Thunder Strikes Back

Chapter 567 AS90
"If you let your Sikh battalion make another deep attack, you only need to break through 1 to 2 kilometers, do you think it is feasible?" Meneam asked cautiously.

"The army's morale is high at present, and the attack is naturally not a problem, but..."

"Is there any difficulty?" Meneam knew Olinde's temper well, and knew that he was going to sit down and bargain.

"The countermeasures of the Chinese Air Force are always very effective. Their pilots are really experienced in searching for artillery positions in the mountains. The enemy advocates firepower. According to my intelligence, those new 155mm 39-fold guns are only regimental firepower. , They also hide several types of large-caliber rocket launchers in the back. In addition, the terrain we occupy is too low, and we are obviously at a disadvantage, and the range of the M777 artillery is not ideal."

The dissatisfaction that Olinde always revealed in his words is also true. The new tactic of using the Chinook mobile artillery was used only once, and was found by the blindly dispatched enemy air force, and several platoons were wiped out, although the loss was not too great. , but the range of this light artillery itself is really not enough to hide in the umbrella held up by the Srinagar S300.As a commander who is good at artillery battles and has a lot of self-respect, Olinde inevitably feels a little ashamed, and he really wants to get his face back.

"Brother, the battle is urgent, so just speak up if you have anything to say."

"I need a mobile artillery unit that is more suitable for mountain warfare, preferably long-barreled artillery. My artillery unit does not have suitable equipment to fight against the enemy's artillery." Olinde obviously expressed the need for new weapons.

"Didn't your 10th Artillery Brigade just get a new FH77?"

"If you consider the enemy's countermeasures, I think the mobility is still too weak."

"You mean AS90? That's the treasure of the entire northern military region." Meneam sneered, and he had already guessed what Olinde was thinking.

"Even if it's a baby, what's the use if you don't pull it out and hit it? I really need these big guys with 52 times the caliber. Otherwise, the enemy thinks that moving those short pipes up the mountain and relying on the advantage of the altitude will be enough." Insulting us wantonly, this tone is unbearable, we must give them some color."

"It's better to wait a few days. The first Crossbow II Battalion to complete the training has already arrived in Pathankot. That cannon can also offset the enemy's range advantage." Meneyam said, obviously not wanting to think of Olinde. Call him the AS90 you want.This thing he originally wanted to deploy on the Western Front, waiting for the Pakistanis to throw themselves into the trap so that it can play a role.

"Stone Crossbow II? Hehe, you can keep those things for yourself," Olinde shook his head, obviously thinking about the Arjun chassis and the old-fashioned M46 artillery produced by the Awadi Heavy Vehicle Factory. Emergency products, dare not be interested.

Olinde knows that although it is also a self-propelled artillery, the AS90 uses a gas-hydraulic suspension device, the chassis is reliable, and the walking device can be locked to fire. It is very suitable for short shooting in the mountains, and the weight of more than 40 tons can barely pass a lot Special lot.On the other hand, the fire control of the AS90 is very good, the response is fast, and it has the ability to hit and run; compared with the narrow field of fire, it needs to put away the auxiliary hoe after firing, and turn around 360° to evacuate the position. I don’t know. How much better.And his 10th Artillery Brigade has expanded two NATO standard 155mm caliber howitzers (52 times the caliber FH77 and 39 times the caliber M777), hoarding a large amount of ammunition that can be used universally, and really don’t want to add another kind of side door 130 mm caliber.

"Man, even Korea's K9 didn't do very well in Assam."

"Good equipment must be handed over to people who are good at using it to exert its power. I have worked hard in this alpine snowfield these years. I have completed the calibration of all the mountains within 10 kilometers on the side of the enemy-controlled area. I have already prepared Compared with the enemy artillery, if the M777's range is not enough, they would not have been deployed so far forward."

Olinde said bitterly, he had no self-blame for the previous failure, only full of resentment.

"Okay. I will transfer the troops to you, but you must submit a detailed plan, and the final order to fire must be approved by me before it can be issued."

"Yes."

This artillery is not only the treasure of Meneam, but also the treasure of the British Army.These self-propelled artillery were provided to India in September as a "powerful" retaliation and a manifestation of the spirit of mutual assistance among Commonwealth countries after the United Kingdom warned China not to air strike New Delhi.Of course, the name provided is lease, that is to say, it needs to be returned to the British Army after the fight.

