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Air Combat Training, which simulates actual combat, is abbreviated as ACT.

By adding D for dissimilar, it becomes DACT and all of a sudden, the training becomes much more lively. That’s because in real combat, “the enemy” flies aircraft different from one’s allies.

ACT within the same squadron is prone to developing patterns, but by training with other squadrons using different types of jets, a squadron’s proficiency drastically improves.

This is a big paradox.

In order to assess the skills of pilots, it needs to be done by comparing them on relatively equal conditions. If the type of plane they go against are different, it is very far from being equal.

In reality, DACT is conducted with particular assumptions and strict rules in place, so oftentimes the results do not match that of actual combat. In many training exercises, practice craft have “shot down” state-of-the-art fighter jets.

The F-15 has left a formidable record of shooting down over 100 aircraft in actual combat, with one or two damaged and “maybe” shot down. However, its performance in DACT is not so one-sided. Clearly, it is not rare to lose to a lower performing fighter jet.



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In actual combat, one would look for the most advantageous conditions possible, and then begin attacking. It can be said that the ability to achieve those conditions themselves is a measure of performance for a fighter jet. However, conducting training exercises under these conditions are seldom required.

DACT occasionally puts lower ranking planes in advantageous conditions intentionally, and those involved learn that in those conditions, even lower-tier aircraft can be a large threat.

Understanding that victory during DACT is not proof of one’s superiority in reality is necessary.

It is only a “training simulating a real fight” meant for increasing pilot skill. One must not forget that though it may look like it, they are not in real combat.

Even fighter jets are created with certain kinds of assumptions in mind, and is rare for those assumptions to yield the exact same aircraft.

Therefore, no matter how “equal conditions” are proposed, it is impossible to be equally fair for all the different kinds of aircraft, and those conditions chosen as the fairest are often far from reality.

Determining a fighter jet’s merits through DACT is fundamentally impossible.

However, when a plane’s merits could not be determined and it needed to be compared, DACT was an extremely easy to understand measure for comparison.



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“Did the canopy change?”

Regarding Zero Two, Nagase noticed that the tint of the canopy was different than before from looking at the windscreen.

“I guess you didn’t get the message yet. It’s a new material that absorbs electromagnetic waves well. It’ll improve stealth properties.”

“Don’t do weird things since the fight is coming up.”

“I didn’t put this on you know. But it’s a serious fight. The engineers probably wanted to implement anything that would be advantageous.”

“...It’s a little odd.”

The mechanic forced a bitter smile and left the ramp.

The canopies of fighter jets are made of organic glass such as acrylic or polycarbonate, and is permeable to not only light, but to invisible electromagnetic waves. This presents the danger of electromagnetic waves bouncing around the inside of the cockpit and being detected by radar. In the case of fighter jets where good visibility is emphasized for combat, a large proportion of the airframe is taken up by the canopy, and electromagnetic waves that are reflected from the pilot’s seat cannot be ignored.

Therefore, stealth aircraft have gold deposition coating, since gold is a good conductor, to absorb those electromagnetic waves.

Since the ASF-X’s canopy shape is yet to be finalized, it should have been coated with a metal cheaper than gold. There were many unconfirmed rumors about what materials would be eventually used, from a room-temperature superconductor currently being developed by Taiga Heavy Industries, or a transparent organic conductive material.



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Whatever the case, it seems like this canopy incorporates technology and materials that have better stealth characteristics than the pre-existing one.

Nagase thought that this level of color change wouldn’t hinder practical use and decided to accept it. Even if she wanted to change it now, a replacement wouldn’t make it in time.

After she confirmed that the mechanic left, Nagase began checks on the aircraft using reserve power.

Taking part in DACT, Nagase’s emotions were scattered in pieces.

Her emotions wouldn’t calm down since she couldn’t stop thinking about the match against Asano. Nagase believed that the mock fight with the T-4 that concluded with her losing more than winning was “inconclusive.”

Even in today’s combat exercise against the Q-X, she couldn’t make up her mind on whether to have the objective be shooting down the Q-X itself or win against Asano by shooting down more Q-Xs.

