If you could see the AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship flying overhead in the night sky, its menacing appearance might scare a small child into a stunner. In fact, it is indeed a monster helicopter, its armor is not afraid of 7.62mm bullets, and it can withstand the 'shooting' of 12.7mm bullets, and the latest examples show that when its tail is hit by an RPG, it can still hold on to flying for a period of time without crashing.

The "black hole" infrared suppressor of the "Apache" itself can effectively reduce the infrared signal of the engine, and the aircraft is also equipped with a radar warning receiver, an infrared jammer, and a thermal flare "launcher", all of which make the main threat facing low-altitude aircraft at present, the infrared-guided missile, seem to have no advantage at all. In addition to the structural shortcomings, the helicopter can be described as flawless and indestructible.

Of course, all this was designed without taking into account another factor, which is this "fatal distance" within three hundred meters.

Due to the change in the shape of the wings, the sound of the "Apache" was noticeably different from that of other helicopters, and when it flew over the heads of the combat group of the rapid reaction force, it made a low roar instead of a "whirring". A soldier took off his camouflage and raised the transmitter in his hand, which had removed the antenna of the friend-or-foe identifier, and at this time, the automatic search device in the transmitter had already emitted a characteristic sound, reminding him that the missile had locked onto the target. The soldier carefully identified the blurred image in the sight before pulling the trigger for the 'fire'.

He felt someone press on his shoulder.

A bright light flew into the air, pausing in the warrior's vision, as if searching for something, before swooping down on his target. That's the chip inside the missile making corrections to its commands. It occurred to the fighter that he saw the missile flying straight towards the target. Unlike now, which he 'spended' more than a hundred hours training on this weapon, it was a real combat now, so he was more nervous than usual.

The part of the missile that hit the back of the engine exploded, destroying the mechanism of the cantilever part connecting the tail fin, and the tail foil was rendered useless, and the "Apache" suddenly spun around. The Apache's fuel tanks are designed to be self-closing, so this one did not turn into a fireball in the air, and the pilot let the main cantilever rotate to allow the plane to descend as smoothly as possible. "Apache" is designed to withstand the impact force of 20 G, and at the current altitude, the crew still has hope of survival.

However, the combat team had no time to observe the results of the battle, and another "Apache" had already discovered their position. At the same time as the hit "Apache" crashed, another "Apache" had already adjusted its angle and course, and used the 30mm M230 cannon suspended under the nose to 'fire' at the position of the fast reaction force, and the M789 shells used to deal with the light armor smashed the position into smoke and dust, and even the rocks were blown to pieces, even if they did not hit the people in the position, these flying stones were enough to cause fatal damage to the people hiding in it.

"Apache" poured all the shells on and around the position, then approached the position in a zigzag maneuver, and then suddenly swept over the position at high speed. The appearance of anti-aircraft weapons alerted all US troops, and the "Pave Eagles," which were preparing to land at the landing site, immediately returned to hovering at high altitude and waited for the next order from the headquarters.

The downing of the Apache surprised Major Jones, who was in charge of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 1st Brigade, and immediately turned his anger on the CIA, which provided intelligence support for the operation. The 10th Mountain Division has its own formed military intelligence battalion, while the air cavalry squadron of the aviation brigade is also engaged in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, and is able to use long-range reconnaissance means and remote sensing reconnaissance systems to monitor the enemy's situation within a range of 100 kilometers, and can send ground reconnaissance to a depth of 300 to 400 kilometers.

In the intelligence provided by the CIA, it was only mentioned that there would definitely be armed forces there.

"If you had told me there was a Stinger threat, I would have made another plan, but now, we've lost not only an Apache but also time!" Jones snarled at Bob Williams, who had arrived from the CIA. "If they can have a 'Stinger', there must be something else, you are risking the lives of all the American soldiers who participated in the operation! God, how can I expect you people in the office to put an end to this operation! ”

"No matter what you think, the action can't be stopped." Despite the cold air, Big Bob kept wiping the sweat from his head. "What is there is vital to the United States, even if it is to take your entire battalion, so you have no authority to terminate this operation, Major, all you have to do is use your talents as much as you can and get what we need."

"That's up to my division commander to decide."

Jones looked at Big Bob contemptuously and reached for the phone. These 'fat' guys only know how to give orders, and they don't care what the consequences of their orders are. The battle-hardened Major Jones valued the lives of his men more than anything else, so he would not let his brothers charge at the risk of unforeseen enemy fire, so that even if they returned alive, it would not make him a better captain to come.

Surprisingly, Big Bob reached out and pressed Jones's hand, and he couldn't see that he was 'fat' fat, and his movements were actually very agile.

"Major General Campbell has authorized it to me, and you know that very well."

"Does the Major General know that the enemy has a 'Stinger'?" Jones looked at Big Bob indignantly. "Also, if you don't take your hand away, I'll call the gendarmes against you."

"It's a pity that the Major General himself knows the situation there better than you do. He didn't 'give' more to you because you didn't have enough authority, but the order was not compromised, Major, and you know that as well. Big Bob let go, and at the same time made his tone a little softer. Asking the general for instructions will only get you out of your current command position. Do you really want to 'hand' over your command at this time? ”

No officer would do that, at least not Jones himself, but he was a West Point graduate, so he never shirked his responsibilities. He was silent for a moment and let go of the microphone in his hand.

