Chapter 722 Dive Bombing
Chang Haonan’s prediction soon became a reality.
In fact, shortly after the Allied Forces operation began, Pakistan sent armed personnel disguised as civilians in batches into the junction area near the line of control to build defensive positions and outposts.
According to their plan, this was supposed to be a raid to achieve established facts as quickly as possible while the attention of all foreign powers was focused on the Balkans.
Just as the northern powers did in 1962.
However, the sudden start of the Allied operation was too sudden.
Therefore, the Pakistani army was not well prepared on March 25 and had no choice but to bite the bullet and start the mission.
The end of the Allied operation was even more sudden.
No one could have imagined that the Balkan crisis would end in such an outrageous way.
In other words.
Pakistan's entire plan completely collapsed.
However, to a certain extent, the above two things are not important.
Because Pakistan greatly overestimated the combat effectiveness of its army.
They originally thought that the biggest problem in the plan would be to deal with the interference of foreign powers after completing the horse race, so they chose such a time point.
But in fact, the plan got stuck almost at the first step.
The so-called raid did not achieve suddenness at all.
After being discovered it turned into a confrontation.
At first, the Pakistani army, which had a geographical advantage, was still able to take advantage.
But soon, the Indian army, which recovered, gradually began to use heavy equipment, including tanks and artillery, to fight back.
The situation of the Pakistani armed forces took a turn for the worse.
Ordinarily, at this point, you should consider how to end it with dignity.
But.
First of all, they have been planning this plan for more than half a year.
Secondly, the new leader who just raised his sword and went to Luo also needs some victories, at least publicity victories to increase his prestige.
So we definitely can’t just get out of here in despair.
Even if we have to withdraw eventually, we have to do something before withdrawing.
Therefore, the escalation of the conflict is inevitable.
……
Early morning.
Siachen Glacier, western foothills, Mount Saltolo.
Two Qiang-5IIIs from the 16th "Panther" Squadron were traveling northward at high speed in the ravine between the two ridges, with a total of 6 MK82 aerial bombs hanging under the wings and fuselage of each aircraft.
Compared with a normal two-plane formation, the distance between the two planes is quite far. Even when making some large-angle turns, the leading plane will briefly leave the sight of the following plane.
And there is another unusual place.
The leader of this formation is the one at the back.
At this time, the lead pilot, Captain Waqas Aslam, was concentrating on scanning the mountains on both sides, while looking down from time to time to check the flight route map placed in the transparent pocket on his thigh.
In the past period of time, the heavy artillery fire deployed by the Indian army has carried out low-density but continuous harassing shelling on several forward strongholds. However, it is almost impossible for Pakistan to follow the ridge controlled by its own side in the exchange of fire. Artillery of the same level was transported across the Line of Control, and the 120mm mortars carried on horseback and on horseback had no ability to fight back because their range was too short.
This caused the Pakistani ground forces, which originally had an altitude advantage of about one thousand meters, to suffer losses in the artillery battle. Even the advantageous combat loss ratio achieved in the past few days was gradually reduced.
In order to solve this trouble once and for all, the Air Force Staff formulated a plan to use attack aircraft to strike enemy artillery positions.
The Pakistani observation post, which is located at a relatively commanding height, has actually observed the location of the opponent's fire launch, but it has remained silent because it has no countermeasures.
And today, their counterattack is coming soon.
Since the opponent's position is deployed on a reverse slope, the success rate of bombing directly over the ridge to the east is basically negligible. Moreover, behind the Siachen Glacier not far away is Huaxia. If the bomb is thrown over the boundary, there will be trouble. Big.
Therefore, the attack route can only be along the valley bottom between the glaciers, around the ridge, and dropping bombs from the opposite direction.
This is a high-risk plan, not only because of the possible anti-aircraft weapons of the opponent, but more importantly, using two attack aircraft that lack terrain avoidance and tracking capabilities to fly long distances and low altitudes is a great test for the pilots. level.
Every few seconds, Aslam will report the terrain conditions ahead to his wingman flying about 2.5 kilometers ahead.
According to the plan, after approaching the target, the wingman will fly The attack was launched first, and he supplemented it by deciding subsequent actions based on the results of the first round of bomb drops.
Soon Aslam saw an iconic C-shaped stone formation on the hillside on the right in front, which is one of the most important landmarks in route planning.
"Panther 2, now slow down, climb to 450 meters, turn 180° to the left at the next mountain pass, and then enter the attack course."
He was talking to the front on the radio. The now-present wingman gave the order.
In this mountainous area with the most complex environment on earth, the signal stability and accuracy of the satellite positioning system are unsatisfactory, so elite pilots like the captain are still needed to perform some basic skills.
The 450 meters here is obviously the height above the ground displayed by the radio altimeter, not the absolute altitude.
"Panther 2 received it, is climbing, and the bomb release safety has been turned on."
The wingman's clear answer came over the radio.
Although it is said that they are flying "between" the ridges, the height of the two planes is actually slightly higher than the ridgeline.
It is a compromise between flight safety, radio range and concealment.
“Attention, there may be portable anti-aircraft missiles deployed on the mountains on both sides.”
Aslam reminded again, and then added:
"There are also anti-aircraft guns."
With the end of the Allied operation, the most advanced B2 bombers were used The story of the anti-aircraft gun downing half a century ago has spread almost throughout the world, and has even caused many countries to re-examine this traditional and ancient weapon.