“No!”

Nagase slapped her cheeks to motivate herself.

Let’s just focus on winning against the Q-X.

It’s not an opponent that can be beat in battle if one’s emotional condition is scattered.

In the data delivered by the Air Development and Test Wing to the Joint Test and Evaluation Squadron, there was a flight characteristic of the Q-X that was a little hard to believe recorded on it.



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The ASF-X has outstanding maneuverability, but the Q-X is superior to the ASF-X at subsonic speeds. At supersonic speeds, it was thought that the ASF-X was superior, but it seemed like the Q-X was using a variety of special stall maneuvers to cover its deficiencies at those speeds. In the mock fight against the F-2, it evaded most of the attacks the F-2s made at supersonic speeds.

In the end, the Q-X’s movement was too unique and didn’t fit within the common knowledge of conventional fighter aircraft.

Previously, it was predicted that even high-performance jet aircraft would struggle with shooting down military craft like submarine patrol planes that fly at low speeds, and it could be said that the Q-X was an example of the difficulty of combat with dissimilar aircraft.

The Q-X’s attack/evasion maneuvers are based on the operator’s judgment of threats and each craft moves autonomously/automatically in response. It was assessed that the crushing defeat against the F-2’s the previous year was due to the method of control and imperfect automatic evasion maneuvers, but those flaws seems to have been mostly overcome.

Its evasion capabilities were considerably high, and the Air Development and Test Wing concluded that it was impossible to shoot down the Q-X with older generation anti-aircraft missiles still operated by third world countries, as long as that they did not deliberately launch a saturated attack. Considering that the Q-X could be built at the same level of cost as a slightly more advanced SAM, it would be a serious problem for a country facing the Q-X as an enemy.

On the other hand, it seemed that ifs attack capabilities were relatively normal, at least from what has been confirmed. However, it looked like the Q-X could at least attack the F-2s without having any difficulty.



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In the attacks against the unmanned target during the test in the United States, it deliberately showed a different attack method, but apparently it was a demonstration performed due to the opponent’s low evasion capability. In the mock fight against the F-2, it performed orthodox attack methods of chasing the enemy and attacking after securing an advantageous position. However, it would close in and attack dangerously, so the evasion measures that could be taken by the F-2s were limited.

Overall, from what could be determined from the data, the Q-X’s evasion capabilities were superior to its attack capabilities.

This assessment made it a little complicated for today’s mock fight.

The ASF-X would be equipped with new air-to-air missiles currently in development. But since hits by missiles are determined by the simulator for the mock fight, accurate verdicts cannot be made for a new missile whose evaluation has not been finalized.

As a result of discussion, the fight would be done with the assumption that existing missiles would be equipped on it. These would be inferior to the predicted performance of the new missiles. The Q-X would also be equipped with these existing missiles, but these were originally considered for use on the Q-X, so it could be said that this was a disadvantage to the ASF-X.

In proper DACT, the goal is to have the crew gain plenty of experience in aerial combat against planes with different characteristics, and use those to devise superior tactics in a fight between the different performing aircraft. DACT is rarely done to determine the relative merits of different aircraft themselves.



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Whichever is the case, there shouldn’t be negotiations regarding which side gets superior combat conditions before any training is done.

However, just for today, there was a white-hot negotiation of conditions. That was because everyone knew the results of the combat exercise would have a huge impact on both development programs.

Major General Sato thought it was misguided to have those results as a premise for DACT, but there was nothing he could do. He didn’t know if it was consolation or not, but it seemed like the staff on the Q-X side were worried as well.

-------

There were people involved in the Q-X from the Air Development and Test Wing in the control center. There were also bureaucrats from the central government office and Cabinet Office visiting, so it felt a little crowded.

Disregarding people from the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the fact that so many bureaucrats from the Ministry of Finance were coming in indicated issues with the mock fight.

“Professor Togura, are preparations for the Q-X ready?”

“There are no problems. I have no issue moving forward with your conditions.”

