Just to set the stage: According to Yankee, this PLAAF pilot was a low-profile Lieutenant Colonel with no command responsibilities (so rank > responsibility). He wasn’t eager to participate in Golden Helmet competitions, excuses like, “It’s boring to fight against our own.” So while his colleagues were busy competing, he had his free time honing skills in propaganda art—excelling at blackboard drawings. Here’s a school-level example if you don't know what that is:
Internally everyone thought he'd be going more to a political officer route. So you have the image of this sort of odd/untraditional PLAAF officer personality.
Week of Jan 28th 2022:
Normally, PLAAF engagement rules included strict limitations on posture, missile lock, aggressiveness, etc. to avoid misunderstandings or escalation. But these restrictions were lifted after the USN was found to be conducting provocative missions near the Paracel (Xisha) Islands during the Winter Olympics, a period when both sides had a tacit understanding that aggressive actions should be avoided.
So this same PLAAF pilot, flying a J-11A, was dispatched to intercept an F-35C in the area, and a mock dogfight ensued. They did not explicitly share how the F-35C was initially detected.
Ayi then visually illustrated the encounter—likely based on gun camera footage he watched himself. While being pursued by the J-11A, the F-35C suddenly lost a lot of speed as it attempted a scissor maneuver to shake off its tail. Its flight control software appeared to disrupt the maneuver, resulting in an awkward half hammerhead turn. Ayi described the motion as “twitching sideways with nose up.” This brought the two aircraft within three kilometers of each other—well inside the no-escape zone of the R-73 missile. Yankee said “If two R-73s had been fired, it would have been a guaranteed kill,”. The dog fight ended with the F-35C pilot embarrassed and shaken.
Immediately afterward (yes this same flight mission) , the F-35C pilot attempted a “Sierra Hotel Break” landing—reportedly to “boost morale,” according to that 36 page USN reports. The attempt failed, and the aircraft crashed on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson before sliding into the sea on the port side. Yankee mentioned that a high-altitude PLA surveillance aircraft observed the impact blast in real time and relayed the news directly to the base, with base personnel laughing their asses off in the com channel.
One Week later:
The U.S. Navy sent a clean Super Hornet (with no external stores except two AIM-9Xs) to reclaim the advantage. The same PLAAF pilot responded. While the dogfight may have ended in a draw, the Super Hornet boltered on its first landing attempt, requiring a touch-and-go before finally landing on the second try. So you can tell also somewhat shaken.
This is truly a wild story and the real evidence for us minions is Yankee and Ayi's story. But they do have a very good track record and their description of the dog fight was quite visual.
Internally everyone thought he'd be going more to a political officer route. So you have the image of this sort of odd/untraditional PLAAF officer personality.
Week of Jan 28th 2022:
Normally, PLAAF engagement rules included strict limitations on posture, missile lock, aggressiveness, etc. to avoid misunderstandings or escalation. But these restrictions were lifted after the USN was found to be conducting provocative missions near the Paracel (Xisha) Islands during the Winter Olympics, a period when both sides had a tacit understanding that aggressive actions should be avoided.
So this same PLAAF pilot, flying a J-11A, was dispatched to intercept an F-35C in the area, and a mock dogfight ensued. They did not explicitly share how the F-35C was initially detected.
Ayi then visually illustrated the encounter—likely based on gun camera footage he watched himself. While being pursued by the J-11A, the F-35C suddenly lost a lot of speed as it attempted a scissor maneuver to shake off its tail. Its flight control software appeared to disrupt the maneuver, resulting in an awkward half hammerhead turn. Ayi described the motion as “twitching sideways with nose up.” This brought the two aircraft within three kilometers of each other—well inside the no-escape zone of the R-73 missile. Yankee said “If two R-73s had been fired, it would have been a guaranteed kill,”. The dog fight ended with the F-35C pilot embarrassed and shaken.
Immediately afterward (yes this same flight mission) , the F-35C pilot attempted a “Sierra Hotel Break” landing—reportedly to “boost morale,” according to that 36 page USN reports. The attempt failed, and the aircraft crashed on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson before sliding into the sea on the port side. Yankee mentioned that a high-altitude PLA surveillance aircraft observed the impact blast in real time and relayed the news directly to the base, with base personnel laughing their asses off in the com channel.
One Week later:
The U.S. Navy sent a clean Super Hornet (with no external stores except two AIM-9Xs) to reclaim the advantage. The same PLAAF pilot responded. While the dogfight may have ended in a draw, the Super Hornet boltered on its first landing attempt, requiring a touch-and-go before finally landing on the second try. So you can tell also somewhat shaken.
The evidence would be the gun cam footage that was shared in a PLA internal viewing, and the fact that the crash happened during the same flight mission as the dogfight.
This is truly a wild story and the real evidence for us minions is Yankee and Ayi's story. But they do have a very good track record and their description of the dog fight was quite visual.
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