Chapter 4: Thunder and Lightning

Could this be simply due to insufficient fuel? If he intended to play tricks, it shouldn't be like this, right? Goya thought to himself, though he felt very uneasy inside

"Why is it more difficult to deal with than the F16?" Goya exclaimed. At this moment, his radar aperture had already locked onto the fleeing opponent, and the fire control system was transitioning from scanning to tracking phase, soon ready to launch a missile. "Could it be that I have the upper hand?" Goya momentarily could not believe it, as the enemy aircraft was flying without any signs of panic, nor did it accelerate, seemingly unaware that his RWS had not warned him that death was imminent.

He ran away? Jafar could not believe his eyes as he watched the other party spiral down and fly away

However, the agility of the opponent before him exceeded Goya's expectations. The series of spiraling pursuits between the two continued, with both sides striving to gain advantageous positions. For most of the time, both maintained their positions at each other's 3 and 9 o'clock. The chase had descended to a low altitude of several hundred meters, leaving insufficient safety height for either aircraft to execute a strong maneuver to point their noses at the opponent. The thrust vectoring nozzles of the Su-30 could not gain any advantage at that moment. Goya understood that the excessive fuel in the aircraft and the six heavy semi-active radar-guided missiles under the wings had become a hindrance to his ability to perform super-maneuvers. He had to constantly control the throttle to prevent inadvertently getting ahead of the opponent.

Where are we now

Goya began to attempt to shake off the pursuit using conventional methods, but his situation was dire. He lacked sufficient altitude, with a speed of just over 400 kilometers per hour, and it would take a long several seconds to accelerate. The pursuing enemy aircraft had a lower speed and altitude, but sadly, they were in a position to fire. Goya's Su-30 was nearly trapped in a no-escape zone if the aircraft behind him chose to engage. Strangely, however, the seasoned Pakistani pilot did not take action for a long time. Goya's Su-30 was nearly trapped in a no-escape zone if the aircraft behind him chose to engage. Strangely, however, the seasoned Pakistani pilot did not take action for a long time.

"Prepare the foil strips and flashbangs," the lieutenant shouted, this was the first time in his life he had been so startled

At this moment, the enemy aircraft had already moved far away from the weapon envelope. With a simple and swift maneuver of tilting and sliding, it quickly occupied Captain Goya's 7 o'clock position, nearly colliding with the slope, but the situation of offense and defense had finally shifted. The radar warning system of the Su-30 remained silent, never detecting the radar beam that had locked onto it, which was quite normal; perhaps the opponent only intended to use infrared missiles.

He has run out of fuel. It must be so, Goya said, feeling somewhat relieved but regaining his confidence to counterattack. He quickly glanced at the main flight instruments and turned sharply. Within minutes, he transformed once again from prey to hunter. He thought that this time, the divine assistance from above had been significant, but there was no need for embarrassment; war has always been about the results.

Give me a few more minutes, I will definitely bring him down

This is an aircraft that Lieutenant Jafar has never seen before, with sleek and efficient lines, exuding the light gray commonly used by the air force. This is not any Mirage aircraft of legal design. Lieutenant Goya decided to cross the border at all costs to continue the pursuit, as he sensed that if this pilot were to survive, he would become a future problem for the Indian Air Force

The lieutenant's left hand pressed the helmet-mounted sight button on the throttle valve (why is it here?), his gaze shifted away from the heads-up display, while he reduced the G-force to make a gentle turn, watching as the opponent gradually seized and surpassed the advantageous position at nine o'clock on his right. However, this was merely a scheme by the lieutenant to ensure that the enemy aircraft could not escape from the targeting ring in the lower left corner of the helmet with a dive from the blind spot below. Now, the targeting ring was firmly locked onto the opponent, and the lieutenant's hand rested on the launch button. After a few seconds, the lock would be complete, and he quietly awaited the unfolding of events. The cunning opponent seemed to sense something immediately, performing an unusual vertical climb, decisively abandoning the easily attainable advantageous position. The lieutenant's gaze followed closely; the prey was within reach. In an instant, the blinding sunlight obscured the optical display on the helmet sight, a truly fatal loss.

"It must be that his missile malfunctioned." Goya suddenly had a flash of insight and immediately guessed the reason; that guy must have pressed the launch button, but the missile did not leave the launch pad. Thus, he foolishly imagined shooting down a Su-30 with a cannon, "What a damn pipe dream."

The opponent begins to apply force and cut in, which is yet another strange maneuver. He is awkwardly attempting a leading turn, which is typically a movement made before firing a cannon, aimed at allowing the projectile to have a lead.

He is accelerating inward, at the 5 o'clock position below. Jafar shouted, thinking to himself that this Pakistani pilot must have short-circuited his brain

The situation is quite clear; the low-altitude surprise attack, combined with a series of low-altitude maneuvers, has exhausted the fuel of that unidentified model of Pakistani fighter jet. Coupled with its malfunctioning weapons, this presents a prime opportunity to eliminate it in one decisive effort

"Damn pig!" Goya cursed, unaware whether his opponent's unusual evasive maneuver was a coincidence or a result of divine decisiveness. In the tenth of a second before the lock-on indicator appeared, the lieutenant almost reflexively pressed the launch button, and the last precious R73 missile left its pylon, making a huge off-axis turn towards the target. This was the smallest turning radius that this type of missile could achieve, but it was clearly not going to hit.

