In the early morning of the 4th local time, Honou Island, Wallace Air Force Base northwest of Treasure Harbor.

It is said to be an air base, but the garrison is the Imperial Naval Aviation. The base originally belonged to the Nuland Federation and was built as a regular base for the Nuland Army Air Corps during the Great War. It was expanded after the war and in honor of former President Wallace that it got its current name.

Shortly after the end of the war, the Nuland Federation leased the base to the newly independent Imperial Air Force for $1 a year, with the first lease for 99 years. However, it was not until the end of the Polish-Iraqi War and the empire entered a phase of strategic contraction that the air force handed over the base to the navy, and it has been used by the navy ever since.

Because it is located on the island of Honu and not far from the Treasure Harbor, the base mainly serves carrier-based aviation.

When the Fourth Fleet's aircraft carriers return to Treasure Harbor, carrier-based aviation units will be transferred to the base, where they will conduct daily training.

In addition, shore-based aviation will be deployed there.

Although the Imperial Navy abandoned shore-based aviation according to the agreement when the Imperial Air Force was established, more than 10 years later, the Imperial authorities adapted to the development of the times and re-established the shore-based aviation force in the Navy, and the scope of its mission was limited.

To put it simply, the Navy's shore-based aviation is ocean-oriented and equipped with large aircraft that cannot be deployed on aircraft carriers, such as anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

Today, the Imperial Navy's shore-based aviation has more than 1,000 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, more than 500 maritime patrol aircraft, and a guard unit equipped with hundreds of helicopters for search and rescue missions. In terms of fleet size, it exceeds the air forces of all countries outside the three superpowers.

The point is, this is a strong offensive force.

Although according to the agreement reached with the Air Force, the Navy's shore-based aviation units are not allowed to be equipped with attack platforms such as bombers, there is no restriction on the carrying of attack weapons by anti-submarine patrol aircraft and maritime patrol aircraft, and these two types of ocean-facing patrol aircraft must definitely carry combat weapons.

The Imperial Navy took advantage of this vulnerability.

Up to now, the anti-submarine patrol aircraft and maritime patrol aircraft of the Imperial Navy can not only carry anti-submarine torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and other anti-sea weapons, but also hang air-to-ground missiles to strike at sea and ground targets, and the reason given by the Imperial Navy is that it is necessary to strike at the enemy on the island in landing operations, and it is more appropriate to use light air-to-surface missiles to carry out escort missions in peacetime and deal with pirate speedboats.

In fact, anti-submarine patrol planes and maritime patrol planes can mount and use air-launched cruise missiles as long as they are slightly improved. The large anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the Imperial Navy set a record of carrying 12 1,500-kilogram heavy anti-ship missiles, and it is natural to carry 12 air-launched cruise missiles weighing about the same weight.

It is precisely for this reason that the Imperial Navy has always built shore-based aviation as a "strategic force".

In previous years, the Imperial Navy had invested heavily in expanding the base.

Now, in addition to accommodating three wings of carrier-based aircraft, the Wallace base is capable of deploying up to 200 anti-submarine patrol aircraft and maritime patrol aircraft.

In addition, there are 3 airports available on Honu Island, namely the international airport in Honu City, and 2 civilian airports that usually only serve small sightseeing aircraft.

There are a total of 8 military airports and 14 civilian airports in the entire Howaii Islands.

In total, in wartime, it was possible to deploy thousands of combat aircraft.

It's just that on Honou Island, it mainly relies on Wallace Air Force Base.

Because Honu Island is the most densely populated island in the Howaii Islands, and its area is not very large, after the war, the empire gradually reduced its garrison on Honou Island and moved important military bases to other islands. In addition to saving money, it is also a great help for confidentiality.

In addition, military bases deployed in echelons have stronger defensive capabilities.

Zhu Tingxuan's unit had been deployed on an island west of Honu Island before, and the 41st Task Force was transferred after it went to sea.

This is something that cannot be helped, after all, the Wallace base can only deploy a maximum of 3 wings of carrier-based aircraft.

It's not that there is no place to deploy more carrier-based aircraft, but the logistics support can't keep up, that is, the base can only provide maintenance services for more than 200 carrier-based aircraft.

After coming to the Wallace base, Zhu Tingxuan and the others entered the highest state of combat readiness.

Although the Nuland Republic has not yet entered the war, the global war has begun, the fighting on the mainland side of the battlefield has already entered the white-hot stage, and the calm on the Guia side will not last long, maybe at any time, Nuland bombers will appear over Honu Island.

Zhu Tingxuan's task was to fly the "Zhan-9B" to patrol 1,000 kilometers to the east, and after discovering enemy planes, intercept them with long-range air-to-air missiles.

Mainly against bombers, of course.