Togura responded with a faint smile like he always did. His black sunglasses were quite dark, and it was hard to determine the expression of his eyes in the room.

Like he said, there were no problems, and Togura didn’t make a single fine adjustment to the Q-X during preparations. Objectively speaking, it could be said that the Q-X’s completeness as a system had become quite high.



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If it wouldn’t have any effects on the ASF-X program, it is a project that one would definitely want completed.

“If we wait too long, it’ll probably be troublesome for Kelley, who is already on standby. Let’s hurry up the preparations for the ASF-X.”

“It’s fine. Even now, the Q-X is capable of a maximum flight time of 20 hours and we have equipment prepared so that there wouldn’t be a need to exchange operators within that time.”

As he was saying this, Togura hit a glass fiber box the size of a large table with his cane. Togura hit it quite hard, so Sato was startled.

“You’re pretty reckless hitting that. Isn’t Kelley still in there?”

“There’s no problem. The case is built sturdily.”

That’s not the problem, thought Sato. Inside this box-like thing was the Q-X operator Kelley, who had been wearing a special suit. It also bothered him that Togura said the operators are “exchanged” instead of “alternated.”

Kelley was an assistant that Togura brought over from university. Sato had met him twice or so, and he was a bright, handsome young man.

Noticing Sato’s worried look, Togura continued to explain.

“Don’t worry. This case really is sturdy and we’ve considered the operator’s protection. Quite unfortunately due to circumstances in the schedule, the other operators’ training hasn’t progressed as much as Kelley.”



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Sato was genuinely worried that if this man could train many operators to the same level, he would perform experiments that would sacrifice Kelley.

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The Q-X’s control system is an apparatus called a quasi-panesthesia interface, and sends information to the operator. Using specialized goggles and earphones, the operator’s sense of sight and hearing is cut off from the outside and receives only information about the Q-X’s flight.

Inside the case where Kelley is in, the volume of the electronic machinery for connecting to the communication device for controlling is not very big, and most of the volume is devoted to isolating the interior from external stimuli. Even from hitting the case like before, the operator should not be able to feel anything.

Most of the operator’s commands are performed by a thought-input system that determines the operator’s intentions by detecting changes in brain waves, cerebral blood flow, and myoelectric potential. Due to technological limitations, the information received is quick but often lacks detail, so a data glove that detects finger movements and a voice-activated interface was used as an auxiliary input.

It may seem all of these are absurd technologies, but as an accomplishment of research continuing from the 20th century, these are actually used everywhere in research institutions for real research today. The excellence of the Q-X’s control system lies in the method of integrating all of the different interfaces and its usage.



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Togura began research on this system as a way of remotely controlling robots.

However, at that time with the budget and technology available to Togura, he wasn’t sure how many years it would have taken for this research, so Togura decided to advance research towards making a simple system rather than robots. That would lead to the current Q-X’s aircraft control system.

Most control systems for high performance drones have the operators fly from the point of view of a pilot. Togura’s systems was the opposite and the operators fly the Q-X from an exterior viewpoint. However instead of looking up from the ground, the operator throws away their body, flying freely through the battlefield, and commands the Q-X from a bird’s-eye view.

This kind of point-of-view cannot be practically held by a commander.

The newest weapon systems have sensor fusion functionality built in, where data collected by existing weapons on the battlefield are managed in a unified manner, and provides information that can be used to create an overhead view of the battlefield to commanders and combatants. However, even with systems like this, it is impossible to completely be able to overlook a battlefield.

That is because a pilot is preoccupied with the control of their own aircraft, and along with the commander in the rear, must first focus much of their attention to the environment around themselves.

Togura’s system first and foremost cuts off humans from their environment in which they exist. That does not mean they become aircraft themselves. Rather, it was made a point to provide the ultimate “objective view” within the realm of technological possibility.



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It was obvious to anyone that there would be problems in a system that cuts off a human from themselves, but since Kelley was an example of its success, there wasn’t much attention given to the problematic side of things.

