Empire Conquest-Chapter 827 - 84: Flying Bus (Part 2)
Many countries directly purchase the "Tornado", or produce it under license.
To simplify logistical support, the Eastern Group has standardized the caliber of long-range rockets to 300mm, and all member countries must comply.
Simply put, regardless of what type of long-range rocket artillery each country has, the rockets must be interchangeable.
The Empire Army’s "PH-300" long-range rocket artillery is developed based on the Eastern Luosha "Tornado" to meet the needs of the Empire Army. Probably to save face for the Empire, the "PH-300" not only uses a tracked chassis but also employs two sets of six-tube container launchers.
Of course, this can also be seen as an improved design.
The biggest advantage of using container-style launchers is that it simplifies reloading operations, reducing the reload time from 15 minutes to 5 minutes.
Interestingly, when designing this, the Empire Army did not intend to increase the reload speed but hoped to launch short-range ballistic missiles, allowing missiles and rockets to share the platform, achieving a fire range of over 300 kilometers without adding a launch platform.
Unfortunately, the Empire Army’s short-range ballistic missile project did not come to fruition. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
It’s not that the Empire Army doesn’t need long-range suppressive firepower, but that after more than ten years of development, the 300mm rockets already have a long enough range.
The latest generation 300mm rockets have a range of up to 270 kilometers!
So, what value does a ballistic missile with a range of 300 kilometers have?
As for accuracy, it can be improved by installing simple guidance devices on the rockets, such as using high-precision laser gyroscopes, which can increase the accuracy of rockets tenfold; coupled with a satellite guidance system, the terminal dispersion can be reduced to within 50 meters.
This is inherently the advantage of large-caliber rockets, as the space occupied by the guidance head has a negligible impact on the basic performance of large-caliber rockets.
In fact, as electronic equipment becomes miniaturized, guidance systems are getting smaller and their usage is becoming more widespread.
However, the Empire Army did not purchase many "PH-300".
Apart from having strong air support from the Air Force, the issue boils down to cost; the "PH-300" is too expensive, and the accompanying rockets even more so.
Fortunately, the Eastern Luosha Army has a sufficient number of "Tornadoes".
Before the outbreak of the great war, the Eastern Luosha Army had three independent artillery brigades, eight corps-affiliated artillery battalions, and sixteen division-affiliated artillery battalions equipped with "Tornado" rocket launchers, totaling more than 600 units.
They once fired over 1,000 300mm rockets onto a hill less than 100 acres in size.
This firepower density can practically be described as "terrorizing."
A 300mm rocket armed with a high-explosive warhead has a lethal radius of up to 150 meters against exposed personnel and can destroy soft targets within a range of 50 meters, with an absolute killing area exceeding 7,000 square meters; theoretically, it only takes a dozen rockets to cover this hill.
This total coverage approach is like plowing the hill with shells.
By the time the artillery attack ended, the hill had turned into scorched earth.
Don’t mention living people, there wasn’t even a worm alive!
However, this also brought trouble.
When landing, Lian Mingyang and his team encountered difficulties.
The ground was covered with loose soil, and under the influence of the downdraft generated by the rotors, it whipped up a cloud of dust, reducing visibility to zero in an instant.
Fortunately, Lian Mingyang was experienced and managed to control the helicopter.
Since he couldn’t see the ground conditions clearly, he didn’t land but let the assault team members rappel down, then had the machine gunners throw down the ammunition and supplies.
With Lian Mingyang leading, the following ten or so "Z-8L" helicopters followed suit.
Before returning to base, Lian Mingyang contacted the forward base in Astrakhan to let the engineer soldiers know about the trouble they would face.
It was, in fact, no big trouble.
Just make another trip to send up specialized engineering equipment to solve the problem.
Moreover, since long-term occupation of the hill was not necessary, overly strong defensive fortifications didn’t need to be built.
According to the arrangement, after achieving the reprisal objective, the Air Assault Forces would withdraw, and at that time, the built fortifications would also be destroyed.
Returning to the forward base in Astrakhan, Lian Mingyang received the news that there were no enemies on the hill!
Not even one.
