Legendary Captain

Chapter 348 All Air Defense Forces Annihilated

The defense zones of the Western Air Force, the Guangdong Air Force, and the South China Sea Fleet are adjacent to each other, and these three parties often work together during joint exercises.

For the Air Force Command, in a three-way battle, no matter how the fighting goes, the last one standing wins the exercise. Due to the relatively weak strength of the Western Air Force for a long time, an unwritten rule has almost become a tacit consensus in the three-way exercises: no matter what, take out the three divisions first to avoid them getting in the way.

Prior to this, there had been numerous trilateral exercises, some with similar formats and scales. As arguably the strongest combat force in the Western Air Force, the 3rd Division almost always represented the Western Air Force in combat, but they had never achieved good results; the only difference was that they performed poorly or even worse.

Aside from this trilateral exercise, if the three divisions were to face the 6th Air Force Division or the 4th Naval Aviation Division alone, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock—they would shatter at the slightest touch. In fact, Huang Jue, commander of the 6th Air Force Division, wasn't being sarcastic when he said the three divisions performed well this time; rather, compared to previous exercises, their performance in this trilateral exercise was truly record-breaking.

There is actually a certain tacit understanding between the 6th Air Division of Guangdong and the 4th Naval Aviation Division. Last time, the 6th Air Division of Guangdong was the main force that took down the 3rd Air Division of Xi'an. So this time, it should be the 4th Naval Aviation Division that plays a major role.

In the past, with the strength of the 4th Naval Aviation Division, they could have easily crushed the 3rd Western Air Force Division on the first day of the exercise. But this time the situation is different!

With the addition of the Luohang fleet, the strength of the Third Division increased dramatically in a short period of time, and it managed to withstand the fierce attack of the Fourth Naval Air Division, even though the losses suffered by the Third Division were still terrible.

The 3rd Air Division of the Western Regions consists of two flight regiments and one ground support regiment. One flight regiment is stationed at the division headquarters base, and the remaining flight regiment is stationed at a small airport southeast of the division headquarters.

In order to resist the attack of the 4th Naval Air Division, the outer flight regiment had been deployed in full force, and two of the three flight squadrons of the division's flight regiment were also sent out to provide support. With the help of the Luoyang Air Force, they were able to barely hold off the attack of the 4th Naval Air Division.

From God's perspective, the 4th Naval Aviation Division only deployed about half of its combat force, yet it had already forced the 3rd Western Air Force Division to reveal its full strength.

This is the difference in strength!

Actually, this is already considered a relatively good performance. In previous joint exercises within various theater commands, the Western Air Force was overwhelmingly defeated. There are many factors at play, including equipment and scale. Therefore, Wang Zhaoxin previously stated that as long as the defeat wasn't too devastating, it was acceptable.

This is not something a soldier should say. Soldiers should be indomitable and strive for excellence. However, no matter how much emphasis is placed on human initiative, objective laws must still be considered. The gap in air power between the Western Air Force, the Guangdong Air Force, and the South China Sea Fleet is a real and objective law.

Furthermore, the Guangdong Air Force and the South China Sea Fleet might even use the three divisions as a whetstone during exercises to test their new tactics or weapons.

During the last joint trilateral exercise, the South China Sea Fleet's naval aviation force flew C-18 fighter jets, which replaced the C-14s. That last joint exercise marked the first large-scale public appearance of the C-18s after they achieved combat readiness. Unfortunately, the 3rd Air Division of the Western Air Force became the first target.

This time, the 3rd Air Division of the Western Air Force was also unlucky, being used as the practical target for the Guangdong Air Force's new anti-radiation radar. This shows that the Guangdong Air Force and the South China Sea Fleet treated the Western Air Force as just a casual training exercise, not a worthy adversary. Once the Western Air Force has fulfilled its training purpose, it can be eliminated. In the entire Southern Region's air power, only the Guangdong Air Force and the South China Sea Fleet's air force can truly compete; the Western Air Force is simply not worthy of involvement.

When Huang Jue, commander of the 6th Air Division of the Guangdong Air Force, mentioned the new anti-radiation radar, Wang Zhaoxin, commander of the 3rd Air Division of the Western Air Force, immediately understood what he meant. He initially thought the 3rd Air Division had performed well this time and should finally be treated somewhat equally by the Guangdong Air Force and the South China Sea Fleet. However, the situation remained unchanged; they were still using them as a whetstone. Last time it was the Naval Aviation's C-18, this time it was the Guangdong Air Force's new anti-radiation missile; the Western Air Force's position in the joint exercises remained unchanged.

Wang Zhaoxin was no longer emotionally affected. Getting angry over something like this would be a sign of incompetence. He should focus on developing his own strength, waiting for an opportunity to avenge himself.