This is especially true for attack aircraft pilots like them who work hard at low altitudes all day long.
In fact, the only fighter jets of the Indian Air Force that can use medium-range missiles, the Mirage 2000H and the MiG 29A, do not have particularly reliable downward-looking capabilities, so the threats that need to be focused on come from below - in this case Flying at low altitude over ghost terrain, if you get through a mountain pass and find several anti-aircraft guns in front of you, the gods will not be able to save you.
Fortunately, after a deft turn, Panther 2 did not encounter what the captain was most worried about.
This made Aslam relax a little, and then continued to call:
"Tail Blade Squadron, this is Black Panther One, please report your location."
“…”
There was only some noise on the radio, but no answer.
He called again, but still got no response.
For such an important bombing, it is certainly impossible for the Air Force to send out only two lonely Qiang-5s.
The 14th "Tail Blade" Squadron is the friendly force used to escort them in the plan.
This squadron switched from the ancient J-6 to the latest model J-7F1 fighter about a year ago.
To be honest, to this day, it is difficult for Aslam to convince himself that that thing is an improved version of the MiG-21.
But all in all the performance is good.
If you do not take into account the insufficient range and bomb load, in terms of air combat performance alone, it is even slightly better than the F16A/B of the 9th Squadron that cannot use medium-range bombs.
In fact, this model is even the only aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force that can use beyond visual range weapons.
It’s just that the performance is good, but now I can’t contact anyone at all, and it seems that I can’t count on it.
"Boss, didn't they just lose track of them?"
The wingman pilot, who was descending again and preparing to enter the attack route, joked:
"It seems that since we entered the mountainous area, I haven’t heard their voices again. Fighter pilots rarely practice drilling in ravines like us, so it’s normal for them to be unable to keep up.” Fighter pilots are definitely superior to others, and there are not many opportunities to openly complain like this.
But Aslam immediately denied it:
"When the 14th Squadron received new equipment last year, Lieutenant Colonel Sami was also transferred there. According to the plan, he is the leader of the tail blade today. There is no way he can't keep up with us. It should be just because the signal in the mountainous area is blocked. "
This explanation is a reassurance for the wingman pilot.
"If that's the case, I'll be relieved..."
Aslam still wanted to say something, but after he stopped talking for a long time, he still held it back. Li:
“Pay attention to control the route and don’t miss the target.”
In fact, what he wanted to say was that although Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Sami had superb flying skills and fruitful results, there had been rumors within the Air Force that he liked to use friendly forces or even his own wingmen as bait, while he hid in the dark and was ready at any time. sneak attack.
The authenticity of this rumor is difficult to verify, but the known fact is that pilots who go on missions with a lieutenant colonel do have a higher loss ratio.
Logically speaking, this trait should not be suitable for escort missions.
But the Air Force really cannot find many fighter pilots who can follow the attack aircraft pilots into the ravine.
But saying this now would only distract the wingman who was preparing to drop the bomb, so the captain did not speak in the end.
"Panther One, I have seen the target position and am preparing to drop the bomb!"
The wingman pilot's breathing became heavier instantly. While reporting on the radio, he had also turned the weapon selection knob from " LOCKED" to "BOMB" and select "ALL" next to it.
As an aircraft designed to drop hydrogen bombs on the Great Plains, the Q-5's sights are not suitable for this straight-forward bombing method, and there are no fancy laser aiming pods or TV cameras.
The bombing point can only be selected based on the experience of the pilot.
Fortunately, in order to carry out this awkward mission, the ground crew specially replaced each MK82 bomb with a deceleration device called "Snake Eyes" before takeoff. There is basically no need to consider the lead time, as long as the bomb is Just drop it right above the target.
At a distance of less than 2 kilometers from the target, the wingman pilot pulled up the nose of the aircraft and prepared to enter the final dive.
It was at this stage that Aslam, who was following behind, saw a white plume rising from the side ridge and pounced on Black Panther 2, which was adjusting its attitude.
"Be careful, there is Sam 7 shooting at you!"
The captain reminded quickly.
The poor rear view of the Q5 makes it impossible for the wingman pilot to directly see the situation below, and it is also too late to make a roll at the moment - which is almost equivalent to giving up this attack.
Therefore, he suppressed his fear and held on for one more second. After dropping all six bombs, he quickly leveled the plane, turned off the afterburner, pressed the interference bomb launch button, and fired three groups of infrared decoys in succession.
This action successfully deceived the already shaky portable missile, but under the high pressure, the wingman pilot’s bomb-dropping action was inevitably deformed. He paid special attention in the rearview mirror and found that although the bomb seemed It hit the intended location, but there was no sign of an explosion.
For an artillery position, this basically means that the attack failed.
"Panther One, I may have missed the target and need to supplement my attack!"
The voice on the radio sounded a little regretful.
However, Aslam, who was following behind, could clearly see that the six bombs accurately covered almost half of the hillside, and even set off a small avalanche.
"Could it be..."
The captain had a very bad guess in his mind.
Normally, this kind of position built on such an important terrain would definitely store at least half a level of artillery shells, but now there is no intention of dying in the explosion at all.
Either the shells have been fired, or...
This position is fake.
The moment he thought about this joint, the RWR's piercing alarm sound suddenly sounded in the cockpit of the aircraft.
At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he could see two white trails heading towards them at high speed behind the higher glacier in the distance.
“Attention, enemy aircraft!”
Aslam reminded loudly.
(End of this chapter)