Chapter 726 4:1 Victory
Due to the lack of a unit that could have an overview of the overall situation, it took the Indian army a full minute and a half to roughly understand the current situation through the chaotic radio. ——
On our own side, there are a total of 8 MiG-29A and 8 Mirage 2000H, divided into 4 formations, generally flying westward in a fan shape.
The other side took off a total of 4 F16s and 16 unknown aircraft that were suspected to be the latest improved J-7, divided into three formations, showing a situation of being flanked by two sides.
Of course, there are also 2 or 4 unknown model Chinese fighter jets located on the side, which seem to have no intention of joining the battle, but can still put some pressure on them.
On the other hand, although it is also impossible for Pakistan to have real-time linkage with the Chinese military command, it is already a huge advantage to know the number, formation and general heading of its opponents before taking off.
In fact, from the perspective of hindsight, at the moment when both sides turned on the radar, although the Indian army did not have an advantage, it still had a chance to fight.
The four F16s without beyond-visual-range combat capabilities can be ignored, so what is left is nothing more than a 16-on-16 mid-range bombardment.
In this mid-to-high-altitude combat environment with a clean background, the MiG-29A's radar is powerful enough after all, so it won't suffer much.
Even considering the range advantage of the R27 compared to the Thunderbolt 11, there may be some advantages.
However, due to chaotic frontline command and poor situational awareness, they missed the most golden 90 seconds of response time.
Therefore, when the two squadrons of the Indian Army completed communication, the eight J-7Fs of the 5th Squadron, which came from the southwest, had already fired a round of medium-range bombs at the Black Archers squadron charging at the front. .
The entire flight process of the semi-active radar bomb requires the carrier aircraft to maintain radar tracking. Therefore, once the initiative is lost, the impact on the situation will be fatal.
Because if the party that launches missiles from behind does not maneuver to avoid it, it will inevitably be shot down earlier, and the ammunition they fired will also lose its target and will not pose a threat at all.
This is completely different from the logic of active radar missile firing.
As a result, the eight MiG-29s that bore the brunt had to disperse and turn to avoid.
Colonel Prajan also thought about saving some of his teammates, but his squadron was targeted one-on-one by the eight aircraft in front of him, and he was completely unable to take action for a while.
A round of mid-range projectiles fired at the extreme distance missed the target as expected. However, this round of evasion caused the Black Archer squadron to fall into a disadvantage in both energy and position, making it impossible to organize an effective attack. Fight back.
Only two aircraft barely fired two R27s in a low-to-high attack, but the more numerous opponents at high altitudes fired back almost at the same time.
If this situation continues, the two sides will soon enter a visual range battle within 10 kilometers.
At that time, the MiG-29 fleet, which had neither height nor speed, would be difficult to deal with these opponents.
So after holding on for a while, the Black Arrow squadron, which had just announced that they wanted to avenge Prayan, knelt down at the speed of light, turned around and headed east, preparing to take advantage of their acceleration performance to escape.
At this time, the 7th Squadron had just completed a round of evenly matched shooting, and it was unclear what was happening on the other side.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the frightened voice of the captain of the Black Arrows came from the radio that they realized that they had been betrayed by their teammates...
Fortunately, both sides At this time, all 16 aircraft had used up their medium-range bombs and had not yet entered into a visual range fight that was difficult to escape.
So I can still run.
But at this time, the role of those few Chinese Air Force fighter jets became apparent.
"Warning, you are approaching Chinese airspace, please turn away immediately, otherwise you will be responsible for all consequences..."
A slightly stiff English sounded on the public radio channel.
Both sides had already disbanded their formations in order to avoid medium-range bombs, but the aircraft closest to the border could only make a 270° turn in a very awkward posture in order not to enter the Chinese airspace.
Wasting time is secondary, the key is that such a turn will shorten the distance with the opponent.
But there is no choice.
If we insist on rushing to the other side, the situation is likely to become a mixed doubles.
There is no way to survive.
In the end, the plane that fell at the very back was shot down by two Thunderbolt 11s fired from the other direction by the Fifth Squadron.
The Pakistan Air Force was also worried that the MiG-29s that had just escaped would suddenly come back, so they only conducted a very restrained pursuit.
A melee that left countless trails in the air ended in 1:0.
There is no way. When both sides have neither reliable air command capabilities nor active radar bombs, nor are they prepared to enter combat, the efficiency of beyond visual range shooting is very low.
However, considering the previous 2:1 result and the fact that this was an ambush calculated and unintentional by the Indian army.
It is obvious that Pakistan has made a lot of money.
However, all this is not completely over yet.
The pilots of the Tail Blade Squadron who returned victorious soon discovered a problem.