Because of its late start, the Western Air Force has not received much attention. It was a case of falling behind at the beginning, and falling behind at the end. However, the Air Force Command has now promised that the latest C-42 fighter jets will be prioritized for deployment in the Western Air Force. This is likely due to the reality of the Western Air Force's poor development in recent years, an attempt to balance the strength between different theater commands, and probably also because of the repeated insistence of Ye Qing, the chief designer of the C-42 fighter jet.

Regardless, the C42 will be the turning point for the Western Air Force. However, before that turnaround, they will still be the same weak Western Air Force.

In principle, Wang Zhaoxin had achieved his goal at this point in the battle: to avoid a humiliating defeat. Being able to put up a fight against the 4th Naval Air Division, which he used to easily crush, wasn't a huge improvement. But even now, Wang Zhaoxin felt only bitterness.

Did the 6th Air Division of Guangdong not know that the air defense forces around the headquarters of the 3rd Division were very strong? Two air defense missile brigades and four radar stations were deployed around the headquarters of the 3rd Division. If any aircraft of the 6th Air Division of Guangdong dared to violate the defenses, the various air defense radars below would make the aircraft nowhere to hide.

The two air defense missile brigades near the Third Air Division are not officially part of the Third Air Division of the Western Air Force, but rather belong to the First Air Defense Division of the Western Air Force. However, they participated in this exercise as support personnel.

Since Huang Jue knew the division headquarters had strong air defenses, his choice of targeting the division headquarters specifically indicated his presence there. While it's true anti-radiation missiles target radar, new weapons should ideally be tested on weaker targets first, progressing from weaker to stronger. However, the Sixth Division acted differently, directly testing their strength on the Third Division headquarters, clearly disregarding its air defenses. Perhaps, in the Sixth Division's eyes, the Third Division's air defenses were a pushover, perfect for a test!

The Third Division performed reasonably well in resisting the attack of the Fourth Naval Aviation Division, but if they were to be directly defeated by the Sixth Guangdong Air Force Division, it would be a complete disgrace, even though the Third Division had received the same treatment in previous exercises. But no normal person would be so easily humiliated. As the saying goes, if you get used to it, you're just a spineless coward.

It is obvious that none of the soldiers are spineless; they are all tough and unyielding.

Under normal circumstances, with the ground-based air defense forces and the base's remaining two squadrons, totaling eight fighter jets, they should be able to withstand an attack from twelve enemy aircraft. The only variable is the anti-radiation missile that Huang Jue mentioned. Wang Zhaoxin did not know how effective this missile would be.

A certain air defense missile brigade in the southeast of the 3rd Division headquarters!

Beside the command vehicle, the brigade commander stared blankly at the azure sky, lost in thought. Suddenly, a soldier reported, "Brigade Commander, radar station number one has detected an unidentified aircraft formation."

"Huh?" The brigade commander tensed up and immediately crawled back into the command vehicle, where various instruments and equipment were running.

"Radar Station No. 1 has detected an unidentified aircraft group. Do you have its location?" the brigade commander asked his radar company commander.

Air defense missile brigades are also equipped with their own search radars, which are more accurate and have a wider search range. Radar Station No. 1 is the forward radar station within the defense zone; if enemy aircraft invade, Radar Station No. 1 is usually the first to detect them.

"No!" The radar company commander's face was grim. "After Radar Station No. 1 sent me the warning message, there was no follow-up. We couldn't contact them even if we tried!"

Normally, after detecting an unidentified aircraft group, the radar station is supposed to share the specific information and data with the air defense missile brigade so that they can determine whether to engage and how to engage. But strangely, the radar station only issued a warning message, and then no further information about the unidentified aircraft group was transmitted.

"Could it have been shot down?" The brigade commander's face darkened slightly. "If it really was taken down, then the enemy was incredibly fast! They were shot down as soon as we spotted them. You keep a close watch on this side; enemy planes might be in our defense zone soon. Communications Company!"

As soon as the summoned communications soldier arrived, the brigade commander said in a deep voice, "Notify the 233rd, 245th, and 267th Battalions to prepare for battle. Also, notify the division headquarters that enemy aircraft are approaching and to be prepared for air support at any time. Go!"

The three battalions mentioned by the brigade commander are the missile launch battalions under the jurisdiction of the air defense missile brigade.

A brigade is already considered a relatively large combat unit, and the missile launch battalions below it are definitely the main force. Each missile launch battalion also has a radar company, a guard company, a communications company, a motor transport company, and a technical support team.

The battalions would certainly not be grouped together, but rather relatively dispersed within the defense zone, with the brigade headquarters having a directly subordinate missile launch battalion.

