47: Aerial dogfight, western cowboy style duel!

Fang Le looked at the 12 soldiers on the stretchers before him, his heart filled with complex emotions.

These were the people who, despite risking their lives, were defending this city and the dignity of the Anti-War Army with their very existence.

At the same time, a sense of self-reproach welled up in Fang Le.

Because, at its source, this war was triggered by him.

At this moment, on one of the stretchers, a person moved his mouth with difficulty, saying in an almost sobbing tone, "0... 01 vehicle Commander, reporting to Commander... no, begging for forgiveness, we failed to complete the mission, please punish us."

Fang Le's eyes nearly welled up with tears in that instant.

"No, you did very well, you are the most outstanding soldiers, you accomplished the mission entrusted by the organization."

"Now, don't overthink it, cooperate with the treatment, and when you recover, I will personally award you medals."

"Yes... Commander!"

The 12 stretchers were carried away for treatment.

Fang Le's heart felt heavy.

He had originally envisioned a straightforward, decisive duel like Guan Yu's slaying of Hua Xiong while his wine was still warm.

Who would have thought that once the battle began, it would last for 3 hours, ending in such a tragic and heroic manner!

At this moment, Political Commissar Zhao Gang quietly approached Fang Le and whispered, "Commander, Qin Feng, the head of the First Armored Regiment, wants to report something to you."

Zhao Gang's expression was unusual, clearly indicating that what he was about to report was not a routine matter, and Fang Le's heart stirred.

U.S. Military, Darwin Air Force Base.

General Aris was throwing a tantrum.

"How could this happen, to fight those irregulars to a 3:3 draw?"

"Disqualified, as a U.S. Military soldier, completely disqualified—"

Inside the office, a general listening to his tantrum couldn't help but interject, "Reporting to Commander, I believe your evaluation is unfair to those 12 soldiers; they have done their utmost and displayed their best tactical and technical skills!"

"The reason for the draw, besides random battlefield factors, can only be attributed to the American military's equally high level of armored combat!"

Aris was about to refute the general, but then stopped.

"Alright, all of you go out, I need to be alone."

The generals left, leaving Aris alone in the room, pacing back and forth.

He wasn't actually angry because of the draw.

It was because, in this ground combat competition, the U.S. Military had actually cheated.

Under circumstances where they cheated and still couldn't defeat the opponent, what else could it be but a disgrace?

However, as the general said, the U.S. Military had indeed underestimated the newly formed Anti-War Army a little.

Therefore, the aerial combat in the afternoon must be handled with even greater care.

—

"What? You mean the American military cheated?!"

In Darwin City, Fang Le met with Qin Feng, the head of the Armored Regiment, a robust soldier in his late twenties.

Qin Feng nodded: "Based on the replay of the entire competition process, combined with consulting the surviving 01 vehicle Commander and others, my subordinates have determined that the American military did indeed cheat."

Fang Le: "What kind of cheating are you referring to?"

Qin Feng: "There are two conjectures. One is that the American military provided battlefield intelligence support from the rear, intervening and directing the operation from outside the battlefield."

Fang Le: "Is that possible?"

Qin Feng: "It's hard to say. To ensure fairness in the competition, the organizers have maximized efforts to prevent interference from outside the duel zone, but it's not impossible that the organizers were bribed by the United States and rigged it."

Fang Le: "What about the other one?"

Qin Feng: "Another conjecture is that the American military intercepted the channel communications between our three tanks."

What?!

Fang Le instantly thought of many things.

If that were the case, the temporary adjustments and coordinated deployments between their three vehicles could have been leaked to the opponent, making the intelligence unilaterally transparent, allowing the opponent to take advantage of the situation and use their own tactics against them!

But...

Fang Le asked, "Is that possible?"

Communication channels are encrypted and assigned temporarily.

Qin Feng: "Don't forget where we acquired our tanks."

Fang Le instantly understood everything.

Damn, he was careless.

