Changing the tactical numbering is certainly not an idea of the ground crew.

This kind of obfuscation tactic, which is insignificant and impossible to miss, is probably the only thing that the KGB would do so tirelessly; If we were in a large formation operation with complicated air conditions and heavy command tasks, we still don't know what kind of chaos would be caused.

"Cross Axe, level after reaching the altitude of 8,005, the target distance is sixty-five, ready to intercept."

"Roger, Crossaxe understood."

Korolev, who had the tactical call sign "Anvil", reminded Long Yun on the radio of their next tactical arrangements and scheduled actions; Although his position is now in the wingman, in order to familiarize Long Yun with the typical volley tactics of the 237th Regiment, he still needs to carefully remind Long Yun from time to time.

Piloting the Su-27 from the climb to level, at this time the two fighters had broken through the sound barrier in the climb just now and accelerated to Mach 1.4; Long Yun held the joystick steadily, and stabilized the attitude of the fighter with the help of the fly-by-wire control system.

The Su-27 with six missiles on board has greatly increased its drag, its center of gravity has also shifted backwards, and Mach 1.4 is already approaching the upper limit of speed at an altitude of 9,000 meters.

The altitude and speed have met the requirements, and Long Yun knows that if it is in actual combat, their next engagement step is to turn on the radar to search the airspace ahead, determine whether they are friends or foes and lock on to the most threatening targets, and then launch the first wave of over-the-horizon missile salvos near the R-27's firing range.

Prior to this, Tong Guò read the combat records of the 237 Fighter Aviation Regiment, and Long Yun, who had not yet participated in the combat seminar, already knew that the combat mode of this team was very different from that of the 309 Regiment.

How to understand this difference?

The typical tactics of the 237th Regiment were very different from Long Yun's previous combat habits.

Unlike the 309th Front-Line Fighter Regiment, which is equipped with MiG-29 and is stationed on the front line to fight for front-line air supremacy and provide battlefield interdiction, the 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment was originally an interceptor combat force equipped with Su-15TM.

On the surface, it seems that the equipment is different, but in fact, it is also for different combat intentions; The 237th Regiment was originally a long-range combat unit deployed on the second line of the Soviet Union's territory, carrying out broad frontal air defense, and taking interception and elimination of invading air targets as its own responsibility, and this combat nature has not changed much after the Su-27 series fighters have been replaced.

At first glance, this method of interception warfare is no different from that of the Territorial Defense Force, whose goal is to defend the airspace of the Soviet Union, and in fact it is much the same.

Contrary to what many people think, some combat equipment and deployments of VVS (Soviet Air Force) and PVO (Territorial Defense Force) often overlap, and this arrangement is mainly to deal with the needs of large-scale wars and even world wars; The Su-27, as a successful work originally developed as a heavy interceptor, but fully met the combat needs of fighters because of its excellent combat performance, especially superb maneuverability, not only entered service with PVO, but also increased the number of VVS.

Many of these air force aviation regiments equipped with Su-27 are second-line troops that were originally responsible for air defense interception operations, just like the 237 regiment; This arrangement takes into account both the operational characteristics of the Su-27 and the apparent lack of readiness of the decision-making authorities to put the Su-27 on the front line of combat and to prepare for large-scale attrition in the early stages of the war, as is the case with the MiG-29.

Under this arrangement and consideration, since the beginning of the war, the 237th Regiment has carried out combat operations similar to those of the Su-15 and MiG-31.

Specifically, after receiving an air situation briefing, they will take off in a large formation and rush to the airspace where the front-line air force is scheduled to engage with the enemy, and then, under the command of the ground guidance system, accumulate altitude and speed superiority, and carry out intensive over-the-horizon missile attacks in the direction of the enemy's invasion.

After the first batch of missile attacks, the large formation will detach part of its forces to cover the rest of the Su-27s to turn and disengage, accumulate speed and regain altitude, and return to the battle line again to carry out a surprise attack.

Unlike the MiG-29, which attaches great importance to close combat and generally carries only two R-27s, with the bomb load of ten Su-to-air missiles of the Su-27, the Su-27 formation carrying up to six R-27s will launch several waves of missile attacks in this way until the over-the-horizon missiles of all fighters are exhausted, or the opponent is defeated or even completely destroyed.

In such operations, the 237th Regiment, or the Su-27, is quite similar to the famous interceptor such as the MiG-31; However, unlike the MiG-31, which is large and clumsy and unsuitable for close combat, the Su-27 formation can continue to penetrate deep into the enemy's position to carry out close combat if it is really necessary after launching a missile salvo.