In fact, even the AS90 self-propelled artillery equipped by the British Army has not yet been replaced with 52-caliber artillery, and the batch provided to India is the most advanced, plus a lot of supporting auxiliary equipment.

According to the agreement, Meneam is not allowed to use these weapons to fight against Pakistan (Pakistan also belongs to the Commonwealth), but he is really itchy. He has secretly mobilized a company and its attached anti-artillery radar not long ago. Its power was tested in the Fortress counterattack.

At that time, the forward troops reported being attacked by firepower. Obviously, in the deep area behind the enemy's tank group, there was a non-stop mobile self-propelled artillery unit. It was judged to be a 122mm caliber self-propelled artillery, which fired ordinary and rocket-extended range ammunition.The AS90 troops, under the command of Major Hariyaman, maneuvered in the mountains at night and secretly occupied positions.

After shooting and running all morning, the Pakistani self-propelled artillery units did not suffer much. They thought that they had used extended-range ammunition with a range of more than 25 kilometers, which was completely out of the range of the enemy's counterattack firepower, so they gradually slacked off and began to fight. Staying in one position for too long.

After measuring the position of the opponent's position, the 90 self-propelled artillery of the AS8 army launched several rounds of fierce rapid fire in a very short period of time. Extended-range bombs, not precision-guided munitions; even if it is just an ordinary bottom-exhaust bomb, after flying nearly 40 kilometers, its shooting accuracy is enough to cover the Pakistani self-propelled artillery unit that cannot escape. The high accuracy of the gun made Meneam, who was born as an artilleryman, very happy.

A few days later, after the counterattacking Indian troops advanced, they finally discovered that the destroyed enemy troops belonged to the artillery unit of the 8th Division of the Pakistani Army, equipped with the latest 8mm self-propelled howitzer on a 8X122 wheeled chassis aided by China. The high-explosive ammunition fired by the AS90 covered and destroyed most of the light armored units, and some of them were destroyed and abandoned on the battlefield; and this 122 self-propelled artillery had no battlefield record in the past, and it was the first time it was used statistics to.

Since then, in the battles on the outskirts of the Fort, Pakistan no longer dared to rely on shallow depths to organize support firepower, but turned to weak air support. In the end, the Pakistani army collapsed and left about 25000 corpses, 450 Tanks and countless other equipment fled west.

At present, 7 companies of AS90 are gathering in Fort Fort and Jammu. Meneyam decided to mobilize 4 of them to let Olinde go for a blow and continue to test the enemy's deployment.

Desperate Mohammad Sami landed at Mianwari Airport, eager to know the details of his old friend, and the information he got from Air Force Intelligence was limited and confusing.It is reported that someone parachuted from ZDK03, but the ground troops did not find the parachutist, only the wreckage of the plane.Sami is not a person who is easily moved by emotions, and his rationality tells him that the possibility of Islam's survival is extremely slim.The impact of his death on the Air Force is immeasurable.

On the other hand, the colonel learned that he was very likely to become the latest candidate for the chief of staff of the Pakistan Air Force, that is to say, he would become a fighter with less than 100 aircraft left (including primary trainers and liaison aircraft). Supreme Commander of the Space Force.Regarding this appointment, which may be issued by the Prime Minister himself, he was told that he must wait for the Prime Minister's call at the camp all day.

Sammy knows that up to now, the air force's operational aircraft include 2 AWACS aircraft, 19 Raiden fighter jets that can make up a squadron, 20 operational J-7Ps, 6 Mirage Vs, 6 Phantom III; In addition, there are several F16 fighter jets that lack spare parts and ammunition, which are difficult to dispatch, and one J-1 fighter jet that belongs to him; the shortage is even greater than that of aircraft. In the war, the air force lost a large number of combat personnel, including a lieutenant general. Even if China continued to provide fighter planes selflessly, no one could fight.

The colonel also had to consider some things other than combat. In the era of Islam, the Air Force has been stubbornly showing its independence. Even though it lost three-quarters of its troops, it refused to allow China to encroach on command.The air force does have a fine tradition in this country, and its status is not quite the same as those of the army with no self-respect, but Sami himself does not agree with this tenacity.He can calmly shoot down American warplanes that cause trouble, and he is not good at thinking about any politics. He just looks at the problem from the perspective of an old pilot-intimate cooperation with the Chinese is the guarantee of victory in the war.He prefers to continue to fly fighter jets to fight against the enemy, no matter who he accepts command; instead of being a polished commander, sitting in the command plane or on the ground, commanding immature young people to die.