—

Both sides agreed to ground combat in the morning and aerial combat in the afternoon. Now that the morning's ground combat ended in a draw, the suspense of the competition was maximized.

Netizens worldwide eagerly discussed and predicted who would win the aerial combat in the afternoon.

And an online poll was conducted.

The poll results showed that 80% of the votes predicted the U.S. Military would win the aerial combat, while 20% predicted Darwin City would win.

This vote share was actually not outrageous.

Before the ground combat in the morning, the probability of the United States winning was over 95%.

After all, the Darwin City Anti-War Army was a new force, while the U.S. Military was experienced and had a vast talent pool.

However, the ground combat in the morning showed the general public that the Anti-War Army also had excellent soldiers, and their expectations for it inevitably rose by a notch.

But aerial combat is vastly different from ground combat.

In ground combat, with a larger number of armored vehicles, it's not impossible for individuals with certain talent and driving experience to be trained into excellent armored warriors in a relatively short period.

But aerial combat involves fighter jets, and the selection of fighter pilots is much more difficult.

Excellent fighter pilots are one in ten thousand, cultivated through years of daily training and even massive financial investment!

Can a newly established army compare to the U.S. Military, which has possessed various advanced fighter jet models for decades and boasts a vast pool of aviation talent?

It seems highly unlikely no matter how you think about it.

And just before the aerial combat began, the official account of the Darwin City Anti-War People's Army suddenly added a series of competition suggestions.

That is, for the afternoon's aerial combat, all engagements must be close-range dogfights!

In other words, abandoning beyond-visual-range combat, missile attacks, fire control radar locking, and decoy interference, using only the aircraft's own cannons for close-quarters combat.

There will be a total of 3 aerial combat rounds, each a one-on-one, with the downing of the American military aircraft and the self being deemed alive as the end of each round.

As soon as these new rules from the Anti-War Army were announced, the whole world was in an uproar.

Anyone with a bit of military common sense knows that the latest generation of fighter jets are designed for beyond-visual-range combat, long-range missile attacks, and radar assistance.

If these advantages are sealed off, with no missiles, no decoy flares, and even no fire control assistance allowed.

Wouldn't that turn it into World War I aerial combat mode? Machine gun strafing, visual aiming.

No, considering the current maneuverability advantage of fighter jets, it would be even more difficult than back then.

Immediately, the internet split into two factions, arguing incessantly.

One faction believed this was a complete regression of technology, stating that fighter dogfights had long since exited the stage of history.

The other faction believed this type of competition was more exciting and intense.

The pressure shifted to the U.S. Military.

Commander-in-Chief Aris of the U.S. Military frowned for a long time, unable to fathom why the opponent proposed such an outrageous suggestion.

Could it be that their cheating in the morning was detected by the opponent, which is why the opponent wants to cancel the team combat mode for aerial combat and maximize the reduction of high-tech elements in aerial combat, making the competition simpler and reducing the probability of interference?

So, would this be more advantageous or disadvantageous for them?

Aris was unsure, but the air force general who came to plead was indignant.

"Commander-in-Chief, the American military is insulting our army!"

Aris: "How so?"

The general: "The American military clearly feels that they are not as proficient as we are in the use of fighter jets, and high-tech combat does not give them an advantage, so they want to challenge us with the most primitive method of close-range dogfighting."

"Isn't this implying that our air force's close-range dogfighting capabilities are poor?"

"This is utterly preposterous!"

Aris thought about it and felt that while the Anti-War Army's approach seemingly aimed to eliminate the U.S. Military's technical interference and make the competition fair, it actually reduced the Anti-War Army's own probability of victory. After all, it's hard to say who would win in long-range missile exchanges, but in close-quarters dogfights, it purely relies on the pilot's skill level.

How many high-quality pilots could the Anti-War Army have?

Therefore, shortly after, the U.S. Military publicly announced online that they agreed to the opponent's proposal.

In the afternoon, the final duel officially began, captivating the entire world's attention!