As a heavy fighter with a total length of 22 meters and an empty weight of more than 16 tons, the combat performance of the Su-27 is not inferior to any NATO active fighter.

……

The two-plane formation formed with Korolev accelerated forward at an altitude of 8,000 meters, and aimed at a hypothetical target in the distance, Long Yun and Korolev simulated a standard missile salvo process.

After the two were ready to launch, they pressed the button continuously and "fired" two R-27R missiles one after another at three-second intervals.

The missile payload of the Su-27 should be a maximum of six R-27R / R-27T in the design state; Among them, two are mounted in series under the center line of the belly, one under the left and right air intakes, and then the innermost hanging points of the wing are also one on the left and right.

As for the wing-side hardpoints and wingtip missile launch rails, they are generally only used to mount R-73 combat missiles; Although the R-27 can also be carried after replacing the pylon, in terms of the combat mode of semi-active radar-guided missiles, carrying too many missiles does not make any real combat significance.

Unlike infrared-guided missiles, which are self-homing after launch and do not need to be taken care of by the carrier aircraft, semi-active radar-guided missiles need the carrier aircraft to provide continuous irradiation signals after launch, and receive the signal echo of the target through guò to track until it hits; In this way of warfare, the missile fighter needs to provide an irradiation signal for the missile all the time after launching the missile, which on the one hand prolongs the engagement processing time, and on the other hand, it is also difficult to guide multiple missiles at the same time and deal with multiple air targets at the same time.

To use a less apt analogy, a fighter with a semi-active radar-guided missile is a bit like a soldier with a bolt-action rifle: because the rate of fire is inherently slow, it can only attack one target at a time, and no amount of bullets can increase the density of fire, but only increase the combat load.

Although it is said that the Su-237S of the 237th Fighter Aviation Regiment have been upgraded in the previous two years, and the irradiation mode and signal coordination in the fire control system have been improved, so that they have the ability to engage two targets at the same time; However, compared to the earlier combat method in which the Su-27S could only guide up to two R-27Rs to attack one target (this is mainly to improve the hit rate), it is only slightly strengthened.

To put it bluntly, the so-called simultaneous engagement of two targets does not mean that two salvos are directed at the same time, but that two missiles need to be fired at different targets at certain intervals.

After the missile is launched, the fire control system first uses the radar antenna to continuously irradiate the first target to provide irradiation for the first missile, and the second missile cannot find the irradiation signal, but only maintains the pre-set flight path according to the correction signal prompted by the fire control system.

This state of engagement continues until the first missile hits the target or crosses the target track; The fire control system then quickly switches the frequency and then turns to the direction of the second target to provide continuous illumination, providing illumination for the second missile, which has been flying according to the track correction signal provided by the fire control system, and should have approached the target at this time, until the end of the second missile's combat process.

This kind of combat method cannot be said to be of no real combat significance, but it has high requirements for the pilot's control ability and the coordinated operation of the fire control system, and the probability of killing the target of a single R-27 is not ideal.

Therefore, in actual combat, the Su-27S generally does not use this combat method to engage two targets at the same time, so as to avoid the situation that "two rabbits did not catch one", but concentrates on using the traditional tactics of "two R-27Rs against one target" to attack the enemy.

As for guiding two missiles separately to attack different targets, the Su-27S will consider using the "divide and conquer" mode of operation only when faced with a large number of targets and limited opponents' mobility and electronic jamming means.

Although this mode is complex, it is relatively powerful in the fight against saturation assaults on a large number of targets, and theoretically can multiply the attack power of the fighter, which is also a manifestation of the characteristics of the Su-27 as an interceptor.

However, the possibility of this situation actually appearing is very small, and as far as Long Yun knows, the regiment does not advocate a distraction and dual-purpose combat strategy.

If it is engaged with only one target at a time, considering the combat capabilities of the Su-27, there is not much difference between the two MiG-29s, which carry two R-27 missiles and can launch only one salvo attack; However, the Su-27's bomb carrying capacity and fuel capacity are far more abundant than the smaller MiG-29, and it is theoretically possible to disengage at high speed after an attack, take up a position again after turning, and continue to launch two or three batches of over-the-horizon attacks in an air battle.

This kind of continuous engagement capability cannot be achieved by MiG planes that are positioned on the front line to compete for air supremacy and focus on combat air combat.

It is precisely this kind of tactical consideration that today's exercise between Long Yun and Korolev is also a single one, with the two Su-27S each locking on to their opponents, and then launching two missiles to carry out an over-the-horizon attack.

――――Dividing Line――――

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