Wing Ram
The enemy fighter squadrons gradually tightened their encirclement.
The Edge Swifts only had some short-range missiles remaining after exhausting all their long-range missiles.
Their only close combat weapons were their railguns.
However, the Edge Swifts displayed amazing performance even when engaging in close-range combat. Their variable wings allowed for adjustment to optimum angles for sudden climbs, dives, and sharp turns.
Their acceleration was also excellent. A fighter’s combat performance rests on its acceleration performance instead of its maximum speed. The Edge Swifts were able to rapidly accelerate by sweeping back their wings.
The Coulson squadrons that had finally managed to arrive were toyed around with by the smaller number of Edge Swifts.
The escort ships commenced an anti-aircraft barrage. They accurately aimed at the approaching Coulsons.
They had managed to repel a large number of the Coulson fighters. The Coulsons were indeed high-performance machines.
However, the combination of the accurate anti-aircraft fire of the escort fleet and the variable-wing fighters was just that monstrous.
One of the Coulsons finally managed to approach the fleet. It then found an enemy variable-wing fighter that seemed to have run out of ammunition in front of it.
It zeroed in on the enemy plane and prepared to shoot it down with its machine gun, but–
The variable-wing fighter suddenly changed its flight angle and rushed straight for the Coulson with its body tilted diagonally. It had fully deployed its wings to the front, but it didn’t seem to be for deceleration at all.
At this rate, the two planes would crash against one another. Collisions at speeds exceeding Mach 1 usually meant mutual destruction.
But that was not the case this time. In the blink of an eye, a large portion of the Coulson was sliced clean off, while the Edge Swift was fine.
This scene shocked both camps.
「What the heck was that!?」
Castor couldn’t help but scream in shock. It was something normally unthinkable.
「Don’t tell me it’s a flying ram of some sort……」
「A flying ram?」
Alberto muttered in a daze while Vasa raised one eyebrow.
「And just what is that flying ram you mentioned?」
Even a demigod like Castor got curious about the weapon that he was completely unfamiliar with.
「The idea of hitting bombers with flying wing fighter planes in order to achieve mutual destruction was an idea that came up on Earth long, long ago. It wasn’t actually designed specifically for that purpose, but its shape just ended up being capable of doing so. The variable wings of that fighter act like a sort of bladed wing ram, I suppose.」
「But collisions at supersonic speed should have caused great damage to both aircraft.」
「Indeed. That should be the case. The idea behind that aircraft is pure madness. However, that crazy idea has actually been realized and is right before us now. The variable wings should have mitigated the impact somehow by letting the shockwaves flow through it.」
「Astraea huh……」
「It’s more than likely a combination between Astraea and the enemy Development Engineer.」
「Even absurdity should have a limit!」
The demigod did not hide his irritation in the slightest. It meant that the enemy fighters still had the means to fight even if they had run out of ammunition.
On the other side, Kou noticed that Rick was staring at him hard.
He felt quite awkward.
He then noticed that Blue was giving him the same vacant stare.
「Just who was it? Who’s the close-combat idiot who thought up something as absurd as using a fighter’s wing to slice up other fighters?」
「……」
「Edge Swift. I thought it was called that because it was designed after a highly mobile swift, but it turns out the ‘edge’ part of the name was referring to its razor-sharp wings instead.」
Kou was doing his best not to match gazes with the two.
「The plane shouldn’t have been able to withstand an impact at supersonic speed.」
「But it did. I did calculate everything properly…… I designed it as a variable-wing aircraft to deal with the strong shockwaves after all.」
「Don’t design a variable-wing aircraft for something like that! What about the flaps?」
「I’ve completely done away with the flaps and given the variable wings control and propulsion vectoring functions. And since there are no more flaps, I wondered if attaching blades to the wings would actually work.」
「Why are you thinking of slashing everything up even when designing a fighter plane?! Stop being so obsessed with cutting things up already!」
Rick got unusually agitated as veins popped on his forehead.
He was now worried that even tanks would eventually get equipped with cutting weapons as well.
「It’s just as Rick said, Kou. Take this as a matter you should reflect on.」
「It’s gonna be fine! The wings won’t break that easily!」
「That’s not the problem!」
Blue had the same opinion as Rick. Kou had no allies regarding the idea of fighter planes cutting each other up in the air.
