Empire Conquest-Chapter 810 - 76: Temporary Change
If already destroyed, we can focus on dealing with the other two satellites.
If not, then we must consider intercepting again.
Near 1 o’clock, the Air Force headquarters sent the latest news.
It has been confirmed that the two destroyed satellites were the most valuable, and these two satellites definitely performed orbital maneuvers during this orbit cycle, reducing their altitude significantly, which implies they were heading toward the Giant Continent battlefield, intending to collect military intelligence from the Eastern Group.
As for the other three satellites, they didn’t perform a second orbital maneuver, so their threat is not very significant.
Afterward, Li Tianling led the group to the officers’ restaurant.
Since the Air Force headquarters did not cancel the afternoon interception operation, Li Tianling decided to strive to bring down the other three satellites as well.
Of course, he first needed to fill his stomach.
If time permits, he could also rest for half an hour.
But, Li Tianling had not yet finished his lunch when Ding Zhennan arrived.
When he saw Ding Zhennan, Li Tianling knew there was definitely a new task.
In fact, throughout August, Li Tianling had been "causing trouble" for Ding Zhennan.
For one simple reason, Boss Bay no longer required air superiority fighters.
The Iraqi Air Force had long been defeated, with most fighters destroyed on the ground, and the few remaining operational aircraft fled to Boi Country more than a month ago.
In Boss Bay, what is truly needed now are multi-purpose fighters equipped with bombs to perform bombing missions.
Of course, both the "War-10" and "War-16" possess sufficiently powerful aerial combat capabilities, and even during bombing missions, they carry two self-defense combat missiles, making the "War-11B" for escort protection unnecessary, while support aircraft like early warning aircraft are deployed in the rear.
Even with the potential of war with Boi Country, isn’t there the shipborne air force of the Empire’s Navy?
In Li Tianling’s words, the Navy has always been unconvinced, believing the "War-9B" is the best fighter of today, so let the Navy prove it.
As it stands, despite the Boss Bay War lasting over a month, the Navy’s "War-9B" has never had the opportunity to fire.
The recorded air battles have actually been interception tasks, with the aggressing enemy planes being MG-25s capable of flying at Mach 3, which the "War-9B" cannot catch up.
Since there is no opportunity even for playing a minor role here at Boss Bay, it is better to return early to the Northwest War Zone.
The key is, over there, there are more opportunities for merit.
At least, in the eyes of ace pilots like Li Tianling, the MG-29 fighters of the West Luosha Air Force, the ("Storm") ADVs of the Tiaoman Air Force, and the "Mirage 2000" of the Locke Air Force, all fly in the sky, waiting for them to claim military honors!
For this, last month, Li Tianling went to Ding Zhennan every day asking Ding Zhennan to give him "departure papers".
The few other pilots were considerate; when Ding Zhennan walked over, they voluntarily gave up their seats.
"Advisor Ding, haven’t we performed well?"
Don’t look at the higher rank than Ding Zhennan, but authority prevails, whether Li Tianling is convinced or not, he must be courteous to Ding Zhennan.
"Squadron Leader Li, your request has been approved."
Ding Zhennan was straightforward, which made Li Tianling a bit uncomfortable.
"Just received, you will depart this evening, take a transport aircraft to fly to Bakistan’s Bashaw Air Force Base, arrangements will be made there, and you will join the bomber units."
"Bombers?"
"I am not very clear about the specific task. The only thing I am certain about is that you will accompany the bombers to the Northwest War Zone for combat."
Li Tianling’s brow twitched a few times.
What Ding Zhennan said made him feel very uneasy.
If it were just to perform strategic bombing tasks, it seems like overkill.
The rationale is straightforward; modern strategic bombing is not flying over and dropping bombs, but letting bombers launch cruise missiles from thousands of kilometers away. It is only when dealing with shallow penetration targets that bombers use short-range missiles or glider bombs.
Before securing absolute air superiority, there is no possibility of having to drop bombs over the local skies.
The key is, currently, no bomber can breach an air defense system composed of air defense radars and air defense missiles.
Precisely because of this, the Imperial Air Force abandoned the tactic of escorting bombers, no longer developing long-range fighters for bomber escort.
Of course, heavy fighters are long-range fighters.
If not for escorting bombers, it makes even less sense.
