After repulsing the enemy's escort fighters, 4 "Battle-9Bs" did not retreat and continued to intercept bombers flying from the northwest.

If you want to say, this is the core mission of the "Battle-9B".

Behind the 8 Tornado AVDs were a full wing of 20 Vulcan bombers.

In fact, this bomber has one thing in common with the "Tornado", that is, the basic technology is from the Bran Kingdom, but it was later adopted by the Horman Empire.

Here, the relationship between the two countries is involved.

During the last war, after the defeat of the Bran Kingdom, the Empire recruited a large number of engineers from the Bran Kingdom, laying the foundation for the great development after the war. After the diplomatic relations between the two countries returned to normal, these engineers returned to China one after another, and the aviation industry of the Bran Kingdom grew rapidly.

The most representative is the long-range bomber represented by the "Vulcan".

To put it simply, the team that developed "Tempest" and "Vulcan" are both from the Bran Kingdom!

Although the Empire has always claimed that the "Vulcan" is a strategic bomber, for example, when taking off with full fuel, the combat radius reaches 4,600 kilometers, which is enough to take off from the airfield in Xiluosha and bomb the cities in the western part of the Liangxia Empire, or fly over the North and set the ocean to bomb the east coast of the Nuland Republic, but strictly speaking, this 4-engine bomber has not yet reached the "strategic" level.

The point is that its maximum take-off weight is less than 80 tons.

This tonnage can only be regarded as medium-sized.

In addition, the Vulcan Air Force has never used the Vulcan as a strategic bomber.

The main thing is that without fighter cover and advanced air-launched cruise missiles, the "Vulcan" simply cannot break through the air defense network of the Liangxia Empire.

In fact, whether or not you can fly over Dongluosha is a question.

However, the Manman Air Force still procures and equips about 500 Vulcans, and plans to increase it to 1,000 to replace all other bombers.

There is only one reason: the "Vulcan" is the only bomber that can hang on six heavy anti-ship missiles and launch an attack after flying 3,000 kilometers, and there is enough space to carry communication equipment, so as to more effectively organize large groups of aircraft to carry out coordinated operations.

This means that only Vulcan can attack a fleet at a distance of 3,000 kilometers alone in a swarm.

Other combat aircraft do not have this capability.

If anything, this capability has irreplaceable strategic value.

On Lu Xinhai's side, there is no need to say more.

Relying on a combat radius of up to 3,000 kilometers against the sea, the "Vulcan" can cover the entire Luxinhai by deploying it at the airfield on the mainland of Man, ensuring that it can launch a strike on the Liangxia fleet in Luxinhai at any time, so as to gain a tactical advantage in a surprise attack.

In addition, it can also stabilize the Raleigh Kingdom and the Spann Kingdom.

The Empire has returned the Zhiluo Fortress to the Kingdom of Span and has basically withdrawn from Lu Xinhai, giving the Kingdom of Raleigh and the Kingdom of Span enough independent decision-making power.

Obviously, a powerful air force that could destroy any fleet in the heart of the land was a key means for the Empire to control its two powerful allies.

To say, even the main means.

However, the value of "Vulcan" is more reflected in the North Sunset Ocean.

The first is to curb the ambitions of the Bran Kingdom, and prevent the Bran Kingdom from approaching the Nuland Republic, and strengthen the control of the Bran Kingdom.

In addition, it will also be able to strengthen the control of the North Sunset Ocean.

Actually, that's the key.

The "Vulcan" bombers stationed in the Kingdom of Span have a combat radius of 3,000 kilometers and a range of anti-ship missiles with a strike radius of 3,500 kilometers, and can intercept the northbound fleet in the southern waters of the North Sunset, thus preventing the Imperial Navy from going north from the South Sunset.

If you want to say it, after there is no way to borrow Lu Xinhai, the Imperial Navy can only go north from the south and the sunset.

There's also a very critical strategy involved.

The Juman Empire had already done a good job of blockading Lu Xinhai, by laying mines in the Zhiluo Strait and sending submarines to ambush Lu Xinhai, so that the Liang Xia Navy could not enter the Beixi Ocean from Lu Xinhai, so as to minimize the combat pressure in the direction of the Beixi Ocean.

As for the threat from the direction of Lu Xinhai, it is not within the scope of the key consideration of the Empire.

Don't forget that the Empire was in the north of the Alps, while the Kingdom of Raleigh was in the south, so landing on the north shore of the Luxinhai and then attacking the mainland of the Empire would have to cross the Alps.

Logistics alone would be enough to drag down any army trying to cross the Alps.

