Empire Conquest-Chapter 774 - 59: Rise to the Challenge_2

In theory, the maximum deployment of the Iraq Army to the south could only involve half its troops.

This meant facing an army of 400,000 men, certainly comprising Iraq’s elite forces.

More critically, the Joint Forces’ advantage, which was aerial power, had been significantly reduced, and the intensity of air support was definitely not what it had been before.

As mentioned earlier, the Navy had already redeployed two carrier battle groups.

Even though another was to be sent a few days later, it would only amount to a mere gesture.

The logic was simple, the newly dispatched carrier battle group could only be stationed in the Mua Sea and could not enter Boss Bay; the operational range of the ship-borne aircraft exceeded 800 kilometers, certainly resulting in low combat efficiency, and in the northern waters of the Mua Sea, at most only two carrier battle groups could be deployed. Stationing three carrier battle groups simultaneously would make the fleet too crowded to maneuver, thus limiting their combat power.

One might say, this was indeed the foremost issue that needed resolution.

The first arrangement made by Ding Zhennan was to contact the Navy headquarters to inquire whether the shipborne air force could be stationed ashore, that is, deployed at terrestrial airfields.

Of course, it involved more than just the air wings aboard the newly dispatched carrier battle groups.

The Empire’s Navy possessed 15 carrier battle groups but also had 16 Shipborne Air Force Wings; however, the 16th Wing was for training purposes.

In fact, this establishment far exceeded actual needs.

Because at any time, among the 15 carrier battle groups, at most only 12 were in deployed or training status, meaning there were always three carriers undergoing maintenance. Thus, theoretically, only 12 Shipborne Air Force Wings were needed to meet routine deployment requirements.

Indeed, for the past several years, both legislative chambers had been attempting to get the Navy to reduce three Shipborne Air Force Wings.

Fortunately, after Zhou Yongtao moved into the Prime Minister Mansion, related proposals dissolved into nothing.

In reality, the Shipborne Air Force Wings in a deployment status would never exceed nine, which means that in peacetime, at most only nine carrier battle groups would be in a deployment status. Excluding the three carriers undergoing maintenance, the other three carriers would be resting in the port.

In other words, there were always six Shipborne Air Force Wings in a state of rest and training.

That’s nearly 600 ship-borne aircraft!

Among them, there are over 400 fighters and attack aircraft.

What does this imply?

Previously, the tactical aircraft that the Air Force deployed in the Boss Bay region didn’t even total 400.

Thus, merely by mobilizing a few shipborne air force wings of the Navy from "idle" status, one could fill the gaps in aerial power.

Indeed, this was where Ding Zhennan’s confidence lay.

As for the potential, or rather inevitable, combat losses, that was not a significant concern.

The Empire was about to enter a state of war, and replenishing lost combat aircraft was evidently much easier than building battleships, and the Navy had to expand its forces too.

Moreover, the Navy also desired to train through combat to enhance its readiness level.

Thus, what reason remained to refuse the deployment of shipborne air forces in combat?

Soon, Ding Zhennan received a positive response from the Navy headquarters.

Within a week, besides sending one additional carrier battle group, the Empire’s Navy would send three Shipborne Air Force Wings in a training state to the Boss Bay region, specifically the combat aircraft, as there were no immediate operational needs demanding support aircraft that remained on the Empire’s mainland.

If needed, within a week’s time thereafter, three to five additional Shipborne Air Force Wings could be sent, raising the count of combat aircraft to about 500. After completing war mobilization, it could even further expand the scale of deployment, engaging nearly a thousand combat aircraft.

However, it was clear that the Empire’s Navy couldn’t wait for the day to complete its war mobilization.

If constraints were lifted, especially those emphasizing the control of casualties, the 500 combat aircraft provided by the Navy would be sufficient to support Ground Forces in their offensive operations.

The second thing Ding Zhennan did was to ensure that the Land Air Force wouldn’t cut the forces deployed in Boss Bay.

Although an internal matter for the Army, the result was somewhat unexpected.

Only after Ding Zhennan made his stance clear, which was that the Land Air Force’s involvement was linked to the overall battle situation, did the Land Air Headquarter reluctantly agree to his request.

However, there was a precondition. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Land Air Force would adjust the deployments, mainly by rotating back units that were already part of the Northwest War Zone and sending other units to replace them.

That meant, the Land Air Force could only ensure that the numerical strength of its forces wouldn’t decrease.

As for the combat effectiveness of the units, that was another matter entirely.

In fact, this was the best outcome Ding Zhennan could strive for.

According to the feedback from the Land Air Headquarter, the situation in the Northwest War Zone was extremely dire, and many of the previously deployed combat units had been annihilated.

With the first line of defense already collapsed and the second line of defense hardly holding, the Land Air Force definitely had to intensify its efforts in the Northwest War Zone.

Otherwise, even the third line of defense might be breached by the enemy.

The key lay in not only deploying combat troops but also elite units.

The vast expanse of the Northwest War Zone had created an immense burden on logistical support, hence the efficiency of troop operations held decisive value.

Evidently, only elite troops could achieve sufficient operational efficiency.