Chapter Thirty-One: Going Abroad for Battle

  When drawing lots, Liang Guoxiang did not go, but let Di Boqing try his luck. As a partner, it was the same for either of them to draw lots. Di Boqing's "luck" was indeed good, and he drew the only quota for the Hainan Test Flight Unit to go to war in Pakistan. When signing the employment contract, Liang Guoxiang could no longer let Di Boqing substitute for him.

  "What kind of contract is this?" Di Boqing flipped through the two-page employment contract. "The sections for employment time, remuneration, and accidental compensation are all blank. Are we supposed to fill them in ourselves or will they be filled in later? Also, what does 'not protected by the Geneva Convention' mean? Aren't we soldiers?"

  "You signed the employment contract, you are a mercenary, and naturally you are not protected by international law. Besides, it has been mentioned at the meeting that the salary, compensation for accidents, and other benefits are still under discussion and will be confirmed in a few days. Anyway, we won't treat you unfairly." Liang Guoxiang raised his head, "Besides, aren't you always shouting about wanting to go to Pakistan to fight? You got one-tenth of the chance, what else can you say? If you think it's not stable, we'll talk to Zhu Ronghui and Yang Jiejie, and let them have the opportunity instead."

  Liáng Guó Xiáng knew that Dí Bó Qīng wasn't thinking of fighting, but rather wanted to quickly gather the tens of thousands of yuan in sponsorship fees for his son's school selection.

  "Brother Liang, you can't say that," said Di Boqing, putting down his pen and speaking seriously. "We're not fighting for our own country, but for Pakistan; it's not a moral obligation, but an employment relationship. Since we're employed, how can we sign this contract without knowing what we're getting into?"

  " Selling one's life?" Liang Guoxiang burst out laughing. "Are you worried about my skills or the performance of the J-10?"

  "Of course not, I don't believe anyone else, only you and our fighter jets. The problem is, once we're on the battlefield, who can guarantee there won't be any unexpected twists? I'm not afraid of death, but if I die unjustly, that's just too unfair." Di Boqing sighed, "Liang Ge, you're different from me, when you eat your fill, your whole family doesn't go hungry. I have a family to support, my kid is going to start elementary school next year, my sister is unemployed, and I'm the only child, if something really happens to me, how will they survive? My parents are old..."

  "Alright, I swear, even if I don't come back, I'll make sure you return alive." After reading the contract, Liang Guoxiang didn't think twice and signed it on the spot. "I've written my godson's name as the insurance beneficiary. If anything happens to me, I won't be able to survive either. By then, the two insurance policies will be enough for my godson to finish university."

  "Brother Liang......" Di Boqing was excited for a moment, "If you do this, Uncle and Aunt..."

  "My parents have pensions and medical insurance, we don't lack anything at home, and I also don't have any siblings." Liang Guoxiang chuckled and said, "Besides, my godson is also my parents' god-grandson, we are closer than biological brothers. Let Hao be the beneficiary, your uncle and aunt won't object."

  Di Boqing knew that Liang Guoxiang was very straightforward and didn't want to say anything more, so he signed the contract.

  Two hours later, the two men boarded a twin-seat J-10B fighter jet separately.

  Previously, Liang Guanglie and Di Baqing flew the Su-30MKK. Although after domestic production, the naval aviation and air force made improvements to the avionics system of the Su-30MKK, also known as J-13, adopting many electronic devices developed for the J-10, replacing the complex instrument panel with a single-screen display similar to that of the J-10, there are still significant differences between the two fighter jets, requiring air force instructors to familiarize them with the basic performance of the new aircraft.

  For two pilots from the experimental squadron, this was hardly a difficult task.

  Before that, apart from flying three types of trainer aircraft at the aviation school, they had also flown FBC-1 and Su-27UB. In addition, in the test flight unit and air force pilots swapped flights on J-10, but did not conduct high-difficulty combat flight training on J-10, only mastering the basic control methods of J-10.

  They will conduct four flight trainings within eight hours and then lead the first batch of volunteer pilots to Pakistan.

  The last flight training, Liang Guoxiang and Di Boqing sat in the same fighter.

  Within an hour and a half, the two men rehearsed air combat tactics and ground attack tactics.

  Apart from having one less engine, reduced payload and shorter range, the differences between J-10B and Su-30MKK are not very significant. In aerial combat maneuverability, J-10B is even more agile, especially in horizontal maneuvers, with a higher instantaneous turn rate than Su-30MKK. The biggest problem of J-10B lies in its low thrust-to-weight ratio; even after dropping all external fuel tanks and only carrying four air-to-air missiles, the thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds one only when internal fuel is less than two-thirds full. If not for the adoption of a moving canard foreplane, J-10B's dogfighting capability would be extremely poor.

  At 8:00 am on July 5th, after a night's rest, Liang Guoxiang and Di Boqing boarded the fighter jet once again.

  Along with them took off eleven single-seat J-10As. According to the plan, the fleet will fly directly to the Hushab airbase and join combat as early as this afternoon.

  In the midst of a deafening roar, the Taihang turbofan engine quickly reached its maximum thrust. As Liang Guoxiang released the brakes, the J-10 fighter jet, loaded with three auxiliary fuel tanks, four medium-range air-to-air missiles and four close combat missiles, shot into the azure sky like an arrow off the string.

