Chapter 22: Aerial Supremacy

  On July 2, 2015, the Fourth Indo-Pakistani War broke out.

  Between 11:00 and 12:15 Pakistan Time, the first dogfight took place in the skies over southwestern Kashmir for air superiority, commonly referred to as the "7.2 Air War". Within seventy-five minutes, more than one hundred and fifty combat aircraft were deployed by both sides.

  The results of the air war are contentious as both India and Pakistan published differing claims.

  India first announced that it had shot down thirty-seven Pakistani fighter jets, losing twenty-one of its own. Pakistan was not to be outdone and immediately announced that at the cost of seventeen fighter jets, it had shot down forty-three Indian fighter jets, as well as an A-50I airborne early warning aircraft.

  The news shocked the world as soon as it was released.

  As Pakistan released several photos taken by reconnaissance planes, "meritorious pilot" Major Hadi received an exclusive interview with Pakistani and Chinese reporters to recount the process of shooting down A-50I. The news that Indian Air Force's A-50I was shot down has been confirmed. A-50I not only became the first military plane to be shot down in the fourth Indo-Pakistani War, but also the world's first early warning aircraft to be shot down.

  As for other war results, whose news is more accurate, outsiders can't tell apart.

  Perhaps both sides are exaggerating their gains and concealing their losses.

  You can cheat an outsider but you cannot deceive an insider.

  At 3:30 pm Beijing time, Peng Maobang received the first combat statistical report.

  The Indian Air Force lost 52 fighter jets in air combat, including 25 Su-30MKIs, 16 MiG-29s, and 11 Mirage 2000s. In addition, the Indian Air Force also lost 42 MiG-21s, 37 MiG-23s, 23 MiG-27s, and 18 Jaguars on the ground. At the outbreak of war, these aircraft, which were preparing to carry out ground attack missions, were parked at airports, with some having completed pre-takeoff preparations.

  The Pakistan Air Force lost twenty-eight fighter jets in air combat, eleven of which were F-86 Sabre jets.

  Before four o'clock, Peng Maobang received the second battle report.

  Intelligence gathered from reconnaissance satellites, AWACS and recce aircraft confirmed that at least 21 Indian fighter jets were written off after returning to their bases, while another 17 failed to return.

  Five fighter jets of Pakistan Air Force crashed while returning and six were damaged during emergency landing.

  After receiving these two battle reports, Peng Maobang finally relaxed his tense mood.

  Although Pakistan Air Force's performance may not be excellent by Chinese air force standards, it is still very satisfactory.

  As an army general, Peng Maobang did not delve into the reasons behind it.

  As Chief of General Staff, Peng Mau-bang did not need to delve into the reasons.

  The Pakistan Air Force and all air forces watching this war must understand the root cause of the Indian Air Force's crushing defeat.

  The moment an IAF MiG-21 was shot down, India lost the dogfight.

  When the war broke out, the Indian Air Force had four A-50Is. Apart from the one operating over Kashmir, another was en route to the battlefield, preparing to support strike aircraft, while the other two were at a rear base undergoing maintenance, ready to replace the first two A-50Is in four hours.

  After the battle began, Tanberg's air defense center was first hit by a missile strike, and its ground facilities were completely destroyed, losing command capability.

  The heavy responsibility of tactical command was all on the A-50I, and the campaign command center in the rear could only provide navigation information for the aircraft, but not tactical information.

  After A-50I was shot down, Indian fighter jets rushing towards Pakistani airspace immediately lost their most important support.

  Under duress, Indian fighters had to use their onboard radar to search for targets.

  Compared with the radar on the "Saab-2000" type early warning aircraft, which can detect distances of over 350 kilometers, the fire control radar on the fighter jet, which has a detection distance of just over 100 kilometers, is simply a decoration. Before even reaching the battlefield, Indian fighter jets had already lost their information superiority. While they were searching for enemy planes with great difficulty, Pakistani fighter jets had already avoided the radar detection area of the Indian fighter jets under the guidance of early warning aircraft and reached an ideal attacking position.

  The air war quickly became a one-sided "slaughter".

  If you count on the support of "Air Guard 2000", the Pakistan Air Force is even more stable and victorious.

  In the first round of combat, the Su-30MKI fleet didn't even see the shadow of the enemy and was shot down by eleven "Thunder-12" medium-range air-to-air missiles. The remaining five Su-30MKIs didn't even have the courage to engage in a dogfight, randomly firing R-77 missiles before turning around to escape before the Pakistan Air Force's "Thunder" fighter jets launched their second batch of medium-range air-to-air missiles. As a result, all twelve participating "Thunder" fighter jets emerged unscathed.

  In the subsequent two rounds of air battles, the Indian Air Force was completely at a disadvantage.

  According to the scale and arrival time of the Indian aircraft provided by "Kung Jing 2000", the Pakistan Air Force's "Thunder" and "Lightning" fighter jets were put into battle in batches, taking the lead in launching an attack with the "Thunder-12" medium-range air-to-air missile, and then engaging in close combat with their opponents after gaining a numerical advantage.

  In the Indian Air Force, the one that lost the most was not the Russian-made fighter jet, but the French-made fighter jet.

  When engaging with "Lightning" and "Thunder", Su-30MKI can also use fire control radar to detect targets and shoot out R-77 medium-range air-to-air missiles before being shot down. Although most of the R-77s were lost due to lack of guidance information, they did not fall to the point where they could not fight back.

