While the bulk of CVW5 are involved in exercises with regional partners, the CAP and alert aircraft are kept busy with the real-world mission of intercepting a steady stream of PLAAF snoopers...
Some try to fly NOE to get past the gatekeepers
A CAP with Hawkeye support is deployed overland to track the bogeys
Interception made, the J-10s climb to be escorted off the premises
The Chinese try something new, and these birds are not detected..
You're looking the wrong way guys
Oh Sh..where did he come from?
The bogey's wingman makes his presence felt
And the intruders are out to make more mischief with the CAP flight supposedly searching for them...
Eventually a Mark One eyeball spots the bogey at 5 o'clock high
Drop tanks and break...Now
But the PLAAF jets have already disengaged, descended to low level and are rapidly egressing, still undetected by radar
Looks like tensions in the South China Sea have ratcheted up a notch.
To be continued....