Chapter 13: Indra's Thunder (5)
(5)
Almost all the Russian-made "Club" series cruise missiles launched by 4 'Bangalore'-class destroyers and 'Delhi'-class destroyers belonging to the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier battle group "Nehru" and 3 Kilo-class submarines were used to destroy the air defense systems of Thailand and Malaysia.
Club-S type cruise missiles launched by Indian Navy surface warships and Club-N type cruise missiles launched by submarines flew at a low altitude of 5-10 meters over the air defense network in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand, heading for the radar stations, airports, and military ports of ASEAN troops. Within the first four hours of the outbreak of war, Songkhla, the home port of the Second Fleet of Thailand, Phang Nga, the home port of the Third Fleet, and Penang Air Force Base in Malaysia were hit to varying degrees.
"The Indians launched an attack on us."
On the evening of December 8, 2007, almost all Thai media reported news of war to the public in various forms. Although it cannot be called an undeclared war, everything seems too sudden for the Thai people who have been far away from the battlefield for a long time.
"We will give the invaders the most severe counterattack, making them understand that although Thai people love peace, they are not afraid of war."
Thai King Adulyadej spoke in a televised speech. However, most of the high-ranking leaders of Thailand's military were far from optimistic like him.
In the first wave of cruise missile attacks, only 5 F-5E fighter jets of the Royal Thai Air Force were destroyed on the ground, seemingly a small loss. However, with air defense radars across the country being destroyed, the actual combat capability of the Royal Thai Air Force, which lacked airborne early warning aircraft, had already been dealt a devastating blow.
"If I had a choice, I'd keep all the fighters on the ground." Colonel Musto, commander of Thailand's 17th Fighter Squadron, rushed to his plane in despair. The Thai Air Force scrambled quickly, futilely meeting the invaders who were stronger than them.
The situation in Malaysia was even more dire than that of Thailand, as the Indian Navy's special forces, which had infiltrated and landed in Penang, began to wreak havoc in the surrounding areas at the same time as the first wave of cruise missile attacks. Road traffic was congested, garrisons were attacked, and many pilots could not return to their posts in time.
The only two aircraft that took off from Butterworth Air Base to intercept were the two SU-27s flown by Lieutenant Colonel Le Van and his wingman Captain Nguyen.
Lê V?n C??ng is one of the top aces in the Vietnamese Air Force. In 2005, during the civil war, he shot down "Vietnamese formation" alone in the first two weeks after the start of the war in Operation "Western Shield".
Su-22 attack aircraft 1, MiG-21Bis fighter jets 4, and during the Sino-US intervention negotiations, led 2 wingmen to cross the temporary ceasefire line to strike the "Vietnamese array" in the Xishan area Strategic airdrop, shot down An-2 transport planes 2, making the "Vietnamese array" hate them to the bone.
After the Chinese military intervened, Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Chung and his squadron's main task shifted from air defense to ground attack, with impressive personal achievements. In the "Java quasi-war" between China and Japan for Indonesia, Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Chung and more than 50 elite pilots from the Vietnamese Air Force participated in a series of military actions by the Chinese Air Force as volunteers, but most of the time they were only responsible for base security and patrol duties. Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Chung regretted not being able to confront the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and achieve results. After arriving at Penang Air Base in Malaysia, he began intense combat preparations.
After being attacked in Penang, he and his wingman took off in an emergency. Due to a lack of
With GCI (Ground-Controlled Interception) support, Li Yongzhong could only choose to fight independently with his wingman and search for enemy planes.
At the same time in southern Thailand, 24 F-16As of the Royal Thai Air Force
B-type fighter, 20 F-5E fighters have engaged in fierce air combat with the incoming Indian aircraft. The Indian Air Force's forces deployed in southern Thailand were not large, with about 10 Su-30MK Flankers, 14 MiG-29A Falcons and 6 Mirage 2000H Vajra fighters arriving in the war zone one after another. Although there was no clear advantage in terms of force strength, it has been proven time and again since the Bekaa Valley air battle on June 9, 1982, that modern air combat is increasingly dependent on airborne early warning aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft to gain electromagnetic dominance, rather than simply competing in numbers of fighters.