  The land is getting farther and farther away, the airport is getting smaller and smaller, and Liang Guoxiang's heart is flying higher and higher.

  An hour and a half later, the aircraft formation left China's airspace from the Karakoram Mountain Pass and entered the skies above Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

  "Hawk, this is Eagle's Nest. Switch to channel 311 and accept guidance from the Pakistani control center. Wishing you a smooth journey."

  "Roger that, switch to channel 311 and accept guidance from the Pakistani control center." After finishing speaking, Liang Guoxiang silently recited in his heart: Farewell, motherland; farewell, loved ones.

  To avoid being intercepted by Indian fighter jets, after entering the airspace of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, all twelve J-10s flew to a Pakistani military airbase at ultra-low altitude.

  "Liāng gē, let those Air Force rascals see our skills." Di Bóqīng was very excited and agitated.

  "Sit tight and let's put on a good show."

  Under the precise control of Liang Guoxiang, a J-10B dived into the valley, and the eleven J-10As behind it followed closely. The Hainan Airlines pilots who had just flown the J-10 were able to perform such high-difficulty maneuvers, and the air force pilots who had flown thousands of hours on the J-10 would not be outdone.

  In the midst of towering mountains and steep cliffs, twelve fighter jets flew like migrating wild geese, only they were flying too low.

  Ultra-low-altitude flight is thrilling and stimulating, testing not only the performance of the fighter jet and the pilot's skills, but also the pilot's courage.

  "Warriors call for long spears, warriors call for long spears."

  After listening twice, Di Boqing finally reacted. "Long spear received, long spear received, please speak if you have anything to say."

  "Warrior" is the codename for Pakistan's ground control center, "Long Spear" is the codename for Liang Kuo-hua's fighter squadron.

  "Report your exact position."

  "Our coordinates are... 764 and 448, repeat, 764 and 448." Di Baoqing wasn't very familiar with the coordinate system used by the Pakistan Air Force. "Liang Ge, did you hear that? The Pakistani ground radar can't see us."

  "Don't be smug, we'll be flying out of the mountains soon."

  In less than two minutes, the aircraft left the mountainous area and entered the relatively flat highland airspace.

  "Warriors, call off the long spears! You're flying too low, it's too dangerous!"

  Danger? Di Boqing smiled and shook his head. "Understood, after entering the safe airspace, we will increase altitude."

  "Turn to heading 321, rendezvous with 'Welcome' formation in five minutes."

  The "Welcome" formation is a Pakistan Air Force fighter squadron responsible for intercepting Chinese aircraft entering Pakistani airspace.

  "Roger, turn to heading 321 and rendezvous with 'Welcome' formation."

  Seeing the four J-7 fighter jets flying in from the northeast, Liang Guoxiang and Di Boqing couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. It seemed that the advanced fighter jets of the Pakistani Air Force had been depleted, otherwise they wouldn't have deployed these 30-year-old fighter jets imported from China.

  It seems that before the merger, all 12 J-10s climbed at maximum speed to let Pakistani pilots know their prowess. They flew over from the front of the J-7 fleet and reached an altitude of 5,500 meters, performing several high-overload rolls before diving into formation flight.

  "Welcome to Pakistan, welcome to Pakistan." The Pakistani pilot's Chinese wasn't too bad.

  "Roger that, speak up if you have anything to say." Although he wasn't a pilot, Di Baoqing was also very excited, because the Pakistani pilot's voice was slightly trembling, seemingly intimidated by the J-10's maneuver.

  "Now led by us, follow our progress."

  "Roger that, lead the way." After finishing speaking, Di Boqing closed the team's communication channel. "Liang Ge, do you think those Pakistani pilots just graduated from flight school?"

  "You can continue to be proud." Liang Guoxiang adjusted the plane to autopilot mode. "Pakistani pilots are all excellent, they are real heroes, what they lack is only advanced fighter jets and actual combat experience. It won't take long, they will become eagles in the sky just like us."

  "I didn't say Pakistani pilots aren't brave, it's just that their technique is really poor."

  Liang Guoxiang smiled and shook his head, Di Boqing's words were also correct.

  Pakistani pilots were indeed very brave and achieved brilliant results in the previous Indo-Pakistani wars despite being at a disadvantage. In this war, Pakistani pilots also showed extraordinary courage and selfless spirit of sacrifice, not only making the whole world look up to them but also earning the respect of Indian pilots.

  As Dipankar said, Pakistani pilots lacked just a little bit of technique.

  As the J-7 fighter group accelerated and pulled away, the runway of Hushab Air Base appeared in front.

  Before landing, twelve J-10s flew low and fast in formation, performing several high-difficulty aerobatic maneuvers, before landing on the runway in pairs.

  As soon as they got off the plane, a female attendant sent by the Pakistan Air Force presented Liang Guoxiang and Di Puqing with flowers.

  At noon, Air Force Base Commander General Diya and Fighter Squadron Leader Colonel Rodgers held a welcome dinner for Liang Guoxiang and 13 other pilots. Although the conditions were very simple, the warm hospitality of the Pakistani military made everyone feel deeply moved. At the banquet, Liang Guoxiang met fellow comrades-in-arms, more than a dozen Pakistani Air Force pilots.