512: Chapter 508: Come on, Hit Me.
512: Chapter 508: Come on, Hit Me.
Nate was using the Sah-7B anti-aircraft missile, also known as Arrow-2M.
The Sah-7 was an old missile, a relic from the 60s, while the Sah-7B was an improved model that entered service in the early 70s.
The Sah-7B used passive infrared seeking, which wasn’t very effective for head-on attacks against fighter jets.
However, it was somewhat effective when it locked onto tail nozzles of the engines for tail-chase attacks.
After the Mirage 5 flew over Nate’s head, the missile’s passive infrared seeker head locked onto the tail nozzle of the Mirage 5, the missile launcher began making continuous noises, and then, Nate pulled the trigger.
A sharp hiss followed, then a flash of fire disappeared and immediately a dark shadow shot into the sky, trailing the already departed Mirage 5 fighter jet.
As the Mirage 5 performed an emergency climb, it ejected several dozen infrared decoy flares from beneath its wings, creating the appearance of a butterfly with giant wings suddenly emerging in the air.
The Sah-7 fired by Nate exploded after catching up to an infrared decoy flare, leaving the Mirage 5 completely unharmed.
After the Mirage 5 flew away, it did not immediately return.
Nate, filled with resentment, threw the launcher from his shoulder to the ground, then quickly opened another box, took out another missile launcher, and urgently said over the radio, “Can Opener, report casualties.”
Unable to know the situation via the radio due to different frequencies, Gao Yang got up from the ground and yelled at Nate furiously, “You idiot, have you gone mad!”
Nate glanced at Gao Yang and said, “I know where the rocket will land, my action stemmed from my certainty that we wouldn’t get hurt, so this has nothing to do with being crazy.”
Gao Yang was at a loss for words.
He couldn’t predict from the onset of the rocket firing where it would land, so diving to the ground was the right choice at first.
However, Nate, being a notch better, felt it was safe and simply didn’t bother to take cover.
Just then, someone urgently spoke in Gao Yang’s headset, “Ram, this is Demon, we’ve flown back.
We need to shake off that Mirage 5.
If we’re forced to make an emergency landing or are captured while landing, we’ll be in big trouble.
We’re flying back now, if the Mirage follows, hit it with the Sah-7!”
Gao Yang immediately said to Nate nearby, “Get the missile ready, that Mirage is harassing our transport plane again.
Our transport will lure the Mirage back here, shoot it down, but be careful not to hit our plane!”
Nate immediately shouted, “Can Opener, rapidly prepare the missile.
The Mirage will come back.
Make sure to identify the targets correctly, our friendly aircraft will pass through here, we can’t afford to hit them.”
As Nate gave orders, Gao Yang urgently said over the radio, “Demon, this is Ram, we are ready to attack.
Draw the Mirage back here.
If the Mirage refuses to enter our attack range, just keep flying above us.”
“Understood, Demon.
About to perform a flyover.
Buddy, just keep an eye out, don’t shoot us down.”
After communicating with Demon, Gao Yang turned to Nate and said, “They’re coming.”
Nate nodded, merely watching the sky for any sign of the aircraft.
Gao Yang couldn’t help but say, “Sah-7 might work against helicopters, but against jet fighters, do you think it will be effective?”
Nate, grinding his teeth, said, “We have sixty missile launchers, buddy.
I refuse to believe we can’t shoot it down.”
While they were speaking, a small civilian propeller plane flew over the clearing from above, the aircraft that was airdropping supplies for Gao Yang’s group.
They certainly couldn’t shoot it down.
However, after the small plane passed over, the Mirage didn’t appear as Gao Yang and the others had expected.
In the air, unlike on the ground, even though the Mirage 5 was constantly forcing the transport plane to land, it did not need to follow directly behind the transport plane.
No matter what actions were taken, it did not need to fly over the area above the clearing.
Launching missiles from the jungle would be challenging; if they wanted to use an anti-aircraft missile for an attack, it could only be done in the clearing—a very unfavorable factor.
Gao Yang couldn’t help but say, “What if that Mirage never comes back?”
Nate coldly said, “I believe it definitely will return.”
“Even if that Mirage comes back, are we really sure we can shoot it down?”
“Definitely!”
Gao Yang didn’t know how to use anti-aircraft missiles; he merely knew about their approximate performance parameters, but didn’t know specifically how to use them.
After all, he was just a military enthusiast.
He had never even seen a shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile before, let alone know how to operate one, which would have been really strange indeed.
Not knowing how to use the missiles, all Gao Yang could do was keep an eye on the sky.
Just then, he heard Demon urgently say through his headset, “Mirage in front of us, it’s heading toward the clearing, its nose directly facing the position of the sun!”
Gao Yang urgently said, “It’s coming, from the direction of the sun!”
Nate quickly adjusted the direction, and then, after a few seconds, the Mirage 5 flew by at an extremely low altitude, almost grazing the treetops as it passed over the clearing.
Only after the plane had gone by did Gao Yang hear the deafening roar.
The plane was too fast.
The infrared seeker head on the missile couldn’t lock on to the target in time and lost the trace of the plane.
The tremendous noise made several people on the ground start to experience ringing in their ears.
Nate waited for the buzzing in his ears to diminish slightly before he shouted, “That pilot, he’s taunting us, mocking us!”
Gao Yang bitterly smiled and said, “Be grateful.
If he had broken the sound barrier right above us, then we would really be in trouble.
What do we do now?
Any good ideas?”
Nate, frustrated, said, “Army against air force, what good methods could there be?
We don’t have large anti-aircraft missiles.
Damn it, I hate these bastards flying in the sky.”
Just then, Demon urgently said again, “Ram, here we come again.
That Mirage is behind us.
I guess it’s planning to cross over us from above or below as we pass over the clearing.
He’s mocking us, damn it, let’s risk it!
Prepare to launch the missile, don’t worry about us, repeat, don’t worry about us!
We all have parachutes, I’d rather you shoot us down than let this Mirage mock us, kill that son of a bitch!”
Gao Yang immediately looked at Nate and said, “The plane’s coming back.
Both friendly and enemy planes will be around.
Don’t hesitate because of our friendly plane.
Spot the Mirage and take it down!”
While Nate relayed Gao Yang’s words to the others, Gao Yang suddenly pointed at the sky and shouted, “There, they’re coming, the Mirage is going to pass under the transport plane!”
The transport plane was large, slow, and at an altitude of about five hundred meters.
The Mirage fighter jet, much faster, was approaching quickly from behind the transport plane at a much lower altitude of about three hundred meters.
Its flying altitude was still much higher than its previous tree-top grazing, ultra-low-level flight, which allowed Gao Yang to spot the Mirage from a further distance.
(To be continued.
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