I work as a mercenary in northern Myanmar.

Chapter 541 Air Combat
"Continue to track the enemy target, located 6 kilometers south of Hasakah."

"The infrared signal is clear, the number of active targets is 24."

"The other party is heading southeast on foot, and the destination may be the town of Abiad."

"A camouflaged convoy was found in the town of Abiad, including several Humvees equipped with remote-controlled weapon stations and an armored vehicle of unknown model."

"The conditions for attack are ripe and a decision needs to be made as soon as possible."

Tabuca Air Force Base, inside the command headquarters.

The picture just returned from the CH-3A drone was projected on the big screen. Suhail stood in front of the big screen and introduced the war situation to others, and everyone, including Chen Chen, was a little nervous.

In fact, they had locked the infantry team's position three minutes ago.

Although the opponent used anti-infrared camouflage, due to long-term activities, the shielding effect of the camouflage clothing on heat signals has been reduced to a critical value. The infantry team now active in the desert is as conspicuous as the stars in the night.

There is no difficulty in tracking and locking, and the fighter jets dispatched in advance are already on standby in the air.

As long as the command gives an order, they will immediately drop bombs downwards, putting this team in a sea of ​​​​fire.

However, they have yet to take action.

the reason is simple.

Just now, the radar from the border encountered electromagnetic interference from the direction of Turkey. According to the last data detected by the radar, at least four air units were rapidly maneuvering towards the target area.

Under the current circumstances, if one's own side launches an attack rashly, the final result is likely to be that "the enemy team cannot be completely eliminated, and at the same time, several valuable fighter jets will be lost."

Because most of the six friendly aircraft heading to the theater carry ground attack weapons, even an air superiority aircraft like the Su-6 can hardly guarantee the smooth cover for the evacuation of other fighters under the opponent's attack.

The command must carefully weigh whether to take this risk.

If you don't fight, you can only watch the other party disappear into the desert to implement their plans that may have great impact.

But if we fight, the price we pay will be too high.

Time is very tight. In the absence of early warning aircraft, even if you only rely on the recording radar of the opponent's fighter jets, you can still find friendly aircraft on standby in the sky in two to three minutes.

All we can do is to move the aircraft as far away as possible to ensure that there will be no direct conflict with the other party for the time being when conditions are not yet mature.

Chen Chen frowned, and so did Ivan.

After Suhail urged again, they both raised their heads at the same time, and Chen Chen spoke first:
"We have to fight."

"Yes, we must fight."

Ivan nodded solemnly and then said:

"The other party's actions were obviously planned in advance, with strong electromagnetic interference, more than 4 fighter jets, helicopters, and a special operations team."

"We don't know what their goals are, but it's clear there's a lot at stake."

"If we are reluctant to let go of fighter jets in the sky, then we may lose even more!"

"really."

Chen Chen breathed a long sigh of relief, and then said:
"But we have to find ways to achieve greater results."

"The ground attack missiles carried by the six fighter jets cannot cause enough damage to scattered personnel targets. We must wait for them to board the vehicles before trying to destroy the convoy at once."

"We have to be patient and continue to wait."

"But the problem is that their infantry team is at least an hour away from the vehicle rendezvous point. Within this hour, the opponent's air power can arrive at the combat area in advance and establish air superiority in advance."

"We don't have early warning aircraft, nor do we have powerful enough electronic warfare aircraft. By then, if we want to enter, the risk will be even greater than now."

"We can only take the initiative."

Ivan agreed and then said:
"It seems that this is no longer a simple beheading operation."

"Suhail, contact Issam."

"We need the cooperation of all radar stations in the entire Raqqa and Hasakah provinces. At the same time, we need to mobilize all available air forces to intercept enemy aircraft!"

"understand!"

Suhail answered immediately, and then called Issam. After a brief confirmation, he turned back and said:

"The authorization is expected to be issued in two minutes. Be ready for battle."

"Copy that, get ready for battle."

Ivan nodded heavily, and from this moment on, a truly modern air battle finally began.

"Falcon 1, Falcon 2, maneuver towards the predetermined combat area."

"Maintain altitude at 1000, active radar shuts down."

"Received, maintain altitude 1000, active radar shut down."

On the radio, the reply from the two Su-27s came, and in the distant sky, the fighter planes drew an astonishing arc and began to dive towards an altitude of 1000 meters.

