous cheers.

Brigadier General Jafari took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Increase vigilance and continue monitoring. The USA will not let this rest."

Inside the command room of the aircraft carrier USS Harry, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Captain Kaplan stared at the disappearing dot on the screen, his face ashen.

Major Miller whispered, "Captain... Reaper One has been shot down, Reaper Two is heavily damaged and is flying to Al Dhafra Air Base for an emergency landing."

Kaplan slammed his fist onto the console. "Bastards! They actually dared to open fire!"

The communications officer suddenly shouted, "Captain, a call from the Central Theater Command, inquiring about the situation!"

Kaplan took the communicator, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress his anger.

"Command, this is USS Harry. Two Reaper Drones dispatched by our ship were attacked by Iran's anti-aircraft missiles while performing a reconnaissance mission. One was shot down, and one is heavily damaged. Requesting instructions."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a stern voice: "Captain Kaplan, did you receive authorization to send drones deep into Iran's airspace?"

Kaplan was stunned. "This... this is a routine reconnaissance mission. I thought..."

"You thought?" the voice interrupted him.

"Without authorization from Command, you took it upon yourself to send drones deep into another country's airspace, and now that the drones have been shot down, do you want to drag the USA into a war?"

Kaplan broke into a sweat. "I..."

"Cease all cross-border operations immediately! Await further instructions! That is an order!"

The communication cut off.

Kaplan slowly put down the microphone. Looking at the silent officers in the command room, he said bitterly, "Cancel all flight missions, increase vigilance... and wait for orders."

Major Miller asked cautiously, "Captain, are we just going to let this go?"

Kaplan stared at the pitch-black sea outside the window and gritted his teeth. "Let it go? No... this debt will be settled sooner or later. But not now."