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Chapter 2620 The New War System (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
The war continues, in its own peculiar way.

While the coalition forces were waging a counter-terrorism war in Lebanon, the Soviet army was also waging a counter-terrorism war in Syria. However, the terrorists they referred to were the Druze people—who had launched an uprising against Damascus at the beginning of the war, and now these people were called "terrorists" by the Soviet army and Damascus.

In short, on this battlefield, you fight your way and I fight mine. As for who will gain the upper hand and who will get what they want, that depends on whether God will bless them.

Dust billowed like a yellow desert storm across the land. Amidst the dust, a raiding convoy of dozens of pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns sped towards the government forces' positions like a pack of roaring beasts.

The armed personnel in the truck bed operated the SG43 machine gun on the roof, firing wildly as the truck bounced. Bullets whistled forward, and at that moment, a ball of flame suddenly spewed out from the sand dunes.

"It's a tank!"

Although it was very difficult for tank guns to hit these fast-moving pickup trucks, it still caused the armed men to scream in terror.

"Anti-tank missile... anti-tank missile!"

The commander on the lead pickup truck roared as two armed men in the truck bed quickly operated the "Hyena" anti-tank missile launcher, which, like a machine gun, was fixed to the pickup truck.

Since the Druze people launched their uprising in southern Syria, Wuling pickup trucks have become a symbol of the war. Thousands of pickup trucks have appeared on the battlefield, and these pickup trucks are deeply loved by the Druze people because of their superior off-road performance and mobility.

It can be used as both a machine gun vehicle and a "Hyena" anti-tank missile launcher.

Compared to older wire-guided anti-tank missiles, the laser-guided "Hyena" anti-tank missile is much easier to control. As soon as the lock-on sound is heard, the missile flies straight towards the government forces' tanks under laser guidance.

With a deafening roar, the turret of a T-62 tank was blown off, sending flames and thick smoke soaring into the sky.

The pickup truck convoy used the smoke and dust as cover to flank the enemy from both sides.

The continuous barrage from the heavy machine guns on the vehicles kept the government troops pinned down. Several armored vehicles that attempted to retaliate were hit by anti-tank missiles as soon as they left the position, instantly turning into piles of burning scrap metal.

Armed personnel constantly switched firepower on the high-speed pickup truck, sometimes using machine guns to mow down infantry, and sometimes launching missiles to destroy heavy equipment. The rudimentary pickup truck became a flexible combat platform in their hands, maximizing its mobility.

The government forces' positions were thrown into chaos, and they could only passively endure the repeated assaults of the pickup truck convoy. However, they did not passively take the hits; as the pickup truck convoy charged, the government forces' 160mm mortars began firing.

With a muffled whooshing sound, a violent explosion rang out near the convoy. A pickup truck was overturned by the shockwave. The intense artillery fire weakened the morale of the Druze Free Army, which had seemed to have the upper hand.

The government forces have always had an absolute artillery advantage, after all, it takes time to train soldiers to operate artillery skillfully.

Just as the armed personnel were under artillery fire and on the verge of defeat, two drones suddenly launched an attack from the air. Sea Serpent rockets flew from several kilometers away toward the hidden artillery positions. In a series of violent explosions, the 160mm mortars, which had been firing wildly, suddenly fell silent.

After losing artillery cover, the government troops immediately abandoned their positions and fled to the rear, and the pickup truck convoy immediately launched a pursuit.

Two drones roared overhead, and on the ground in the distance, a dozen burning T54 and T62 tanks were still emitting black smoke, with dozens of corpses scattered around them.

Not far away, a cloud of yellow dust billowed as the fleeing government troops, pursued by a convoy of pickup trucks, either became corpses or had no choice but to surrender.

All of this indicates that the balance of power on this land is tilting in favor of the Free Army.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away in the Gobi Desert, under camouflage netting, Simonov was staring at a display screen inside a command vehicle.

"Comrade engineer, you see, without electronic interference, our radar can detect them from tens of kilometers away..."

Major Vasily pointed to the reflected signal on the screen and said:

"Although most of the time these drones are mistaken for birds and automatically filtered out because of their small reflective surface area, if the angle is right, like now... its reflective surface area is about 0.5 square meters."

Although the Nighthawk stealth fighter has only recently appeared before the world, militaries around the world have quickly begun research on it, with the Soviet Union undoubtedly paying even greater attention to stealth technology.

In actual combat, the Soviet army discovered that these drones could sometimes expose themselves—their radar cross-section would vary depending on their angle.

It was this discovery that enabled them to find those drones.

"Can we shoot them down?"

Simonov asked.

"The range of the 9K37 air-to-air missile is insufficient, and the cost of using the S-300 air defense missile is too high..."

Vasily paused for a moment to think, then said:

"This is also our biggest problem when dealing with drones - even if we find one, we don't have the right weapon to shoot it down."

