Strictly speaking, it is more like a tactical feint to let the "Attack-5E" of the two brigades under the cover of the "Battle-9B" of the two brigades make a long-distance attack on the Weisha Military Port.

It's just that to deal with the 3 frigates of the Eastern Fleet of the Van Rowe Navy, there is no need to dispatch heavy attack aircraft at all, and even aviation is not necessary. 3 frigates were parked next to the pier and could not run away at all, it was enough for the submarines lying in ambush outside the harbor to launch anti-ship missiles.

The highlight of the day was on the West Coast side.

Although from the perspective of a global war, there is no need to develop a navy at all, because even if it does its best to build a navy, it is impossible to shake the hegemony of the imperial navy, but in order to maintain the so-called regional hegemony and contain the imperial navy, the country still has built a navy that is not too small in scale and not too bad in combat effectiveness within the scope of its ability.

Of course, this is also inseparable from the support of the Republic of Nuland.

Before the outbreak of the war, the Van Rowe Navy had a total of more than 100 ships, including more than 40 large ships, including 2 imported light aircraft carriers.

Almost all of these large warships were deployed in Mumbai.

In fact, in the Fanyan Ocean, the strength of the Van Luo Navy is only below the Imperial Navy, and it is also the first sea force in the Rim Fanyan Ocean region to have aircraft carriers.

Interestingly, these two small aircraft carriers are not directly related to the Nuland Republic, but are imported from the Kingdom of Span and are all light aircraft carriers built by the Kingdom of Bran during the last Great War and handed over to the Kingdom of Spann as war reparations after the end of the Great War. After reaching the service life, the Kingdom of Span sold these two aircraft carriers to Van Luo Guo as "scrap", but they needed to be funded and renovated by Van Roe Navy.

Of course, the shipyards of the Kingdom of Spann will definitely undertake the renovation work.

If anything, the Kingdom of Spann has gained a deeper understanding of the internal structure of the aircraft carriers by modernizing and improving the two aircraft carriers, and has also trained the design and construction team, laying the foundation for the subsequent construction of the "Strategic Support Ship", that is, the small aircraft carrier designed by the Nuland Republic.

However, these two small aircraft carriers, which have been in service for more than half a century, are only used as decorations.

In peacetime, these two aircraft carriers often go to the coastal waters of Pakistan and the railway, and it is not wrong to say that they are showing off their strength. It was only after the outbreak of the Great War, to be precise, before the official entry of the Van Luo Kingdom into the war, that he retreated to the port of Mumbai and entered the inner harbor, and had no intention of preparing to go to sea to fight.

In addition, dozens of Sea Harrier fighters carried by aircraft carriers also went to the air base.

As for the other large ships, they are also cowering in the port of Mumbai.

Actually, it's easy to understand.

Before the official entry of the kingdom into the war, the Imperial Navy deployed submarines outside its main harbors, but did not attack passing ships.

The key is that what the Van Luo Navy lacks the most, that is, anti-submarine warfare capabilities!

Although the Van Roe Navy has more than 20 destroyers and frigates, two light aircraft carriers that can also carry anti-submarine helicopters, and dozens of anti-submarine patrol aircraft deployed on land, it is not aimed at the large attack submarines of the Imperial Navy, but the small submarines of the Pakistani Navy.

In addition, the Van Rowe Navy is basically unable to provide cover for anti-submarine patrol aircraft in the open sea, so it does not have the ability to carry out anti-submarine missions in the far sea. Strictly speaking, after flying out of the effective range of long-range anti-aircraft missiles, it will be difficult for the anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the Van Rowe Navy to survive.

It is a pity that all long-range anti-aircraft missiles belong to the Air Force and are only enough to protect the main strategic facilities.

It was precisely because of the lack of confidence in his heart that the Van Luo Navy retreated to the port.

In addition, the disaster that occurred outside the port of Visha at the beginning of the month also had a great impact.

After the large missile boat sank outside the port, the first thing that came to the mind of the Van Rowe Navy was not a mine, but a torpedo fired from a submarine. A few days later, an anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the Western fleet spotted the submarine outside the port of Mumbai, and identified it as a large attack submarine of the Liangxia Navy. The day after the Battle of North Honu, the Imperial Navy launched more than 200 cruise missiles at the port of Mumbai.

After these blows, the Van Rowe Navy concluded that the Imperial Navy had deployed more than a dozen large attack submarines outside the port of Bommai.

Obviously, this is a deliberate exaggeration.

Make excuses for cowardice by emphasizing threats.

Even at its peak, there were only three submarines operating outside the port of Mumbai, and the distance from the port was more than 50 kilometers.

Theoretically, only 1 large attack submarine could blockade the port of Mumbai.

As a result, in mid-October, the number of ships was reduced to two, and they were deployed in front and rear, with only one on standby outside the port of Bomby, and the other one operating in the open sea, mainly to monitor passing ships and assist shore-based air forces and regional fleets in implementing a strategic blockade of Van Lo country.