It is precisely for this reason that the six fighter groups in the three carrier-based aviation wings deployed to the Wallace base are actually the six fighter groups of the three carrier-based aviation wings, and the main force of them is the 60 "Battle-9Bs" of the three groups. As for the 72 "Battle-12A / B" of the other 3 brigades, they are only responsible for airfield air defense.

The vacated space is used to deploy support aircraft for the Air Force, such as the Finger-8C and Oil-29A.

In fact, this is also the reason why the "Zhan-9B" is allowed to carry out air defense interception missions, that is, only the "Zhan-9B" is equipped with a data link and can cooperate with the Air Force's early warning aircraft. The early "Zhan-9A" needed to be upgraded, and the "Zhan-12A/B" equipped for the second-tier wing were all cheap offensive types. Compared with the complete type with air supremacy combat capability, the biggest difference is that it lacks the data link that is indispensable for carrying out interception missions.

As for the attack aircraft in the wing, they all remained in the rear.

The distance between Hono Island and the west coast of Nuland is more than 5,000 kilometers, not to mention carrier-based attack aircraft, even bombers, after being fully loaded, need the support of tankers.

Just like a few days ago, Zhu Tingxuan went to have breakfast before dawn, and then went to the aviation operations center to attend a morning meeting to learn about the day's task arrangements.

Or combat readiness patrol missions.

To put it simply, it is to hang up two large auxiliary fuel tanks, carry 6 KK-9E and 2 KK-10L, fly to the east of Honu Island about 1,000 kilometers, and carry out a two-hour patrol mission. If necessary, a second in-flight refueling is carried out to extend the patrol time by 4 hours.

The key is that there are AWACS aircraft to assist in the whole process.

In fact, when Zhu Tingxuan and the others participated in the morning meeting, the Air Force's "Finger-8C" had already taken off, and the "You-29A" was also preparing for sortie.

To get 2 hours of patrol time, the "Battle-9B" needs to perform an in-flight refueling before reaching the patrolled airspace.

As for the return flight, there is nothing to worry about.

Because it is landing at an airfield, the descent speed during landing can be appropriately reduced, so even if it is fully loaded with ammunition, there is no problem of overweight.

Besides, even if you have to land on an aircraft carrier, you can release some of the fuel in advance.

What needs to be cared about by Zhu Tingxuan and other pilots is actually the principle of engagement.

At the morning meeting, the Wing Captain on duty emphasized one thing, the Van Roe Kingdom has entered the war, and it is an undeclared war, and the Nuland Republic is very likely to enter the war in these days.

As expected, the first to be killed were the strategic bombers of the Nuland Air Force.

To this end, it is necessary to maintain a high enough vigilance to ensure that after receiving an operational order from an early warning aircraft, it can immediately go forward to intercept an incoming enemy plane.

In addition, AWACS aircraft are to be protected.

It was as a result of this that the day's patrol deployment changed.

The three groups are still dispatched in turns, but after reaching the patrol airspace, one squadron must be left to patrol within the fan-shaped airspace 180 degrees east of the AWACS aircraft, and go forward 150 kilometers to 200 kilometers to ensure that the AWACS aircraft can provide cover after the engagement.

To put it bluntly, there is a good chance that the Nuland Air Force will send fighter jets to a long-distance attack!

Theoretically, the Nuland Air Force's F-15 fighter jets only need to carry three auxiliary fuel tanks and carry three refueling trips in the air to accompany the bomber for 5,000 kilometers. If the Nuland Air Force dispatches AWACS aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft, it can support fighter attacks on the AWACS aircraft of the Imperial Air Force.

Obviously, the Nuland Air Force does not lack tankers, and its KC-10 is a 250-ton tanker aircraft equivalent to the "Oil-20A", which can carry more than 160 tons of fuel at most, which is almost twice as large as the 150-ton tanker aircraft such as the "Oil-29A". After flying 4,000 kilometers, it can also provide 80 tons of fuel for combat aircraft, and theoretically one KC-10 can support eight heavy fighters of the F-15A class.

Just to raid the AWACS aircraft of the Imperial Air Force, 4 F-15A is enough.

From another angle, if the Imperial Air Force launches a long-distance attack, such as dispatching bombers to attack a military base on the west coast of the Nuland homeland, it will definitely arrange fighter jets to carry out the mission, and the key target is the Nuland early warning aircraft to clear the obstacles for the bomber group.

If anything, this is the key reason why both the Imperial Air Force and the Nuland Air Force favor heavy fighters.

Although it is impossible to mobilize a large number of bombers, fighters, tankers, and early warning planes to carry out assault missions, it is impossible to achieve absolute secrecy, and the intention will be exposed only in the early stage of the organization, but when making an introduction, the wing commander on duty did not give a positive statement.

The reason is the same: the Empire's reconnaissance satellite system has been paralyzed.

Although in September, the aerospace forces under the Air Force carried out dozens of re-launch launches and delivered dozens of small reconnaissance satellites to low-earth orbit, almost all of these satellites were aimed at the huge land, and only a few were deployed in orbit to monitor the northern isolated continent.

