Empire Conquest-Chapter 820 - 81: Capture the Leader to Catch the Thieves
At Wang Qing’en’s place, Li Tianling also inquired about some other news.
In fact, Zhang Jiazhen prepared two sets of battle plans, and what he told Li Tianling was one of them.
In both sets of plans, Li Tianling and his team are a feint, responsible for attracting the enemy’s firepower, while the main force is the four "Hong-12A" personally commanded by Wang Qing’en.
In simple terms, the combat operations of the "Hong-12A" will be carried out in two stages.
First, ensure the destruction of the West Continent Group’s frontline headquarters, paralyze the enemy’s battlefield command system, and buy a few days for the Northwest War Zone.
On this basis, consider raiding Mosa.
In fact, whether the primary task can be completed smoothly is an unknown.
During the Boi War, the Imperial Army had already demonstrated strong electronic warfare capabilities, not only widely using electronic jamming equipment but also forming units specializing in air defense suppression missions and developing anti-radiation missiles designed to target radar.
Moreover, large electronic reconnaissance aircraft also emerged during this war.
The new technical weapons born during this war, as well as new tactics developed based on these technical weapons, without exception, indicate that in future wars, gaining battlefield initiative by hitting the opponent’s command and communication systems will be a shortcut to victory.
In fact, one might say it is the only choice.
After the Boi War, the Empire’s Air Force heavily invested in developing various electronic warfare equipment, leading to the creation of specialized electronic attack aircraft like the "Attack-8FZ".
In war, both sides must strive to enhance electronic warfare capabilities and improve survival abilities in complex environments. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Relatively speaking, the most likely target for attack is the frontline command center.
The Imperial Army’s approach is simple, relocating the headquarters to the sky using the C-29 large passenger aircraft as a platform to develop large early warning command aircraft.
In operational-level combat operations, the "Zhi-8" is sufficient to act as a joint command center for multiple military branches.
The Imperial Air Force also has a specialized strategic command aircraft, known as "Zhi-9A". However, its numbers are limited, and it has yet to pass all testing phases.
According to design specifications, the "Zhi-9A" can carry a battle zone-level headquarter of 120 people and sufficient communication equipment, cruising for 12 hours in a region 1000 to 2000 kilometers behind the front lines, with its deployment time extendable to more than 24 hours via aerial refueling.
However, the progress of "Zhi-9A" has always been slow.
It’s not that there are insurmountable technical problems; rather, there is temporarily no need for it.
The six "Zhi-9A" aircraft purchased by the Imperial Air Force are in a semi-idle state, nominally undergoing acceptance testing, but actually waiting for an opportunity.
Strictly speaking, it is to save on funding.
Whenever required, these several "Zhi-9A" can be prepared and put into use within a month.
In fact, three of the "Zhi-9A" are in the Northwest War Zone, deployed at the airbase east of Chelyabinsk, serving as backup strategic command centers. However, these "Zhi-9A" have not participated in previous operations, mainly undergoing testing behind the front lines.
In addition, the Imperial Air Force has more than a dozen "Te-3EA" communication relay aircraft also using the C-29 as a platform.
Overall, the Imperial Army has established a command system fully based on airborne platforms, reaching the operational level with these support aircraft.
Of course, this system is not perfect.
The most prominent issue is indeed the variety of platforms, making mutual cooperation and coordination quite troublesome.
Therefore, the Imperial Air Force has selected the world’s largest C-49 large passenger aircraft to create a complete airborne command center.
Clearly, the West Continent Group does not have such favorable conditions.
Although the Airbus Company, initiated and effectively controlled by the Tiaoman Empire, is one of the world’s three major civil aviation companies, with its civil transport aircraft spread globally, due to the limitations of electronic technology, the West Continent Group has never developed a truly functional airborne command platform.
For this reason, the West Continent Group can only work on the ground arrangements.
This is the unique command train deployed on railways worldwide.
According to the intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau, there are a total of 20 command trains on the West Luosha side, all capable of handling operations above the operational level.
The West Continent Group’s frontline headquarters is certainly on one of these trains.
Finding this command train is not going to be easy.
From the western bank of the Volga River to the other end of the West Continent at the Calais Channel, there is the densest and arguably the most efficient railway system in the world.
Always advocating for strategic offense, while needing to mobilize numerous Allies, it is essential to ensure rapid deployment adjustments can be made when circumstances change. Therefore, between West Luosha and the Tiaoman Empire, there are over 100,000 kilometers of railway and thousands of stations large and small.
Indeed, this is also the key reason for the West Continent Group placing their headquarters on the train.
Relying on this complex, tight, and intricate railway network, the command train can reach any required location!
Furthermore, the railway network east of the Volga River is also well-developed.
Critically, the ground forces of the West Continent Group must rely on the logistics support provided by the railway, thus, can only advance along the railway line.
This enables the command train to advance together with the combat units.
The greatest benefit of placing the headquarters on a train is actually the ability to evade potential strikes.
With the strategic strike capabilities of the Empire’s Air Force, destroying a fixed-deployed headquarters poses no difficulty, depending only on whether they are willing to pay the necessary price.