As for the cruise missiles that attacked the port of Mumbai, they were fired by large warships of Task Force 31.

These ships were all from Task Force 51.

The main thing is that in peacetime, the Third Fleet stationed in Fanyanyang is actually a regional fleet, and it does not undertake too many combat missions. Even after the outbreak of the Posha Bay War, the battle groups stationed in Muahai and Posha Bay were grouped under the names of the 52nd and 53rd task forces. It was not until the 51st Task Force was routed and withdrawn from Luxinhai that the Third Fleet was strengthened.

According to the Navy's arrangement, these large warships from the 51st Task Force will go to Nanxuanguo at the end of the year and be incorporated into the soon-to-be-established 71st Task Force. In the future, it will be mainly used for sea control operations, and it is necessary to adjust the ammunition, so it is also sent to carry out the task of attacking the port of Mumbai.

Those cruise missiles, even if they are not used, will be taken out of the vertical launch system after they arrive at the military port in Nanxuan.

Instead of being so troublesome, it is better to use it before then.

In this way, ammunition can also be replenished in the Kibu Fortress, saving the trouble of transporting it to Nanxuanguo.

In any case, under the great threat of submarines, the Western fleet built by the Van Rowe Navy is still a shrunken turtle.

It is precisely because of this that many people after the war believed that the Van Luo Navy's unenterprising behavior missed the best opportunity to seize the initiative in the war. There are even some people who feel that this is one of the main reasons for the decline and defeat of the Western coalition led by the Republic of Nuland.

According to these people's opinions, there was an excellent opportunity to seize the initiative on the battlefield of Fanyanyang.

The reason for this was that the Imperial Navy's military presence in the Fanyan Ocean had hit rock bottom, and it would not be restored until the beginning of the 151st year of the new calendar.

Purely talking about the Imperial Navy, it is really true.

At that time, the 51st Task Force basically lost its aviation combat capability, and the other three aircraft carrier battle groups participating in the Bosa Bay War were also in a state of "non-war." All three aircraft carriers were resting at the Kib Fortress, and even if they could go to sea to fight, there were no carrier-based aircraft available.

The main thing is that in the Bosshawan War, almost all carrier-based aircraft were dispatched beyond the standard, more than half of the carrier-based aircraft had to be returned to the factory for overhaul, and the rest also needed to be fully maintained.

In addition, the pilots of these several carrier-based aviation wings are also out of the picture.

In order to get the pilots adjusted as soon as possible, the Imperial Navy specially sent them to the resort area of Socotra.

That place had always been an exclusive health resort for high-ranking generals, and had never been open to grassroots officers and soldiers.

It was precisely for this reason that the escort warships of the 51st Task Force were transferred to form the 31st Task Force, which subsequently participated in combat operations against the Van Luo Kingdom.

If the Western Fleet of the Van Luo Navy can rush out of the port of Mumbai at this time, it will indeed be unstoppable.

Unfortunately, this is not a possibility.

Not to mention the aviation forces deployed in Slan, just a few submarines squatting outside the port of Mumbai can send the Western fleet to the bottom of the sea.

Of course, a blockade will not completely eliminate the threat.

It was for this reason that, immediately after the completion of the adjustment of forces, the Imperial Navy organized aviation and launched a strike against the port of Bomsell and the Western fleet.

For this purpose, the Imperial Navy dispatched 40 "Battle-9B" aircraft of 2 groups and 80 "Attack-5E" aircraft of 4 groups.

The fleet departed on the afternoon of the 24th.

The main reason for choosing this time is to determine whether the long-range warning radar of Trivan has been destroyed to ensure that the strike performance can be carried out covertly.

After takeoff, the group first flew southwestward, avoiding the Van Roe mainland.

After rounding the Maldives Islands, it turned to the northwest and before making a turn, it joined up with an Air Force tanker for the first aerial refueling.

Subsequently, the fleet bypassed the Lakshadweep Islands from the west.

About 500 kilometers southwest of the port of Mumbai, after converging with a support formation from Kara Harbor, the group formed before the attack.

At around 4:50 p.m. local time, the first "Attack-5E" formation began to drop bombs.

According to the arrangement, the first two attack aircraft groups to arrive focused on dealing with the warships in the port, using all air-launched anti-ship missiles.

Because of the assistance of early warning aircraft, and the targets were all in the port, the Imperial Navy had mastered the signal characteristics of the main warships of the Van Luo Navy before the outbreak of the war, so there was no need to use radar to lock on to the target before dropping the bomb, and the attack aircraft all entered from ultra-low altitude to launch an attack.

Even after the bomb was dropped, the attack aircraft did not increase their flight altitude.

As a result, it was not until hundreds of anti-ship missiles fell from the sky and hit the battleship parked in the harbor that the officers and men of the Van Rowe Navy knew that they had been hit from the air.