-------

“Edge, take off now.”

Unexpectedly for Nagase, Mishima had designated her as the element leader, regardless of the results of the mock fight in the T-4.

Normally, a veteran is assigned as the lead while a rookie is assigned as the wingman. Nagase’s record as a fighter pilot was slightly longer, but Nagase herself acknowledged the fact that it wasn’t enough for her to be recognized as a veteran.

Following Nagase’s Zero Two, Asano’s Zero One took off and circled above the base a few times. 

Looking around, a formation of two Q-Xs were flying slightly above them. Seeing the Q-X, Nagase got the impression that “they looked like toys.” Being considerably smaller than the ASF-X, the Q-X looked like a miniature model, and looked like it was constructed rather crudely compared to a normal fighter jet.

Two T-4s acting as chasers took off.

After the chasers formed up, the six unmanned and manned planes headed towards the test airspace. Four chasers of the Northern Defense Force from Misawa Airbase also headed towards the test airspace.



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After arriving at the designated airspace, the ASF-X and Q-X separated to the north and south and opened the distance between each other.

The showdown between each the two was in the style of a Western duel [7], where they initially start out of range of each other, then can close in and start shooting whenever they liked afterward.

Support from AWACS or use of long-range missiles were not allowed. The Q-X cannot be equipped with long-range air-to-air missiles, and it hasn’t been fitted with an AWACS connection in its system yet. Accordingly, it could be said that this rule was a restriction that gave the Q-X an advantage.

“This is Aster, I’ve lost two aggressors from my radar.”

“This is Edge, I’ve lost the aggressors.”

From a place far from the operators, Major General Sato asked the staff of the Air Development and Test Wing.

“How’s your side doing?”

“Umm, I can’t… Professor Togura. Is it alright if we confirm?”

Togura had no signs of opposing, and instructed the flight operator to announce the status on the Q-X side.

It was slightly weird since Kelley, the one who would be responding, was in the same room. However, it was set up so that the only way to get in touch with Kelley was through the communication system.

“This is Kelley, Q-1, Q-2 have already lost two ASF-Xs.”



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There was a slight commotion in the control room.

The Q-X should be superior in terms of stealth characteristics, but the radar performance is considerably better on the ASF-X.

“Let’s get started.”

Sato’s declaration was transmitted immediately to all pilots in the air and to Kelley, and the mock fight commenced.

-------

Nagase silently started to gain altitude. Asano followed.

This was a tactic that was decided in advance.

Fundamentally, the ASF-X has the advantage in maneuverability at higher altitudes.

However, the Q-X performs maneuvers ignoring loads and dangers from accelerating, so they had to be careful no matter the altitude.

There was no conclusion made on if it would be better to obey the basics and fight together as an element, or have each plane fight separately. It’s a question of whether to keep formation in a fight between high performance aircraft at point-blank range where cannon attacks become effective. That kind of fighting rarely happens in the first place.

However, it is a good question to think about in today’s mock fight.

In the mock fight against the Q-X, the shot-down rate was higher for the wingman than the lead in the F-2.

The pilots chosen are always the best in the squadron, so it can’t be due to the lower skill of the wingman.



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It’s likely that due to the enemy and allies having such high maneuverability, the wingman would be at a disadvantage as he tries to fly and follow their leader.

It is believed that the Q-X’s combat method is to have the one closest to the enemy acts as the attacker while the remaining one acts as support. Even against an element or flight controlled by humans, the roles are switched depending on the situation, but since the Q-X is unmanned and all of them are the same, a single operator controlling it can make quick decisions regarding switching of roles.

“Kelley, if you find the aggressors, I request that you announce it.”

“This is Kelley, will report as soon as the ASF-X is detected. However, since the chasers occasionally enters my field of view, there might be cases where the reports may be delayed.”

Mishima tilted his neck.

“What did that mean?”

Togura answered his question.

“The conditions of the mock fight are bad. Since the transponder information from the chasers haven’t been given to the Q-X, so signs of aircraft detected by the Q-X’s optical system have to be determined if they are hostile or not. This time, we know the only enemy is the ASF-X with the T-4s as chasers, so it’s helpful that this can be determined semi-autonomously.”



