Having received an order from the regiment commander, the lads in the MiG-29M immediately went into action.

Compared with the cumbersome launch procedures in over-the-horizon combat, the process of multiple fighters launching R-27P/EP missiles in coordination is very simple and straightforward; Especially in the current situation, where the aim is to force the enemy back, rather than necessarily destroy it, the pilots have programmed simple flight parameters for the missiles through the fire control system, and at the same time turned on the afterburner to prepare for engagement.

Unlike the combat situation at medium and high altitudes, the effective range of air-to-air missiles in the low-altitude atmosphere will be severely reduced, and the MiGs equipped with R-27P missiles must approach head-on to within 20 kilometers before they can launch a BVR attack, and of course the Americans on the opposite side will also be the same.

In the sky, two groups of fighter planes, separated by tens of kilometers and illuminated by radar, were rushing towards each other with the same afterburner.

For the Turks who flew the "Phantoms", they were not fully trained to use the old fighters they had received from the Americans, and the bearded pilots from the newly formed air wing had no intention of adopting the more complex and more difficult to control multi-aircraft coordinated air combat tactics; And unlike the changeable tactics of pure aerial encounters, the Turks who were temporarily captured to save the scene really had no choice, they had to face the Russians from the north, otherwise they would not be able to explain to the command center.

Rushing into battle, but facing unknown new weapons, the Turks' doom was already doomed before the battle broke out.

In the face of the fighters of the 390 regiment attacking at an altitude of several hundred meters, the Turks' F-4E "Phantoms" could not quickly find targets on their own radar. and can only rely on the remote monitoring of AWACS; With the support of the command center's number chain, it turned 90 degrees in the sky to accelerate to meet the enemy, and waited until the trace of Russian fighters appeared on the radar. The distance between the two sides is already less than 60 kilometers.

The detection distance of 60 kilometers is quite a normal result for the APQ-120 radar of the "Phantom" fighter; In the face of the MiG29M equipped with N019, the level of electronic equipment of the two sides is relatively close, if they both use their standard AIM-7F and R-27R for over-the-horizon confrontation, then it can be said that the chances of victory between the warring sides are between the two sides, and the range of the R-27 missile has a certain advantage, but it is not very obvious.

But today. Equipped with R-27P anti-radiation missiles, the boys of the Red Air Force have mastered the magic weapon to defeat the enemy.

The Sukhoi fighters who had just cooperated with the 237th Regiment had conducted a wave of fishing operations, and now they were alone in the face of NATO fighters attacking from the direction of two o'clock. Although they were not sure of the exact type of enemy aircraft in front of them, the pilots of the 390th Regiment were still in high spirits - wasn't it, since the RWR warning was being issued, it was obvious that the NATO fighters on the opposite side were using radar to detect them. And the R-27P, which launched an attack on tracking the source of radiation. As long as the enemy's radar is turned on, there is no worry about finding the target.

One side was ignorant, the other side was winning, and the two teams of fighters under the sky quickly entered a head-on attack situation.

At low altitudes where flight speed and maneuvering space are relatively limited, BVR air combat does not have as many tactical changes at medium and high altitudes, and Lieutenant Colonel Emile Mohammed, who led the F-4E fleet to accelerate forward, was particularly nervous at this time.

According to the few orders sent by the command center. The coordinates of the Russian fighter planes in front of him were obtained, and the lieutenant colonel instructed these young people who had just stepped on the battlefield one by one in the channel. He repeatedly repeated the low-altitude interception combat plan drawn up by the squadron:

"Mahai, Ibrahim, turn to eleven o'clock and launch the 'Sparrow' at a distance of thirty kilometers, and Sumir, Aziz and Sasu follow me to climb at an accelerated pace, follow my instructions to lock on to a target, and then launch the missile. The range of the Russians' missiles is longer than that of the 'Sparrow', and when they get close to the confrontation distance, they must turn on the electronic jamming, and each aircraft will act according to the order!

I repeat, I don't allow unauthorized entry into the fight, I understand it well! ”

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, Sasu and I have kept up with you, please give the order!"

"There are no instructions at the moment, - the Russians are too far from us; Keep following the flight and use the radar to keep an eye on the target I've assigned you! ”

Hearing the almost chaotic calls on the radio, ignoring even the necessary tactical call signs and communication principles, Amir Mohammed glared at the other fighters following him on the side, but he endured it and did not harshly criticize these reckless and uncommon sense subordinates in the channel.

Yes, what's the use of talking about those rules and principles when you're about to fight?

