Chapter 7: Counterattack

Hit it?

"Falcon, request to open fire," Hassan said into the radio

"Unfortunately, the achievement of Colonel Sami 24 years ago is irreplaceable," Rashid said

"Rashid, listen, a simultaneous launch, only target the last two slower targets." The lieutenant said to his wingman, as they communicated briefly while still outside the missile's range

"Hehe, Major, you will surely surpass him," Rashid said

At that time, was he in the 14th squadron? Rashid asked

After waiting for a while, the early warning aircraft permitted them to open fire. Colonel Hassan pressed the launch button

"Should we modify the attack order? We might be able to hit them," the wingman inquired... "No, do not engage long-range super-maneuverable targets. Moreover, they have not crossed the border; continue to monitor the Jaguar IS."

The voice from the distant warning aircraft interrupted the pilot's conversation: "Captain Falcon, at 11 o'clock, 90 kilometers away, 2 Su-30MKI aircraft are approaching"

"I hope everyone remains vigilant and does not let their guard down," said the lieutenant, his words devoid of any personal motives. Remembering the Pakistani pilot he had faced 6 hours ago, he felt a chill run through him.

If the colonel had the sense to withdraw from the combat unit, he would have long been a major general. You know, a major general in the air can cause a lot of trouble for command. Perhaps he really is getting old. However, in his youth, that miraculous attack on the Afghan border was truly enviable

Lieutenant Goya walked outside the squadron command post; it was already quite late. He saw several Su-30MKIs on the runway starting up, and he recognized them as belonging to the 102nd Squadron. Goya often engaged in banter with the pilots of the 102nd Squadron in the military mess, and he always managed to come out on top. The 102nd Squadron had previously only been a reconnaissance unit, and around the year 2000, when the last batch of MiG-25s reached the end of their service life, it had even been disbanded for a time. Therefore, their personnel always felt inferior in front of the 24th Squadron. Even after transitioning to the Su-30, they still remained in a secondary position within the 13th Wing. A few years ago, a detachment from the 102nd Squadron was dispatched to the Jorhat Air Force Base in Assam, which was a rudimentary and desolate frontline base, reportedly only 75 kilometers from the Chinese border. The pilots of the 102nd Squadron still stationed in Bareilly lived in constant fear of being sent to that lonely and remote area. "Do they have a mission?" Goya asked a technical sergeant standing nearby.

Understood! the wingman responded. On their vertical display, a cluster of lights was moving; it was a group of MiG-21s escorting two Jaguars heading north. They were currently close to the border, but could cross it at any moment.

After a few minutes of tracking, the supersonic F-16's double formation is increasingly approaching the final Jaguar.

"Falcon Team, target number 2 has also disappeared, it is in a state of descent," said the airborne surveillance personnel in the early warning aircraft.

"That's right, the American Tigers covering the 7th Brigade, the new enemy intelligence report has discovered a concealed anti-aircraft artillery position in Pakistan. By the way, it's the anti-aircraft position you found, isn't it?" The sergeant said with a smile, which made Goya feel a bit embarrassed as he recalled how he had almost been shot down by the artillery from that position.

Major Ahmad Hassan piloted his F-16 fighter jet off the runway of Shorkot Base, heading directly towards the course indicated by the early warning aircraft. He maintained an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters with his wingman, which is slightly higher than the altitude of the Indian Air Force formation. The data link of the Saab 2000, which had been monitoring the targets, was transmitting aerial target data from the Indian side to his vertical display, with these targets still outside the search range of his aircraft's radar.

The voice from the early warning aircraft: "Falcon Team, enemy aircraft has launched an R77 missile, at the 5 o'clock position, 65 kilometers away, estimated time of arrival is 2 minutes"

This afternoon, they nearly took down old Sami. A Su-30 that took off from the deep airport launched a surprise attack on the old fellow, indicating that their tactics have made some progress. In any case, I believe Colonel Sami's era has come to an end

Major, their Su-30 has detected us, at a distance of 75 kilometers, and is still accelerating in flight

"I really want to see the results of the attack," Rashid said

Major, they have already crossed the border and it seems they have not discovered us at all

"Activate the radar and initiate scanning and tracking," the major commanded

The two Jaguars that fell behind the formation have now entered a distance of 36 kilometers in front of the F16 formation, which is the optimal attack position for the AIM120C missile. Once launched, the missile can almost immediately locate the target using its own active radar.

Let the early warning aircraft take a look

"Do not mind them, we shall retreat," Hassan said, making a downward spiraling gesture as he turned westward

Lieutenant, we are all aware of your achievements this afternoon, having shot down 2 enemy aircraft in one go. It is said that you are on the verge of receiving the Warrior's Medal. Now, the guys from Squadron 102 are eager to try their hand, claiming that our military technology advantage surpasses that of Pakistan by 10 years. Everyone wants to shoot down more Pakistani planes, perhaps so that we won't have to go to the desolate Sambong.

It is likely that there will be no air combat at all; they are all terrified and probably dare not take to the skies. After the soldier finished speaking, he shook hands firmly with Goya and turned to leave

"Is it just those MiG-21s?" the major said disdainfully

"Are they joking? Do they think this can hit us?" Hassan activated the afterburners to accelerate away, fully aware that the opponent's indiscriminate attacks, regardless of range, were utterly futile

That's great, it seems that my achievements have surpassed Colonel Sami, if we do not count the drones

Two missiles were ignited and launched from the pylons of the Changji aircraft in succession, followed by the launch of two missiles from the wingman. The countdown for the radar on the HUD immediately began, and a few seconds later, the major observed the missile radar powering on and successfully locking onto the target. Meanwhile, the two Apache helicopters began to panic and descend in altitude, clearly aware that they were under attack. In the distant northeast, two Su-30s began to turn and then accelerated towards this direction. Meanwhile, the two Apache helicopters began to panic and descend in altitude, clearly aware that they were under attack. In the distant northeast, two Su-30s began to turn and then accelerated towards this direction

"They must be reminded not to underestimate the enemy," Goya thought to himself as he watched two aircraft taxi forward, one after the other, before leaving the runway. These two aircraft were about to engage with the MiG-21s and Jaguars of the 7th Squadron over Chandigarh, aiming to eliminate the anti-aircraft positions that were ambushed at the front line. Captain Goya pondered that they might have made a mistake; at night, most aircraft were unable to conduct low-altitude flying to evade radar, and such a large formation could easily be detected by Pakistan's radar.

Two F-16s flew directly towards the Sholkot base at a speed of 1 Mach, while the trailing two R-77 missiles pursued for a period of time before running out of fuel and crashing in the desert

Fox 3, launch

It should be like this

Major Hassan adjusted the vertical display magnification and saw two Su-30 aircraft on the screen, moving towards the Indian side of the formation, clearly engaged in some sort of dubious cover. "They always hide these precious little things so thoroughly," Hassan said with a smile.

No, I remember it was the 9th squadron

"Falcon Squad, target number 1 has been hit and has disappeared in the Hajira Valley." The early warning aircraft reported the first success.

The Pakistan Air Force was alert. A Saab 2000 from Squadron 13 detected a small group of Indian aircraft moving north, located 250 kilometers from the border. The information was relayed to the ground command, and immediately, the most formidable F-16 fighter jets from Squadron 5 took off to counterattack

It has already been launched