Listen to those words, how casual the tone. There's no denial of a missile attack, confirming it really happened. But we weren't shot down, and we managed to land successfully.
What's called the invisible swagger of a major power? This is it.
Regardless of how countries hyped up their fighter jets—touting engine power, stealth capabilities, and various high-tech equipment—missiles remained their top nemesis. No matter how fast a plane flies, in front of missiles that easily reach four or five times the speed of sound, some even reaching six or seven, it's nothing but a little brother. Once a fighter jet is locked on by a missile, you can pretty much just bail out. All that dodging air-to-air missiles and chasing them for half an hour, that's movie stuff, okay?
Moreover, this time the volunteers were on a passenger plane—a sitting duck for missiles, with virtually no chance of missing.