"Look, from the back it looks like an F16," Jafar exclaimed in surprise

Jafar was constantly looking back and forth to observe the pursuing opponent and the missiles under its wings (it was clearly visible that the opponent indeed had two gleaming missiles under its wings)

At the critical moment, Goya could not take his eyes off the heads-up display, relying solely on Jafar's occasional reminders. After crossing the boundary, the radar warning system (RWS) intermittently displayed radar waves from enemy positions in various directions, some of which were long-range surface-to-air missiles. However, Goya estimated that his Su-30, currently at a low altitude, was likely still outside their engagement envelope. He could not afford to miss such an opportunity. Intermittently, radar waves from enemy positions in various directions were displayed, some of which were long-range surface-to-air missiles. However, Goya estimated that his Su-30, currently at a low altitude, was likely still outside their engagement envelope. He could not afford to miss such an opportunity.

During the training at TACDE (Tactical Air Combat Development Establishment of the Indian Air Force), Goya and Jafar had several encounters with the more advanced Mirage 2000-5, a fighter jet that proved to be quite challenging. In the initial air combat engagements, the powerful Su-30 did not gain much advantage. However, they gradually discovered that the Mirage 2000 could not sustain its turn rate, despite its impressive instantaneous turn capability. In reality, low-altitude maneuvering had never been a strong suit of the Mirage aircraft. They later summarized some experiences: as long as the air combat was brought to low altitudes and sustained turns were executed without engaging afterburners, even the seasoned instructors at TACDE would ultimately be defeated.

Already surpassed the border by 5 kilometers, almost heading due west

"We cannot venture too far into their borders," Lieutenant Jafar reminded.

Why is he not accelerating

No, this is an aircraft... I think it is a 'Thunderbolt'. Suddenly, Goya remembered. The Air Force never forces pilots to memorize enemy aircraft identification charts, because the posture of an aircraft in the air is always somewhat different from what is depicted on paper. Moreover, the number of fighter jets in the Air Force of Ba Country has always been quite limited, so there is no concern about being unable to identify them. However, today is an exception; the lieutenant has spotted a new type of enemy aircraft that has never appeared on the front lines.

The lieutenant gradually lowered the aircraft to a dangerous altitude. He could choose to launch the R27 missile from a downward angle, but he knew that doing so would not yield a high hit rate, as the missile would be subject to interference from ground reflections. Ultimately, his altitude once again fell below 600 meters (relative altitude; in this latitude, the height measured by radar refers to the actual ground rather than sea level). He positioned himself on the same plane as the enemy aircraft. The enemy aircraft ahead appeared intermittently, flying closely along the mountain terrain, seemingly not exerting their full effort to escape. His altitude once again fell below 600 meters (relative altitude; in this latitude, the height measured by radar refers to the actual ground rather than sea level). He positioned himself on the same plane as the enemy aircraft. The enemy aircraft ahead appeared intermittently, flying closely along the mountain terrain, seemingly not exerting their full effort to escape.

The lieutenant began to maneuver the control stick in a serpentine pattern to disrupt the opponent's aim, and before long, he was able to escape the range of the opponent's cannon fire. Soon, propelled by two powerful engines, the Su-30's altitude increased to 900 meters, and its speed approached 700 kilometers per hour. The distance between the two aircraft began to increase significantly, and it was visually estimated that it had exceeded 2 kilometers. The opponent did not engage full afterburner to pursue, and the lieutenant was confident that he had escaped the cannon's range. When he looked back, the pursuing aircraft had given up the chase and suddenly reversed direction, slipping away towards the western mountains.

No longer can we afford to waste time; he must be made to face some hardships.

The opponent immediately executed a dive to increase speed, simultaneously releasing a series of tracer rounds, which instantly filled the airspace with large clouds of white smoke and flames. The R73 missile detected the target, but before it could align its seeker on the target with a turn exceeding 35G, it had already missed the optimal angle to attack the rear of the aircraft, flying blindly out of the battlefield. Goya lost his ace in the hole; the remaining R27 could not be launched using helmet-mounted targeting and offered no advantage in close combat. The R73 missile detected the target, but before it could align its seeker on the target with a turn exceeding 35G, it had already missed the optimal angle to attack the rear of the aircraft, flying blindly out of the battlefield. Goya lost his ace in the hole; the remaining R27 could not be launched using helmet-mounted targeting and offered no advantage in close combat

What does he want to do? Goya thought to himself, if this is a combat drill, then this situation could already be deemed a "death" for him. He firmly pushed the throttle to the afterburner position, waiting for a long 10 seconds or more, trying to increase speed as much as possible, but this was not something that could be achieved in an instant. He hoped that his opponent would show some mercy and give him a few more seconds, at least enough speed to perform a high-G maneuver to evade the missiles trailing behind. Without sufficient speed, the turn would definitely be sluggish. He hoped that his opponent would show some mercy and give him a few more seconds, at least enough speed to perform a high-G maneuver to evade the missiles trailing behind. Without sufficient speed, the turn would definitely be sluggish.

The display indicating that the weapon is allowed to launch has appeared. The lieutenant chose to fire 2 R27 missiles in a salvo manner and then pressed the fire button. The fighter jet shook slightly, and the two missiles left the pylon one after another with a time interval of one and a half seconds.