The altitude of 1000 meters is considered "ultra-low altitude" compared to the combat environment in Syria, but what Ivan wants is ultra-low altitude.

In the absence of sufficient electronic countermeasures capabilities, if he wants to ensure that his own air power is discovered as late as possible, he must use rugged terrain to interfere with the radar echoes of the opponent's fighters and provide cover for the two fighters.

After a brief pause, Ivan continued to order:

“游隼1号、2号、3号、4号，高度上8000保持。”

"Data updated, coordinates issued."

"Fly around in the southeast direction, away from enemy combat units."

"Copy that, fly around southeast."

After receiving the order, the four MiG-4s evacuated in the opposite direction of the Su-29.

Their role is to carry out ground strikes after the Su-27 establishes air superiority, so before the end of the battle, the only thing they have to do is to ensure their own survival as much as possible.

"Rainbow 2, lower altitude and move closer to the combat area. Shut down the electronic jamming pod. Stay silent and wait for orders."

"Understood, remain silent."

The drone operator immediately responded. Under his control, the Rainbow 2, which was equipped with an electronic jamming pod, slowly moved closer to the combat area, continued to decrease in altitude, and gradually hid in the mountains of northeastern Syria.

At this point, all combat units in the air have completed preparations.

At this moment, a new reply came from Suhail.

"The radar has been turned on and has detected enemy echo signals."

"The data is updated and the coordinates are sent below."

As Suhail finished speaking, after a brief pause, the latest location of the enemy fighter planes was immediately refreshed on the large screen of the command headquarters.

But soon, the old radar was locked by the opponent's electronic warfare aircraft. Just ten seconds later, there was already a snowflake on the radar screen.

"Clutter is injected and the radar fails."

Suhail slapped the table angrily, Chen Chen's face was as dark as water, he turned to Ivan and asked:
"The other party has an early warning aircraft in the sky?"

"Not like."

Ivan shook his head and replied:
"There are fluctuations in interference intensity and insufficient power."

"This is not a professional electronic warfare aircraft, it is not an early warning aircraft, and it is not an EA-18G." "They should be using unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with electronic pods like us."

"This is good news. The opponent's electronic warfare capabilities are not strong, and the electromagnetic interference radius should be within 150 kilometers."

"We still have a chance to lock the opponent's position - the radars are turned on in turn and implement the frequency change anti-interference strategy!"

"Understood! Switch frequency!"

"The radar echo signal of the opponent's aircraft has been received and the data has been updated."

After receiving Ivan's order, Suhail immediately conveyed the order to the front-line radar troops.

Time loss inevitably occurred during this process, but the effect of the frequency change strategy was immediately apparent after the command began to be executed.

No matter how backward the radar used by Syria is, in this era, radar frequency changing is no longer a manual operation like the volunteer army of a certain country in the past using hemp rope to pull an iron can.

Under electrification, digitalization, and mechanization control, the time interval for radar frequency changes has been reduced from minutes to seconds.

It is these few seconds that win valuable opportunities for the radar detection window.

The opponent is indeed not using a high-power professional electronic countermeasures aircraft. Under the premise of limited power and limited computing power, every time the radar frequency changes, the opponent needs at least a few seconds to re-lock the radar frequency.

During the period of time when the frequency is locked and clutter injection is completed, the radar of the Syrian government forces can clearly detect targets in the air!

Flashing light spots began to appear intermittently on the radar screen. What those light spots represented was the location of the opponent's two fighter jets.

Judging from the map, the enemy fighter planes have already approached the scheduled combat area. If the Syrian side is going to launch an attack, now is the last time!

"Data transmission is stable and the target is clear!"

"The enemy's position has been locked!"

"Falcon passive radar received the opponent's active radar search signal, the distance is 110 kilometers!"

"Quickly approaching!"

Suhail once again relayed the intelligence from the frontline air force commander. Ivan kept tapping his fingers on the table and paused for a few seconds. After the two enemy fighter jets completely entered the combat area, he finally gave the order:

"Send empty information!"

"Ready for assignment."

"Rainbow 2 goes out ahead, Falcon 1 and 2 follow!"

"The electronic jamming pod is powered on and is ready to interfere with enemy combat units."

"Falcon 1 and 2, ascend to attack position."