Apart from the support of Russian-made A-50U airborne warning and control systems, the Indian Air Force also used for the first time in air combat Russia's "Wanderer" - Su-32 escort jamming electronic warfare aircraft. This type of aircraft is equipped with two So
The Su-32 will lead the assault strike, carrying two high-power (over 1 kW) L175V jamming pods on hardpoints under the wings. This layout allows all threats in the combat zone to 'suddenly materialize'.
Then the sensors integrated with the ECM pod will determine the location and identify the threat, selecting the best jamming technique such as high power jamming or false echoes.
Causing the Royal Thai Air Force to be unable to take advantage of its numerical superiority in air-to-air combat, in the dogfight over Phang Nga Province, 12 F-16As were deployed by the RTAF
Eight B-type fighters were shot down in a 20-minute dogfight, while the Indian Air Force lost only one MiG-29A Eagle and two Mirage 2000H Vajra fighter jets.
Compared to his Thai counterparts, Wing Commander Liu seemed to have much better luck. He skillfully used low altitude to evade the first wave of Indian Air Force's air superiority fighters. In the Balik Pulau area south of Butterworth Air Base, he encountered 4 Indian Air Force Jaguar IS attack aircraft loaded with bombs. Due to the cover of numerous air superiority fighters, the single-seat Jaguar IS attack aircraft, which had a similar light gray paint scheme to that of the Royal Air Force, did not adopt the traditional defensive mode of carrying 2 ECM pods and 2 air-to-air missiles, but instead carried BL755 laser-guided bombs. This mistake was not large, but it was enough to doom the entire formation.
Lieutenant Colonel Li Yongzhong swiftly seized the attacking position on the flank of the Mirage 2000 fighter group, and decisively launched 4 R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles. Two Mirage 2000 fighters instantly became fireworks in the sky above Malaysia, while the remaining Mirage 2000 fighters immediately accelerated their engines to full power, diving downwards to evade the hunters behind them. However, in front of the Su-27, the Mirage's evasive maneuvers seemed too clumsy, and Lieutenant Colonel Li Yongzhong and his wingman tightly locked onto their opponent, shooting down one at an altitude of 200 meters.
"Everything is going smoothly." In the fortress electronic command center 50 meters underground at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, Air Marshal Ashish Prashant, Commander-in-Chief of India's Far Eastern Theater, was enjoying a brief moment of triumphant joy.
The first phase of the Indian Air Force action was highly successful, as Singapore, the regional power with the strongest air force in the Strait area, maintained an almost neutral attitude. The air forces of Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam all put up resistance, but this resistance seemed too thin and disorderly.
Reports so far indicate that the Indian Air Force shot down over 30 aircraft of the enemy in air battles, and it is estimated that more than 50 enemy planes were destroyed on the ground. In contrast, India's losses are negligible at 8 aircraft.
While the Indian Army had not yet engaged in combat with enemy forces, the main force of the elite 57th Mountain Division on the southern front had already begun crossing the 3381-meter-high Lesel mountain. The helicopter group of its vanguard troops had arrived in the Simawang area, where they established their forward supply point. The main force of the 9th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 93rd Armored Brigade on the northern front had reached the town of Mempawah in the northwest of Sumatra, where they would join forces with the armed forces of the fugitive former Indonesian military government leader, Djabril, who was said to have more than 15 battalions of guerrilla fighters. If this were true, he would be a great help to India's operations on Sumatra.
But just as Prashad was about to get drunk, an unfavorable message suddenly came: a mysterious special forces unit launched a surprise attack on the Indian radar station deployed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands region with a detection range of over 200 nautical miles. Due to the concentration of the Indian military's attention on the military operations in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, the radar station was almost completely destroyed in the sudden surprise attack.
"Who did it?"
General Prash won't have time to worry about the advanced radar system, he just wants to know who the enemy is and what their purpose is. "The report says the enemy wears a black knitted beret; wearing a combat uniform that is clearly modeled after the British Airborne Special Forces, armed with American-made M16A1 automatic rifles."
"That should be the Royal Thai Army Special Warfare Command." said Colonel Bahadur, commander of India's special forces for special operations.
"It's probably not that simple." A general's intuition told General Prash that behind this accidental event was a huge strategic plan.
“
In Tabriz, they will be informed by the aircraft carrier 'Nehru' that the Thai fleet of Chakri Naruebet was not found at the designated location. We have lost control over it.
Another unexpected message came through. "Can't hesitate any longer, order our 'Sea Snake' to strike."
Colonel Prash spoke in a decisive and sharp tone.