The Edge Swifts continued to attack the approaching Coulson fighter formations from long range.
Even though the encirclement was gradually closing in, the fierce attacks of the Edge Swifts were definitely gaining precious time.
An enemy tactical aircraft launched a single missile.
The missile exploded 200 kilometers away from the projected course of the Edge Swift squadron.
「The enemy has activated a wide-range plasma barrier! Both allies and enemies are unable to use missiles!」
「They’ve taken the bait.」
Aimer muttered while looking at the monitor. The missile the enemy fired had released a kind of electromagnetic pulse attack. It would not hamper the functions of an MCS much, but it will severely limit the use of other electronic devices and missiles.
「Eagle Eye, the enemies will probably advance at full speed. Predict the enemy fighter’s positions and transfer the data to the Edge Swifts.」
「Roger!」
「Edge Swift Squadron, prepare to launch a salvo. Put up a barrage.」
「Roger!」
Aimer’s commands were executed one after another.
If air-to-air missiles could no longer be used, then the enemy should be planning on closing in at full speed.
If so, all they had to do was to predict the enemy formation’s course and fire a concentrated barrage directly in their path.
「It’s now easier to predict their movements because it’s become monotonous.」
The Edge Swift formation moved into the designated position and fired a barrage from their railguns.
It takes roughly six minutes to reach a position 200 kilometers away. It was a daunting task to accurately land a hit on an enemy moving at Mach 2.
Therefore, they fired upon the projected course instead.
The Edge Swift’s railguns were capable of firing approximately 20 shots per minute. After one squadron uses up all their ammo, they would switch with another squadron from the back. Thus, the Edge Swifts performed a continuous railgun barrage.
It would already be considered a great success for such a barrage to take down two or three enemy planes. It was naturally very hard to shoot down planes advancing at supersonic speed.
In the end, the barrage really did manage to shoot down three Coulsons. This was a result of the premise that the enemy craft wouldn’t reduce their speed.
If the maneuvers have become monotonous, then interception was easier.
When the enemy planes flew to an area outside the effective range of the plasma barrier while avoiding the barrage, they were immediately hit by air-to-air missiles launched by the Edge Swifts.
Even though some enemy fighters sped up even more in order to force their way through, they were taken down in the end by the laser cannons of the anti-air defense cruisers the moment they got within range.
By taking evasive maneuvers, the speed of the enemy aircraft’s advance was slowed down.
The defense network wasn’t allowing anything to approach Astraea–
The number of enemy units has been definitely reduced.
「This is enough. The enemy side should be intensifying their attack soon.」
『They will probably proceed to saturation attacks.』
「Yes. Once that happens, the enemies attacking Fortress Area P336 will be thinned out and they should be able to retake air superiority. After that, we only need to take down all the enemy units that will be lured here.」
Aimer was aiming to destroy all the incoming enemy aerial units.
A transmission came from Eagle Eye.
「Enemy fighters are incoming. There are many of them. There are multiple formations composed of more than ten squadrons heading for Astraea simultaneously– No, there are still more. We’ve confirmed the same number of enemy planes coming in from behind the first wave!」
「They’ve come. Connect me to Cimon. Commander Barry, this is Aimer. We’ve confirmed enemy aircraft formations composed of multiple units heading our way. Please commence operations on your end.」
「Alright. Jenny! I’m counting on you! Once you secure air superiority, head here with the Tachycineta squadron! We’ll go and rescue Aimer-chan!」
「Roger that! We’ll finish this in a snap!」
Fortress Area P336 immediately started launching its aircraft immediately.
They’ve launched almost all of their available aircraft.
「The number of enemy aircraft heading toward us is estimated to be two to three thousand. The main force is composed of the unidentified twin-engine fighter. I expect the number of enemy planes on your end will be thinned out.」
「So, the ones with higher performance are heading straight for Astraea huh…… Dammit! Once we secure air superiority, the Cimon will immediately head to your position. Please hold on just a little longer.」
「You don’t even have escort ships. You’d just end up getting in the way. –Well then, our fleet will now be concentrating on intercepting the incoming enemy formations. I will now be ending this transmission.」
Aimer cut off the transmission and checked their present strength.
