Munitions Empire

Wang Hai dodged an enemy fighter jet attempting a head-on collision while he began to regain his altitude. It must be said that the Dahua pilots were still very brave.

Even though they knew their skills were slightly inferior and their equipment couldn't match up to their opponents', they still chose to fight bravely.

However, their tactics were too outdated, and the weapons they had indeed couldn't keep up with the Tang Army's fighter jets, which made their choices seem clumsy.

Wang Hai didn't mock these people for their clumsiness and admired those who were willing to try changing the fate of their nation through their efforts.

He chose the most respectful way to shoot down these brave opponents. Just now, he had executed a series of rolls in the sky to seize a very advantageous position and shot down the fifth Dahua fighter jet of the day.

Note, these victories were all fighter jets, which, compared to shooting down nearly defenseless Dahua bombers, meant that the difficulty of shooting down a Dahua Type 1 fighter jet was of course greatly increased.

As a very seasoned fighter pilot, Wang Hai piloted his plane to regain as much altitude as possible and to shake off any enemy fighter jets that might be following him.

The Butcher fighter jet climbed rapidly because of its powerful engine, so it still had good maneuverability and power even at altitudes above 8000 meters.

In contrast, the Dahua Type 1 fighter jet was practically powerless above 7000 meters. The unsealed cockpit also caused Dahua pilots to rapidly lose their combat effectiveness at that altitude.

Therefore, the safest method for Tang Army fighter pilots was to control their planes to climb as quickly as possible, shaking off the Dahua fighter jets that were following behind.

As long as they weren't intercepted by other enemy planes midway through the climb, the Dahua pilot trailing behind had basically no way of catching up or maintaining altitude and could only watch helplessly as their opponents gradually distanced themselves, the whole process being incredibly frustrating.

However, the fact that they forced Tang Army fighter pilots to start to "play dirty" was proof of the Dahua pilots' level. They had indeed grown a lot from a few months earlier, and the performance of the fighter jets had also improved significantly.

"The fighter jet following you has been pulled away!" A voice from the wingman came through the headset, reminding Wang Hai that the threat behind him had receded.

"I'm preparing to circle around… They've lowered their altitude to around 5000 meters! It seems they're trying to lure us into a dogfight." Wang Hai turned his head to look through the canopy of his cockpit toward his lower side.

There, against the backdrop of the earth, two Dahua Type 1 fighter jets were circling, clumsily learning the dual-fighter tactics of the Tang Army, with each jet covering the other.

It's just that their learning came with a price. Of the five fighter jets earlier, now only three remained flying in the sky.

Two Dahua Type 1 fighter jets had been shot down, their pilots bailing out successfully. The Tang Army pilots, in a show of knightly spirit, refrained from "kicking them while they were down," allowing them to land safely.

This was not so much about mercy, for the landing spots of the parachuting Dahua pilots were also under Tang Army control. Patrols were probably already waiting there to capture these unlucky individuals.

"Dive in for the attack and then run! Use that trick we pulled on the instructors at flight school!" The wingman pilot's thinking was clear. During their training at Dragon Island flight school, they had no choice but to employ hit-and-run tactics against instructors, seeking better opportunities to fire.

This hit-and-evade tactic was a standard Tang Nation Air Force attack strategy, and the entire attack process was based on the assumption that their jets were more advanced than the opposition's.

Tang Country confidently ensured their jets demonstrated superior performance over other nations' air forces, thus allowing them to devise a seemingly "invincible" strategy for their pilots.

Although the hit-and-evade tactic couldn't truly be called invincible as it had many weaknesses and flaws, when there was a speed difference of over 100 kilometers per hour between the opposing fighter jets, it at least maximized the advantages of one's own aircraft.

"Alright! I'll cover you! You initiate the attack this time! Watch the flanks, there's another enemy plane to the left!" Wang Hai saw another enemy aircraft and reminded his wingman.

The solitary Dahua Air Force fighter jet seemed confident, not merging with its two partner aircraft but instead operating independently, with other plans in mind.

Judging from its position, either the Dahua Type 1 fighter pilot intended to serve as bait, attracting Wang Hai and his partner to attack, giving their comrades opportunities to strike, or he was waiting for a chance to ambush when Wang Hai and his wingman prepared to attack the other two jets.

In any case, it was a reasonably smart tactic, somewhat better than the three jets clustering together waiting for death. At least now, they all had a chance to shoot down an opponent!

