Empire Conquest-Chapter 846 - 93: One Oversight Amid a Hundred Precautions
After driving off the enemy escort fighters, the four "War-9Bs" did not retreat and continued to intercept the bombers flying in from the northwest direction.
To put it, this is the core mission of the "War-9Bs."
Following behind the eight "Storm" AVDs is an entire wing of twenty "Fire God" bombers.
In fact, these bombers have a common point with the "Storm," namely, their base technology comes from the Bulan Kingdom but was later adopted by the Tiaoman Empire.
This involves the relationship between the two countries.
During the last war, after the Bulan Kingdom was defeated, the Tiaoman Empire recruited many engineers from the Bulan Kingdom, laying the foundation for post-war development. After normalizing diplomatic relations, these engineers gradually returned home, leading to the rapid development of the Bulan Kingdom’s aviation industry.
The most representative of this is the long-range bombers represented by the "Fire God."
Simply put, the teams that developed the "Storm" and the "Fire God" all came from the Bulan Kingdom!
Although the Tiaoman Empire has always claimed that the "Fire God" is a strategic bomber, for instance, it has a combat radius of up to 4600 kilometers when taking off fully fueled, sufficient to take off from West Luosha’s airfields to bomb the western cities of Liangxia Empire’s mainland, or to fly over the North Sunset Ocean to bomb the east coast of the Newland Republic, strictly speaking, this four-engine bomber has not yet reached the "strategic" level.
The key is that its maximum takeoff weight is less than 80 tons.
This tonnage only counts as medium-sized.
Additionally, the Tiaoman Air Force never used the "Fire God" as a strategic bomber.
The main reason is the lack of fighter cover and advanced air-launched cruise missiles; the "Fire God" simply can’t break through Liangxia Empire’s air defense network.
Actually, just flying past East Luosha is a problem.
However, the Tiaoman Air Force still procured and equipped around 500 "Fire Gods" and plans to increase to 1,000, replacing all other bombers.
There is only one reason: the "Fire God" is the only bomber available to the Tiaoman Air Force that can carry six heavy anti-ship missiles and launch an attack after flying 3,000 kilometers, while also having enough space to install communication equipment, thus organizing large aircraft groups for coordinated operations more effectively.
This means only the "Fire God" can independently attack fleets 3,000 kilometers away in a group formation.
No other combat aircraft have this capability.
To put it, this capability has irreplaceable strategic value.
There’s no need to say much about the Land Heart Sea.
Relying on a maritime strike combat radius of up to 3,000 kilometers, the "Fire God" can be deployed at Tiaoman’s domestic airfields, covering the entire Land Heart Sea, ensuring that at any time, they can strike the Liangxia Fleet within the Land Heart Sea, thereby gaining a tactical surprise advantage.
Additionally, it can stabilize the Raleigh Kingdom and the Sban Kingdom.
The Tiaoman Empire has already returned the Nara Fortress to the Sban Kingdom and essentially withdrawn from the Land Heart Sea, granting the Raleigh Kingdom and the Sban Kingdom enough autonomy in decision-making.
Obviously, a powerful aerial force capable of destroying any fleet in the Land Heart Sea is a crucial means by which the Tiaoman Empire controls these two strong allies.
To put it, it is even the main method.
However, the value of the "Fire God" is more prominently reflected in the North Sunset Ocean.
First, it can curb the ambitions of the Bulan Kingdom and prevent it from moving closer to the Newland Republic, thereby strengthening control over the Bulan Kingdom.
Additionally, it can enhance control over the North Sunset Ocean.
In fact, this is the key point.
Stationed in the Sban Kingdom, the "Fire God" bombers can, with a 3,000-kilometer combat radius plus the anti-ship missile’s range, achieve a 3,500-kilometer strike radius, intercepting northbound fleets in the southern seas of the North Sunset Ocean, thereby preventing the Imperial Navy from moving north from the South Sunset Ocean.
To put it, once unable to cross through the Land Heart Sea, the Imperial Navy can only move north from the South Sunset Ocean.
This also involves a critical strategy.
The Tiaoman Empire has long prepared to blockade the Land Heart Sea by laying mines in the Strait of Nara and deploying submarines for ambushes, effectively sealing off the Land Heart Sea, preventing the Liangxia Navy from entering the North Sunset Ocean, thus minimizing operational pressure in the North Sunset Ocean direction.
As for the threat from the Land Heart Sea direction, it’s not a priority for the Tiaoman Empire.
Don’t forget, the Tiaoman Empire lies to the north of the Alps, while the Raleigh Kingdom is to the south; therefore, landing on the northern shore of the Land Heart Sea and then attacking the Tiaoman’s mainland requires traversing the Alps, making the operational difficulty higher than advancing to the North Sunset Ocean and into the North Sea.
The logistics alone would be enough to bog down any army attempting to cross the Alps.
The value of the Alps to the defenders is similar to that of the Ural Mountains.
But the problem is, there’s no similar way to prevent the Liangxia Navy from moving north from the South Sunset Ocean.
In other words, unless defeated on land, the West Continent Group is likely to engage the Liangxia Navy in a decisive battle in the central seas of the Sunset Ocean.
At this time, the value of the "Fire God" is realized.
Stationed on the Iberian Peninsula or deployed in the Canary Islands belonging to the Sban Kingdom, the "Fire God" can attack the Liangxia fleet moving north from the South Sunset Ocean.
With such immense value, there’s no reason the Tiaoman Air Force would not procure the "Fire God."
It is precisely because of such great value that the Tiaoman Air Force has heavily equipped itself with this bomber designed by Bulan engineers.