「Hurry up with resupplying the aircraft! Think of this as the last time we’d get to resupply our fighters.」
Aimer’s command made the Familiars and worker-type Quattro Silhouettes inside the ship speed up their work.
「Admiral! Please move to the MCS-type pilothouse! You can still use the terminal to issue commands from there.」
「Right. Please do it for our sake too.」
The MCS-type pilothouse was a system that was used in case one needs to maneuver the entire ship alone.
It’s also used as a means of escape in case of emergencies. The Familiars have already considered such a situation and were urging Aimer to prioritize her safety.
「Alright, I understand.」
She already knew what the Familiars were thinking when they made that suggestion.
Aimer decided to just obediently heed their request.
「From here on out, it will be the real thing.」
She sat down on the pilot seat and ran her fingers on the terminal.
Her true battle was about to begin.
「Go! Ground troops, full mobilization. Support the aerial troops! Armored troops, full speed ahead!」
Rick roared his commands at the Metal Iris troops.
「Don’t waste the chance that our comrades and a young girl who’s not even ten years old have given us. Tank corps, engage in anti-aircraft combat. Railguns should be effective on those bastards!」
Conducting anti-aircraft attacks with tank guns has already been put into practical use since the 21st century on Earth. However, it was only ever conducted against low-flying aircraft such as helicopters and not against fighter planes flying at supersonic speeds while 10,000 meters in the air.
Even so, the tanks of Metal Iris should be able to handle them through the use of the data link system.
Anti-aircraft autocannons were rather ineffective against the fighters. However, they were indispensable as a defense against air-to-ground missiles. For this purpose, wheeled and half-track armored combat vehicles were accompanying the tanks as their escorts.
Their roles were clearly divided.
「Aimer-chan, just how many enemies are you planning to pull in? Jenny, I was told we’d just get in the way, but we’re coming to rescue her anyway. You better damn take air superiority back from those bastards!」
Barry yelled harshly through the comms as he thought of Aimer’s dangerous predicament.
「Dike, how long would it take for us to head from this area to where Aimer’s fleet is located?」
The Cimon-class was currently hiding on the seabed.
『It would take approximately two hours.』
「Hear that, Jenny? I’m counting on you.」
「Yeah. We have to get rid of these guys real quick so we can head out to help that girl right away. I absolutely don’t want to keep being the one receiving help.」
「We’ll also support you from the sea. We’ll finish this in one go!」
Jenny nodded toward Barry and cut the transmission.
Jenny’s chest was in pain. It was due to Aimer’s earlier speech.
A young girl who wasn’t even ten years of age had already prepared herself for the possibility of death. ‘If I fall here’ Aimer had repeated those words twice.
Those words have been seared within Jenny’s mind.
Just who was the captain of Metal Iris, she inwardly screamed. It wasn’t Kou. It wasn’t Barry either. It was none other than her.
「I will never let something like that happen!」
The Tachycineta squadron, Falke squadron, and Star Soldier squadron took off from Fortress Area P336 in quick succession. Even though the number of aircraft that can be launched from the Fortress Area at any one time was limited, Aimer’s aerial support had forcefully opened a significant gap in the enemy waves.
The main force of the enemy was probably already heading straight for Astraea.
The only enemies present in the air above Fortress Area P336 were the single-engine fighters.
「Disappear!」
Jenny engaged the enemy planes in battle.
The Packs were shot down one after another in the wake of her rage.
Another wave of enemy planes flew from another direction. Their numbers were still significant.
The next moment, anti-aircraft missiles flew out to intercept the enemy planes. The ground troops have also completely finished deploying.
Jenny defeated enemy planes one after another, taking advantage of the Tachycineta’s speed and mobility to the fullest, as she endured her feelings of frustration and anxiousness.
There a sleeve like thing covering the cannon barrel on the main battle tanks (not always though), with the purpose of maintaining a balanced thermal expansion for the entire length (basically, if one part of the barrel is hotter or colder than the rest, the shape of the whole thing can be distorted, cuz materials expands when heated and contracts when cold, except water at around 4 degrees C). So, I think Kou might later make some SF version of that (though I think railguns don’t need that sleeve) but with cutting power, for close combat “jousting” like option.
Thanks for the chapter! Awesome translation! May God bless you!