1615. Deadly Swarm
The fleets of both sides were moving extremely fast, and the fighter jets they took off were even faster.
When the battleships on both sides were 1 light minute away, countless fighter jets were already strangled together!
At this moment, the fighter pilots of the Republic saw clearly what enemy they were facing!
That is an overwhelming dark cloud!
Countless small drones swarmed in like a swarm of bees, so densely packed that there was almost no gap! But when the anti-aircraft fire hit them, these drones were able to dodge immediately, as if a hole suddenly appeared in the dark clouds in the direction of the anti-aircraft fire.
Seeing such a scene, the Republic commanders at all levels, including Gideon Tarkin, were all speechless. Because such actions illustrate the excellent flight control systems of these drones!
You must know that the reason why these drones are able to avoid anti-aircraft fire is because their mother ship provides them with the turret steering data of the Republic fleet.
This is a very huge project, because there are thousands of turrets in the entire Republic fleet, and these turrets are constantly rotating, and the warships are also constantly moving. To avoid shooting, you must determine that the steering angle of one of the turrets is a threat to your own drone, and then communicate the shooting angle to the drones along the way, and then start to avoid it.
Even if you dodge, it is not just a matter of simply dodging. Otherwise, with such a large number of drones and such a dense barrage of anti-aircraft fire, once you dodge in the wrong direction, you will undoubtedly be blown to pieces. ending.
So before this, almost all drones used artificial intelligence to deal with this problem themselves. To put it bluntly, they turned drones into robots. This is the origin of the Vulture Robot Fighter.
It’s just that because of the limited carrying capacity of fighter jets, the artificial intelligence equipped on them is often unable to handle these problems. Therefore, the performance of these robot fighters on the battlefield is very rigid. In contrast, the Galactic Republic adopts a model of pilots + navigation robots, which is the most scientific model. The combination of intelligent creatures' emergency decision-making and artificial intelligence's data processing shows a combat effectiveness that can crush all kinds of robots. fighter plane.
Including the Fourth Civilization’s Ghost fighter, later improved models also referred to this model. It's just that the scientists of the Fourth Civilization did not separate the navigation robot, but integrated it into the electronic system of the fighter jet, which is equivalent to giving the fighter jet two sets of control systems.
In this way, the ghost fighters can continue to fight against the fighters of the Galactic Republic.
War is actually a process in which warring parties learn from each other, understand each other, and then kill each other. The Fourth Civilization and the Galactic Republic have unknowingly influenced each other's technological research and development.
However, what is now displayed in front of the commander of the Galactic Republic Navy is the flexible flying attitude of these tens of thousands of drones. They are not only flexible, but also scientific. This is an avoidance strategy based on unified planning and consideration of tens of thousands of individuals!
A simple evasive action has already thrown off the Galactic Republic's own flight control system for at least ten years!
And such actions were actually made by countless tiny drones!
The size of these drones is no more than two meters, even smaller than a taller person, and the main body of the drone is an engine installed on both sides, with a gun barrel in the center as the only weapon. This barrel is very large compared to a drone. Overall, this drone looks like a telescope.
And they are really small!
Flying in space with such a size, if you don't pay attention, you may not be able to see it even if it flies in front of the fighter pilots.
"Are there any results from the scan? What model of drone is this?" Gideon Tarkin turned around and asked.
"General! It has been scanned. This is indeed a drone, but from a structural point of view, it is very unscientific... The engine occupies too much space, and there is no space reserved for the central processor and weapon system. Very small. Is such a drone really capable of combat?" the radar soldier said in confusion. "In addition, these drones have shield reactions, which means they have a shield system. This is impossible! How can a drone accommodate so many systems? "
"Get the third batch of fighters ready for battle. If something goes wrong, take off immediately!" Gideon Tarkin stared at the holographic screen. Said in a deep voice.
While speaking, I saw those swarm-like drones suddenly starting to accelerate. Their speed had not reached the limit just now! These drones accelerated again in a short period of time and have already entered the center of the Republic's fighter formation!
Then, it’s a nightmare!
I only saw countless swarm drones passing by at extremely fast speeds. Such speed and flexibility made the Republic fighter pilots completely unable to react! Then, at the moment when the two sides were separated, the gun barrel on the swarm drone instantly fired a plasma ray.
This plasma ray directly caused violent ripples on the fighter's shield, and the pilot's cockpit immediately started to alarm! Before he could react, the second and third drones attacked, hitting him directly with three consecutive plasma rays!
The shield of this V-wing fighter was suddenly overloaded, and the pilot just woke up from a dream and hurriedly turned to evacuate. However, the V-wing, which is known for its flexibility, was unable to get rid of these drones. The three drones had completed the turn and flew over again. They were still swaying and evading during the flight, causing the fire control radars of other fighter jets to Unable to aim.
Three plasma rays directly penetrated the cockpit of this V-wing fighter!
More than 20,000 swarm drones ruthlessly tore apart the Republic fighter formation, and then relied on absolute numerical superiority to strangle them!
These swarm drones are surprisingly fast, their firepower is unexpectedly fierce, and under the control of a very advanced flight control system, their operations are also surprisingly flexible.
Almost as soon as the battle began, hundreds of Galactic Republic fighter jets were shot down!
"Retreat! Retreat! Ah..."
"Can't aim! I can't aim! They are everywhere!!"
"This is Fire Strike Three. I can't catch up with them! The target is lost!"
"Fire Strike Three! Behind you! Behind you!"
"They have shields! Fight! Can't be defeated! Can't be defeated!" The pilots' communications were filled with all kinds of desperate noises. Facing this opponent they had never seen before, the elite pilots of the Republic were at a loss.
