Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 256 Attack from outside the defense zone

There are two new rumors circulating at the Quettasham West Base in western Pakistan. One is that the number of newly arrived Chinese fighter jets and pilots will increase exponentially. Said that these aircraft will be used to counter the Indian government's possible provocative actions on the Indian Ocean route. The Chinese government believes that only by deterrence can the frivolous Indian government become calmer.The second rumor is that the deployment of Indian Rafale fighter jets is being accelerated. Previously, the intelligence agency believed that the upper limit was 6 planes that were completely pieced together by the French Air Force squadron. Rafale, and the Rafale obtained by India seems to have a naval type. Perhaps the Indians have a long-term plan to use this fighter as a carrier-based aircraft, but the Tiger Shark Squadron of the Air Force is currently deploying this fighter, which makes the intelligence collected become inconsistent.

Under the scorching sun at Quetta Airport, Colonel Sami watched a heavy fighter jet with twin vertical tails roaring and taking off on the runway. He had no mission for two days.The Pakistan Air Force has already retreated to the end of the desert, and further west will reach the border of Afghanistan, which is too far away for the enemy.So far, the Indian Air Force has never scouted/attacked this remote area except for NATO scout planes peeking close to the border from time to time.

"They're fighting on the border of our country," Song Ning said at some point, "This time it's a Su-27SK, and the radar has suffered a lot."

"You mean the gust of wind?" The old man asked absent-mindedly as he set up an awning to watch the plane fly into the distance.

"That's right, it's still the Tiger Shark Squadron. Don't you think it's strange that this squadron is being mobilized in India?"

"There's nothing weird about it, and if you think it's weird, it's because your intelligence agencies got it wrong."

"You think so too?"

"I know the Indian Air Force, they like to play all their cards at once. I guess they have at least 8-10 now, so this kind of aircraft will appear in the 2nd line at the same time."

"Then it can only be pieced together from the active forces of the French Navy and Air Force."

"Nothing is impossible. Who would not want to sell some second-hand aircraft? If I were the Prime Minister of France, I would also facilitate this transaction."

"If you're going it alone, what do you think of this aircraft?" Song Ning slowly got to the point.

Sammy looked at the sky smugly, then shook his head. He had brushed against gusts, but never really fought.

"You don't think so?"

"Those planes will definitely suffer." He raised his head towards the distance, and a two-seater J-11 was approaching.Ready to land. "The target is too big, the radar is also an issue, and the Rafale is almost semi-stealthy."

"But intelligence shows that their Rafale is still using Mika missiles."

"They bought these French aircraft with the intention of launching stand-off weapons, probably to deal with you. Of course, they suddenly discovered its air combat advantage, because it may be more difficult to detect in the air than the Su-30, so the air combat Weapons have become a shortcoming. You know, the plans of the Indians are always changing, and the cost is always increasing, just like a bottomless pit." Sami shook his head and said, looking very helpless.It is precisely because of India's various blind introduction plans that the poor and weak Pakistani is exhausted and left behind by a large margin.

"I think if they launch the Rafale, we can't be too negative, maybe we can wait for a chance for the Rafale to show its feet."

"Speaking of lies, I actually have another plan..." Before the colonel could finish his sentence, a sharp siren sounded at the airport. This is not a common situation at the Quetta base.

"The enemy is about to attack?"

A jeep was driving towards the two, and the soldier driving saw the two together.

"Sir, India has dispatched a large number of fighter jets and is approaching. Major General Islam asked you to prepare for takeoff immediately..."

Another J-11 on duty on the runway began to take off. Under the huge noise, no one could hear the words behind the communicator.The three of them could only wait for the plane to fly away, and this plane would obviously catch up with the one in front to complete the formation.

"Where is the enemy plane?"

"Going southwest, it may threaten Shamsi's bomber squadron." The signalman said.

Five minutes later, the two were in the cockpits of two J-5 fighter jets behind the takeoff line. The takeoff task had not yet been issued, but now they could understand the general battlefield situation through the data transmitted by the data link.In the air at this time, apart from two J-2s and a few Thunderbolts that took off from other airports, there is also an "Eleison" early warning aircraft. It seems that the entire defense is impenetrable.

From the vertical display, one of the formations approaching by the enemy has been identified one by one by the early warning aircraft radar, of which 2 are Su-30MKI fighters and the other 4 are MiG-29 fighters.

"I always feel that their brains are broken." Song Ning said. "Use these MiG-29s to raid Shamsi from a long distance, and you can hardly bring any bombs."

"That's right, Major. I'm also thinking, why didn't they start from the weakly defended coast, but come from Rajasthan? Maybe they just let the AWACS see it on purpose."

On the screen, the enemy plane was over the Suleiman Range, above the Indian Army's slowly advancing front, and began to turn, as if to turn to the north.However, several fighter planes that took off to intercept were forced to turn to follow, and it was too late to form a formation.

