With two Su-27S in good condition and more than 50 shootdowns in hand, Longyun's Caucasian combat form is still very good for the time being.

However, as the bad weather gradually dissipated, the activities of NATO and the Soviet Air Force on the long front began to become frequent again; The "encirclement and suppression" operation against Viktor Rezenov is about to begin, and Long Yun will soon face an unprecedentedly severe test of life and death.

The resurgence of the US Air Force is mainly to coincide with the upcoming large-scale ground offensive launched by NATO.

In the vast south of the Caucasus, the U.S. Marine Armored Division and Mountain Division, which have been assembled in amphibious warships and military auxiliary ships for a month, are still making intense pre-war preparations, and the images of heavy M1A1 tanks and fat and bloated "Bradley" infantry fighting bodies often appear in the mountainous plateaus of eastern Turkey. The dark green AH-64 "Apache" swept over the sparsely vegetated desolate land with a roar, and the "Hellfire" missiles and rocket nests hung under the short wings were even more hideous. Behind the front near the Soviet border, additional M270 mobile rocket artillery battalions and PAC-3 surface-to-air missile batteries are being deployed to provide long-range fire support and anti-aircraft defense to ground forces in an imminent attack.

In the face of the tight deployment of the Soviet Caucasian theater and the harsh terrain that was inconvenient for large forces to deploy, the United States changed its previous style of dealing with small countries that were in the way, and did not expect to achieve its operational objectives through surprise attacks or air strikes by the marines, but cautiously and steadily prepared to launch a massive ground offensive in the "Caucasus corridor" between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

The Great War was imminent, but the aerial shape of the Caucasus could not give the army commander a little peace of mind.

Although the Air Force had promised to carry out sustained high-intensity strikes against the Russians before arriving in the theater of operations, it now seems that their execution was not ideal, not to mention that the "Caucasian Reaper" is still haunting the skies. But even so, the army, which had a lot of scruples, received an order to "launch an attack on time"; In order to appease the commanders, the Pentagon also promised them that the United States Air Force and Navy would soon launch an offensive operation on an unprecedented scale to solve the "Crazy Ivan" problem "once and for all" and provide sufficient air cover for the next ground operation.

According to the previous plan, after the storm completely stopped, the large-scale aerial round-up operation finally slowly began.

On a sunny June morning, facing the cool breeze of the early morning, two B-1B strategic bombers that took off from airports in Saudi Arabia climbed all the way to the north with their backs to the nascent rising sun.

These black giant birds of the air, who had come from the Diego Garcia Air Base in the Indian Ocean and were used as bait before they went to battle, would not have ventured to approach the dangerous Caucasus airspace if it were not for the deployment of the headquarters and the knowledge that a large number of warplanes were also taking up in place in front of them.

At the same time, in accordance with the unified plan of the "round-up" operation, US fighter wings stationed at various air bases in Turkey were also dispatched one after another, and F-15C and F-16 fighters loaded with missiles took off one after another and rushed to the predetermined airspace of the long front to enter the ambush. Because it is not known where the "Caucasus Reaper" will appear, NATO's Central Command has deployed two invisible nets over the Black Sea and in the airspace near Georgia, each of which ambushes two air wing fighters and maintains the size of at least twenty fighters; In addition, in the far south seas, the naval fighter squadrons on the CVN-70 and CVN-74 have also been put on standby, and once they find the trace of the "Caucasus Reaper", they will immediately eject and take off to help.

The dense air net has been opened, expensive decoys have been scattered, and now the B-1B radar signal close to the theater of operations should have appeared on the display screen of the Soviet long-range radar, now it is up to the Russians to take the bait?

Just when the Americans were scheming to lure their opponents to their deaths, the Red No. 17 Su-27S piloted by Long Yun was calmly crossing the towering Caucasus Mountains, following GCI's prompts to intercept and eliminate suspicious targets approaching the southern airspace of the Soviet Union.

Different from the previous GCI prompt information, the command center judged that the two looming targets should not be fighter planes, but American strategic bombers with signs of invasion; After the storm, the activities of the NATO air force became more and more frequent, and the comrades of the 237th Regiment were busy dealing with the enemy in other directions, and now only the Red Seventeen, which was accustomed to solo safaris, patrolled opposite the invasion target, so he was instructed to carry out the response.

Before this, Long Yun had not encountered many targets other than fighter jets, and now was the time to go and find out.

Long Yun, who was in full swing and sprinting straight, had just approached the intended interception area, and soon attracted the attention of the E-3A early warning aircraft hovering in northern Iraq.