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Mishima was genuinely impressed that the chasers surrounding the airspace can be detected by the optical system from such a distance. The ASF-X which are flying much closer should be easier to spot, and will likely be found soon.

To human pilots, this might be unexpected, but the Q-X’s passive optical system detection capabilities are excellent. That is because unlike the human eye, it can freely switch between a wide-angle and zoomed-in view.

In reality, the cameras on the chasers use information sent by transponders to film the four aircraft flying in the airspace with precision. The Q-X’s optical sensor is not inferior to the chaser’s cameras.

The operator, who overlooks the battlefield rather than viewing from a pilot’s line of sight, is aware of the field of view switching and is not confused by it.

“This is Kelley, I have found one ASF-X.”

Since the mock fight is conducted so that each element is left alone without support, information received at the control center cannot be communicated to Nagase.

Nagase and Asano silently searched the surrounding sky for signs of the enemy.

As living beings, the two could not see the chasers that were far away. This time around, the short viewing distance was acting in the favor of the humans. Nagase saw something move slightly in her field of view, and she responded quickly.

The Q-Xs which detected Nagase and Asano earlier was at a higher altitude.



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However, it had not regained the speed it lost in gaining that altitude. With both sides on relatively equal terms, the fight began.

“This is Edge, they’re closing in from the front. Will start attacking.”

The two elements ran into each other head-on.

Both sides fired air-to-air missiles in the virtual realm while passing each other.

Nagase and Asano barrel-rolled quickly shaking off and evading the missile to the left and right. On the other hand, the Q-Xs performed a high yo-yo and low yo-yo, trading airspeed and altitude to evade the missiles vertically. The missiles deviated from the direction of its respective target.

The state of the fight was recreated on the control center’s large screen, supplemented with the missile paths in the virtual space. The display utilizing sensor fusion technology was quite stable, but to those who were unaccustomed to seeing unedited footage momentarily did not know what was going on. However, those with even the smallest bit of knowledge of the situation could not hide their amazement of the four aircraft managing to evade the air-to-air missiles.

“They passed head-on, so the relative velocity was too high. There was no time for the missiles to correct their trajectories.”

Sato commented this, but everyone knew that the situation wasn’t easy enough to be put into words.

“Even so, that’s impressive, dodging all of them.”

An operator monitoring the virtual space of the mock fight simulator corrected Sato’s remarks.

“Right before passing each other, Q-1 fired its guns. Zero Two has been hit.”



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The observers started getting noisy.

“The damage on Zero Two is on a part of its electrical system. It has no effect on maneuverability.”

Nagase’s cockpit didn’t display any signs of being hit. No one realized that this was actually the result of recreating the damage done from being hit. Nagase was continuing to fly without knowing about the damage state of her aircraft.

After confirming the missile deviated, Nagase performed an Immelmann Turn to change direction 170 degrees. Having separated horizontally, Asano performed a Split-S, where he changed direction 170 degrees by looping downwards into level flight. Roughly speaking, Nagase emphasized efficiency, while Asano emphasized airspeed.

Meanwhile, the Q-X maximized thrust without going into afterburner and was changing direction with all its might.

Supplementing airspeed with thrust and continuing to turn without slowing down is called a sustained turn.

Sustained turn ability is an important characteristic of aircraft, but when comparing sustained turn rates, there is not a big difference between fighters from the Second World War and new state-of-the-art fighters today. Of course, this is not due to aircraft dynamics or engine designs not progressing. It is because state-of-the-art fighters are much faster, and if they turn at the same rate, it would result in too high of a g-force.

Machines are made sturdy corresponding to its performance, but the same cannot be said about pilots. The pilot would not survive if they recklessly turned at high speeds to match the engine performance. Therefore, state-of-the-art fighters cannot continue turning at their maximum sustained turn rates. It’s no use having an ability that can’t be used, so pointlessly high turn abilities are have been abandoned at the design level.