After much deliberation, the call from the wartime prime minister came on time.After reviewing the series of great feats that Sami has made for the country, the Prime Minister asked him to lead the Air Force to new victories. He hoped that Sami would accept the rank of major general and give up aerial combat; the Prime Minister believed that this war might end in Stop within a few months, and Pakistan can't continue to take risks, leaving the last legacy of the Air Force to fight to the death.In addition, he pointed out that only a strong figure recognized by both parties can take over the position of supreme commander of the air force, so as to ensure the confidence of the allies in the air force, and not to put forward too harsh requirements in terms of command authority when assisting.

Sammy was silent for a while, and declined the prime minister's request.

The colonel believes that it is not time to talk about the post-war war. The actions in the morning show that the enemy still has the strength to conduct highly complex operations hundreds of kilometers deep into Pakistani airspace, which means that they are still strong enough to destroy the Pakistan Air Force.He said that he could not agree with the Prime Minister that the inheritance of an army needs to be maintained by someone leaving the battlefield early. On the contrary, the spirit of daring to sacrifice itself is the tradition of the Air Force.

At the same time, the colonel believes that he can accept the command from friendly forces. If the Chinese Air Force refuses to be under the command of Pakistan, then he thinks the reverse is acceptable, and there is no problem with the equipment.

Abandoning the unified command is not conducive to giving up the few remaining advantages. The Indian Air Force is still unable to integrate the data link technically due to the mixed equipment. Obviously, it is very unwise to reduce its own technology to the level of the opponent for political reasons. of.

Of course, the Prime Minister did not expect that someone would refuse to be promoted.Of course, what the Colonel said touched him greatly.He hoped that Sami could at least accept the rank of major general, and other aspects could be discussed.

After visiting the scene of the enemy's plane crash, Lin Huaisheng placed the headquarters of the Pakistan 1st Armored Division along the way.At present, this division is assembled on a very wide front, and it is almost ready to attack, but from the reports, it can be seen that its headquarters has been hesitant to attack, and seems to be very afraid of failure.Lin has always wanted to go to his headquarters to observe the morale of the headquarters personnel on the spot.

Sure enough, Lin Yi arrived at the headquarters.Younis, the deputy division commander who stayed behind, complained to Lin Huaisheng. He said that the morale of this unit was still very low and it was not enough to launch an offensive. On the one hand, there were too many failures in the past half a year.Both recruits and veterans are very skeptical of the idea that they will be able to win the next battle.On the other hand, the officers believe that as an armored division, the division has obtained too many wheeled light armored vehicles. Although the offensive area is relatively flat and there are a lot of roads, the rapidly expanding troops with these weapons are almost reduced to ordinary motorized infantry. Division, and the motorized infantry division should not serve as a front-line assault.

Of course, Lin Huaisheng didn't have any more equipment for him, but he immediately said that the game between China and the United States in Afghanistan will soon be won or lost, and maybe it will be able to take over the strategic road in Afghanistan immediately and complete a road that enters Afghanistan through the Sarang Pass via Tajikistan. The logistics channel, this channel will greatly improve the current transportation situation. At present, the equipment in China is piled up like a mountain; while Younis is hesitating to speak, Lin Huaisheng hurried to the map and asked about the situation of the Indian 4th Infantry Division on the opposite side. Circumstances, so this matter was fooled.

Lin Huaisheng actually didn’t expect too much from the 9st Armored Division, which had lost more than 7% of its front-line commanders and 1.5% of its recruits after repeated supplements. As long as they can complete the advance on the flank with a 1 to [-] advantage, it’s fine to not make any big mistakes. , the attack depends on Wang Zhenbei.As for the low morale of the Pakistani Army, he really can't think of too many solutions. This is indeed more difficult to obtain than equipment. It can only be regained by victories on the battlefield. The biggest problem for the Pakistani Army is that they all Can't believe the win.

"It seems that the Indian 9th Division has made some adjustments and has retreated a certain distance. After your artillery launches an attack, you will clean up several of its command posts as soon as possible." Lin said.

(End of this chapter)