Chapter 27: Lethal Misfire

  After the aerial battle, Xiang Tonghui did not have a chance to rest immediately. He had to organize military coordination personnel to summarize experiences and lessons, predict the enemy's next move, and pre-arrange relevant plans. He also had to make a summary report to Pakistani military and political officials, listen to their opinions, hold an internal meeting after dinner, criticize several over-enthusiastic subordinates, reiterate discipline, and prohibit any behavior that would tarnish the image of the Republic's soldiers. It wasn't until 3 am that Xiang Tonghui lay down on his bed, closing his eyes filled with bloodshot, allowing his brain to relax after running at high speed for over 20 hours.

  Xiang Tonghui was woken up in less than three hours.

  "We've just received satellite photos." The duty officer put up two radar images on the big screen, "They have been identified as Vikramaditya and Vikrant."

  "Have they entered the fighter's striking range?"

  "They had just entered the strike range of the 'Thunder' fighter jet, only to...," The officer hesitated for a moment before calling up another set of data. "This is the specific location and wind direction at that time. Preliminary judgment, two aircraft carriers are sailing against the wind, with a speed of over 27 knots."

  Xiang Xiu Hui was shocked and immediately asked: "Have warnings been issued to the Air Force and Navy of Pakistan?"

  "An alert has already been issued." The officer nodded immediately and said, "Judging from the position of the fighter jets released by the two aircraft carriers, the target of the attack may be Karachi."

  "Karachi?" Itemu slightly furrowed his brow.

  Karachi is the largest port city of Pakistan and also the largest commercial port of Pakistan, it was once the largest naval base of Pakistan. Since the commissioning of Gwadar Port, Pakistan has gradually phased out Karachi as a naval base, deploying only a few fast attack craft here, with most major warships transferred to Gwadar Port.

  Will India bomb Karachi?

  It's not forty years ago now. Unless India wants to offend more countries and go all out war with Pakistan, there is no reason to bomb a commercial port.

  "How did you come to this conclusion?" Xiang Xue asked again.

  "The combat radius of the MiG-29K." The officer replied directly, "The two aircraft carriers are 450 kilometers away from Karachi, which is within the MiG-29K's maritime combat radius. The distance between the two aircraft carriers and Gwadar exceeds 600 kilometers. Even if the MiG-29K takes off from the carrier with only two air-to-ground missiles, its combat radius is only 550 kilometers. If it carries only one ground attack missile and increases fuel load, after reaching the airspace of Gwadar, there will be less than five minutes of combat reserve oil left. The two aircraft carriers can deploy at most 26 fighter jets, each carrying only one missile, and their attacking capability will be very limited."

  Xiang Xiehui's expression turned serious, and he didn't make a judgment immediately.

  Gwadar would definitely be the first choice of target for Indian naval aviation. The main force of the Indian Air Force was tied up in the northwestern theatre, and at most could only provide escort fighters for naval aviation, with the main attack task undertaken by the navy. In the event that fighter combat radius is insufficient, it is indeed possible for the Indian Navy to first bomb Karachi, test the depth of the Pakistani Navy and Pakistani Air Force, and then decide whether or not to bomb Gwadar.

  No, no way!

  Xie Tonghui was shocked and thought of a very important factor.

  India has purchased several large aerial tankers from Russia, the Indian Air Force has a large number of airports in the northwest region, and the combat radius of fighter jets is mostly between 500 kilometers to 600 kilometers. Even the short-legged Mig-29 does not need tanker support. In other words, it is very likely that the Indian Air Force will provide air refueling support for naval carrier-based fighters.

  "Does the MiG-29K have aerial refueling capability?"

  "Yes, it's a special request from the Indian Navy." The officer hesitated for a moment, "Colonel, you're saying..."

  "Immediately contact the Pakistan Navy to strengthen the air defense of Gwadar Port. Also, contact the Pakistan Air Force, do not attack the Indian aircraft carrier, concentrate on intercepting the Indian Air Force and naval fighter jets. With the support of tanker planes, the two aircraft carriers will turn south after launching their fighters, leaving them out of range of the 'Thunder' fighter jets."

  The news was quickly sent out, but it was a little late.

  Upon receiving the first alert, a "Lightning" squadron and two "Thunder" squadrons stationed in southern Pakistan immediately went into combat readiness. Twelve "Lightning" fighter jets carrying three large external fuel tanks, four C-803 anti-ship missiles, and two PL-11 air-to-air missiles were tasked with attacking Indian aircraft carriers, while twenty-four "Thunder" fighter jets carrying three large external fuel tanks, two PL-12 medium-range air-to-air missiles, and four PL-11 air-to-air missiles were responsible for escorting the "Lightning" fighter jets.

  At that time, the fighter planes of the three squadrons had all been loaded with ammunition and were preparing to take off.

  After receiving the order, the personnel on duty in the three bases were busy again.

  Ten minutes later, the first batch of "Lightning" fighters took off in an emergency. Each "Lightning" carried two fewer auxiliary fuel tanks and two more medium-range air-to-air missiles, switching from tactical escort to air defense interception mode.