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The pilot-less Q-X was designed to have a sustained turn rate that would not even compare to a manned aircraft. As an obvious result, the Q-X had changed course before Nagase and Asano finished changing direction and were beginning to climb.

Nagase already knew about the difference in turning ability from the beginning, but she noticed another problematic point that was already known. In the first evasive maneuver, Nagase and Asano had become separated, but the Q-Xs have recovered their formation. The teamwork on the Q-Xs formation is good since it is managed by one operator.

The ASF-X was clearly superior in acceleration and top speed in level flight, but it is difficult to gain an advantage in aerial combat with these characteristics. No matter how much faster the ASF-X is, it’s not as fast as an air-to-air missile, so showing the back to the enemy was foolish.

“Edge, this is Aster, I’ll close in and draw in the aggressors. Get behind me.”

Asano’s Zero One, having shortened the distance between the Q-Xs first, climbed while turning and provoked them.

“That guy!”

I’m the element leader, Nagase thought, but there was no time to change plans.

The Q-Xs fell for Asano’s provocation, and both began chasing Zero One from behind. Nagase tracked the three aircraft’s movements with her eyes and attempted to turn onto the Q-X’s rear.

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However, Nagase’s movement was sensed by the Q-Xs. The Q-X can search in many directions simultaneously with the many camera eyes installed on it. Plus, it barely has any blind spots. The operator could search without putting effort in, and overlooked only the results in a stereoscopic view.

Kelley announced that the Q-Xs had acquired both Zero One and Zero Two in the flight center, so Mishima and Sato followed the events of the mock fight in cold sweat.

“Magnificent. These two have far superior intuition and skill than any pilot we fought so far!”

These words of praise came from Togura.

“You’re pretty relaxed, Professor Togura.”

“I’m not that relaxed anymore. However, with this kind of formidable enemy, it’ll likely aid in identifying weaknesses of the Q-X. This will help in planning more complete tactics.”

Togura was serious.

“In this situation, Kelley will likely try to shoot down Zero One and Zero Two at the same time. But that is probably a mistake. In a one vs. one engagement, the pilots of the ASF-X have quite the advantage.”



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The instant Nagase got on a course to pursue the Q-Xs, one of them suddenly changed direction 180 degrees while maintaining level flight. After changing direction, it pitched down and climbed. It was extremely unnatural, but that was because inertial forces were still dominant, and it was flying in a direction opposite to where the nose was pointing.

Nagase saw one Q-X slow down and close in, and fired an air-to-air missile. The relative velocity was smaller than before, so she hoped it would hit, but the Q-X evaded the missile as if it was straddling it. It wasn’t the newest model, but the field of view of the seeker on the air-to-air missile is quite large. However, if it misses completely, it would lose track of the target as one would expect.

Nagase clicked her tongue. That was because if she were a little closer, the missile could have exploded using its proximity fuse and damaged it, instead of going for a direct hit. 

Acting faster than Zero Two and the Q-X passing each other, Nagase tried to get on the Q-X’s rear by rolling upwards and turning, but it didn’t go well. The Q-X which had unnaturally pointed its tail in the direction of travel was making movements that went against Nagase’s instincts, and didn’t allow Nagase to get on its tail.

But Nagase also didn’t let the Q-X get on her tail.

In the middle of this intense aerial combat, Nagase remembered her mock fight with Asano. It’s all right, this thing isn’t as formidable as Asano.

“This is Kelley, I have lost the ASF-X that was being pursued.”

Disregarding the dogfight with Zero Two, something was not right about losing sight of Zero One that was being chased aggressively.



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Sagi approached Togura and asked quietly in a soft voice.

“Togura, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. The Q-X’s optical sensors scans its field of view at cycles of less than 0.5 seconds, so it could theoretically lose something if it flies out of its view during that time.”

“Then, that’s what happened!”

Togura looked at Sagi’s face.

