Lieutenant Kiersereau watched the suspicious aircraft start drawing ahead of him, and he clicked on the radio. "Flight Control, he's picking up speed again. I'm not going to be able to maintain visual much longer."
"We understand," Control said. "We're picking him up out of Da Nang, now. Two fighters from the Operational Training Unit should be in sight momentarily."
"What's the Operational Training Unit?" Kiersereau asked. He'd never heard of them.
Control ignored the question. "Switch to channel seven and report course and speed."
Kiersereau switched radio channels. "Tramontane Three reporting as requested - still in visual range of bogey."
Another pilot answered. "Affirmative. Current vector?"
"Course two-seven-zero, altitude seven steady, three hundred fifty knots estimated."
"Two, check your eleven o'clock..." the OTU replied. "Tramontane Three, you can drop pursuit when you wish."
"Affirmative," Kiersereau answered. He looked west and saw a flash of silver wings in the distance - maneuvering aircraft, winging over to swoop around behind the intruder. What drew his attention were the contrails - the newcomers were moving
fast...
* * * * *
"I've got him on visual, boss," Two reported. "Eleven o'clock low."
Lieutenant Colonel Matthieu checked his visual, hunting until he saw the intruder. "Right, spotted. Two, go ahead and drop in on his port wingtip. I'll take position on his six o'clock." Matthieu's wingman was a captain in the Indochinese Air Defense Force, and given the tone of conversations around the pilot's cafes in Da Nang, the colonel was leery of putting him on the tail of a Chinese aircraft.
After all, Matthieau's two jet-powered VG.640 Graouillys had live ammo loaded. Accidents might happen.
The two Graouillys turned in, banking to swing around on the recon aircraft's tail. They'd built up enough altitude and speed to bleed it off during the turn, and so even as Matthieau came out of the turn, he had just matched speed with the intruder.
"Identified as Chinese Gangchuan A-6," Matthieu reported. "We're going to shake him down, Control."
"Maintain rules of engagement," Da Nang replied.
"Yes, Mother," Matthieu replied sarcastically, charging his twin 23mm cannon.
Da Nang sounded vaguely alarmed. "Moineau One, report."
"Don't worry about it, Da Nang," Matthieu replied. He dropped in on the tail of the Gangchuan, settled his gunsight on the fuselage, and closed to a paltry twenty meters range. Turbulence from the larger aircraft buffeted the smaller jet, but Matthieu had twenty-three years of experience in some of the most challenging aircraft in the French inventory.
The second Graouilly slid past, taking up position only ten meters off the A-6's wing - positioning himself so that the Chinese pilot and any crewmen in the glazed nose would have a hard time seeing details of his plane, even though they'd know he was there. It was a pretty bit of formation flying; but Matthieu really hoped the Chinese were professional enough not to crack. At such close ranges, a careless maneuver on the part of the Gangchuan's pilot might result in a midair collision.