The value of the Alps to the defenders is similar to that of the Urals.

But the problem is that there is no way to use the same means to prevent the Liang Xia Navy from falling north from Nanxi.

In other words, if it is not defeated on land, then it is very likely that the Western Continent Group will fight to the death with the Liangxia Navy in the central sea of the Sunset Ocean.

At this time, the value of the "Vulcan" is reflected.

Stationed in the Iberian Peninsula or deployed in the Canary Islands, which belonged to the Kingdom of Sban, Vulcan was able to attack the Liangxia fleet that had set north from the south and sunset.

With such great value, there is no reason why the Manman Air Force should not purchase the Vulcan.

It is precisely because of such great value that the Euman Air Force is equipped with a large number of bombers designed by Bran engineers.

There are always two sides to the problem.

The Euman Air Force was heavily equipped with Vulcan bombers, also because there were no better bombers available.

If there are supersonic bombers such as the "H-10" or B-1B, or strategic bombers such as the "H-9" and B-52, the "Vulcan" will definitely not be chosen by the Manman Air Force.

In the beginning, the Manman Air Force did not think of letting the "Vulcan" carry out a sea strike mission.

According to the initial targets, the "Vulcan" is indeed a strategic bomber, and its main task is to carry out strategic bombing missions with bombs on it.

Due to technical limitations, especially aero engines, the Vulcan uses a delta wing, which is very rare in bombers.

To put it simply, by increasing the area of the wings, improving the lift-to-drag ratio, and increasing the fuel load, it can still reach a take-off weight of 80 tons with four turbojet engines with less thrust, and has an excellent range among bombers of the same class.

If deployed in Xiluosha, the combat radius of about 4,000 kilometers is barely enough. What's more, after an air refueling, the combat radius can also be extended by 50% to 6,000 kilometers, so that it has the ability to bomb cities in the central and western parts of the Liangxia Empire.

However, the lack of volume seriously limits the use of the "Vulcan".

In order to achieve a sea strike, the "Vulcan" purchased by the Manman Air Force can all be hung in auxiliary fuel tanks in the bomb magazine, and six heavy-duty hardpoints have been added under the wings.

The reason is also simple, the magazine is too small to fit heavy anti-ship missiles.

However, this has brought a new problem, that is, the flight resistance has increased significantly, resulting in a significant increase in fuel consumption.

When carrying 10 tons of bombs in the magazine, the "Vulcan" has a combat radius of about 4,000 kilometers, while six heavy anti-ship missiles with a total mass of less than 9 tons are hung on the outside, and the combat radius is only 3,000 kilometers, which is equivalent to a 50% increase in cruise flight resistance.

It cannot be denied that the "Vulcan" is indeed an excellent bomber.

The 20 "Vulcans" all flew at an altitude of more than 11,000 meters, and every 4 of them formed a formation, maintaining a distance of about 10 kilometers between the formations.

The first four "Zhan-9Bs" launched the first round of attacks at around 4:25.

Since half of the KK-9D had been used, it was definitely impossible to intercept all the bombers at the same time, and it was necessary to avoid dispersing the bombers, so the 4 fighters concentrated on attacking the 8 bombers in the first 2 formations, and turned back after launching the missiles.

In fact, each of the four fighters still has 2 combat missiles that have not been used.

However, there is no longer any need for this.

In the rear, four "Zhan-9Bs" of a squad that took off urgently had arrived, and they were all fully loaded with missiles and flew at a speed of more than Mach 1.3.

In fact, this is also one of the unique skills of the "Zhan-9B".

After breaking through the sound barrier, the "Zhan-9B" was able to maintain supersonic flight with only the maximum military thrust with its excellent aerodynamic design.

Of course, there are some specific conditions, such as flying at high altitudes and not being able to carry additional ammunition.

This ability is of great value in volley combat.

To put it simply, it is to be able to rush to the battlefield as quickly as possible and intercept incoming enemy planes while reducing fuel consumption as much as possible.

Of course, increasing the flight speed of the carrier aircraft will also be able to extend the range of the KK-9D.

Before launching the missile, all four "Battle-9Bs" increased their flight speed to Mach 1.8, giving the KK-9D a higher muzzle velocity.

4 "Battle-9B" loaded with missiles against more than 10 bombers is obviously more than enough.

At this time, battles in the other 2 directions also began.

Although the battle was a bit difficult, especially in the south of Crete, because the escort fighters were not expelled in advance, after engaging the escort fighters, the four "Battle-9Bs" also went to intercept the bombers, not only using combat missiles, but also machine guns in the end. However, in these two directions, there is the command of the "Finger-6C", and the "Zhan-9B" has all successfully completed its mission.