  Twelve "Thunder" did not have such good luck, had to remove the anti-ship missile and the auxiliary fuel tank under the wing, and replace it with a medium-range air-to-air missile and a combat missile. Even for the most skilled maintenance personnel, it would take at least twenty-five minutes to complete all the work.

  In modern warfare where time is calculated in seconds, twenty-five minutes are enough to change the outcome of a battle.

  What made matters worse was that the Pakistan Air Force did not deploy any AEW aircraft. Mainly because of the insufficient number of fighter jets deployed in the southern region, it was difficult to provide escort fighters for the AEW aircraft. The Pakistan Air Force had only three Saab 2000s, each flying once during the day and undergoing maintenance at night to prepare for tomorrow's battle.

  The Indian Air Force also made no small mistake.

  Twenty-four Su-30MKIs taking off from Thanjavur Air Force Base in Tamil Nadu, escorting naval strike aircraft, did not directly enter Pakistani airspace but first entered the Arabian Sea before heading towards Gwadar.

  If the Indian Air Force's escort fighters enter Pakistani airspace ahead of time and head straight for the Pakistan Air Force base, they can arrive just in time for the emergency takeoff of the "Lightning" fighter. Even if the Indian Air Force's A-50I cannot arrive on time, the Su-30MKI can still catch the "Lightning" off guard with its more advanced onboard radar and excellent R-77 medium-range air-to-air missiles.

  The blunder of Indian Air Force did not turn the situation in favor of Pakistan.

  When the air raid siren sounded, there were four missile frigates, two light frigates, six missile boats and a comprehensive supply ship in Gwadar Port. Except for the three "Augusta 90B" type submarines that had already left the port, the other three submarines that entered the submarine cave warehouse, this is almost all of Pakistan Navy's assets.

  At 6:15, under the cover of A-50I, the Su-30MKI fleet first opened fire on the "Thunder" fleet.

  When the radar warning receiver screamed, the "Lightning" fighter had no chance to evade the R-77 medium-range air-to-air missile coming at four Mach.

  Just like daytime air battles, the side that launches a surprise attack with AWACS support wins overwhelmingly.

  At this time, the 12 F-16 fighter jets had just left the airport, and the Saab 2000 early warning aircraft sent by the Pakistan Air Force arrived near Lahore, which was also the earliest to arrive in 40 minutes.

  The Indian Navy's MiG-29K squadron will attack Gwadar Port in twenty-five minutes.

  After successfully repelling Pakistani F-16s, the Su-30MKIs did not enter Pakistani airspace, apparently fearing the long-range air defence missiles deployed at Gwadar.

  At 6:30, the Mig-29K fighter jet flying over the sea began to climb.

  Five minutes later, seven Mig-29Ks first launched anti-ship missiles at the port of Gwadar 110 kilometers away.

  The remaining 19 Mig-29Ks continued on their way.

  They are not unwilling to launch the missile as soon as possible, but the maximum range of the air-to-ground missiles it carries is only seventy kilometers, rather than the anti-ship missile's one hundred and twenty kilometers.

  Five minutes later, these nineteen Mig-29Ks also began to climb.

  Twelve F-16s arrived on the battlefield and discovered the Mig-29K fighter jet that was gaining altitude. Despite the Su-30MKI threat being close at hand, the F-16 fighters abandoned the Su-30MKI without hesitation and approached the Mig-29K fleet at top speed, firing all "Amraam" medium-range air-to-air missiles from 70 kilometers away. Nine F-16s were shot down by R-77 missiles fired by Su-30MKI before they could evade after launching the missiles. All nine pilots died at sea, and later Pakistan posthumously awarded them as "National Heroes" and erected a monument in their honor at the Aviation Academy.

  Brave Pakistani pilots could not get results enough to turn the tide with their lives.

  Before the "Thunder-12" missile was launched, all 19 Mig-29Ks had fired their air-to-ground missiles and quickly descended to a lower altitude to avoid the "Lightning"'s attack. Only two Mig-29Ks were too slow in diving and failed to escape the killing range of the "Thunder-12", being blown into pieces.

  Two MiG-29Ks were shot down when Pakistani warships in the port of Gwadar also suffered a devastating blow.

  The narrow harbor made it difficult for the warship's aft self-defense weapon system to play a role. Of the 28 anti-ship missiles, 21 hit their targets, and all six escort ships and six missile boats were sunk or destroyed. The comprehensive supply ship was also hit by two missiles, and if it had not rushed onto the shallow beach in time, it would have sunk in the harbor as well.

  The infrastructure of Guadalcanal was then subjected to devastating blows.

  When he received news of the bombing of Guadalcanal, Hsiung Hsiang-hui also received another piece of intelligence.

  A dormitory for workers of the construction team responsible for the expansion of the Port of Gwadar was hit by a missile, killing dozens, mostly Chinese engineers.

  Without any delay, Xiang Yu immediately had the communication officer send the message to the General Staff Headquarters.

  Although Xiang Xiong did not know the reason why the Republic was waiting to join the war, he had a vague feeling that the "misfire" of Guadalcanal would have an irreversible impact on this war.

  ****

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