There was no suspense in the results.

In less than 10 minutes, dozens of large warships in the port of Mumbai were all hit.

A few minutes later, the second round of bombardment began.

The third brigade, the "Attack-5E", carries short-range air-to-surface missiles and is tasked with two tasks. One is to continue to bomb large warships that have not sunk or have not been hit, especially the two aircraft carriers, and the other is to bomb the infrastructure in the port.

At that time, at least 1 squad of 4 "Attack-5E" pounced on the aircraft carrier that had not yet capsized.

It is precisely because of this that the credit for sinking the aircraft carrier was later attributed to these 4 "Attack-5E".

In fact, according to the conclusions of the post-war survey, it was actually the "Attack-6E" of the fourth brigade that sank 2 light aircraft carriers.

The 20 "Attack-6E" arrived last, and all of them carried 500-kilogram laser-guided bombs, of which 2 squads were armor-piercing.

To be precise, it means using a delay-time fuze and setting the delay at 500 milliseconds.

This delay is enough for the bomb to detonate after penetrating the coating of a normal fortification, which can produce an effect similar to that of an armor-piercing projectile.

Of course, penetrating the armor of the battleship is certainly not a problem.

According to the arrangement, the main task of these 20 "Attack-5E" is to destroy ammunition depots, oil depots and other important facilities.

It's just that at least 1 squad of 4 "Attack-5E" flew towards the 2 aircraft carriers that had not yet sunk and dropped laser-guided bombs.

It was this round of attacks that the 2 small aircraft carriers came to an end.

Unfortunately, none of the 4 "Attack-5E" made it back to Silan, 3 were shot down after the bomb was dropped, and the other 1 crashed on the way back.

As a result, when counting the results of the battle, no one mentioned the performance of the tasks of these four attack aircraft.

In fact, during the attack on the port of Mumbai, only these 4 attack aircraft were lost.

On the contrary, in the air battle that broke out after the attack, the 20 "Zhan-9Bs" covering the retreat of the attack planes, under the command of the AWACS aircraft, shot down 47 Van Luo fighters and did not lose a single one of their own. It was because of the heavy losses that the Van Rowe Air Force withdrew all its combat aircraft after dark.

As is customary, Van Rowe Air Force later claimed that it had shot down hundreds of intrusive enemy planes near the port of Bomsell that day.

Because the group had not yet returned, and some of the attack planes were damaged by anti-aircraft guns during the battle, it was not until the morning of the 25th that the Imperial Navy Command published a battle report, claiming that it had completely annihilated the Western fleet of the Van Rowe Navy at a small cost of losing four attack planes.

Of course, Ding Zhennan got the battle report before that.

In order to confirm the results of the strike, the Imperial Air Force sent one "Night Phoenix" to fly over the port of Mumbai that night and took a large number of photos.

There is no doubt about the outcome of the blow, but the port of Mumbai is not completely paralyzed.

After all, the port of Mumbai is not only the home port of the Western Fleet of the Van Luo Navy, but also the number one commercial port of the Van Luo country, and even the port with the largest throughput on the Southern Subcontinent.

Over the next two months, the Imperial Air Force and Imperial Naval Air Force bombed the port of Mumbai several times.

By the end of the year, the Imperial Air Force, at the request of Ding Zhennan, launched a joint operation with the Navy, dispatched dozens of strategic bombers, dropped hundreds of smart mines outside the port of Mumbai, and blocked the main shipping lanes. It was after this that the port of Mumbai was completely paralyzed.

However, the main purpose of the battle around the port of Mumbai was actually to contain the Van Luo Air Force and disperse the already insufficient combat forces.

Either way, the Van Rowe authorities had to defend the most populous city to the death.

In addition, the Imperial Air Force and Navy made a big fuss about the port of Mumbai, which made the leaders of Van Luo have to believe that the Empire would storm Mumbai.

Obviously, this is also what Ding Zhennan wants to achieve.

On the night of the 24th, the night of Ding Zhennan's return to the front headquarters, the vanguard of the 5th Marine Division, which had been deployed in position, set out from the forward assembly area east of Hyderabad, near the border line, and advanced the battle line into the territory of Van Luo before dawn.

The ground battle in the Southwestern Theater also began.

However, this is only a feint.

Although the Fifth Marine Division advanced quickly, received air support throughout the process, and was even able to call in long-range artillery support when necessary, there was only one reinforced armored battalion that acted as the vanguard of the assault, and it advanced along the road line, and the routine was very rigid.

According to Ding Zhennan's requirements, the offensive operation did not seek to achieve much victory, but mainly to attract the attention of the enemy.

And so it turned out.

By the morning of the 25th, after learning that the ground forces of the Eastern Coalition Army had broken through the border line and invaded the mainland, the whole country of Van Luo was suddenly lively.