“That is quite unlikely. The reason why this theoretically predicted event was left alone was because it was believed that this situation would never happen. The Q-X is set up so that when the opponent is moving swiftly, it would narrow its field of view and not allow it to lose track of the enemy. It’s unthinkable that the Q-X which is capable of evading missiles would lose a slow moving manned aircraft.”

However in reality, there are instances where the Q-X’s eyes, which never loses track of fast-moving missiles, can lose track of slow-moving manned planes.

When monitoring the entire sky at a high-resolution, the amount of data that has to be processed is quite large. The Q-X relieves some of the stress by not looking at areas where there are no changes. More specifically, it scans within its field of view and does not continue to analyze areas where the changes were small. In other words, it doesn’t look at things that are moving below a certain speed.



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Then, since the operator is looking at the virtual three-dimensional view created from information when the Q-X was properly looking at the target, they no longer are capable of grasping the correct situation. After taking caution and looking properly, it realized it was looking at empty space where an aircraft used to be.

As a matter of fact, animals including humans only look at things that are moving and changing. Over ninety percent of the information used to create virtual images viewed by the human brain come not from the past and not the most current view. It was a rational image processing technology that was inevitably acquired from the evolution process.

Asano, who had predicted this from the capacity of the satellite circuits, moved as slow as possible until the Q-X closed the distance. Determining the speeds at which they could escape from the Q-X was a shot in the dark, but Asano was able to successfully outwit the Q-X.

Once it loses track, one aircraft did not have enough eyes to track the target. However, the other craft was at the mercy of the ASF-X’s capabilities and maneuvers that pushed Nagase’s physical body and reflexes to their limits.

It was a mistake for Kelley to split between the two aircraft. In this situation, there was no margin to re-gather the two Q-Xs.

The operator monitoring the virtual space of the mock fight simulator continued to announce the situation of the fight as it unfolded.

“Q-2 has been shot down from cannon fire by Zero Two.”

“Zero One has fired an air-to-air missile with LOAL [8]. We cannot detect Q-1.”

“Q-1 has been shot down by Zero One’s air-to-air missile.”

Several involved in the ASF-X program gave a round of applause in the flight center.



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However, Major General Sato kept in mind that the events in the second half were all according to Togura’s predictions and felt slightly threatened.

Togura was able to grasp the tactical problems of the Q-X before the conclusion of the fight. If fought again, they probably would not be able to win in the same way. That man is the true enemy of the ASF-X, no to all manned fighter jets, he thought.

The showdown between manned and unmanned aircraft that will decide the future of fighter jets will likely continue for a long time.

-------

“This is Edge. I haven’t had enough. Requesting permission to “play” with Aster.”

Instead of the operator, Mishima answered.

“Edge, don’t be stupid and return quickly!”

“That’s too bad. Aster you think so too right?”

“This is Aster, will return to base promptly.”

The sound of Nagase’s stifled laughing could be heard from the speaker.

Mishima frowned, but most of the observers in the flight center laughed.

Zero Two also obediently got on the return course, but it wasn’t exactly straight. The aircraft was being flung around left and right as if it was drunk.

It was obvious that she was elated in getting a victory in her first DACT experience.

Flying behind Nagase, Asano watched with a bitter smile, but changed to a straight face when he saw a blip appear on Zero One’s radar. 



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“Edge, I’ve detected a flock of birds on the radar. It’ll be good if you also switch your radar on.”

Since it was fighting against stealth aircraft during the mock fight, the ASF-X had stopped giving off electromagnetic exposure by turning the active radar off. Nagase’s Zero Two was still flying in that condition.

“This is Edge, turning on radar.”

Nagase operated the button on the front panel in front of her. But the active radar wouldn’t turn on.

She pushed the button again, but it still wouldn’t turn on.

“This is Edge, the radar won’t turn on.”

This time, the operator from the control center transmitted.

“Edge, do you know the cause of why it won’t turn on?”

Nagase pressed a button, and the MFD on the right side of the console showed the Flight Data Display with check items.

She followed the procedure and checks each one, but the cause is still unknown.