The enemy's attack was fierce, and the brigade commander felt immense pressure. The radar station that had just detected something amiss was immediately destroyed, without even time to transmit data, demonstrating the enemy's swiftness. He felt that a single battalion couldn't handle it, so he mobilized the entire brigade to deal with this unknown enemy.

He knew that the division headquarters only had two squadrons of fighter jets, less than ten in total, and the rest were engaged in a fierce battle with the 4th Naval Aviation Division. Judging from the ferocity of the enemy's attack, he was afraid that his side could not defend against it, and he estimated that the few fighter jets at the division headquarters would be in trouble.

Although he doesn't belong to the Third Division of the Western Air Force, he is still a member of the Western Air Force. If he loses face, we share the honor and disgrace, and we will lose face together.

Just then, the radar company commander shouted, "I see it!"

The brigade commander was startled and immediately turned to look at the radar screen: "One, two, three, four, oh my god, twelve aircraft! Quickly share the location information with the battalions below so they can prepare to coordinate the launch."

In today's air combat environment, it's rare to see a group of more than ten aircraft operating together. This time, twelve aircraft came, which felt like an overwhelming pressure.

"Lock on first, activate fire control radar, missiles ready!" the brigade commander shouted.

For air defense radar, the search radar first determines the position of the enemy aircraft, then locks onto it, and then transmits the information to the fire control radar, which guides the surface-to-air missile in advance.

The radar company commander quickly operated the system, preparing to lock onto four aircraft at once. Modern air defense missiles have evolved to the point where they no longer need to engage one by one, but can lock onto several enemy aircraft in succession and then launch several low-altitude missiles in sequence, making them extremely efficient.

Just after locking onto two aircraft, while the radar company commander was still numbering them, the entire radar screen suddenly went black. The radar company commander was caught off guard and was momentarily stunned.

"What's going on?" The radar company commander thought he had accidentally touched some switch, but after a quick check, he found nothing wrong, so he wanted to go find the technical support team.

The Technical Support Team, though called a "team," is actually a company-level unit. All technical issues are handled by the Technical Support Team.

However, the brigade commander simply waved his hand and said, "No need, we're already out!"

The radar company commander was stunned: "Brigade Commander, you mean we've been wiped out! That was too fast."

"It's fast, too fast. From discovery to being wiped out, it took less than two minutes. This speed!" The brigade commander was shocked. In this way, the division headquarters was in danger!

In the operations analysis room, watching the radar stations being taken down one by one, Wang Zhaoxin felt a chill run down his spine. Even more shockingly, shortly afterward, one of the air defense missile brigades protecting the division was also destroyed, while the Guangdong Air Force only lost one fighter jet.

Although the attacking aircraft from Guangdong were highly efficient, the air defense missile brigade was not to be underestimated. Before being shot down, a camp launched surface-to-air missiles and successfully shot down one of them. However, this could not suppress Wang Zhaoxin's shock.

The Guangdong Air Force's ability to precisely eliminate radar targets is too strong, like a surgical scalpel, accurate and swift, leaving no time to react. The division's air defense, which was originally thought to be impregnable, was instantly crumbled, leaving it without any effective defensive capabilities.

"Commander Wang, how is our new anti-radiation missile?" Huang Jue smiled and said, "However, we didn't expect it to be so effective. It seems your unit wasn't well-prepared with countermeasures against anti-radiation missiles!"

Anti-radiation missiles are not as popular as other missile families, and many people do not even understand their operational principles, and underestimate the effectiveness of anti-radiation missiles on the battlefield.

The commander of the 6th Air Division of Guangdong Province is right. Although this anti-radiation missile has excellent performance, its ability to break through the air defense of the 3rd Division headquarters in one fell swoop is not entirely due to the missile's own performance. If anti-radiation missiles were really that powerful, easily destroying enemy radar early warning systems, they would definitely be considered a heavyweight weapon in the military. However, in reality, anti-radiation missiles are still relatively uncommon.

This is mainly because anti-radiation missiles have many inherent defects, which means there are many feasible ways to counter them, making them less effective in actual combat.

The anti-radiation missile developed by the 6th Air Division of Guangdong Province represents a significant improvement over previous models in terms of accuracy, launch difficulty, and anti-jamming capabilities. However, despite these advancements, the anti-radiation missile has not undergone a qualitative leap; at least, previous methods for countering anti-radiation missiles remain effective against it.

However, from beginning to end, the air defense forces of the 3rd Division failed to effectively counter the threat of anti-radiation missiles. This is precisely why the 6th Air Division of Guangdong was able to achieve such excellent results in this attack. It is evident that the 3rd Division has a serious lack of experience and attention in dealing with anti-radiation missiles, and the commander of the 6th Air Division of Guangdong's lukewarm sarcasm was not unfounded.