  "Fantom 2000" didn't even have a chance to fight back when facing "Thunder" and "Lightning".

  The maximum range of the "Mica" medium-range air-to-air missile is only 50 kilometers, and the maximum range of the "R-77" medium-range air-to-air missile is 85 kilometers. The "Thunder" and "Lightning" fighters can launch missiles completely outside the strike range of the "Mirage 2000" fighter, without giving the opponent a chance to counterattack.

  The second wave of arrivals was the "Phantom 2000" fleet, with the result that twenty-four fighter jets were shot down eleven, and another thirteen, six crashed on the way back, five severely damaged when returning to the airport for emergency landing, only two barely able to take off again.

  The only one that can be compared with the miserable defeat of "Phantom 2000" is Mig-29.

  These Indian aircraft, introduced from the former Soviet Union in the 1980s and long since retired by Russia, were not equipped with advanced fire control radar. All seven shot down were finished off without discovering their opponents. Better than the "Phantom 2000", the Mig-29's maneuverability was indeed excellent, with four successfully evading two "Thunderbolt-12" missiles, and achieving a zero-to-three "undefeated" record in dogfighting against the "Lightning".

  The three-round fight saw only the final round enter into a grappling phase.

  Eight F-16s and twelve F-18s engaged the Indian Air Force's 12 Su-30MKIs and eight MiG-29s.

  It was not until then that the Pakistan Air Force lost its first fighter jet.

  The significance of warning machines in air-to-air combat is not very large, the performance of both sides' fighter jets and air-to-air missiles are evenly matched, making air-to-air combat relatively fair for both sides.

  A notable exception is the Indian Air Force's twin-seat Su-30MKI.

  Of the seven Pakistani fighter jets shot down, four were shot down by twin-seat Su-30MKIs; all four twin-seat Su-30MKIs that participated in the battle survived unscathed, while six of the eight single-seaters were shot down. This performance suggests that twin-seat fighters performed much better than single-seat fighters in dogfighting. However, dogfighting does not account for a large proportion of air combat, and it is difficult to enter the dogfighting phase when one side has an information advantage.

  At 11:50, the second A-50I arrived, and the situation improved somewhat.

  The situation returned to a stalemate with the Indian Air Force's morale dented and that of Pakistan Air Force boosted.

  Over the next twenty-five minutes, both sides committed two waves of fighters each.

  The outcome was largely inconclusive, with Pakistan Air Force losing 21 fighter jets and Indian Air Force losing 17 fighter jets.

  It is worth noting that all 38 fighter jets were shot down by medium-range air-to-air missiles!

  By this time, the Indian Air Force had been thoroughly defeated.

  Of the ninety-six interceptors committed in the first wave, fifty-two were shot down and nearly thirty more suffered heavy damage.

  The Pakistan Air Force also gave it their all.

  Within a short period of more than an hour, 121 sorties of fighter jets were dispatched in five batches, with 16 "Lightning" aircraft executing two air combat missions.

  At the end of the air war, the Pakistan Air Force still maintained air superiority over its own territory.

  The Indian Air Force called off the operation to strike Pakistani military targets, with all tactical attack aircraft deployed at forward airbases or already airborne being diverted to rear bases.

  A victory of great significance once.

  It was not just Pakistan's victory once.

  Pakistan Air Force Chief Marshal Mushtaq has mentioned that the Pakistan Air Force was able to win this intense battle, in addition to having excellent pilots and advanced early warning aircraft, the battlefield information provided by the Chinese air force played a decisive role. Otherwise, the limited forces of the Pakistan Air Force would have been unable to withstand the five-wave attack of the Indian Air Force.

  Although reluctant to admit defeat, the Indian Air Force indeed lost the first day's battle.

  Peng Maobang arrived at the battlefield situation intelligence center with a heart full of joy, while Ji Youguo was devouring a plate of pastries. From morning till now, he hadn't even eaten lunch, and was already starving.

  "Just received news, Indian Army did not advance into Pakistan territory."

  Ji Youguo hesitated for a moment and put down his chopsticks. "Is today's battle over?"

  "The Indian Air Force has been defeated, and there won't be any intense battles during the day." Peng Maobang pulled out a cigarette. "They must be summarizing lessons, maybe they will launch a new attack at night. I contacted Xiang Tonghui to remind the President of Pakistan not to be careless and underestimate the enemy."

  "I'll call Sheriff right away, strike while the iron is hot, and improve our relationship." Ji Youguo smiled and said, "I'll come back after dinner, and leave the preparation work for the meeting to you."

  "No problem, I'll have the staff prepare immediately."

  After seeing off Ji Youguo, Peng Maobang also burst out laughing. Although this was not a victory won by the Chinese army, in his eyes, it was more worthy of celebration than if the Chinese army had won.

  The Pakistani military has been learning from the Chinese military, and if the students are doing so well, can the teachers be any worse?

  Peng Maobang was in high spirits when You Hongjun rushed over hastily.

  "Captain, I've just received a report from the Swordfish."

  Peng Maobang suddenly stood up, "Did we take down the 'Interceptor'?"

  "Right, fresh news!"

  "Not bad, really not bad, we've solved our biggest problem." Peng Maobang was trying to control his excitement, but the joy still showed on his face. "Go and call the staff who are resting after their shift, I'll treat everyone to dinner."

  Within one day, Peng Maobang achieved two victories of great significance. If he wasn't happy, that would be strange.