In the end, the Vulcan bombers in both directions dropped less than 10 anti-ship missiles, and the bombing airspace was 550 kilometers away from Task Force 51.

In fact, this has already exceeded the maximum range of anti-ship missiles.

However, for security reasons, Li Shenzhi still put the air defense cruiser into battle and launched anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down the incoming anti-ship missiles.

However, it is indeed redundant.

At that time, these anti-ship missiles were actually flying towards Cyprus, that is, the enemy judged that Task Force 51 had already maneuvered to the west of Cyprus.

The problem was that Task Force 51 was actually south of Cyprus.

The reason is also very simple, the transport fleet that needs cover is still in the narrow sea and has not entered the Luxin Sea, so there is no need for the 51st Task Force to go north.

Even if there were no interceptions, and those anti-ship missiles had a long enough range, they would not have been able to threaten Task Force 51.

With a deviation of more than 100 kilometers, the anti-ship missile will certainly not be able to detect the warships of the 51st Task Force with the help of the missile radar after entering the self-guidance stage.

The point is, Li Shenzhi never thought that this order put the 51st Task Force in danger.

Under the circumstances, it was obvious that the enemy did not know the exact location of the 51st Task Force, and by firing missiles, it was not only a matter of luck, but also a test of the day.

Here's the key.

When intercepting those anti-ship missiles, the two "Qingzhou" class ships activated their radars, and the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radars could be detected hundreds of kilometers away.

At 10:40, that is, after the two "Qingzhou" class missiles intercepted the incoming anti-ship missiles, the combat alarm sounded again.

The alarm was raised by the "Finger-6C" that had been patrolling 150 kilometers west of the fleet because of the adjustment of air defense deployments, and returned to the vicinity of the fleet.

Because it was necessary to land the fighters who had carried out the interception mission first, and also to wait for the fighters who remained on the aircraft carrier and were not able to take off, the AWACS aircraft did not return to land, but circled the north side of the fleet at the most fuel-efficient speed.

The carrier-based fighters are all in the west and southwest, and there are not a few planes in the north of the fleet, so there is no problem of evading and giving up the landing lane.

The key thing is that the radar is not turned off.

Although interference was possible, according to the operational doctrine of the Imperial Navy, AWACS aircraft were allowed to turn off their radars only when they entered the landing course.

It was this AWACS aircraft that spotted enemy aircraft flying from the direction of the mainland of the Republic of There in the north.

Initially, the combat commander on board the AWACS aircraft did not yet identify it as an enemy bomber.

After all, it was the Republic of There, which had already declared its permanent neutrality, and both the Liangxia Empire and the Juman Empire had signed an international convention recognizing the permanent neutrality of the Republic of There, and even the Republic of Nuland had since signed the convention, so it was taken for granted that the enemy would not appear in the north.

At the time, the commander thought it might be a reconnaissance plane of the There Air Force.

It was only after the unidentified planes continued to fly south and reached the skies over the Luxin Sea that the operational commander made a new judgment.

If it were a plane of the There Air Force, it would certainly not leave the skies over its homeland.

That's the enemy's bomber!

Actually, this is not a problem of the commander on the AWACS aircraft either.

In the skies over the mainland of the Republic of There, these unidentified aircraft are all at low altitudes, which greatly shortens the detection range of AWACS aircraft.

Do not forget that the "Finger-6C" is a carrier-based AWACS aircraft of the Navy, aimed at the marine combat environment.

The radar of the "Finger-6C" was designed with emphasis on reducing specular reflections on the sea surface and interference caused by clutter generated by ocean waves.

As for the interference over land, it is not particularly important.

Even the later export type only made improvements in software and enhanced signal processing capabilities, but did not work hardware.

According to the plan, it is necessary to use the next generation of improved models and adopt a completely new radar to completely solve this problem.

As a result, the Finger-6C is susceptible to clutter reflected from the ground against low-altitude targets flying over land, especially in mountainous areas.

As a result, by the time the Finger-6C concluded that the planes were bombers, the distance was less than 500 kilometers.

The "Battle-9Bs" that have been lifted off and are on standby are all in the west, and the closest bombers are almost 300 kilometers away from those bombers.

Obviously, these fighters simply did not have time to intercept them.

It is precisely for this reason that after the "Finger-6C" issued an enemy attack warning, the air defense operation directly entered the stage of intercepting incoming anti-ship missiles.

Obviously, this is also the last thing any fleet commander wants to face.