After thinking about it, he raised his hand and flipped the switch on the instrument panel, so that the on-board fire control system automatically aimed at the large area of air targets on the radar display, and the lieutenant colonel knew that the "Phantom" fighter plane that had just been received from the Americans did not have the ability to engage multiple targets, and of course he guessed that the Russian fighter on the opposite side was the same - otherwise why would they have to send a large number of fighters to fight for air supremacy every time, and often suffer heavy losses.

The lieutenant colonel's idea is, of course, a kind of reasoning based on logical thinking.

However, looking at the RWR warning display, at this distance, the F-4E scale target can be intercepted, probably these Russian fighters are the "fulcrum" of the old adversary, right?

So just like now, since both sides are single-channel firepower fighters equipped with semi-active radar-guided missiles, and each other has completely discovered each other, instead of opportunistically turning around with the opponent repeatedly and pinning the hope of sneak attack on the mistakes of the Russians, it is better to simply rush up in a neat formation and have a dignified BVR mutual kill with them, as he is now commanding.

After all, when it comes to missile weapons, the performance of the "Sparrow" may be slightly inferior to that of the "Poplar," but the lieutenant colonel who led a small formation of more than 10 fighters to meet the enemy from the north still believed that his side had a great advantage in numbers, and in the face of this batch of MiGs of the Russians, they would not suffer a loss in the density of missile firepower.

The lieutenant colonel's estimate is reasonable from his own point of view, but it just happened to bring a team of "ghosts" on the road to hell.

As the fighters were at full strength, desperately accelerating at a dense low altitude, the distance between the two opposing fleets in the sky was rapidly narrowing; According to the analysis of the attack envelope of the AIM-7F and R-27 missiles, these two groups of imposing fighters will soon enter the inescapable zone of the opponent's over-the-horizon firepower, and a long-range gun battle of knight hedging is imminent. However, unlike the fantasy thunderous hedge, the "ghosts" and MiGs who illuminated and locked each other with fire control radars had more eyes this time, and after entering the opponent's firepower killing range, they immediately turned sideways with the slope and began a cunning maneuver confrontation of "mice and cats".

Over-the-horizon missile warfare is completely different from the ordinary people's assumption of comparing missile performance and then swearing that "the side with the better missile can win." In fact, it is a game of hide and seek, in which the offensive and defensive postures change at any time and the fighting methods of each other -- because if a fighter wants to launch a missile, it must use the airborne radar to firmly focus on the target, and the maneuver evasion tactic of the fighter is to preemptively lock on to the target and launch the missile one step ahead of time without being intercepted by the opponent as much as possible.

This confrontation mode may sound quite simple, but once it is put on the sky battlefield where the situation is unprecedentedly complex and the slightest factor may affect the outcome, it becomes a complex survival game where it is difficult to find the optimal solution.

In the face of the radar detection signal projected in the sky, the fighter needs to use actions such as side turn, barrel roll or S to destroy the opponent's tracking and locking, and often use certain terrain advantages to avoid at low altitudes; How to seize the opportunity to put the opponent into the field of view of the missile's seeker while maneuvering and evading it has become an art that cannot be fully understood and thoroughly studied by rookie pilots who have been practicing hastily for several months.

In the airspace above the front of the confrontation between the two armies, it is also a battlefield "vacuum zone" where ground troops rarely exist, and the Turkish "ghosts" who do not need to care about ground anti-aircraft firepower and the Red Air Force MiGs have invariably carried out a maneuver.

Drawing a white fog track in the sky, fighter planes that are turning sideways or diving, and the airborne radar is still trying to keep an eye on the target in the sky; Sitting in the cabin and enduring the overload in the air battlefield of the increasingly chaotic and warplanes shuttling back and forth, the IF and visual judgment were no longer effective, and the Turkish bearded and Red Air Force warriors who were sitting in the cabin and enduring the overload were doing their best to maintain continuous radar tracking, so as to ensure that when they seized the opportunity to strike a fatal blow and pressed the button hard, the target of the missile was still an enemy fighter.

The battle that broke out in the sky looked as fierce as a real over-the-horizon confrontation.

However, it is completely different from the coming and going on the surface, facing the NATO fighter formation in the southern sky, the MiG-29M of the 390th regiment actually launched an anti-radiation missile like a gust of wind before the implementation of the mobile confrontation; The so-called "confrontation evasion" after that was nothing more than a pretense to induce the opponent to meet death with all the time on the radar.

With a real "launch and forget" air combat weapon, although the missile's hit probability is still relatively low for the time being, the young men of the Red Air Force are still very chic and immediately out of order after firing a salvo.

Yes, since the sword is in hand, of course, now that it is a hit-and-run, who will have the leisure to entangle with the enemy? (To be continued......)