Going to the Northwest War Zone, at most, it involves refueling in Bakistan, perhaps not even landing, completing an aerial refuel can bypass Boi Country to reach East Luosha.
So, what reason is there to rendezvous with the bombers deployed deep in the rear?
Could it be that the Southern Subcontinent is about to go into battle?
The real key is, Ding Zhennan having them take a transport plane to Bashaw suggests that the Air Force has already dispatched fighters there, specifically the "War-11B".
This kind of personnel swap without changing the aircraft is usually adopted in extremely critical times.
"Advisor Ding, is it because of that Fanluo Country..."
"Not very likely."
Li Tianling kept his mouth shut and posed in a manner of attentive listening, taking the opportunity to pour Ding Zhennan a cup of tea.
"Fanluo Country will eventually participate in the war, it’s just that the probability of immediate involvement is low. After all, the major battle just broke out, and the situation is not yet clear enough to show the outcome."
"So, you’re saying..."
"Moreover, if it were bound to happen, we wouldn’t let Fanluo Country steal the march on us."
Upon hearing Ding Zhennan’s words, Li Tianling nodded to show understanding.
"However, the situation in the Northwest is indeed tense. The massive army of the Western Group broke through the last line of defense north of Astrakhan last night. Although the enemy also suffered heavy losses and needs time to adjust their deployment, we similarly can’t launch a reprisal, not even send reinforcements to Astrakhan in time. According to my speculation, the higher-ups are very likely pinning their hopes on strategic bombing."
"Are there enough cruise missiles?"
"That is precisely the crucial point, isn’t it?"
Upon hearing Ding Zhennan’s words, Li Tianling couldn’t help but sigh.
At the initial stage of the Boss Bay War, mainly because a few Allies unwilling to send troops were paying the price for the war, the Imperial Army fired nearly 2000 cruise missiles at once to clear inventory. Although the Imperial Military Factory was working at full capacity throughout August, the produced missiles still couldn’t fill the gap.
As a result, in recent days, the Empire Air Force hasn’t launched any real strategic bombing on West Luosha.
As for the bombing operations against other member countries of the Western Group, even less hope should be placed on them.
Now, it’s necessary to intensify the bombing to lessen the operational burden on the ground troops, and the only choice is actually to have the bombers take risks.
Without cruise missiles, there are plenty of short-range air-to-ground missiles that are so abundant they can’t be fully utilized.
In Boss Bay, the Empire Air Force bombers are already using short-range missiles.
In addition, several carpet bombing missions have been executed by "Hong-9D" using non-guided bombs.
But the problem is that West Luosha’s national air defense system is much stronger than Iraq’s.
Sending bombers deep into West Luosha’s territory is almost akin to suicide.
Of course, this is also key to arranging fighter escorts.
If penetrating defenses is necessary, escort fighters will determine the survival chances of bombers.
In fact, according to the Empire Air Force’s tradition, escort missions are usually executed by the most elite fighter units, as bombers are the absolute main force of the Empire Air Force.
"The afternoon mission has been canceled." Ding Zhennan said while already standing up. "You all hurry up and rest for a while. Once you get to Bashaw, there’ll hardly be any time to rest. I’m at the Joint Headquarter, whatever you need, call me."
"Okay, we’ll rest in a bit. There’s one question," Li Tianling also stood up. "After we get to Bashaw, who takes over these fighters?"
"Not arranged yet, I’ll tell you once it’s arranged."
"That’s fine, I’ll bother you with it then."
Ding Zhennan barely managed a smile, he guided Li Tianling, who hesitated since he was flying a "War-11B" that had rolled off the assembly line just last month.
Li Tianling smiled, said nothing more, and only stopped after seeing Ding Zhennan out of the restaurant.
His conversation with Ding Zhennan had been overheard by several officers.
Without Li Tianling needing to give orders, they’d already started arranging the mission.
The most crucial thing is to return to the dorm and get several hours of sleep as soon as possible.
If Ding Zhennan wasn’t speaking rashly, they’ll have to carry out a mission upon arriving at Bashaw, so they must be well-rested before departure.
Sleeping on the transport plane?
Definitely wishful thinking!
After all, worrying is useless.
Ding Zhennan doesn’t know the specific task, nor likely does Shi Shouliang. It’s certainly very important, but they’ll find out once they reach Bashaw.