Even so, it couldn't stop Wang Zhaoxin's face from turning extremely gloomy.

Now, the air defense forces around the division headquarters have been almost completely wiped out, and the Luoyang Air Force squadron, which is close to the division headquarters, has also been sent to resist the attack of the 4th Naval Air Division. The only remaining force capable of resisting is the two squadrons with a total of eight fighter jets on the division headquarters base airfield.

If these eight fighter jets cannot withstand the attack of the remaining eleven fighter jets from the Guangdong Air Force, then the final result for the 3rd Division's headquarters in this joint exercise will be its destruction!

Of course, the destruction of the division headquarters does not mean that the West Air Force lost this exercise, but it is even more painful than losing!

The division headquarters is the central command center. If the division headquarters is gone, even if there is still some combat force outside, it will be like a headless fly and will not be able to form a combat force at all.

Actually, these are secondary issues. The main problem is that my hometown was razed to the ground, which is a great humiliation.

Wang Zhaoxin himself did not participate in commanding this exercise, but he knew the current situation of the division headquarters very well. In order to resist the attack of the 4th Naval Aviation Division, the ones sent out were all elites, while the remaining two squadrons were not very combat-effective, not only with outdated aircraft, but also with mediocre combat skills among the pilots.

The only remaining hope was the C20 fighter jet, piloted by Chen Zhan.

As a new pilot, being able to fly an advanced aircraft like the C20 right from the start demonstrates the high expectations the Xi'an Air Force leadership has for Chen Zhan.

However, no matter what, Chen Zhan is just a new pilot who has just been promoted to level three, and this is his first time experiencing this kind of high-intensity simulated combat. It is hard to say how much strength he can exert.

Even assuming Chen Zhan possesses exceptional mental fortitude and isn't intimidated during his first large-scale exercise, allowing him to perform to his full potential, he still can't overcome overwhelming odds. What makes him think he can stop the fatal blow from the Sixth Division of the Guangdong Air Force?

Wang Zhaoxin's face was grim, because he knew that the Western Air Force Command was also paying attention to this joint exercise.

If Wang Zhaoxin were to be directly attacked in front of the Xi'an Air Force Command this time, he would probably never be able to hold his head up in the Xi'an Air Force again.

……

Just as a fierce battle was raging in the sky, Xu Xian was smilingly welcoming Xu Qing at the entrance of the Luohang Flight Base. At this base, not only do visitors need to register in advance, but internal personnel are also required to greet them at the gate; if either step is missing, the visitor is prohibited from entering.

After verifying Xu Qing's identity, the gatekeeper allowed him to enter. As soon as he entered the base, Xu Qing patted Xu Xian on the shoulder: "Why does it feel a bit so tense here? Is this how all military camps are?"

"No... There was a drill today, everyone is on combat readiness duty, all the pilots are out."

"And what about you?" Xu Qing looked Xu Xian up and down. "You seem quite relaxed. Aren't you participating in that drill or something?"

"My level isn't high enough yet, so I don't need to participate in principle," Xu Xian said with a smile. "Let's go to the reception area."

Regular visitors to the Los Angeles Air Force Base have limited access and are restricted to designated reception areas.

……

At that moment, a dark green Jeep was speeding along a road not far from the base. A man and a woman were sitting in the back seat.

The man was dressed in a military uniform, standing straight with his eyes fixed straight ahead, exuding the upright and unyielding spirit of a soldier.

This person is none other than Meng Ziyang, the ace pilot of the Guangdong Air Force!

The woman beside Meng Ziyang had skin as smooth as jade, eyes as bright as stars, and her long black hair was simply tied up, making her look quite clean and fresh.

"Director Ying, Ye Qing is already waiting at the base," Meng Ziyang said in a clear and firm voice.

"Okay! I'll have to trouble you tomorrow." Ying Ruoqing tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Suddenly, as if the ground was uneven, the car jolted violently, and Ying Ruoqing, small in stature, was almost thrown into the air. Her cell phone flew out of her pocket.

Ying Ruoqing was shocked to see her phone fly out, but fortunately, although the phone fell out, it only landed on the car floor and did not fly away.

Ying Ruoqing, her face pale with fright, quickly picked up her phone. Without checking the front of the phone screen for cracks, she flipped it over to the back.

Ying Ruoqing used a transparent phone case with a small photo tucked inside.

The photo shows two children dressed in summer clothes. The girl is standing upright, and she is Ying Ruoqing as a child. Beside her, a little boy has his arm around Ying Ruoqing's shoulder, smugly raising his chin, looking quite arrogant.

This was originally a very ordinary photo, but the little boy's eyebrows and eyes look remarkably like Xu Xian's!

(End of this chapter)