"I'm starting my dive now! Three, two, one! Follow me!" The wingman pilot immediately commenced the attack after confirming the enemy's position.

After all, there were still easy-to-hit bomber targets waiting for them over there, and they needed to quickly deal with these escort fighter jets before they could go and rack up achievements against the bombers.

In the next second, two Butcher Fighters rolled halfway and then rapidly descended, their engines roaring as their noses targeted the Dahua Fighter Jet that was circling, ready for a dogfight.

While piloting his aircraft downward, the young Wang Hai kept his eyes on the distant solitary enemy aircraft, feeling that the opponent was watching him — a pilot's intuition.

As expected, as he began his dive, the lone enemy aircraft suddenly charged towards him, closing the distance to the two diving Tang Army Fighter Jets from a relatively concealed angle with great speed.

"That lone wild dog is charging at us! He's got good control of his angle!" Wang Hai warned his wingman while simply maneuvering his aircraft to accelerate.

The wingman, who seemed to have noticed the problem as well, dove and confirmed, "Should we abort the attack?"

"You take aim at one and shoot, I'll break away to engage him! If your attack fails, immediately pull out at full speed, and I'll shake him off as quickly as possible to regroup with you," Wang Hai said to his wingman, glancing at the altimeter.

Not wanting to give up on what felt like a missed opportunity, the wingman immediately agreed to Wang Hai's assignment, "Alright! I'll leave the tough one to you and try to take down one first!"

Wang Hai didn't reply. Instead, he just pulled on the control stick, altering his aircraft's dive trajectory into a graceful arc in the sky, whereupon the two aircraft immediately went their separate ways.

"He seems like a veteran... probably trained at Dragon Island too..." Wang Hai deduced the opponent's likely background from their practiced maneuvers.

Those pilots trained at Dragon Island generally had solid skills. Although the Tang Country instructors held back somewhat with these foreign students, the content of the Tang Country's Fighter Jet flight training was not overly reduced, so graduates from Dragon Island were still of a certain caliber.

While they couldn't recite vector maneuver theory backward like Tang Army pilots, they had developed their own set of flying skills based on their rudimentary dogfighting experience.

Like the pilots from World War I, these pilots might not be able to train many more as instructors, but they had their own way of handling an aircraft.

Knowing his opponent would be tough, Wang Hai took care not to underestimate him. He piloted his aircraft to turn at a higher speed, trying to get on the enemy's tail.

The opponent was also turning, hoping to get in close to launch the first strike. The Dahua pilot already had the advantage, so it seemed he might get the first chance at an attack.

However, Wang Hai didn't panic. When he saw the enemy cutting in, he suddenly started to climb, avoiding a head-on encounter.

The Dahua Fighter Jet pilot, unwilling to give up, also climbed in pursuit, but his aircraft was clearly no match for the Butcher Fighter's speed, and the gap between them visibly widened.

Wang Hai continued to climb, then climbed more, his aircraft nearly vertical to the ground, followed by a tumble, making the ground appear overhead.

He planned to roll over in a big tumble to get on the enemy's tail, and the enemy pilot immediately figured out his intent.

The enemy pilot gave up the chase at once, veered the nose to the right, and started to evade a head-on collision with Wang Hai: his goal had been achieved, as his allies had gained a two-on-one advantage due to his interference.

Wang Hai naturally wouldn't give the enemy a chance to escape. After rolling upright, he pointed his nose at the opponent and began to use the absolute height advantage to close the distance quickly.

As he approached, he used the shaky aim reticle to continually lock onto the distant enemy aircraft, which swayed back and forth, uncertain if it was deliberately evading or if the airflow was continuously disturbing its flight path.

Controlling his own aircraft, Wang Hai was very patient. Tang Army Fighter Jet pilots had grown accustomed to conserving their ammunition, as they were always equipped with cannons and had to consider the amount of ammunition before opening fire compared to machine guns.

Having already shot down so many aircraft, Wang Hai's ammunition was running low, and he didn't want to waste any more precious cannon rounds, the chips with which he scored his combat achievements.

So, without a sure opportunity to attack, Wang Hai patiently waited, like a cat toying with a mouse, following behind but not striking with his claws.

The enemy aircraft still dodged to the left and right in his aim reticle. Wang Hai wasn't in a hurry, waiting for the struggling enemy aircraft to grow larger in his field of vision.

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One update today, no more waiting for you folks =.=!