Chapter 103 Looking for Trouble

Vladivostok, Far Eastern Military District Headquarters.

"At present, this is the news we have received. The Americans have sent their Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier to the island country, and they are also planning to conduct a military exercise in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo. This exercise is completely aimed at us." An officer with a serious face said in his seat in the conference room.

Andrei had met General Ivan Trechiyanko, commander of the Far Eastern Military District, once at the Sokolovka base when Belenko was shot down last time, and had never seen him again since. Within two days of his return, he received an order from his superiors to attend a meeting at the Vladivostok Military District Command.

When Andre arrived, he found that all those present were high-ranking officers of the military region. Among a large group of people with generals' stars on their shoulders, Andre, a colonel, had the lowest rank. At the same time, he was the only one attending the meeting as a base commander.

Andre knew that this was not because he was taken care of, but mainly because in the last salvage operation with the Americans, Andre's actions had ruined the Americans' conspiracy, and this time he was specially called over to attend the meeting.

Of course, there may be other reasons, such as his marriage to Ekaterina. These people may have already known Ekaterina's identity. In addition, Ustinov's appreciation of himself made his position in the Far Eastern Military Region important.

Apart from anything else, there were only a few people in the entire Soviet Union who could achieve the rank of colonel in their twenties.

Andre did not imagine too much about his own identity, but was thinking about the Americans' purpose.

If it was a demonstration to the Soviet Union, then conducting exercises in the Pacific Ocean would be a bit redundant. Why would they demonstrate to the Soviet Union across an island country? Were they afraid of the threat of Soviet anti-ship missiles? What other ulterior motives did the Americans have?

Andre's mind was thinking rapidly. Ever since he shot down an EP-3 last year, the Americans have hardly gained any benefits. This time, since the Tomcat fighter has arrived, as the world's first third-generation aircraft, it will definitely come to compete with the MiG-25!

Since they are so shy to go to the Pacific Ocean for exercises, why not go there and do it themselves? I remember that the Americans took advantage of Russia's weakness to conduct exercises in the Sea of ​​Japan, but were severely beaten by the Russian naval aviation. So why not try the same thing ourselves?

"Now, our task is to be prepared. This American aircraft carrier has strong combat effectiveness, but it has just been modified. This should be the first exercise after the modification. In the future, this aircraft carrier may enter the Sea of ​​Japan and confront us." Admiral Ivan Trechiyanko said.

Now, the Soviet Pacific Fleet has not yet welcomed its own large aircraft carrier Minsk, and only has a cruiser as its flagship. Compared with the US Navy, the Soviet Navy is very weak.

Admiral Duarte-Spilidnov, commander of the Pacific Fleet, sat in a corner, staring at the ceiling in silence. If the Red Empire's navy hadn't been because of Khrushchev, it would have had several aircraft carriers by now! If the Pacific Fleet also had aircraft carriers, I really wanted to pull them to the Pacific Ocean and confront the US Navy!

"General, I have an idea." At this moment, a voice came from a corner of the conference room.

Admiral Spiridnov looked over and saw a young face whom he did not recognize.

"Andrei, what do you think?" asked Admiral Trechiyanko.

"The American aircraft carrier formation is holding an exercise, and we can get close to observe it." Andre said: "We have MiG-25 reconnaissance aircraft at our base, which can take a lot of clear pictures. Moreover, when we fly over the enemy, they have no means to intercept us."

What Andre said was to fly over the top of the American aircraft carrier! Everyone was shocked when they heard Andre's words.

For the Americans, their aircraft carriers are their lifeblood. The Americans have a large number of frigates to protect their aircraft carriers. If Soviet fighter planes can fly over their heads, it means that the 500-kilometer defense circle of their aircraft carriers is pure nonsense.

However, even though the United States and the Soviet Union are now engaged in a Cold War, this act of flying directly over each other's heads must be carefully considered. After all, if the Americans launch missiles and shoot down their own planes, it is possible that the Cold War will turn into a hot war, and the two sides will fight each other outright in the Far East.

Now, the Far Eastern Military Region is not yet ready. The superiors have mobilized some new troops and equipment to the Far East to hold a new exercise, but it will take several months to complete the mobilization.

"Andrei, what if we are intercepted by American fighter jets?" Lieutenant General Konstantin Burman, commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Military District's Air Defense Force, said to Andrei.

"That way we can have some exchanges with the Americans and see the performance difference between our fighters and the American Tomcats. We still cannot grasp the performance of the American Tomcats, and confrontation is the best way to find out the opponent's performance. As for shooting down, I don't think there is such a risk. Whether it is a ship-to-air missile or an air-to-air missile, it is quite difficult to shoot down a high-altitude target flying at Mach 3. Moreover, we can take advantage of loopholes. For example, we can go there while the opponent's aircraft carrier is replenishing at sea. The Americans will never think that we will go to the Pacific Ocean to cause trouble for them."

"But the MiG-25's range is not enough," said Lieutenant General Konstantin Burman. If it takes off from the Sokolovka base, it would be good enough to fly over the island country, and it has to fly in a straight line. If it wants to reach the Pacific Ocean, it is only enough for a one-way trip.

"We can refuel in the air," Andrei said. "Our MiG-25PD fighters can be modified with aerial refueling hoses at any time. Or, we can move to Sakhalin Island, take off from there, and add a 5,300-liter fuel tank, which is enough for the round trip."

In the Soviet Union, the front-line aviation fighters had a short range, and interceptors like the MiG-25 consumed too much fuel. Therefore, the Soviet Union was also working tirelessly to develop aerial refueling technology. In fact, it had been developing continuously since World War II. Now, it has reached the practical stage, and professional Il-78 aerial refueling aircraft have begun to be manufactured. Now, the naval aviation also has a modified Tu-16 tanker. And the MiG-25 is also easy to install an aerial refueling hose. After all, the historical MiG-25PDS is a modified version with an aerial refueling hose installed.