Chapter 4

"Americans, I'm here!" In an instant, Andrei's eyes were filled with madness, and the scenes from that year flashed through his mind again.

The American EP-3 was flying recklessly over the South China Sea, probing the mainland's electromagnetic signals. The brave naval aviation pilot Wang Wei, flying an outdated J-8II fighter, went ahead to intercept it. During the confrontation, the American pilot maliciously approached Wang Wei's aircraft, and the large EP-3 rapidly collided with the rear of Wang Wei's J-8II. Wang Wei didn't have time to react; the nose and left wing of the American aircraft successively hit the rear of Wang Wei's plane. The outer propeller of the left wing, like a chainsaw, shredded the vertical stabilizer of Wang Wei's J-8II.

This was a malicious collision! Wang Wei's aircraft, having lost its vertical stabilizer, could no longer continue flying. Helpless, Wang Wei chose to eject. He was never found again. The Republic lost an excellent pilot, but Wang Wei's spirit continued to inspire everyone, including the pilots who soared through the skies. Lei Tian, before his time travel, though not part of the front-line combat forces, still harbored this humiliation in his heart.

Now, encountering the American EP-3 again, Andrei's heart was naturally filled with anger. It was one thing to bully the outdated J-8II, but now, he would show them the power of his stainless steel fighter!

In this era, the pursuit of speed was endless. When the speed exceeded 2.5 Mach, a phenomenon called the heat barrier emerged. Due to friction with the air, a large amount of heat was generated. At low speeds, this could be ignored, but at 3 Mach, the temperature at the nose of the aircraft would exceed 300 degrees Celsius!

At such temperatures, aluminum alloy would become as soft as toilet paper, unable to perform any maneuvers, let alone maintain normal flight.

To break through this barrier, both the United States and the Soviet Union adopted their own methods. The Americans used advanced titanium alloys to create the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. Despite its high cost, its performance was limited, with almost no maneuverability, making it suitable only for reconnaissance, not air combat. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, used a simpler and more brutal method: stainless steel!

Some experts claimed that the MiG-25's stainless steel structure was heavy, and to reduce weight, the structural strength had to be sacrificed, making it unable to perform high-G maneuvers, thus limiting it to interception and reconnaissance. This was purely theoretical! The MiG-25's stainless steel structure was incredibly robust, with pilots once pulling 11.5 Gs without any issues. Other experts claimed that the Soviet Union's titanium alloy technology was inadequate, but in reality, the Yevgeny E. Yevdokimov Design Bureau, later known as the Sukhoi Design Bureau, had already developed the titanium alloy T-4 prototype, proving that the technology was well advanced. The Soviet Union simply chose stainless steel after comparing the options.

The aluminum alloy J-8II couldn't stand up to the EP-3, but the stainless steel MiG-25 was a different story!

The entire frame of the MiG-25, including the tall vertical stabilizer at the rear, was made of stainless steel!

The two engines at the rear spewed flames as Andrei maneuvered the MiG-25 rapidly towards the EP-3.

At this point, the EP-3's departure was entering the final countdown. In another thirty seconds, all data collection would be complete, and the mission would be over. Despite the terrifying Soviet aircraft following them, it seemed to have no effect. After all the commotion, nothing had happened.

The Americans on the plane were no longer afraid; they were even relaxed. Once the mission was over, they could go on leave to Hawaii, find a beautiful woman, and boast about their mission!

"032, watch your altitude!" The lead aircraft's voice came through the earphones. By this time, Belenko had already sensed something was wrong.

Usually, when driving away an enemy aircraft, one would fly above it, pass over the nose, and then press the control stick, similar to cutting off a car on the road, forcing the enemy to follow and play with them.

But now, Andrei's aircraft was flying lower than the enemy's. What was Andrei doing?

In the air, every second counted. By the time Belenko gave the order, Andrei's aircraft had already flown to the lower rear of the EP-3. Then, under Belenko's watchful eye, Andrei's plane quickly passed under the enemy.

Damn, it's too close, we'll collide!

The MiG-25 had no rear visibility, so Andrei had to rely entirely on his experience to perform this maneuver.

To have sufficient lateral control in the thin high-altitude air, the MiG-25 had a tall vertical stabilizer and a dual-vertical stabilizer layout. This was the world's first dual-vertical stabilizer fighter, and the aerodynamic design of the American F-15 was heavily influenced by the MiG-25.

Now, the benefit of the dual-vertical stabilizer was that even if one was damaged, Andrei could still fly the aircraft back!

Andrei's plane quickly passed under the enemy's left side. To ensure the effect, when the enemy's wing passed over his head, Andrei deliberately pulled back on the control stick.

"Andrei, press the control stick, we're going to collide!" Belenko saw it clearly. Andrei's nose had passed, but the right vertical stabilizer at the rear would collide with the American EP-3.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late. As he spoke, the tall right vertical stabilizer of the MiG-25 had already grazed the outer part of the left wing of the EP-3, near the No. 1 engine.

The sharp vertical stabilizer, like a knife, cleanly cut off the outer part of the EP-3's left wing. The stabilizer continued forward, colliding with the propeller, causing sparks to fly.

Andrei's first intimate contact with the American EP-3 ended there. As he pushed the throttle and accelerated away, the EP-3 began to sway like a leaf in the wind.

Those damn Soviets, they're madmen! From the main observation station on the left side of the EP-3, the observer saw the wing being cut off and falling, and the No. 1 engine propeller sparking. He shouted, "Quick, shut down the No. 1 engine, our wing has been cut off!"