Chapter 449 Four Goals

Ski-jump takeoff greatly limits the bomb load of carrier-based aircraft, making it impossible for carrier-based aircraft to take off with a full load. This is a misunderstanding of ski-jump takeoff in later generations, especially for the Su-33. It is believed that the Su-33 has a huge size and bomb load, but cannot be fully utilized on an aircraft carrier.

In fact, this is a misunderstanding. There are two takeoff lines on the Kuznetsov aircraft carrier's takeoff deck. If you use the shorter one, you can only take off with half fuel. If you use the 175-meter-long takeoff line, you can take off with full load! It's just that the takeoff position has overlapped with the landing area, resulting in low deck utilization.

Now, the improved RD-33 engine has a thrust of up to 160 kilonewtons. Combined with the good take-off and landing performance provided by the straight shape of the wings, the MiG-23K carrier-based aircraft can take off quite easily!

An orange-red flame emerged from the tail of the fighter plane. After a careful inspection, the ground crew made a skilled gesture to the pilot.

From applying the brakes to opening the afterburner, the MiG-23K was taxiing on the take-off line. Feeling the fighter plane swaying left and right with the aircraft carrier, the pilot Joseph was excited. After so many times of training, he finally started a real combat mission again!

This feeling of acceleration makes every fighter pilot feel extremely refreshed. Finally, the leapfrog deck that curls up to the upper end is in front of them. After continuing to fly forward, the horizon begins to disappear and the fighter has left the deck of the aircraft carrier!

Behind him, the wingman also took off. Joseph looked at the magnificent ocean. As a naval aviator, he was extremely proud.

Just two years ago, Joseph was a pilot of the Yak-36M. After long-distance voyages, his superiors ruled out the use of the useless carrier-based aircraft, and Joseph and other pilots returned to the Ukrainian carrier-based aircraft pilot training center to master the driving skills of the MiG-23K carrier-based aircraft. After that, he joined the second Minsk aircraft carrier and became a glorious carrier-based aircraft pilot.

Compared with the Yak-36M's crappy take-off method, Joseph and others certainly prefer the current fighter, which has smooth take-off and landing. Once it's in the air, relying on its excellent engine and swept-wing layout, the combat capability of this aircraft is also extremely powerful.

For example, now, with more than a ton of ground attack ammunition mounted, they still have an operational radius of 800 kilometers! If it is a Yak-36M, it is only more than 100 kilometers at best!

Fly across 300 kilometers of ocean, enter the land, support our own ground troops, and have enough fuel to return!

The fighter planes continued to climb, and when they reached an altitude of six thousand meters, the two MiG-23Ks that took off from the other Kiev had also caught up. They swept their wings back to the limit, and the formation of four fighter planes cruised at high altitude with minimal resistance.

The lead pilot, Joseph, turned on his radar.

The MiG-23 used by the Air Force and the Air Defense Force is only a transitional model. When the MiG-29 has begun to be replaced, the MiG-23MLA will gradually be equipped with the second-line aviation forces. Therefore, the MiG-23 of the Air Force and the Air Defense Force has not been replaced with more advanced radars, but only uses the further improved Sapphire 23 radar. However, the Navy's carrier-based MiG-23K is different. The Navy's next generation of carrier-based aircraft will definitely be chosen between the MiG-29 and the Su-27. However, the modification of these fighters will take at least five or six years to complete. Therefore, at this stage, the MiG-23K is the Navy's most valuable carrier-based aircraft!

In this case, the Navy must of course add the most advanced configurations to this fighter. The twin-engine RD33 is one aspect, and the other is the advanced fire control! The flat-panel slot radar is completely transplanted from the MiG-29. At the same time, the fire control system can also mount various advanced weapons. In addition to various ground-to-ground weapons, as the main weapon for seizing air superiority, it can even mount the latest R-27 air-to-air missile of the Pennant Design Bureau!

If it weren't for the fact that the ski-jump takeoff has too many limitations, even long-range air-to-air missiles like the R-33 would be mounted on the MiG-23K.

After turning on the radar, he began to conduct air scans. This was just a habit of Joseph. After all, his own aircraft carrier formation still had one shortcoming, which was the lack of carrier-based early warning aircraft!

The ski-jump takeoff method allows fighters with a high thrust-to-weight ratio to take off, but it cannot allow other aircraft with a low thrust-to-weight ratio to take off in various sea conditions. Therefore, when the Kuznetsov still used the ski-jump takeoff method in later generations, the An-72 early warning aircraft and the Yak-44 early warning aircraft actually had no chance to be deployed on the aircraft carrier, not to mention that these two early warning aircraft had not been developed at all.

Now, with the adjustment of the Soviet Union's combat direction, the navy has been allocated more resources. These two early warning aircraft are being steadily developed. However, it will take some time before they can be put on board. Moreover, they will not be equipped until the subsequent updated aircraft carrier equipped with catapults is built.

A plan for a carrier-based early warning aircraft based on the Ka-27 is also under development. However, the biggest shortcoming of the current Soviet aircraft carrier fleet is the lack of carrier-based early warning aircraft!

The fleet's air defense force, affected by the curvature of the earth, could not detect enemy aircraft flying close to the sea surface. In order to make up for this shortcoming, the aircraft carrier formation adopted the method of placing the two escorting Krivak-class missile frigates as far forward as possible, so that the top radar of the frigate could be used to detect enemy aircraft flying farther away on the sea surface. Even so, the air defense range was only expanded forward by about 50 kilometers.

Due to the limitation of the number of carrier-based aircraft and the inability to take off carrier-based aircraft all the time, the naval carrier-based aviation forces have formed a habit. In such combat situations, after taking off, they use their radar to scan the airspace to provide more warning time for their own aircraft carrier formations.

And now, this four-plane formation is going to launch a ground attack. The leader of the formation, Joseph, still turned on the radar, and the flat-plate slot radar antenna radiated electromagnetic waves towards the airspace ahead.

There is nothing in the high altitude, nor in the middle altitude, but in the low altitude? There are four targets in the low altitude!

"024 calling Minsk, 024 calling Minsk, four targets spotted at low altitude, 030 direction, altitude 100, speed 400, distance 100." Joseph called quickly on the radio.

We are already two hundred kilometers away from the aircraft carrier formation, and these four targets are one hundred kilometers away from us, and only three hundred kilometers away from our aircraft carrier formation!

The opponent was flying too low, and the radar of the Krivak-class missile frigate in front of the aircraft carrier had not yet detected the target!