Chapter 187
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Chapter 187: The "Horse Racing" between India and Pakistan
Captain Feng sat in his chair, pursing his lips and smiling silently.
Lin Mo’s cosplay performance skills were among the best even before he joined the army. Let him have his fun; as long as he shot down enemy aircraft, it was fine. After all, it was somewhat shameful that the Chinese military volunteers came to India to take on the Indians.
The more confusion, the better—let the Indians guess.
“Okay, okay, Dragon Knight Corps, I give up on you! Good luck!” The usually serious soldier girl finally couldn’t help but vent her thoughts.
Light laughter filled the channel as the fighters in the formation—formed by either the FC-20s or J-10s—were led by the Dragon Knights. Wasn’t this the purebred "Dragon Knight Corps"?
The camaraderie between the Chinese volunteers and Pakistani pilots subtly deepened.
On the battlefield, they watched each other’s backs as comrades on the same front line, and this teamwork would directly enhance their chances of survival, a result Lin Mo hadn’t anticipated.
Only the Indians would be tangled up for a long time pondering what kind of organization this "Dragon Knight Corps" truly was.
What a nonsensical slogan that doesn’t exist in this world! Who knows how many intelligence personnel it has misled.
“Target detected! Altitude of ten thousand meters! Speed of 953 kilometers per hour, detected sixteen enemy aircraft! All teams prepare to engage! We must stop them from launching long-range air-to-ground missiles.”
Lin Mo’s FC-20 on-board radar displayed the position of the bomber group, which was clearly approaching Meanwari Air Force Base. Compared to the sluggish Indian bomber group, the fighter jets had an unparalleled speed advantage. After several supersonic dashes, the aircraft in Peshawar Air Force Base had intercepted the Indian bombers in front of them.
The Tu-22, hailed as the first supersonic bomber of the former Soviet Union, could only reach speeds of 1.5 times the sound barrier at most, capable of subsonic cruising, and had a maximum range of only 5700 kilometers for medium to short-range bombing missions.
However, the Indians had a newer model, the Tu-22M3 Backfire, modified multiple times and equipped with the NK-25 turbofan engine, extending its range to 6800 kilometers—a considerable trump card.
This was the result of a long promotion by Russia.
Previously, the Indian Air Force relied heavily on purchasing costly fighter jets, especially those from the former Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union dissolved, they suffered significant losses due to a lack of spare parts for maintenance, losing more aircraft than in the two previous Indo-Pakistani wars. The LCA Tejas fighters became the pride of the Indian Air Force, as they were domestically produced and maintained, giving them some relief.
Eight LCA Tejas and four Su-30MKIs formed three formations around the Tu-22M3 Backfire group. At this altitude, anti-aircraft missiles struggled to effectively take down such a large formation. They could only rely on corresponding fighter groups for interception to stop the fatal bombing from the Indians.
“It’s the Backfire!” The radar display identified the incoming aircraft model. Lin Mo shook his head, expressing disdain for the Indians and their reliance on outdated technology.
As a neighboring country to Russia, seasoned Chinese pilots were naturally very familiar with the parameters of this bomber model.
During the pilot training phase in the Chicken Coop, instructors insisted that trainees identify target aircraft by sound and silhouette alone, while also becoming familiar with their combat capabilities in case they faced off against them in the future.
In Lin Mo’s memory, he could recognize most fighter jets and civilian aircraft from World War I to the present, and he could even identify cannon models just by the sound of firing, thanks to extensive hard work.
“The Tiger Shark is ready, initiating electronic jamming!” A voice, like a blessing from the heavens, echoed in the channel.
Hearing the voice of the Tiger Shark crew, Lin Mo felt more confident in intercepting the Indian bombing mission.
The frequent takeoffs of the ZDK-03 early warning aircraft “Tiger Shark” assisting in combat led to increasingly good synergy with the pilots, rapidly enhancing their combat effectiveness—especially during battles, where they could focus on destroying enemy aircraft suppressed by electronic warfare.
“Persian Cat has issued a combat order: All fighter jets connect to data link KBX582 and prepare to lock onto targets with AIM-7F Sparrows, calibrated by the Tiger Shark; fire in five seconds!”
The spectacle of a large-scale air-to-air missile launch exceeded all expectations. With the assistance of electronic warning aircraft and the combat command system, the pilots didn’t have to worry about targeting and locking; their only task was to press the launch button in unison. Naturally, the on-board fire control radar and electronic warning aircraft would exchange and adjust signals to lock onto targets.
The Indian bomber group suddenly spotted dense white trails, like strands of noodles extending from thirty kilometers away, rapidly approaching!