"I must know who we are facing, or no one else will be able to accomplish your mission."

Big Bob had also served as a soldier and commanded his subordinates as a platoon commander, so he knew Jones was telling the truth. However, he could not have admitted to Jones that there was no such part of the "Stinger" in the CIA's internal intelligence. No one will understand what kind of military force the Chinese will send in such a situation, and even the "oracle" mentions only a possible rapid reaction force, but this force has never carried out missions abroad, so the "oracle" has not received exact information. In fact, no one thought that the Chinese would suddenly become so bold.

"Sir, Striker One is waiting for your orders."

The communications officer loudly reported to Jones on the situation at the front. "Vanguard" is the code name of the 16th Special Service Wing, these battle-hardened guys never knew what the danger was, but they were still in the air, and on the ground there was a platoon of Jones rushing to the battle site.

"Tell Striker One to stand by from a safe distance and give instructions when there is a new landing site. Now two 'Kiowa' planes have been brought out from elsewhere for reconnaissance missions. ”

"I'm waiting for your explanation, sir."

Major Jones clasped his hands in front of his 'chest' and looked directly at Big Bob with blue eyes.

Big Bob knew he had to make a decision about whether or not to 'reveal' the most critical part of the intelligence to Jones. Most of the intelligence about the Chinese is top secret, and if he tells Jones and the content of the intelligence is 'revealed', it is tantamount to announcing to the outside world that the CIA has a secret channel, which will attract the attention of the whole world, and this is obviously not a good thing. But Jones's attitude is also very clear, no, it should be said that the facts are very clear, without knowing who the other party is, sacrificing many American soldiers is a small matter, and it is even more fatal if you cannot achieve your own goals.

Bob took a deep breath, and without Robert James, everything was getting difficult. Jack Black was obviously not an expert in intelligence work, and he didn't expect what would happen on the front line, but even if he was an expert, Bob doubted that he had the courage and desire to bear the blame for his subordinates, and there were fewer and fewer people as upright as Robert.

"Major, I think we'll be alone for a few minutes."

Jones shook his head slightly, CIA things were always so unseemly. But he did have a few minutes before deciding on a new landing site, and the 'fat' pig had better be able to say something valuable.

In a hallway where there was no one in the command office, Bob told Jones about the secret value of the operation.

Jones's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, and the two eyebrows were almost connected.

"Do you think we are facing a regular army of Chinese? Pla? ”

"That's right, it's the regular army of the Chinese." Telling the secret, Bob relaxed.

"Hell, how did they come here?" Jones still couldn't believe his ears.

"If they want to, they can go anywhere in the world, like our army." Bob shrugged. "If we're here to fight China, they're here to protect themselves. They're certainly not here for sightseeing. ”

"I don't know if what you're saying is true, but if that's the case, our plans need to change." Jones was not angry. But it's also normal, he's a soldier and knows that anger doesn't help anything. "In any case, the regular army cannot be dealt with by the same means as the Taliban."

"If they have a 'Stinger,' then they'll have everything they need, Major." Bob reminded Jones. "Now that you are fully aware of this secret, I ask that you keep your conversation completely confidential. You've never heard me say anything to you, including when you give orders to your subordinates. ”

"At this time you still have to think about your secrets? But I have to worry about the safety of my subordinates. Jones pointed his finger to his breast, dissatisfied. That's it, I don't know if they'll be able to handle it, because they've never been trained like this! ”

"And what's going on with the imaginary enemy practice at the Quantico barracks?" Bob pushed Jones' hand away.

"Aha, that's still thanks to your CIA, saying that we won't go to war with the Chinese, so it has long been canceled." Jones strode over to the operations command room and pushed open the soundproof 'door' of the command room. "Why doesn't the omnipotent CIA send its own people at this time?"

Bob disgruntled and threw his cup of coffee into the trash can in the hallway.

Does no one understand what covert operations mean to a country? Yes, covert operations are legal in any sense, but is there any country that would abandon them because of that? Then again, what is the purpose of the US military in Afghanistan? Isn't that the CIA's decision? Soldiers always think that they are upholding justice, but they do not know that they are just tools. And a tool that is always dictating one's own treatment cannot be a good one.

He swung his huge body and followed, and at this time he was going to stay with Jones until the operation was over.

The operational staff had re-identified the landing fields, but after knowing that the opponent was a regular army, none of them could be used without air suppression. But the convoy of the 10th Mountain Division was still on the way, and "Kiowa" could not be dispatched for the time being.

"Isn't there seventy such planes in the Tenth Mountain Division? Why can't I find it when I need it? Bob was getting impatient, too. The enemy won't wait for us to be ready, time is ticking by the minute, Major Jones, we must attack now! ”

Jones gave Bob a cold look. As the only highly mobile mountain combat unit in the US military, the 10th Mountain Division has been given too many combat missions, and at this moment it has been divided into two, stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and its strength is already overstretched, and their task is so urgent. Jones really wanted to grab Bob's greasy clothes and tell him that he could have done more if he had spoken out about the dangers of the plan.

"Sir, 'Striker' No. 1 has asked for permission to attack. Apache's crew is still alive. ”