Munitions Empire

"Brilliant 01, Brilliant 02! Keep the communication channel open." The voice of the Early Warning Aircraft Commander came through the headset.

The pilot of the lead aircraft Brilliant 01 pressed the communicator and confirmed, "Communication open! Repeat, communication open!"

"Ten enemy fighters are approaching you, six planes at your 2 o'clock position, another four at your 10 o'clock position... Six planes at 2 o'clock are four high, two low, at 6500, 3100! The altitude at 10 o'clock is 5000!"

"Brilliant 01, understood!" "Brilliant 02, understood!" The pilots inside the two Phantom Fighters replied almost simultaneously.

"Have we stirred up a hornet's nest? It's been a while since so many enemy fighters appeared at once." The wingman pilot inside Brilliant 02 asked excitedly.

"Unlock the weapon safeties!" The lead pilot had no intention of chatting; he began powering up the missiles he had mounted and then checked the radar screen in front of him.

To be honest, the avionics system of the Phantom Fighter is still a bit outdated. Though it is world-leading, it still has too few displays.

In today's terms, it feels like a clock shop—no modern feel at all. In the 21st century, if a fighter jet didn't have a glass cockpit, it wouldn't even bother greeting others.

In the era Tang Mo traversed from, Huaxia's cars already had large screens. All those mechanical dial panels and physical buttons were just remnants of some off-brand Japanese cars, right?

At this moment, the instrument panel of the Phantom Fighter is still very standard. There's a radar screen in the middle, and various instruments on both sides, looking quite normal, not so fantastical.

However, the Great Tang Empire is equipping its troops massively with Yinglong, and soon the Navy will be equipped with the Flying Shark, both featuring two large screens.

Soon, more advanced variants will appear, with fully glass cockpits, and even helmet-mounted displays will emerge.

By then, helmet sights allowing pilots to engage targets where they look will make aerial combat more fluid. Combined with unreasonable all-aspect Combat Missiles, dogfighting will exceed traditional understanding.

"Radar, activate!" In the cockpit of Brilliant 01, the lead pilot of the Tang Army soon saw his intended target on the screen.

"Deal with the six enemy fighters to the right first! Accelerate! Fire Thunderbolt Air-to-Air Missile!" Giving the wingman the orders, the lead aircraft pushed the throttle forward, accelerating past supersonic speed.

His wingman followed closely behind, and the two aircraft broke through the sonic barrier, creating a canopy-shaped shockwave around their fuselages, rushing towards the enemy like meteors.

The terrifying noise and spectacular sight astonished the civilians looking up at the sky in Winterless City. This was the first time the F-4 Phantom Fighter appeared in their view.

Previously, it was always the Intruder Attack Aircraft that visited, and each time dropping numerous bombs. People feared being attacked, hiding everywhere to find air raid shelters, not in the mood to look up at the sky.

This time, they didn't see bombs falling, nor heard terrifying explosions, nor saw black smoke rising from the city edge, so they didn't panic but instead numbingly watched the sky, admiring the magnificent sight of humans breaking the sound barrier.

Launching missiles in supersonic status can extend the missile range. The Phantom Fighter accelerated one after another, subsequently locked onto targets and fired the first missile at 1.5 times the speed of sound.

Two Thunderbolt Air-to-Air Missiles flashed coldly in the sunlight, spewing flames and leaving the Phantom Fighter, trailing a white streak across the sky.

Immediately, the two missiles collided head-on with the incoming Peidao Fighters. Two bursts of fireworks blossomed in the sky, and the remaining two Dorne Peidao Fighters immediately scattered, distancing themselves from each other.

"Number 4! Number 4, please respond! Number 4, please respond? Number 3! Number 3! Damn it!" In the command center, a Dorne Air Force officer clutched the communicator, repeatedly calling out pilot numbers.

Unfortunately, the response was only silence. In the cockpits of the other two fighters, pilots shouted nervously, "Did you see that thing? It's too fast! Lift up! Lift up! They're coming at you! We need cover, we need cover!"

"Left! Go left! It's following you! Number 1 was shot down! Number 1 was hit!" Seconds later, as the forward command wingman Number 2 nervously repeated the news of the commander's plane being shot down.

The radar operator nervously stared at the screen, watching the friendly aircraft blip disappear, even momentarily unsure what to do.

"The Tang Army fighter jets are too fast! That's not the speed fighter jets should have!" Staring at the radar screen, the annoyed radar troops officer lamented, "Notify the ground troops; ask if they have a chance to open fire!"

In the command center, the Dorne Air Force officer responsible for the interception task was already frantic. He looked at his subordinate beside him and asked nervously, "Where are the other four Peidaos? Follow them! Cover Number 2..."

"Number 2 communication breakdown!" Inopportunely, the officer monitoring Number 2's status hadn't even put down the communicator as he looked at his superior to report.

Dragging down the headset, the Dorne officer only heard the sound of static, and he put the headset down, his lips unconsciously moved.

"Attack Command Number 1 report!" The officer responsible for liaison with the 262 bomber formation put down the headset and shouted, "They saw all four Peidaos shot down, no pilot ejected."

The battle had only lasted a few minutes, yet all four Peidao Fighters were shot down. The efficiency of the opponent's attack was so high that Dorne's Air Force Commanders felt a chill down their spines.

At this moment, he started to understand why the Great Qin Empire's thousand planes dared not take off to confront the Tang Nation Air Force. Previously, he mocked them for lacking courage; now he found himself seemingly lacking the guts to continue ordering his planes to take off for combat.

In some sense, that wasn't warfare; that was inviting death. Aircraft and pilots were invaluable, and such waste was certainly unacceptable.

"They're descending... but the opponent seems unwilling to let them go." Desperate, the commander of the 262 formation held the receiver, narrating the less intense combat situation, "When will the covering fighter groups arrive?"

"They are already nearby." The total commander of Dorne sighed and said, "But it'll still take some time."

Originally, it was supposed to be a pincer attack, but due to the opponent's sudden acceleration, exceeding expectations, the pincer was turned into piecemeal elimination. Now, four early-type Peidaos taking off from another base are frantically chasing the Tang Army fighters from behind.