Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2619 Damascus in Despair (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
Damascus, once the center of the world's attention.

However, when another war broke out in Southeast Asia, tens of thousands of kilometers away, the world's attention to this region suddenly decreased significantly.

Damascus International Airport is essentially a Soviet military base. Several Soviet military bases are located near the airport. After a brief exchange with the officers who came to greet them, Simonov and his entourage waited for the arrival of the officers. Soon, a Soviet officer in camouflage stepped forward and gave a crisp military salute.

"Comrade Simonov, I am Major Vasily, the commander of the electronic warfare unit stationed here. I am here to take you to the forward electronic warfare position."

"Major, let's set off now."

Simonov waved his hand, his tone urgent. What he most urgently wanted to understand was the true situation on the battlefield.

Major Vasily nodded and led him to a GAZ military jeep parked beside the runway. The wheels screeched as they rolled over the gravel road and sped toward the electronic warfare position at the edge of the airport.

Just a few minutes' drive away, several tall metal towers came into view.

Those were the Soviet Union's latest ground-based electronic jamming equipment. The retractable signal towers, several meters high, pierced the sky. These signal towers looked like ordinary iron towers.

But the moment Simonov saw these devices, his brows furrowed instantly.

This is the result of his and his team's years of hard work in research and development. It is a countermeasure equipment specially developed to deal with the electronic jamming technology used by the US military in Vietnam. Its theoretical jamming range can reach 1,000 kilometers, which is enough to cover the entire Syrian war zone.

In theory, it should be able to suppress Western electronic jamming equipment, thus allowing Soviet radar and air defense missiles to function properly.

Once upon a time, this was his pride, because with him, the Soviet Union could counter Western electronic warfare.

But seeing it with his own eyes now, he no longer felt the pride he once had; instead, a strange unease arose within him.

"Comrade engineer, this is our core jamming position."

Major Vasily pointed to the signal tower, his tone full of helplessness: "As you know, this is our most advanced electronic jamming system. In theory, it should be able to control the electromagnetic environment of the entire war zone, but in reality..."

He shook his head and didn't continue, but led Simonov to the command vehicle in the center of the position.

Inside the command vehicle, several operators were working as usual. When Simonov entered, they only glanced up briefly before returning to their tasks.

Although he had only just arrived, Simonov could tell at a glance that the soldiers were overworked and exhausted; the cigarette butts on the ground said it all.

Major Vasily then briefed the expert from Moscow on the situation there.

"Comrade engineer, our radar deployed in the Syrian border region is being subjected to enemy electronic jamming all day long."

As he described the situation, his brows furrowed, and even his tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"Especially when the SEA's electronic warfare aircraft are on duty, their interference intensity is extremely high. Our radar screens are full of clutter, and we can't even do basic target detection. Our air defense system is completely blind and cannot function at all. Our electronic warfare system is also just for show and has no effect whatsoever."

Simonov's face gradually darkened. His previous predictions were being confirmed one by one. The enemy's electronic warfare advantage was far more terrifying than the analysis on paper.

"We only have a chance to catch our breath when the SEA electronic warfare aircraft are rotated out for rest and when the British electronic warfare aircraft take over the duty."

Major Vasily continued, his tone filled with helplessness, a helplessness akin to a soldier on the battlefield discovering his rifle is out of bullets, leaving him only with a sigh of resignation.
The only saving grace was that another bullet suddenly appeared, but that bullet was only useful in special circumstances.

"But it only eliminates some interference intermittently, creating an extremely short window of opportunity. During this time, our air defense and communication systems can barely function normally."

The major was unaware of the time window created by the British electronic warfare aircraft. Should he be relieved, or should he force a smile?

After all, the only window of opportunity was because the other party's equipment was not advanced enough.

He paused, then gave a helpless, bitter smile:
"It's extremely rare for a SEA drone to happen to enter the detection range during this unstable and brief window of opportunity. Most of the time, we've just locked onto a target when the interference strikes again, and the radar is paralyzed once more."

When these things were mentioned, he couldn't even manage a bitter smile anymore. After all, such a cruel reality weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

As a soldier, the major was well aware of the devastating and unbearable cost the Soviet Union would pay if war broke out with Western countries now.

"Later, the SEA found that the British electronic warfare aircraft could not effectively suppress our electronic warfare system, so it deployed more electronic warfare aircraft."

Major Vasily's voice was heavy as he continued.

"Now, the enemy's electronic warfare aircraft are circling over the combat zone 24 hours a day, ensuring that we are subjected to all-weather, all-round electronic jamming. Our pitiful window of opportunity has completely disappeared."

After listening to Major Vasily's report, Simonov's expression became extremely serious.

He walked to the screen on the workbench and carefully examined the data. Everything was exactly as he had predicted. Faced with the advanced electronic equipment of Western countries, their prized electronic warfare system had failed to perform as intended.

The jamming equipment, which had been highly anticipated, has now become useless, and the Soviet army's electronic equipment has no way to function properly.