As the intruding party, they would inevitably face backlash, even though the Indian ground special forces had cleared a significant portion of Pakistan’s air defense reconnaissance systems and anti-aircraft fire before their operations; they still couldn’t prevent large ground-based radar systems from continuously scanning Pakistan’s and neighboring airspace 24/7.
“Target detected, target detected! Thirteen Pakistani fighter jets, four ‘Mighty Dragons,’ and nine ‘FC-1s.’”
“All fighter jets, evasive maneuvers! Team ‘Poison Blade’ prepare to engage; Team ‘Flying Sword’ is responsible for escorting the bomber formation.”
Under the electronic suppression of the Tiger Shark, the radar systems aboard the Indian aircraft received delayed warnings of the approaching fighter group. In a panic, they launched infrared flares to scatter their formation.
The four Su-30s turned their heads, simultaneously releasing infrared flares while charging toward Lin Mo and his teammates, launching eight Astra missiles beneath their wings without hesitation.
At the same time, eight Tejas fighter jets closely guarded four Tu-22M3 bombers, accelerating together to detour in another direction to avoid the battlefield.
Air-to-air missile exchanges weren’t like laser weapons or close-range Gaussian weapon shots; once launched, it took a while to see the hit results. Although the Pakistani interceptors launched missiles first, the Indian fighter group also had time to react, and both sides’ missiles crossed paths.
“Don’t break formation, don’t break formation! Fire missiles! Fire missiles!”
“Cover the bombers!”
“Eject, eject! I’m hit, ah…”
Boom, boom, boom! The sounds of explosions in the sky merged into a symphony!
Thirteen Sparrow missiles hit eleven infrared flares, while two made successful strikes, directly shooting down one Tejas and one Backfire.
The advantage of long-range missile launches is the element of surprise, but the downside is that it gives the opposing side too much time to evade.
While the Indian pilots screamed in panic, the Pakistani pilots shouted with delight.
The Indian-made Astra missiles proved unreliable, as not a single one hit its target.
“Nice job!”
“Whose missiles were those?!”
“Caviar and Chabata,” came the response. The powerful computer system on the Tiger Shark quickly calculated the results, as the crew spoke leisurely in the channel.
Taking into account that the Chinese volunteers, Old Russians, and Pakistani pilots each had half of the shootdown records, it was surprising that the Chinese pilots had completely missed out, leaving them with a big blank.
As the ace pilot of the Dragon Knights, this was a rare miss for Lin Mo as well.
Being the most elite ace pilots, they could naturally see the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy. The Pakistani forces had already approached the Indian group, and Lin Mo shouted in the channel, “The Black Spider Squadron takes care of the four Backfires and Tejas; everyone else follow me to take down the Su-30!”
“Hurrah!” A chorus of strange howls echoed in the channel.
“What do you mean?!” Old Russian Caviar was left puzzled, unable to understand why everyone was shouting “Hurrah” after him. They weren’t Russians.
“Heh heh!” Amusement filled the channel, but no one pointed it out.
Caviar’s expression under his helmet was a mix of confusion and surprise, completely unaware of the Chinese twist, while the Pakistani pilots, charmed by Caviar’s antics with the Russian can, joined in the cheer.
If the Indians intercepted this radio communication record, they would surely not fall out with Russia, would they?
The Tu-22M3 Backfire has a payload capacity exceeding ten tons, capable of supersonic dashes to drop bombs and escape at supersonic speeds. It was necessary to shoot it down before it entered the bombing run; otherwise, a few dozen tons of bombs would obliterate the entire Meanwari Air Force Base.
If they accidentally dropped a small nuclear bomb or something, everyone would be finished, as the Tu-22M3 Backfire had the capability to deliver nuclear weapons.
As a specialized bomber, the Tu-22M3 Backfire didn’t have much defensive capability, only a 23mm dual-barrel tail cannon above the rear nozzle. The cannon was the same GSH-23 dual-barrel as the FC-1 and FC-20 (J-10) but had radar targeting for slightly improved accuracy.
However, for Pakistan’s elite 26th Black Spider Squadron, this was a piece of cake. The escorting Indian fighters would be dealt with by the Chinese volunteer pilots, who excelled in dogfighting.
In a matchup of nine FC-1s against four Backfires and Tejas, on the other side, four FC-20 Mighty Dragons would hold off the more threatening Su-30MKIs.
Using FC-1s against Su-30 Flankers had hardly any comparability; only someone as bold as Lin Mo would dare to tease a Su-30 with a MiG-21; Indian pilots were far more skilled than those in Africa.
This was a battle of equals against equals; no matter what, as long as they could protect others and shoot down those four Backfires, Lin Mo and the others would have successfully completed their mission.