“This is Edge, I’ve cleared basic checks but the cause is still unclear. The FDD shows that there are no problems with the radar.”



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“Edge, we’ve confirmed that the fault cause is unknown. Return to base promptly.”

As she was trying to answer, Nagase saw a black dot approaching directly in front of her.

Bang!

There was a loud noise and Nagase momentarily lost consciousness.

After regaining consciousness after a few seconds, she realized Zero Two’s canopy was smashed to pieces. The sound from the wind blowing into the canopy surrounded Nagase.

A part of the helmet visor was cracked, and the view from both eyes were stained red.

Was it a bird strike?

Even so, it was impossible for the canopy of a fighter jet to get damaged from hitting a bird. However, currently there was no canopy.

Slowly, the redness in her vision got darker and it became harder to see in front of her.

“Mayday, mayday! This is Edge, the canopy has been demolished from a bird strike.”

“Edge, Edge. Report the damage other than the canopy.”

“Visibility is down. I can’t read the display from the HUD or MFD.”

“Edge, is there any pain?”

“There is no pain.”



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The celebratory mood of the Joint Test and Evaluation Squadron members in the control center blew away.

“Major Mishima, the ASF-X should have a system for coordinated formation flying built in that make remote control possible. Could we rescue her that way?”

“It is built in, but currently the command system is not complete, so it’s impossible to guide it in from the ground.”

“How about from Zero One?”

“Theoretically it’s possible, but there isn’t control software on it.”

The only way was to have Asano give guidance and have Nagase fly herself.

Asano accelerated Zero One and flew alongside Zero Two, verifying the aircraft’s condition.

“Edge, Edge. This is Aster. I can’t confirm any damage other than the canopy.”

Asano looked at Nagase across the shattered canopy. He could see that the helmet and arm area of the flight suit was stained red.

“Edge, are you gripping the flight stick?”

“This is Edge. Of course, Asano.”

From the fact that Nagase didn’t call Asano by his callsign, Asano felt that Nagase was quite damaged mentally.



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“Edge, let’s look at the ISS-II again.”

Those in the flight center couldn’t understand the meaning, but the one involved trusted Asano’s judgment.

“Aster, did you mean to say something romantic? Hurry up and get to work.”

Asano’s laugh could be heard in the transmission.

“Edge. I’m going to work. Your course and altitude are roughly matching up. Continue flight as is.”

“This is Edge, will continue to fly as is.”

Though Nagase was injured to the point her vision was almost gone, she was fully aware and was able to arrive over the airbase without problem from Asano’s guidance.

If it was an airplane from the 20th century, landing would demand a high level of skill, but that is not so true on current aircraft. In all airports where jet aircraft might pass through, ILS (Instrument Landing System) is installed so that it is possible to land safely even with very little visibility.

However, one must be able to see the console in order to perform an instrument landing.

“Aster, control is monitoring what Zero Two’s HSD (Horizontal Status Display) is showing, and will transfer it to Zero One. Display it on the appropriate MFD.”



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The ASF-X’s HSD can be shown arbitrarily on any MFD, and shows not only the horizontal status, but also the bearing, map, and all other information required for navigation. If the equipment on the airfield side of things are adequate, it is possible to land without looking outside the cockpit and the HSD alone (in theory).

The readings on the HSD can be called out by the control tower, but Mishima decided that it would be better to have Asano guide it in, since he was flying next to Nagase.

“Edge, follow my guidance and go into approach. I’ll read out the HSD.”

“This is Edge, hurry up and tell me Zero Two’s heading, altitude, and distance from the runway. I’ll land with my eyes closed and ears sealed.”

Nagase’s words weren’t meant to be conceited.

Without Asano ever giving directions to correct the flight path, Nagase safely landed Zero Two.

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​
It was found out that the cause of the radar malfunction was due to the control center not stopping the mock fight simulator. The radar wasn’t damaged, but was just simulating the fact that it was destroyed.

Zero One and Zero Two had no damage that would impair flight, so nobody realized that the simulator was forgotten to be turned off until after landing and inspections.


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