"Comrade engineer, we really have no good way to deal with those drones. Electronic jamming makes our radar malfunction, and our electronic jamming can't affect the control of their drones."

Major Vasily sighed, his voice filled with despair. He looked at the electronics expert who had come from Moscow and said:

“We’re completely suppressed by the enemy’s electronic warfare, and our air defense missile systems are utterly useless. Those drones are rampaging across the battlefield, even flying in swarms, bombing whatever they want, and we can only watch helplessly, powerless to retaliate.” The major’s brow furrowed even more deeply as he spoke. Although he didn’t need to be on the front lines, the sense of powerlessness he felt while talking with the other officers was something these experts in Moscow couldn’t comprehend.

That kind of helplessness of being at the mercy of others is a nightmare for all soldiers.

"Moreover, the Syrian army is now terrified of being defeated."

Major Vasily's voice carried a hint of barely concealed pain:

"Many unbelievable scenes have occurred on the battlefield. On one occasion, in northern Lebanon, a SEA drone fired a missile that destroyed only one tank."

As a result, the entire Syrian army's tank convoy was so terrified that all the soldiers abandoned their vehicles and fled; no one dared to stay and resist.

The major's report made Simonov's heart tighten. He knew the battlefield situation was serious, but he didn't expect it to have reached this point.

The destruction of a single tank could cause an entire convoy to flee in terror, which reflects not only the disparity in equipment but also a complete psychological collapse.

Only now did he truly realize that everything here was a hundred times more severe than he had imagined before he set off.

Although the Syrian army still controls northern Lebanon, they have effectively collapsed.

If it weren't for the Soviet Union sending a large number of troops to Damascus, which led to a stalemate on the battlefield and the SEA opening up another front, they might have been able to advance straight in and occupy Damascus.

However, during Major Vasily's narration, Simonov astutely caught a crucial piece of information. He turned abruptly, looked directly at Major Vasily, and asked urgently.

"Major, you just said that during the brief window of time when British electronic warfare aircraft were on duty, our air defense system was able to function normally? During that time, did we shoot down any enemy drones?"

Major Vasily paused for a moment, then nodded:

"There have been a few times. When the interference was weak, our radar successfully locked onto drone targets and shot down a few. Although the number was small, we did achieve some results."

Then he said in a firm tone:
"Our air defense missiles are usable, at least in the absence of electronic jamming. Although it is expensive to use air defense missiles to counter drones, at least they can shoot them down and protect ground troops."

Upon hearing this answer, a glimmer of hope flashed in Simonov's eyes.

This was exactly the key information he wanted! His previous concern was that the Soviet army wouldn't be able to detect the drones.

However, it now appears that the core issue is not the inability to detect, but rather that the air defense radar cannot function properly under continuous electronic interference.

If they can break through the enemy's electronic jamming and restore the radar's normal detection capabilities, they will have a chance to counter those rampant drones.

"I see... The most crucial element is still electronic warfare countermeasures."

Simonov muttered to himself, his brow gradually relaxing, and hope rekindling in his eyes.

His previous analysis was correct; the reason why the enemy's drones could run rampant was primarily due to their powerful electronic warfare system.

The enemy's electronic warfare system was like a cage, tightly trapping the Soviet Union's powerful air defenses within it.

If this electronic cage can be broken and the combat capability of the Soviet air defense system can be restored, then a breakthrough in dealing with drones can be found.

Or, in other words, it could prevent Western countries from using drone swarms to block their tank formations, thus restoring the battlefield situation to its original state.

This was the most important thing for the Soviet Union.

But at this moment, Simonov already had a clear direction in his mind.

He looked at the electronic jamming equipment in front of him, and at the busy operators. He pondered for a moment, then said to Major Vasily:
"Major, prepare a detailed record of electronic jamming data for me, including the jamming frequencies and intensity variations of different enemy aircraft, as well as the operating parameters of our equipment. I will stay here and find a way to break their electronic jamming."

Major Vasily looked at the engineer from Moscow. Although he didn't know his identity, the man's answer rekindled a glimmer of hope in his previously despairing heart. He nodded vigorously.

"No problem, Comrade Simonov, I'll get ready right away!"

Simonov stepped out of the command vehicle again, then turned his gaze to the mountains to the south, where Lebanon lay.

It was also the epicenter of this war.

There, the Syrian army continues its tenacious resistance, while the SEA forces are waging an asymmetric war in their own way.

"This is it... As long as we find a way to counter it, the balance of this war will be restored."

Simonmov thought silently, his eyes fixed on the south, on that land in the south.

The war is still raging on that land, and the Westerners hold it firmly in their grasp. They can wage this war at their own pace and according to their own will. But what about the Soviets?
We could only let them run rampant on that land, their drones bombing indiscriminately, and their electronic jamming turning Syria's radar and defense systems into blind cages.

This outcome is currently unfolding in Syria, and it is highly likely that it will happen on Russian soil in the future.

(End of this chapter)