Empire Conquest-Chapter 778 - 61: A Formidable Opponent Appears

After the last helicopter had landed, Lian Mingyang finally drove the military vehicle over.

These were the last of the four returning Z-10As; the others had already come back, and the pilots had gone to the briefing center to prepare for the evening’s operation.

For those experienced pilots, mastering the controls of the Z-10A was not a difficult task.

Despite being much more advanced than the Z-7—employing a digital electric flight control system, and a very different control interface such as using three LCD screens to replace dozens of instruments and key switches to replace the traditional toggle switches—the basic flying techniques hadn’t changed much. Moreover, after an initial familiarization period, they actually found the controls to be easier to handle.

In fact, these "old birds" had already encountered the Z-10A.

Before they came to the Northwest War Zone, they had logged several hours in Z-10A simulators, and a few senior officers had even flown it.

The issue lay with the weapon operators.

After flying for an afternoon, the most serious problem revealed was the weapon operators’ inability to proficiently operate the Z-10A’s fire-control system.

This was the most pronounced difference between two generations of armed helicopters.

Even though the latest upgraded model, the Z-7W, had adopted the new fire-control system, whose functions and capabilities were nearly identical to those of the Z-10A, the production volume of the Z-7W wasn’t large, and strictly speaking, the Z-7W is a completely new type of armed helicopter.

Compared with its predecessors, the Z-7W’s compatibility rate is less than 40%.

Not to mention other changes, just the twin-engine and the four-blade rotor system were enough to classify the Z-7W as a new aircraft. The old model numbering was merely a ploy to secure funding more smoothly and avoid contention during the project approval process from those higher-ups in both houses of the legislature.

Moreover, the Z-7W is only provided to a few elite units; most of the Land Air Force’s air assault teams are still equipped with the older models.

After three flights back and forth, some improvement had been noted, but it was not significant.

Now, there was no time left for further training.

By the time Lian Mingyang arrived with the last eight pilots, the other pilots had already finished their dinner and were discussing the night’s combat operations.

In truth, everyone only had one boxed meal.

Even though Atla was in the rear, hundreds of kilometers from the front line, the number of soldiers stationed there had increased several fold, and the mess hall simply couldn’t accommodate everyone.

At a time like this, as long as one could get a full stomach, nobody cared where they ate.

The combat mission was already planned.

According to information provided by the Battle Zone Headquarter, more accurately the Air Force, the enemy’s vanguard had advanced to the south of Akhtubinsk by the afternoon.

As for the stationed Eastern Luosha Army, they had put up no significant resistance.

It wasn’t that the Eastern Luosha Army lacked the will to fight, but that the enemy’s advance was so fast that the Eastern Luosha Army didn’t have time to complete their defensive deployment.

Fortunately, the Luosha Army’s Reserve Team had set up a second line of defense about 150 kilometers south of Akhtubinsk.

Following orders from the Battle Zone Headquarter, the Empire’s Army Air Force would be joining in tonight’s Reprisal to hold the enemy’s armored forces north of this defensive line.

To be precise, to help the Eastern Luosha Army hold the line.

For this, more than just the Land Air Force was deployed.

In the afternoon, the Empire’s Army’s vanguard had arrived at Astrakhan.

That was, in fact, a battalion from the Armored Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division.

The Northwest War Zone had three ace units: the 1st Infantry Division, the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division, and the 7th Armored Division, with the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division being a rapid response team.

After the 7th Armored Division was sent to Boss Bay, the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division became the top ace of the Northwest War Zone.

To say they were the pillar was perhaps more apt.

However, the deployment location of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division was further back, in Aktobe.

This was related to the nature of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division and the Empire’s defensive strategies in the northwest.

According to the basic defensive strategy of the Empire’s Army, the 7th Armored Division was positioned at the front line, between the first and second defense lines. In the event of war, the 7th Armored Division would assist the Eastern Luosha Army in countering the enemy’s offensive through tactical reprisals.

Such deployment wasn’t only because the 7th Armored Division was formidable but also because armored forces lacked strategic mobility.

Any unit with hundreds of main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and thousands of various combat vehicles cannot have exceptionally good strategic maneuverability.

These types of units have formidable tactical assault capabilities.

Even if they were tasked with defense, they needed to be positioned behind the defensive line to ensure immediate engagement once the war began.

Because the front of the defensive line was too wide, the 7th Armored Division was always dispersed, guarding not just Astrakhan but also deploying a brigade each in Samara and Rostov.

Regrettably, the 7th Armored Division had already been dispatched to Boss Bay.

Although the Empire’s Army had made adjustments internally within the Eastern Group according to the situation, with three of Eastern Luosha Army’s Reserve Infantry Divisions filling the gap left by the 7th Armored Division and the Empire’s Army providing corresponding logistical support, the three reserve teams definitely couldn’t match up to the 7th Armored Division.

This was the root of the Eastern Group’s collapse at the first defensive line.

The bold setup was also related to the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division.

In the defensive strategy drafted by the Empire’s Army, the primary task of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division was to advance and support the 7th Armored Division after the outbreak of war.