As a result, there is a time lag of up to 12 hours in the reconnaissance reports provided by the reconnaissance satellites.

In addition, the information provided by these small reconnaissance satellites may not be trusted.

It is not difficult to grasp the trajectory of satellites, that is, the laws of operation, and there are three deep-space radars in the Republic of Nuland that are specially used to monitor satellites.

In this way, the Nuland army will avoid the Empire's reconnaissance satellites when it is deployed.

Just make the most of the 12-hour time difference, for example, by having a bomber simply land at an airfield on the west coast to refuel, and you can launch a surprise attack.

With the organizational capabilities of the Nuland Air Force, it would not be much of a challenge to launch a surprise attack with 500 hundred bombers.

That's the key to the volley.

If it were all B-52s, using air-launched cruise missiles with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, it could theoretically deliver 6,000 cruise missiles in a wave of attack.

Interception of 6000 cruise missiles?

Even if all the air defense systems of the Imperial Air Force were deployed in the Khowaii Islands, it would not be possible!

Honu Island has only 3 long-range anti-aircraft missile battalions, 3 full-fledged "Sharpshooter" air defense systems, and 1 field air defense battalion of the Marine Corps, 12 DK-7E short-range air defense systems and 12 FP-95 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. This battalion mainly provides close cover for the air defense system of the Air Force.

Theoretically, it is possible to intercept up to several dozen targets at the same time.

Of course, the Nuland Air Force may not use 6,000 cruise missiles to strike military installations on Honu Island.

It can be seen that the key is to shoot down the bomber before it drops the cruise missile.

To do this, it is necessary to have AWACS aircraft deployed in advance.

Under normal circumstances, the "Finger-8C" can reach a large target of several hundred square meters against RCS such as the B-52, and the detection range can reach 650 kilometers.

According to the information provided by the Military Intelligence Agency, the AGM-86C air-launched cruise missile mounted on the B-52 has a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers. Even if there is some redundancy left to plan the attack route, the B-52 can deliver missiles about 1,200 kilometers east of the Khowaii Islands.

This is also the reason why fighter jets are needed to go 1,000 kilometers forward.

The early warning aircraft is deployed 150 kilometers behind the fighters, and the detection range can reach 1,500 kilometers east of Honu Island, and after discovering the incoming bombers, they can provide 20 minutes of interception time for the fighters going forward, while the "Zhan-9B" can go 200 kilometers ahead to intercept enemy planes, and it only takes 10 minutes at most.

As for enemy aircraft launching missiles immediately after being intercepted, fighters can also be switched to intercepting cruise missiles.

There was no problem with the tactical arrangement, and the co-captain on duty emphasized one more thing.

Last month, three Nix-class supercarriers of the Nuland Navy's Guia Fleet left Diego Military Port and have not been revealed.

According to the more credible speculation, the Nuland Navy's Task Force 51 is still in the vicinity of the mainland.

Prior to this, three large attack submarines of the Imperial Navy had been ejected while trying to approach the port of Diego, so there is reason to believe that Task Force 51 was just outside the port of Diego and was covered by the Coast Guard and shore-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

Leaving the port, too, is only to avoid a sudden blow.

After all, in the aftermath of a global war, it is equally possible for the Imperial Army to go undeclared and destroy their number one enemy by launching a surprise attack.

If the bombers of the Air Force were on a surprise mission, the warships parked in the harbor would be the targets.

However, the co-captain on duty did not mention another threat.

The Nuland Navy's Sunset Ocean Fleet, which departed in August, is also missing!

Theoretically, this task force with two large "Newland" class aircraft carriers can reach any part of the Guia Ocean in September as long as it travels through the Wangxi Canal.

If Task Force 41 had already entered the Guia, the Nuland Navy would have five aircraft carriers available on this side.

These 5 aircraft carriers are capable of carrying almost 500 carrier-based aircraft!

Anywhere, this is an attacking force that no one dares to underestimate.

Of course, the wing commander on duty also mentioned that it is not very likely that the Nuland fleet will go out to the waters near the Howaii Islands, after all, in the face of powerful shore-based aviation, carrier-based aviation has almost no chance of winning. Judging by the operational deployment, the Nuland fleet is likely to be the second echelon.

Wait until the surprise attack is successful, destroy the defense system of the Khowaii Islands, and gain absolute air supremacy, and then the aircraft carrier battle group will cover the landing fleet to launch an attack.

Don't forget, the number one goal of the Nuland Republic is to recapture the Khovai Islands, which are under imperial control.

After listening to the morning report, at 6:03 in the morning, Zhu Tingxuan and his partner sat in the cockpit of the fighter jet.

According to the arrangement, Zhu Tingxuan's squadron will carry out the first round of patrol missions today, while his squadron will stay behind to cover the early warning aircraft.