The number of swarm drones is extremely large, and despite their small size, they possess extremely strong firepower. The cannon barrel installed on the drone is even a bit uncoordinated. The plasma rays fired from it can destroy the shields of the V-wing fighters in just two or three rounds, and only one shot is needed to penetrate their fighter armor!
Moreover, these drones have their own shield system. Although this shield is not very powerful, it can almost withstand a single shot from a V-wing fighter. However, V-wing fighters often do not have a second chance to fire. They are either destroyed themselves or run away directly by swarm drones.
The most terrifying thing about these swarm drones is their speed!
Just looking at the engines on both sides of these drones, which occupy almost two-thirds of the volume, you can tell that they are designed primarily for speed. When these drones are flying at full speed, the acceleration can even be close to 400G! This is a terrifying speed that Republic pilots cannot achieve even with the most advanced decompression protection devices!
At this speed, the V-wing fighter cannot catch up with the opponent at all. Fight or run, everything is controlled by swarm drones! Even if a concussion missile is launched, the drone locked by the missile can escape quickly, creating opportunities for other drones to intercept the missile!
Such a result would be a nightmare!
"No! Our fighter jets are no match for us! Retreat! Let them withdraw!" On the bridge of the Republic's flagship, the adjutant saw the fierce battle and no longer cared about the relationship between superiors and subordinates. He directly overstepped his authority and began to issue orders. .
Gideon Tarkin, on the other hand, stood there with a livid face. He did not stop his adjutant from taking this action that could be directly sent to a military court. He acquiesced.
Because of the massacre that happened in front of him, he himself was a little frightened. But as the supreme commander of the fleet, he couldn't show it.
"All fighter formations retreat! Return to the inner air defense network of the fleet and do not attack rashly! The third wave of fighters will take off immediately to cover their retreat!" Gideon Tarkin finally gave the order.
More V-wing fighters took off and began to cover the fighter formations that had suffered a complete defeat in the previous battle.
At this time, under the command of Matt Horner, the Dawn Principality's fleet did not give the opponent a chance to breathe. They began to continue to close the distance. At this distance of about 1 light minute, the hit rate of the disaster-class battlecruiser's particle lance had reached a terrifying level!
The Republic battleships were constantly hit by particle light spears, and they could only maintain rapid maneuvers. As a result, the fleet's formation was constantly disrupted, and the tight defensive formation deployed by Gideon Tarkin was quickly pulled apart!
After the Republic fighter fleet suffered more than 700 losses, it finally returned to the air defense circle of its own fleet. But it's not over yet, the swarm of drones are constantly pursuing and are already swarming in! Tens of thousands of swarm drones began to attack the Republic fleet!
I only saw a Jaeger-class battlecruiser being targeted by thousands of drones. The battleship was almost completely enveloped by the light emitted by countless plasma rays. If you look at it with the naked eye, in the ray Even the battleship itself can't be seen clearly under the dazzling glare!
The close-in defense artillery fire on the Jaeger-class battlecruiser continued to fire, but with little effect.
As soon as these swarm drones are hit, they will immediately start to withdraw at full power, and more drones will immediately come to fill the vacancies, giving no chance for the Republic's anti-aircraft firepower to achieve effective destruction!
In fact, except for being hit by heavier firepower or missiles, ordinary close-range firepower cannot destroy the swarm drones with one blow!
Almost as soon as the battle broke out, Gideon Tarkin was in dire straits!
He never thought that his fighter formation would be defeated so quickly! In this way, all his strategic and tactical arrangements were broken!
The Galactic Republic has always been proud of its large and extremely elite fighter group. Countless flight academies all over the inner and core circles of the galaxy have provided the military with countless outstanding pilots. After the Rusan reforms, the construction and research and development of large warships were restricted. On the contrary, the field of fighter pilots became a There have always been high-level military units inside.
Therefore, when Willix Blissex, who was still working at Quat Power Shipyard at the time, designed the Jaeger-class battlecruiser, he fully considered this advantage of the Galactic Republic, so he made the Jaeger-class battlecruiser a The aviation battleship can actually fit 400 carrier-based aircraft into it!
So after the Jaeger-class became the main battleship of the Galactic Republic Navy, tens of thousands of outstanding pilots were accompanied by almost every dispatch.
These pilots take off in groups to fight. In many cases, their numbers can even be compared with the Vulture robot fighters of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
These large and elite fighter groups have always been the magic weapon for the Galactic Republic to win. Even in every previous battle between the Fourth Civilization and the Galactic Republic, even though the combat performance of the Phantom fighter with a stealth system was much higher than that of the Republic's V-19 Torrent light fighter at that time, it basically could not gain air supremacy. .
It is because the number of pilots on both sides is at least ten times different in every battle!
The Fourth Civilization will bring a large number of Guard-class anti-aircraft destroyers to every battle. Moreover, the Roughhead-class/Sparegate-class frigates that have just withdrawn from the front-line combat forces are also full-time fighter jets against the Republic. The Cole-class battlecruisers are even equipped with a large number of anti-aircraft missiles. The reason why the gun crew uses so many methods is precisely because of the Republic's powerful fighter force.
Now, with the entry of V-wing fighter into service, the Galactic Republic originally planned to further expand its advantages through this excellent fighter.
But no one could have imagined the result like this! !
Gideon Tarkin took off two waves of fighters, more than 2,600 fighters, and more than 1,500 of them were the most advanced V-wing fighters. Such power can easily destroy tens of thousands of Vulture robot fighters!
However, the result was the defeat of the Galactic Republic fighter formation!
In front of that tiny swarm of drones, the Galactic Republic's proud fighter formation was almost helpless. Less than half an hour after the battle began, it suffered heavy losses and had to retreat.
In this way, Gideon Tarkin's fleet can only directly face the tens of thousands of swarm drones!