Empire Conquest-Chapter 719 - 33: The Door-Kicking Battle
It must be admitted, Ding Zhennan did indeed have courage and was very decisive.
Although in the joint exercises of the past few years, the Land Air Force armed helicopters had high probability of ultra-low altitude penetration, it had never reached one hundred percent, and after exposing their movements, the armed helicopters definitely became targets for anti-air fire and were easily shot down.
If the Land Air Force’s assault operation ended in failure, then the airborne strike forces currently being deployed would almost certainly be detected hundreds of kilometers from the target.
Actually, if the Land Air Force’s assault operation could not be completed according to the plan, it would give Iraq’s air defense forces at least an hour to prepare.
This was why choosing that mobile air defense alert radar was crucial.
Due to its mobility, the force could only use radio equipment to communicate with the rear, unable to utilize wired telephones that had better anti-interference capabilities.
This was a critical point!
In the previous days, this force had continuously used radios and repeatedly communicated with the rear, and its working frequency and mode had already been mastered by the Empire Air Force’s electronic reconnaissance aircraft.
When launching the attack, the Empire Air Force’s electronic reconnaissance aircraft could jam it.
This meant that the force would not be able to report back to the rear right after being attacked, nor could it immediately send out an alarm signal.
Of course, this premise was that there were no other radios, or that the Land Air Force’s assault had destroyed all command vehicles.
If this goal was not achieved, even if only one command vehicle survived intact, or if one previously unused backup radio was still operational, the force could immediately issue a warning, and Iraq’s air defense forces would thereby gain one hour of preparation time.
This was why Ding Zhennan ordered the attack to proceed according to the original plan.
Postponing for an hour would give the enemy an hour to prepare, but striking immediately would drastically shorten the enemy’s preparation time.
For Iraq’s air defense forces, which weren’t highly efficient in actions, there was a significant difference between one hour and half an hour.
So, did the Land Air Force’s assault succeed?
Approaching 1 a.m., not only the other staff officers but also Ding Zhennan himself was getting a bit anxious.
Fortunately, it was only for a few minutes.
"Success!"
After the Communication Advisor shouted this out, the command center suddenly fell silent, or more accurately, all the staff officers quieted down.
Clearly, everyone was still processing the news.
"Success, target zero successfully destroyed, Land Air Force’s armed helicopter group is returning."
It was only then that the other staff understood.
Ding Zhennan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t celebrate with the other staff. Instead, he had the Communication Advisor immediately arrange the action to pick up the Special Forces.
After the success of the assault operation, it was time for the Land Air Force to send helicopters to retrieve the special forces who had infiltrated deep behind enemy lines.
As for the assault operation, it had already been launched, and there was no need for adjustments.
...
minutes prior, in the heart of Iraq.
After completing the turn, Lian Mingyang controlled the "Z-10A" back to ultra-low altitude, not approaching the ground but maintaining a flight altitude of about 50 meters.
At this height, the collision avoidance radar could function normally, and the use of auxiliary driving features was possible.
Automatic piloting?
There was no automatic piloting system for helicopters developed yet.
Besides, helicopter flight times were often very short, with little demand for autopiloting, only long-duration combat aircraft, such as bombers, transport planes, early warning command aircraft, and heavy fighters, needed automatic piloting systems.
As for the attack operation, it was actually not challenging at all.
Using Lian Mingyang’s words, it was merely a matter of receiving information from the Special Forces, confirming the target, and after ensuring the air defense radar was within a distance of 8 kilometers, launching the 8 heavy anti-tank missiles aboard, thus completing the mission; the next step was to turn around and return.
In fact, during Lian Mingyang’s maneuvering turn, those missiles were still flying towards the target.
kilometers was not a short distance, and for anti-tank missiles traveling at an average speed of 1.2 Mach, it took approximately 20 seconds to complete the journey.
When Lian Mingyang completed his turn, the missiles hit the target.
Of course, the Special Forces in the front using the laser indicator to tag the targets for the missiles sent news immediately; 16 missiles launched by the 2 armed helicopters hit all their targets, destroying most of the vehicles of that air defense force, including radar and command vehicles.
However, it was not over yet.
To save fuel on the return flight and to cover the retreat of the Special Forces, Lian Mingyang had the 2 "rescue" armed helicopters launch an attack.
As a result, as he turned to head back, those two "Z-10A" launched their 16 missiles.
It was indeed a bit of a waste.
Compared to the small amount of fuel consumed, the heavy anti-tank missiles, priced at 200,000 Gold Yuan each, were obviously more valuable!
After enduring two rounds of missile strikes, about 30 vehicles of the air defense forces were completely_destroyed, with hundreds of officers and soldiers either dead or injured.
Once Lian Mingyang returned to ultra-low altitude, he received news from the Special Forces.
The mission was complete, with a destruction rate of the target at one hundred percent.
Is this what war is?
Lian Mingyang was very reflective, because from beginning to end, he never saw the targets he was striking, nor did he confirm with his own eyes whether the targets had been destroyed.
