Empire Conquest-Chapter 920 - 130: Key Factors

Fanluo Country suddenly started a war against Bakistan without warning. It’s not really surprising, as the Empire had been well-prepared for this, allowing Bakistan to stabilize its position after the war began and deliver a significant blow to the Fanluo Air Force in the battle for air supremacy.

However, the dawn victory wasn’t solely due to the efforts of the Bakistan Air Force.

After the assassination in Digalla, the Empire began to strengthen its military deployment in Bakistan, especially in air power, which plays a decisive role in modern warfare.

By the time the war broke out, the number of "Zhi-8C" deployed in Bakistan had increased from 8 to 12.

This way, 4 could be deployed in the north at Yibao, the south at Karachi, and the west at Quetta, ensuring continuous airborne patrols around the clock. Crucially, the 4 stationed in Quetta served as a strategic reserve team to fill in gaps in the north and south main defense lines.

At any time, there were 3 "Zhi-8C" airborne on patrol.

The radar on the "Zhi-8C," for tactical aircraft flying at high altitude—air targets with an RCS value of around 5 square meters—can detect up to 550 kilometers, and even for tactical aircraft flying at low altitude, it isn’t less than 350 kilometers.

Theoretically, the surveillance range of the "Zhi-8C" is between 400,000 square kilometers and 1 million square kilometers.

Bakistan’s land area is less than 800,000 square kilometers, generally stretching from northeast to southwest. Three large early warning aircraft are more than sufficient. Because the border with Fanluo Country is about 1,000 kilometers long, only 2 "Zhi-8C" need to be deployed forward to complete strategic early warning tasks. The third "Zhi-8C" can be deployed rearward, enhancing tactical flexibility and improving the survivability of the early warning system.

The anomaly was first detected by the "Zhi-8C" patrolling over Yibao.

In the early hours of the 4th, the Fanluo fighters on their first strike mission were detected by the "Zhi-8C" shortly after taking off from their base.

The number of Fanluo fighter aircraft taking off far exceeded the scale of routine training, and the commander of the "Zhi-8C" immediately issued an alarm.

Subsequently, within a short 15 minutes, nearly a hundred Bakistani fighters in readiness status had all taken off, with other Bakistani fighters also preparing for action.

In other words, while Fanluo’s combat aircraft were still organizing into formations, Bakistan’s fighters were ready for battle.

The key to such a rapid response by the Bakistan Air Force is the unified intelligence, communication, and command systems already established within the Eastern Group. Intelligence gathered by the Imperial Air Force was synchronized and transmitted to the Bakistan Air Force. In a wartime state, the Imperial Air Force could directly issue orders to Bakistan’s combat units, shortening the decision-making process and accelerating the response speed of combat forces, thereby improving operational efficiency.

This flattened command system is actually one of the fruits of the third wave of military reform.

Of course, it’s not yet complete or comprehensive.

Due to technological limitations, the Imperial Military didn’t aim to achieve all reform goals immediately; many military reforms involving cutting-edge technology have been postponed to the next wave of reforms. Among these is the battle zone communication command system code-named "Reflex Arc." Once completed, zone commanders can directly issue orders to squad commanders and directly access the information acquired by soldiers on the front lines.

Because it’s too advanced and requires overcoming many technical barriers, the development work for "Reflex Arc" has been repeatedly delayed.

According to the latest plans, producing a sample by New Calendar 155 would be quite satisfactory.

Fortunately, the current command system code-named "Megaphone" surpasses all competitors and leads by a great margin.

Over the past few years, joint exercises are held in Bakistan several times a year, such as the Eastern Group Air Force joint training code-named "Peace Wings." Through these exercises, the Bakistan Air Force was the first to complete adjustments to its command structure, integrating into the Eastern Alliance’s command system.

However, that’s not all.

Before Bakistan fighters took off, an important incident occurred.

The two "Reconnaissance-29C" deployed at Peshawar and Karachi took off consecutively, and about 30 minutes later, they met up with the forward-deployed "Zhi-8C".

These two large electronic reconnaissance aircraft, or electronic warfare aircraft, are the real "key players".

Because the usage intensity of large electronic warfare aircraft is far less than that of early warning aircraft, the "Reconnaissance-29" series totals less than 30, which is less than half of the "Zhi-8".

As for value, the "Reconnaissance-29C" is definitely comparable to the "Zhi-8C".

In high-intensity air combat, electronic warfare aircraft are even more important than early warning aircraft.

To put it bluntly, when fighting against a lower-tier opponent, such as Fanluo Country, large electronic warfare aircraft like the "Reconnaissance-29C" can blind enemy aircraft within a 300-kilometer range. If the interference range is appropriately reduced, such as narrowing the interference sector to 5 degrees, the interference distance can double to 600 kilometers, thereby suppressing enemy large early warning aircraft with electronic jamming.

The "Reconnaissance-29C" was designed by the Imperial Air Force specifically targeting Tiaoman Air Force and Newland Air Force, setting tactical performance indicators based on hypothetical enemies.

The Imperial Air Force mainly targeted the Newland Air Force’s E-3 "Wanglou" large early warning aircraft.

Fanluo Air Force has a few "Wanglou". 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In New Calendar 140, which was 2 years after E-3A was equipped by the Newland Air Force, Fanluo Air Force acquired an E-3A due to good relations. According to the plan at that time, Fanluo Country was to procure 8 E-3A for 3 billion Newland Dollars over the next decade to build two sets of airborne warning and command systems.