When Lan Yun rushed out of the bridge, several fighters patrolling nearby had already pounced on it, beating the enemy plane that suddenly came out of the clouds.

From a distance, the downed enemy plane looked like a meteor falling from the sky.

Unfortunately, it was too late!

After seeing the reconnaissance plane crash into the sea, Lan Yun turned around and looked at Tian Shi, who was standing at the hatch.

Tian Shi didn't say much, shook his head first, and then sighed again.

It's just that Lan Yun is obviously very dissatisfied with Tian Shi's "answer".

"I just asked the telecommunications staff officer, and about three minutes ago, the plane sent a telegram, and it was only then that the whereabouts were revealed and we found it." Tian Shi paused slightly, and then said: "It uses the frequency band of the Liangxia Navy, and the password also matches, it must be the carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft of the Liangxia Navy." ”

Lan Yun's facial muscles twitched a few times before he said, "Which direction did you fly from?" ”

"It hasn't been determined yet, and for the time being, it can only be concluded that it is west."

"For the time being?"

"That cloud came from the west, and it has been west. If the enemy aircraft is not detected by our fighters, then it is only possible that they are flying from the west. There is another point, Tian Shi did not say. In order to shorten the flight distance of the returning fleet, the mobile fleet sailed all the way to the northwest.

Lan Yun glanced at the clouds to the west before turning back to the Commander's Bridge.

Actually, it was a cumulonimbus cloud from the north, but the wind changed direction last night, from north to west, so the cloud appeared to the west of the fleet.

"Prepare now, how long will it take for the reconnaissance plane to take off?"

"At least fifteen minutes."

"Let's get ready!"

"Yes!"

"Wait a minute!" Lan Yun stopped Tian Shi and said, "Go find Genda Dazuo and ask him to make adjustments immediately." After the departure of the reconnaissance aircraft, additional fighters were dispatched. Other carrier-based aircraft should also be prepared. If the task force is found, attack before the group returns. ”

"With less than an hour left, we ......"

"Go ahead and arrange it, don't be verbose!"

Tian Shi gritted his teeth and didn't say anything more.

In fact, he could see that Lan Yun was already panicked, and he was almost incoherent.

In the past 10 years or so, although the Narrow Navy has not pulled out its fleet every year and engaged in several months of confrontation exercises like the wealthy Liangxia Navy and the Nuland Navy, it has also insisted on training and conducted war games every year according to the actual situation.

The so-called "actual situation" mainly refers to the stolen information.

To put it simply, it is to make deductions according to the development of the opponent, and then summarize new tactics, or revise existing tactics.

With regard to aviation operations, the Navy has long summed up a crucial conclusion.

Preemptive, last!

Of course, this is not a far-sighted view, after all, the Liangxia Navy and the Nuland Navy have long come to similar conclusions through confrontation exercises.

Now the mobile fleet has been discovered by enemy reconnaissance aircraft, which is tantamount to a late strike.

As expected, the aircraft carrier of the task force has turned to sail into the wind, and is about to release the carrier-based aircraft, perhaps already allowing the carrier-based aircraft to take off.

Maybe in an hour, at most an hour and a half, the attack aircraft group of the task force will arrive.

This time is very deadly.

The group will certainly return within an hour, and then spend half an hour on the recovery operation to land the carrier-based aircraft that are about to run out of fuel.

Do not recover carrier-based aircraft?

Without carrier-based aircraft, what to fight with?

With Lan Yun's character, he would never dare to abandon hundreds of carrier-based aircraft, because if he hadn't been attacked, he would have abandoned hundreds of carrier-based aircraft worth hundreds of billions for no reason, even if he was the commander of the mobile fleet, he could only apologize with death, and Lan Yun obviously didn't have the courage to cut his stomach with a short knife.

But that's all for later.

The top priority at the moment is to immediately dispatch reconnaissance planes and then release all fighters.

Fortunately, it was only delivered this year, and it has just completed the refitting training, and the zero combat mastered by the pilot has an extraordinary endurance.

With the large drop fuel tank attached, this lightweight and nimble fighter is able to hover in the air for six hours!

In other words, if there is no air attack, then after the return of the Yuyong group, the fighters who have taken off in advance can still be allowed to carry out escort missions.

Anyway, let's stop the attack first!

At this time, more than 300 kilometers to the southwest, the aircraft carrier "Hengjiang".

After receiving the telegram, it took some effort for the staff officer to figure out the situation.

The reason is the same: the reconnaissance plane was shot down before the telegram was sent, so the telegram received was incomplete and lacked vital information, that is, the location of the enemy fleet.

The reconnaissance plane had risen from the "Mohe," and the First Air Task Force had previously shut down its long-wave radio station and put away its antenna for fear of being struck by thunderstorms. By the time the accompanying "Longjiang" sailed out of the thunderstorm area and started the radio station, it was already more than 10 minutes later.

Fortunately, there were two key pieces of information in the telegram. First, the reconnaissance plane flew according to the predetermined route, and second, the enemy fleet was discovered 15 minutes before the report was issued.

Because of the need for visual screening, to be precise, to find the aircraft carrier in the enemy fleet, it had to fly closer, and it was delayed for more than ten minutes.

From these two pieces of information, Major Zhu Huasheng, the commander of the Second Carrier-based Aviation Group of the First Air Task Force, made a rough guess about the location of the enemy fleet.

When the report was sent, Liu Xiangzhen was also surprised.

The mobile fleet is about 400 kilometers away from Chengjiang Port, which is almost the maximum combat radius of 97 ship attack and 99 ship explosion under full load.

Lan Yun is too bold!

Aren't you afraid that the carrier-based aircraft won't be able to fly back after such a distance?

Of course, it can also be said that it is too timid.

Come closer, do you want to die?

If you had come closer, you might have been exposed.

As far as Liu Xiangzhen knew, before dawn, there was a destroyer of the Southern Fleet operating in the northwest of the mobile fleet, a distance of less than 100 kilometers.

It can be seen that if the mobile fleet gets closer, it will be spotted before dawn.

The problem was handed over to Liu Xiangzhen.

Distance, still too far!

The mobile fleet to the task force is estimated to be at a distance of 300 kilometers.

In addition to the "Typhoon" carrier-based fighters, the "Wasp" dive bomber and the "Exocet" torpedo attack aircraft have a combat radius of only 400 kilometers, and this is an ideal situation. If you encounter a headwind, you will definitely not be able to fly this far.

Worse still, the location of the mobile fleet is only speculation.

That is, after the attack aircraft group reaches the speculated sea area, it will take time to search. Because the mobile fleet is definitely sailing, and after shooting down the reconnaissance plane, it will turn to evade, so the actual combat radius must be more than 300 kilometers, and it can usually reach 1.5 times the estimated distance.

Four hundred and fifty kilometers?

Obviously, this also means that dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft may not have enough fuel to return to the fleet after completing their attack mission.

Of course, there is no need to worry about running out of fuel until you complete the attack.

As for Zhu Huasheng's speculation, Liu Xiangzhen did not doubt it at all.

In addition, Liu Xiangzhen did not hesitate.

After receiving the operational plan sent by the aviation operations staff officer, he immediately gave the battle order, and then went to the aviation operations center.