The first wave of assault forces searched the entire hill in half an hour, and they didn’t find a trace of the enemy or any sign of their previous presence.
It turns out, the West Luosha Army didn’t take this hill, which guarded the main highway, seriously.
But this isn’t surprising.
There are many such hills from Volzhsky to Astrakhan, and West Luosha’s troops were not enough to guard all the hills.
The attackers wouldn’t prioritize defense.
Occupying a hill is not difficult; the real challenge comes after the occupation, holding off the enemy’s counter-attack!
Lian Mingyang made another flight before dawn on the 15th, delivering the second batch of assault forces to the frontline, and also airlifted an 82mm mortar and a stock of shells.
For the "Z-8L", airlifting a mortar was no problem at all.
Because its design maximum load weight exceeds 3 tons, it could still airlift over a ton of supplies after carrying twelve fully armed soldiers.
Of course, weapons and munitions are airlifted externally only when safety is assured.
As such, during the first assault transport, no "Z-8L" helicopters carried cargo externally.
It’s worth mentioning that the 82mm mortar is the most important support firepower for the Air Assault Forces and is the most trusted support firepower by the officers and soldiers in the basic units.
In positional defense operations, the mortar has irreplaceable immense value.
Crucially, in the Air Assault Forces, the 82mm mortar does not occupy a formal organizational slot.
Simply put, three mortars constitute a unit that is directly assigned to platoon-level combat units, with the platoon leader arranging the gunners based on the situation. In any infantry platoon of the Air Assault Forces, there is at least one gunner who has mastered the ballistic calculation manual, usually the deputy platoon leader. As for operating the 82mm mortar, it is a basic skill that all officers and non-commissioned officers must master, included in daily training programs.
When Lian Mingyang returned to the forward base again, it was already the early hours of the 15th.
By this time, the battlefield had become chaotic.
While the ground crew refueled the helicopter, Lian Mingyang made a special trip to the command center to inquire about the battlefield situation from someone he knew.
By then, he realized that tonight’s focus wasn’t on this side.
Just over an hour ago, when he was transporting the second batch of assault team members to the frontline, the Empire Air Force bombers destroyed the forward headquarters of the West Continental Group.
The result was that the frontline troops of the West Continental Group became headless flies.
Although it had not yet reached the point of collapse, the loss of unified command left the operational units of the West Continental Group incapable of launching a proper reprisal.
But that wasn’t all.
When Lian Xusheng completed his third sortie and returned around 4 a.m. on the 15th, an even more explosive piece of news awaited him.
Under the cover of escort fighters, the Empire Air Force’s strategic bombers launched a raid on Mosa City, destroying the President Mansion, the General Staff Department, and the National Telecom Center, and also bombed the National Television Station.
According to rumors, the West Luosha military-political systems have completely collapsed.
However, this is temporarily just a rumor.
When Lian Mingyang was preparing for the fourth sortie, Zheng Zhishuang rushed over and asked him to stay, saying there was a new mission.
Near dawn, Lian Mingyang received the mission orders.
To pilot the "Z-8L" and transport a Special Forces unit behind enemy lines to carry out a special secret mission.
Of course, secret missions are inherently special.
As for the task, Zheng Zhishuang didn’t say because he didn’t know either.
What Lian Mingyang had to do was refuel the helicopter, complete pre-flight inspections ahead of time, and stay at the forward base waiting for the arrival of the Special Forces.
However, Zheng Zhishuang also made it clear to Lian Mingyang why he was chosen for this task.
It’s simple, all the "Z-8T" helicopters had been deployed on important missions, such as rescuing pilots shot down in battle. It wasn’t that Lian Mingyang was an elite pilot, nor did it have to do with his identity; in fact, no one cared whose grandson he was.
At the forward base, the only available helicopters were Lian Mingyang’s batch of "Z-8L".
In fact, Zheng Zhishuang hinted to Lian Mingyang that he could assign other crew members to carry out the mission, as not all operations required the commander’s involvement.
But Lian Mingyang deliberately pretended not to understand.
According to his usual style, he definitely wouldn’t delegate a dangerous mission to his subordinates.
