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Hearing his partner's words, unlike Pearson, who looked carefree and a little "lacking heart", Sean Phelps, a US Navy carrier-based aircraft pilot, was only recently transferred from VF-11 to the ace of the carrier-based aircraft wing to which the "Theodore Roosevelt" belonged, and was obviously full of worries at this time.

Under the dim starry sky, a young man in a flight suit stood in the cold wind for a moment before he walked to the hatch, twisting and talking to his partner as he walked:

"Pearson, today is Monday and we ...... It's supposed to be a night out today, isn't it? ”

"Yes, sir!

You're okay, why do I think you're not in good spirits? ”

"Oh, - I'm fine. There is no new order from above, so let's eat first, and then hurry up and rest; Pearson, don't forget to set the alarm clock, I don't think this day will be so easy to get through, the feeling of being woken up by the alarm, hey, that's not comfortable, this sleep is almost noon. ”

"Okay, boss, no problem!"

While talking, looking at his partner who was in high spirits, Sean Phelps smiled and shook his shoulders a few times with a pretended relaxation, and the two quickly went to the cabin crew restaurant.

Temporarily said goodbye to the night wind howling on the deck, but the lieutenant colonel was still restless along the way, and the midnight cruise mission did not go wrong, but it could not relieve his psychological pressure; Since leaving the VF-11 "Red Boar" that has been in service for many years, and running to the VF-31 "Cat Man" squadron, I have been getting along with my colleagues recently, however. Happy times are always exceptionally short. Two or three weeks ago, I was still preparing for war at the land base, and I stopped by to relax and have fun. Now, he and his partner live in the belly of a steel monster like a floating city, and then they fly fighter planes to patrol in circles on the vast sea every day.

War, is this war, Lieutenant Colonel Phelps couldn't help but think of the fierce battle scenes on the Caucasus battlefield, and the "Red Boar" squadron, which had experienced the baptism of blood and fire, suffered heavy losses in that battle. When the "Carl Vinson" was evacuated, it was no longer a formation.

The team has been resting for a long time, but the battle still has to be fought, and he, the number one ace of the U.S. Navy, can only be ordered like a firefighter.

"The number one ace pilot of the United States Navy", this title is not trivial, and now his record exceeds that of most of his colleagues in the USAF, but Lieutenant Colonel Phelps does not have a sense of excitement, but feels more responsible, if he can, he really wants to give this task to the number one ace of the Air Force to do.

Oh, of course. Just think about it, the Air Force can't get involved in this!

A battle of carrier-based aviation in the Pacific Ocean. Of course, there was nothing to do with the Air Force, but on the other hand, the situation of the number one ace pilot of the United States was also a little unlucky.

About two months ago, the F-15 fighter plane piloted by the "White Reaper" was shot down in a vicious battle in the Caucasus sky, and although the guy saved a life, he is still lying in the Invalides Sanatorium in Virginia, and it is uncertain when he will return to the blue sky.

Harold Fisher, the brilliant figure of the air power of the United States, knows about such a legendary ace who still hates defeat under the scythe of the "Caucasus Death", Sean Phelps probably knows, of course, he doesn't know at all, Lieutenant Colonel Fisher's stories are all fabricated by the military, and the real situation is only known to a few people at the top, the number one ace is not lying in the hospital, but is busy training the F-22A "Raptor" fighter unit at Edwards Air Force Base.

Not knowing the true situation of Fisher, Lieutenant Colonel Phelps naturally counted him as the bitter master of the "Grim Reaper" - this statement is quite true, and he also remembered the fierce battles over Turkey and the Black Sea.

In those nightmarish battles, fighting desperately with Russian fighters overwhelming the northern sky, the VF-11 "Red Boar" squadron did its best, but still lost more than half of its fighters and nearly half of the staff, and the lieutenant colonel himself added a bit of numbness in this baptism, as for the subsequent promotion in the line of fire, and farewell to the old unit to join the VF-31, these are no longer of much meaning to him.

A war with no end in sight, devouring fighters, comrades-in-arms, and even a qiē, a dead guy, for those who are still alive, unless they are natural optimists like Pearson, who can continue to fight as if nothing had happened?

Someone else's situation, he doesn't know, Sean Phelps himself can't do this.

Eating at the table, while still feeling a little tired of returning from a night flight, the lieutenant colonel was still thinking about this damn ocean-going duel; Fortunately, since the Russians did not have as many carrier-based aircraft as the American side, the situation was not too bad for him and his colleagues.

Speaking of which, at last night's briefing on the operations of the wing, the commander of the wing did say one thing, that the fleet would move in the next day or two and prepare to strike at the Russian fleet.

So now, isn't it almost time?