"Active radar continues to be shut down and maintained, weapons ready!"

"understand!"

A brief reply came, and the confrontation finally reached the point where weapons met.

At this time, over Hasakah, the CH-3A drone that had been waiting for a long time finally began to climb.

Its nose pointed in the direction of the enemy fighter jet, and the electronic jamming pod was turned on. After receiving the active radar signal of the enemy fighter jet 80 kilometers away, the computing unit in the jamming pod quickly began to operate, and in a few seconds Frequency identification is completed within the clock.

The power of the SSJ radar's main lobe self-defense jamming was revealed at this moment. A large number of echoes of the same frequency were simulated and released, and a large amount of clutter was released into the air, rushing towards the two fighter jets in the distance.

In the absence of professional electronic countermeasures fighters, insufficient power, and inability to carry out long-distance support jamming, Ivan chose the most risky but most effective strategy.

That is, let Rainbow 2 move in the same direction as the two Su-27s and enter the main lobe of the opponent's radar wave at the same time, and then use the high gain of the main lobe of the antenna to achieve the greatest effect with relatively small power!

At this moment, the enemy fighter was blinded as if it had eaten a flash bomb.
-
Of course, such blinding only lasts a very short time.

Countermeasures were quickly implemented. It is impossible for a mature radar system to be without anti-jamming design. After only a dozen seconds, the electronic jamming of Rainbow 2 failed.

Dozens of kilometers away, a missile had separated from its pylon and was heading straight towards Rainbow 2.

"Enemy unit firing signal detected."

"The location has been sent and the data has been updated!"

"boom!"

A cloud of sparks exploded in the sky, and Rainbow 2 was destroyed by this air-to-air missile without any surprise.

But just before it was completely disabled, the last data had been transmitted.

The position of close reconnaissance is much more accurate than the delayed signal transmitted from the ground. At the expense of this drone, the two Su-27s, which had always remained silent, finally broke into the optimal detection range of the active radar. Within the range and the optimal height to launch an attack.

"Active radar on!"

"Shoot them down!"

"understand!"

As soon as the reply fell, at this moment, the active radars on the two Su-27s were turned on at the same time and began to search the forward sector area.

In just two seconds, the positions of the two enemy fighter jets were locked.

Immediately afterwards, the Su-27 started afterburning, and a huge amount of fuel was injected into the combustion chamber of the AL-31F engine, which then drove the turbofan to run at 12000 rpm, creating a thrust of more than 25 tons.

The speed of the "Falcon" exceeded Mach 1.5 almost instantly, and the distance between the two sides narrowed to less than 35 kilometers, and it continues to get closer.

"Fire control radar on!"

A brief report came, and the two Su-27s locked their targets at the same time.

"The missile is ready, the insurance is released!"

"Missiles are launched, and fire control continues to illuminate."

Over Hasakah, two R-27T air-to-air missiles detached from their pylons, the semi-active radar was turned on, and the engines were ignited.

With the high speed of the Su-27 itself, the missile's airspeed immediately exceeded Mach 2.5. This high speed made up for the natural disadvantages of this air-to-air missile. The two enemy fighters being chased one after another had no time to react at all. , it can only roll at an alarming angle at high speed while releasing decoy bombs, trying to avoid the missiles coming from behind.

However, the R-27T is not the R-27R after all, and its hit rate is not comparable to that of infrared guided missiles like the R-27R!

There was a loud bang, and one enemy plane had already crashed.

But in the next second, the remaining enemy plane that rolled and turned around also released two air-to-air missiles, locking on the Falcon 1 in the front position.

The sirens flashed wildly, and at this critical moment, Falcon 1 made a maneuver that stunned everyone.

Big angle of attack flip!
The active electromagnetic jammers on the wing tips were activated and the two Sidewinder missiles lost their target.

Immediately afterwards, Falcon 2 released two R-27Ts again. After a brief pause, the last enemy aircraft exploded into a cloud of sparks in the air.

Until this moment, the pilots on both sides had not even seen their enemies with the naked eye.

"Hit, destroy!"

Everyone in the command room breathed a sigh of relief.

Ivan pursed his lips slightly and ordered:

"Falcon, continue to search for enemy drones."

"Peregrine Falcon enters the scene and prepares for a ground attack!"

(End of this chapter)