Our shoulder-fired missile seekers are not sensitive enough to track high-altitude drones. The 9K37's radar performance is inferior to the S-300's; by the time the target is detected, it's already within the enemy's firing range. While the S-300 can detect and shoot down drones from tens of kilometers away, our missiles are far more expensive than the drones themselves.

Even the Soviet army, which never cared about the cost of weapons, had to admit a reality after conducting relevant research—drones were cheaper than missiles.

From a cost-benefit perspective, shooting down a drone with 2-3 anti-aircraft missiles is an absolutely unprofitable business.

Even the Soviet Union couldn't afford such a war expenditure.

Although attrition is central to the Soviet art of war, with personnel and weapons being inevitable losses, they calculated that they simply couldn't afford such a cost-effective war.

This inability to sustain war is precisely what makes it so unpredictable.

On the one hand, it would be a loss to use several anti-aircraft missiles to intercept a drone.

On the other hand, if you don't intercept them, you will lose a lot of weapons and equipment.

So now they are in a very awkward situation.

"There are also anti-aircraft guns. If the distance is close enough, we can use anti-aircraft guns to intercept them, but we must first detect them."

Compared to all other weapons, anti-aircraft guns are currently the most effective and cheapest. However, their efficiency is extremely low.

After listening to the major's introduction, Simonov thought for a moment and then said:

"Then let's try electronic interference."

As an electronic warfare expert, Simonov knew that electronic jamming was the best option for intercepting drones.

"Strengthen interference in the areas where they fly."

Thus, with Simonov’s personal involvement, the Soviet army immediately activated its electronic jamming equipment. Although they targeted specific frequency bands for jamming, it seemed to have little effect on the drones.

However, under the command of Simonov, an electronic warfare expert, they continuously adjusted the equipment and carried out targeted jamming. After repeated attempts, they did indeed affect the use of the drones—interfering with data transmission speed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away, an electronic warfare aircraft had already detected a Soviet electronic jamming station that was carrying out strong electronic jamming.

They soon discovered that the jamming station was located within the strikeable zone—to avoid direct conflict with Soviet forces.

The SEA has exercised great restraint in its military operations in Syria. Apart from providing weapons to the Druze and training the Free Syrian Army, it has rarely intervened directly and has even designated specific strike zones.

Although Damascus is not within the strike range, the area where Simonov is currently located happens to be within the strike range.

After the electronic warfare aircraft provided the corresponding coordinates, an interceptor fighter jet was quickly taken off.

In addition to its interception mission, this twin-triple fighter jet can also launch long-range anti-radiation missiles with a range of over 300 km.

After taking off, the fighter jet reached the northern border of Lebanon in just over ten minutes. The pilot then launched an anti-radiation missile based on data transmitted from an electronic warfare aircraft.

As the anti-radiation missile flew toward its target, Simonov continued to direct his troops to adjust the equipment and increase the jamming power.

"Continue to increase the interference power."

Simonoff's method was simple and brutal—directly jamming multiple channels from all angles, while continuously increasing the power.

They attempted to sever the connection between the drone and the control station in this way, but did not realize that they had already been exposed at this time.

While the jamming station was increasing its power in an attempt to make the two drones lose control, they didn't even notice the anti-radiation missiles falling from the sky.

Just minutes later, the long-range repeated missiles accurately hit the jamming station.

In the violent explosion, the jamming station's antenna was destroyed, and some nearby Soviet soldiers also lost their lives in the blast.

And just like that, the electronic interference that was about to take effect was completely eradicated in one fell swoop.

When Simonov, with blood streaming from his head, stepped out of the twisted command vehicle, his expression was extremely grim as he looked at the distorted antennas around him and the Soviet soldiers lying in pools of blood.

As an electronic warfare expert, he knew exactly what had happened—the jamming station had been detected by Western electronic warfare aircraft. They then dispatched aircraft to attack the jamming station with anti-radiation missiles.

This is the electronic warfare system of Western countries—unlike the Soviet Union, they use more than just electronic jamming. They have long since developed an effective electronic warfare system.

Electronic jamming is only one part of this combat system. They do not only use electronic suppression, but also direct destruction.

Looking at the horrific scene around him, Simonov, who had miraculously survived, felt a complex mix of emotions; only one thought remained in his mind:
"Is this...is this the war of the new era?"

Now he seemed to understand. The reason Damascus hadn't fallen wasn't because the Russians were afraid of them, but because they had no interest in it. Otherwise, they wouldn't even need to bomb it; they could easily carry out a decapitation strike if they wanted to.

They could even send a helicopter directly to the presidential palace in Damascus to take the Syrian president and his family away.

The reason they didn't act so quickly was entirely due to restraint!

The reason for this restraint is that, under this new war system, the Soviet Union's traditional war thinking is simply insignificant, including its traditional war enterprises!

(End of this chapter)