"It's impossible, they're going to slip away." Song Ning guessed that the enemy may have left the bomb in the mountain hastily.

"Major General, are you at the control tower?" Sami asked himself, it seemed that he had something to say.

"I'm here." After waiting for a while, Major General Islam replied.

"How long will the AWACS remain in the air?"

"One hour, including the flight back to Peshawar."

"Fly another AWACS immediately, you have to fill the gaps along the coast."

"This is impossible. The rest of the planes are under maintenance. And the coastal radar force has been on standby."

Seeing that the formation in the air and the AWACS were chasing after the enemy, the lineup of the enemy planes was not strong, and they showed flaws, but they controlled their speed well and never let the pursuers catch up.

"The Lionheart formation requested to take off and patrol the mountains in the Makran coast region." The colonel said.His qualifications even surpassed the major generals in the control tower, and he often had inexplicable requests.

Islam hesitated for a while, feeling that the colonel's worry was not unreasonable.

"Okay, permission to take off. I will contact the ground radar at any time." The major general said.The coastal radar group has never been included in the battlefield information system, and in fact it is only integrated with several shore-launched missile positions.

Two J-2s took off one after another, but they ran counter to the previous formation and headed towards the southern coast where there was no sign of enemy planes.In fact, Song Ning is very suspicious of the colonel's neurotic suspicion, because the Indians seldom attack from the sea to the northwest of the Gilter Mountains. Since the GPS problem, it is difficult for the Indians to solve the navigation problem at sea. On the other hand India's naval fighters deployed in the south are also relatively reluctant in terms of range.

As Major General Islam said, the coast guard radars on the commanding heights of the Makran Mountains have not been idle. They have been keeping an eye on enemy aircraft that may appear from the sea.

A radar operator saw anomalies flashing across the frequency screen, like aircraft and meteorological phenomena, but the radar did not show the trajectory of the flight, nor did it measure the altitude.He picked up the phone and asked the rest of the radar units on the entire mountain range. There are many warning/search radars deployed on this coastal mountain range. These radars; as a result of the inquiry, the rest of the radar stations did not find any abnormalities, so the soldiers quickly forgot about it.

2 Rafale fighter jets moved along the coast at a very low altitude.The plane has radar-confusing electronics, not the kind that cause a cloud of snowflakes on the radar screen, but can significantly increase stealth.The pilot could detect every radar detection that came up at 3 o'clock, none of which posed a real threat, and he lowered his altitude slightly while staying close to shore.Since the Americans have messed up the satellite navigation in this region, most of the combat aircraft and the weapons they launch from the south cannot accurately find inland targets from the sea; and due to diplomatic problems, India also has to tolerate Chinese air force bombers The appearance in that area is also one of the reasons why the Indian Navy and Air Force did not mess around.But now the situation has changed. Shamsi's Chinese bomber fleet has become a serious problem that the Indian government must get rid of.For this order directly issued by the Ministry of National Defense, the Air Force has formulated a plan to divert the early warning aircraft and then launch an attack by the Rafale. In this plan, the Su-30MKI has been reduced to the role of a helper.

"Blue Shark, we are going inland from the estuary in front. Prepare to launch an attack." The lead plane of the Rafale formation broke the long sinking and issued an order.

"Tiger Shark, Blue Shark understands." The wingman with the call sign Blue Shark replied.

The Rafale formation ignored the GPS problem, their inertial navigation was sufficient at sea, and it was verified by measuring the azimuth of several fixed radar stations in Pakistan.They don't need to venture deep into the enemy's interior, because the Rafale has a secret weapon that can ensure that the aircraft can stealthily hit the target outside the defense zone without the aircraft needing to risk too close.

"Check the weapon and turn on the power," the lead plane ordered. The preparation time for the "Scape" missile is relatively long. It is best to wait until the terrain matching system of the missile accurately finds the route before launching, otherwise it may miss.The arms transfer agreement stipulates that India has an obligation not to use such weapons in areas that are too close to the borders of neighboring countries, lest it have navigation problems and fall completely into the hands of other countries.However, since India's surveying and mapping of Pakistan's Balochistan has never been carried out effectively, and there are not many routes in hand, it can only shoot on the side entering Iran.

"Cross the estuary and wait patiently..."

Under the gaze of several fishing boats, the two planes turned and entered the mouth of the Dasht River. Because there are obvious geographical marks here, it is easier for the missile's terrain matching system to find the route.

The aircraft's radar then began mapping the ground, and a high-quality image of the terrain was soon available.Today's mission looks simple and easy. So far, no enemy AWACS has been found, nor has it been continuously tracked by ground radar. The attack will be completed within 40 seconds, and then the two Rafales can return the same way.

(End of this chapter)