Having just completed a patrol mission, everyone in the huge fleet was doing their job, serving in the "Cat Man" squadron on the "Theodore Roosevelt", and Sean Phelps was temporarily ignorant of the approach of the Russian "Backfire" group, nor did he know that the fleet commander had just ordered the other two aircraft carriers to be put into full combat readiness.

After breakfast, when he went to the squadron preparation room, he learned that the polar bear's claws had been swung out, and the fleet's attack aircraft were also ready to fly, so he immediately asked his superiors to attack.

Faced with Lieutenant Colonel Phelps with a hint of fatigue on his face, Major Jonathan White of the VF-31 "Cat Man" Squadron was inconvenient to refuse directly, and he politely explained the above arrangement: in an air raid launched before dawn, the participating units were all from CVN-73 "Washington" and CV-67 "Kennedy", and as for the Russian "Backfire", there was still some distance from the outer defensive circle of the fleet. The squadrons of Tomcat fighters on these two aircraft carriers will take up defensive tasks. The role of the "Roosevelt" remained that of the reserve. In other words, VF-31 and VF-213 don't need to participate in the attack for the time being, what they have to do is to constantly refresh the inner defense circle of the fleet.

Based on these arrangements, he politely asked Lieutenant Colonel Phelps to rest and inform him when there was an urgent mission:

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, it's just past half past four in the morning; Although the Russians have already made their moves, you know for sure. Naval warfare is not a one-shot deal, we need to set aside enough secondary strike forces.

The schedule of the 'Cat Man' squadron is in ...... After 4 p.m., he took over the inner defensive circle. ”

"Okay, if anything, please let me know immediately."

Fresh out of the night and flying at sea with his partner in a heavy F-14D for more than three hours, Sean Phelps didn't want to make it hard; At the same time, as an elite pilot in the Navy, he knew exactly how important a reserve force was to an aircraft carrier battle group, so he left the preparation room. Go back to your cabin and sleep with your head covered.

The battle begins, and what happens next. Only God knows, now it's better to get ready for work.

The returning lieutenant colonel had already rested, but on the sea before dawn, the deck work of the two aircraft carriers did not stop for a moment.

In the night, the CVN-71 in the center of the formation was responsible for the defensive mission, and the "Theodore Roosevelt", which continued to release and recover fighters, needed to keep the ejection and landing areas empty, and the CVN-73 and CV-67 on the two wings of the formation were preparing for the attack and release of large formations, not only the front take-off area had to be emptied, but the two catapults on the left side of the aircraft carrier deck also needed to be put into use, and the rest of the area, including the landing area, was full of "Super Hornet" fighters mounted with AGM-84 "Harpoon" missiles, and equipped with " Immortal Bird" for which the F-14D "Super Cat" escorted.

The CVN-73 "George Washington", the sixth of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered heavy aircraft carriers, was sailing against the wind on the northern side of the core area of the huge battle group.

As the main force of the pre-dawn attack, the four fighter squadrons under the command of Vice Admiral Spencer Fernandez, the captain of the USS Washington, will all sorts out to carry out a wave of fierce air strikes on the Russian surface ship formation with a huge lineup of 50 fighters, among which the VFA-102, VFA-27 and VFA-154 squadrons belonging to the US Navy's CVW-5 (Carrier_Vessel_air_Wing, Carrier Air Wing) are the main strikes. It is equipped with 36 F/A-18E/F "Super Hornets", carrying 120 AGM-84 "Harpoon" missiles of various types, VF-103 "Skeleton" squadrons to provide aerial shelter, and 14 F-14D "Super Cats", carrying a total of 56 AIM-54C "Immortals".

With 36 attack planes and more than 100 air-to-ship missiles, an offensive on an unprecedented scale is on the way, and the CV-67s on the southern flank of the formation are nervously releasing fighter jets.

Shouldering the heavy task of supporting the outer air defense circle of the entire aircraft carrier battle group, the USS John F. Kennedy, a conventionally powered aircraft carrier with a maximum speed exceeding the Nimitz class, carried three squadrons of carrier-based fighters and temporarily deployed VFA-149s, a total of 42 F-14A+/D and 12 F/A-18C/D.

Under the dark night, the "Kennedy" did not wait for the commander's order, released the "Tomcat" at the maximum speed of two planes per minute, and at the same time recovered the VF-32 "Swordman" squadron that had returned from the previous wave of patrols, maintained the number of F-14 fighters in the air at all times, and ensured a defensive circle with a radius of 350 kilometers on the outer layer of the aircraft carrier battle group, and at least two F-14s full of "immortal birds" were on standby on the three 60-degree sectors facing the Russian fleet. (My novel "Dragon Battles in the Sky" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lucky draw gift for everyone!) Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! (To be continued......)