"Have any of you seen the squadron leader?"
During the return flight in a joyful atmosphere, someone suddenly asked on the radio.
The channel instantly became quiet.
The melee just now had turned into a mess, and naturally no one had time to pay attention to the three lonely planes.
"Maybe it has landed in Punjab?"
Someone speculated.
But soon, the base commander gave a negative answer:
"No, Lieutenant Colonel Sami and his wingmen were not seen in the 9th Squadron, but the Black Panthers The squadron’s attack aircraft has landed.”
"..."
At this time, Sami and his wingmen had returned to the battlefield and quietly walked around to both sides of another Mirage 2000 that had scattered back and had not had time to regroup. He did not chase the MiG-29s that he had left before, because the opponent still had more than a dozen medium-range rounds in his hand that had not been fired.
But these Phantom 2000s don’t have it.
It is completely a soft persimmon at his disposal.
According to the plan, the wingman approaching from the other direction turned on the radar first.
Although the two missiles on the wingman had been fired as early as in the initial 2-on-2 air battle, the frightened Mirage 2000 obviously did not know this, and was still frightened into turning around and came within a short distance of Sami In a closer direction.
Everything is within the latter's calculation.
When the RWR of the unlucky Indian aircraft sounded for the second time, it was already too late.
The pilot turned around and saw two missiles that had not even completely completed their power stage, hitting him one after the other.
He barely dodged the first one with the help of a powerful turn, but the second missile, launched one second apart, adjusted its direction in time and detonated under the left wing of the Mirage 2000.
The rapidly expanding continuous rod warhead ripped apart almost the entire wing, and because the altitude was too low, the pilot did not even have time to parachute...
"Squadron Commander, my fuel has been exhausted. Very few, what should we do next?”
After rejoining one place, the wingman pilot asked in a trembling voice.
With the remaining fuel, let alone returning to his base, it is unrealistic to even fly to the base of the Griffin Squadron.
However, since Sami dared to catch up, it meant that everything had been planned:
“Turn to direction 290. I know there is a civilian airport in Batilstan with a runway length of 3,700 meters. Let’s go there. Landing. "
...
On the other side, after the 7th Squadron regrouped, Colonel Sumit Prayan realized that he had just lost more than one of his men.
"***'s Black Archer Squadron..."
Prajan punched the cabin wall in annoyance.
If the Black Archers hadn't retreated without giving up, they would have even had a slight advantage in the situation.
However...
He had just witnessed a wingman crashing on the ridge. The pilot ejected from the cabin, but the parachute would most likely not open in time.
Now it is discovered that another four-machine formation is also missing one aircraft.
Just a few minutes ago, they were still thinking about using the stealth mode without turning on the radar to break the opponent's concealment.
However, in the end they themselves became the ones whose concealment was broken.
And lost a quarter of the formation in the dark minutes that followed.
The lieutenant colonel endured the pain and replayed everything that had just happened over and over in his mind.
The failure of the initial two-plane formation sneak attack can also be explained as bad luck or being calculated by the oriole behind.
But the ensuing air battle between the two large formations should be evenly matched or slightly dominant no matter how you think about it.
Why...
The other party acted as if they knew their direction in advance.
But the other party does not have a long-range air defense system or early warning radar near the border... Even if it does, it is impossible to see it so clearly due to the terrain...
"Hiss..."
Prayan suddenly figured out something.
He raised his head and looked at the vague snow line on the left side of the cabin.
"Tomahawk Squadron, you transfer to Chandigarh and land. Pay attention to descending altitude in time."
In the pain and anger of losing his teammates, Prayan heard the radio transmission in a trance. came an old voice.
That was Lieutenant General Bhadauliya, chief of staff of the Western Air Force Command, who was responsible for the frontline command of this mission.
"Chief of Staff..."
Prayan's voice was a little choked when he heard this voice:
"We lost four planes today, and three of the brothers failed. Parachuting..."
"I know, Lieutenant Colonel, I know..."
Badoria's tone was also very low:
"The captain of the Black Arrows just told me, he said he was sorry..."
"..."
Pulayan has calmed down a little now. He knows that in fact, this In the final analysis, the other party cannot be entirely blamed.
In the case of losing the first mover, even if the Black Archer notified him in advance as soon as he retreated, the 7th Squadron, which had already fallen into a mid-range missile exchange, would not have been able to do so before both sides ran out of ammunition. retreat.
This is a technical gap.
"Chief of Staff, we can't go on like this."
The lieutenant colonel suppressed his grief and said on the radio:
"We must have our own early warning aircraft, otherwise we will always be beaten by the troops on the mountain. The radar is so heavy that I can’t even lift my head..."
(End of this chapter)