A single fighter plane of the Russians was spotted, heading due south-west, with suspicious speed and altitude; Based on the target's signature acceleration and combined with the unique radar echo signal strength of the "Flanker," the battlefield controller on the AWACS aircraft highly suspected that it should be the terrible "Caucasian Reaper," so he immediately reported to the US Middle East Command Center and the NATO Central Command at the upper level.

After receiving reports from the front, NATO's Central Command cautiously stood still for the time being, and only ordered the Eighth Air Wing at the front to send two F-15Cs to intervene between the B-1B and the enemy aircraft for close reconnaissance. The order given to the group of twins of the 8th Wing was to immediately flee with all their strength as soon as it was determined that the opponent was the "Caucasian Reaper"; But the commanders and staff knew very well that the danger of their visit was actually quite high.

To verify if it's the "Grim Reaper"?

That's simple, as long as this group of twin planes is shot down after the encounter, it is the best proof of this - this is indeed maddening, the F-15 million cost 45 million dollars plus the valuable pilot, turned into a one-time consumable like a test strip for verification?

- Bullshit Russian, why is he so powerful!

I hope that the pilots of this group of twin planes are more clever, and that they will not be beaten up if they can't snoop on them.

Fortunately, after discovering the signs of the B-1B invasion, Long Yun flew due south under the guidance of GCI, during which the F-15C of the Eighth Fighter Wing gradually approached, and the Americans immediately turned around and returned home after using the AN/APG63 radar to scan and confirm the typical radar reflection signal characteristics of the "Flanker".

"EagleOne, has it been confirmed that it's the 'Grim Reaper'?"

"- Not entirely sure; But combined with the echo strength and distance, it's supposed to be a 'flanker'. ”

Although the information fed back is not completely certain, it has satisfied the commanders, and it is not easy for the lads of the Air Force Wing to be able to clearly judge the type of fighter of the opponent at the risk of being attacked. If you insist on continuing the reconnaissance, you will only go up to see the fuselage identification information, but in the face of the "Caucasian Reaper", I am afraid that this will mean that you will have to take two more fighters, which is completely unacceptable.

After weighing the pros and cons of the omission and the omission, General Clark, who was the commander-in-chief of the operation, finally gave the order.

"The 'round-up' operation begins! Units immediately acted as planned. ”

Now that the opponent has appeared, the action has officially begun!

As one order after another was issued, the Air Force Command Center under NATO's Central Command immediately issued an interception order, and a large number of fighters of the Eighth Air Wing and the 20th Air Wing, which had rushed to cooperate, immediately took their positions and approached north in accordance with the huge operational plan set in advance, with the "Flanker" fighters approaching in front of them. The F-16C of the 20th Air Wing, which was already on standby in the northern airspace, immediately turned to the direction of 9 o'clock, and under the guidance of the F-15C of the 8th Wing, which arrived later, advanced to meet the enemy, preparing to use the oversized pocket array to deal with the Russians rushing from the north.

At the same time, the CVN-70 aircraft carrier "Carl Vinson" in the southern waters of Turkey is also busy on the deck, the F-14D "Super Cat" loaded with AIM-54B missiles and the F/A-18E "Super Hornet" fighters next to them have occupied all the ejection positions, and they will immediately take off with more than two aircraft per minute in an emergency catapult, accelerating through Turkish airspace to meet the Air Force fighters.

As the second-line force of this operation, the navy received an order not to fight alone, but to wait for an opportunity behind the air force fighters, and to immediately dispatch fighters when necessary to cooperate with the air force's round-up plan, and to kill the "Caucasian Grim Reaper" who was killed alone!

With the mobilization of a large number of fighters, in the pale blue sky after the rain, for a time only fighters shuttled and staggered tracks, the two fighter wings of the US Air Force were elite, and dozens of light and heavy fighters flew in formation in the sky, which was like an air parade without a guide; But unlike the scene of a real military parade, every fighter plane shuttling in the sky now has air-to-air missiles hanging under its wings painted with blue circles and white star insignia, as if hedgehogs are scurrying around looking for food, and the scene can even be said to be a little chaotic.

In this slightly chaotic air situation, the net of rounding up Russia's number one ace slowly opened, and the tense atmosphere began to spread everywhere.

In the face of the enemy planes surrounding from all directions, the figure of the Red No. 17 Su-27S did not hesitate at all, and the R-73 under the fuselage was ready to go, and a fierce battle in the air was just around the corner!