"Head, I received the battlefield information!"

5:55 a.m.!

When Jiang Shanggui reminded him in front, Lian Mingyang subconsciously glanced at the time on the left screen.

Subsequently, the battlefield information sent by the early warning command aircraft appeared on the screen.

The situation is even worse than previously expected!

The enemy's armored forces had not only crossed the Volga and captured the positions on the river banks, but also advanced about 20 kilometers to the west.

This distance will take at least an hour!

In other words, the armored forces of the Western Continent Group, uncharacteristically, did not wait for dawn, but launched an attack before dawn, to be precise, when fire preparations were carried out.

In addition, in addition to sending amphibious armored units to capture the positions on the river beach, the enemy's engineering units also erected pontoon bridges as quickly as possible.

According to the information provided by the reconnaissance aircraft, there are a total of five pontoon bridges, and all of them are boat bridges with a traffic capacity of more than 50 tons.

This efficiency and speed are enough to prove that the Xilu Group has been prepared for a long time.

Of course, it's strange not to prepare!

Now the enemy has opened a breakthrough and is advancing deep into the heart of the defensive line, and in the vanguard is an armored battalion of dozens of T-80Us.

If the defense line built by the Eastern Bloc along the Volga River is likened to a dam, then this breakthrough is the anthill that led to the collapse of the dam.

Although theoretically, it is no longer possible to plug this loophole, and in all defense plans, there is no emphasis on the need to fight to the death with the enemy at the front line, which is not in line with the theory of large-depth defense, but no matter how much it costs, it is necessary to try to delay the enemy's advance.

In fact, this is also the number one value of the existence of helicopter gunships.

In the doctrine of large-depth defense, only helicopter gunships can quickly reach the front line and crush enemy armored forces that break through the defensive line.

The attack aircraft is faster, but the sustained combat capabilities are significantly inferior to the gunships.

The armored forces have sufficient sustained combat capability, but the speed of movement is less than a tenth of that of helicopter gunships.

Now it depends on these dozens of "Z-10A".

"There are all squadrons, act according to plan!"

After grasping the situation on the battlefield, Lian Mingyang immediately issued a combat order.

There was no time for him to delay.

The enemy's armored forces were about 20 kilometers ahead, still making a detour to the southeast, looking like they were going to encircle Volzhasky.

In that small city, there is an East Luosha Infantry Division, tens of thousands of officers and soldiers!

If the enemy's armored forces could not be stopped from making a detour to the south, this infantry division would definitely be annihilated.

As for launching an attack, it is actually a script.

On Lian Mingyang's side, the first squadron under his direct command had a total of 6 "Z-10A", and it was divided into 3 twin-plane formations.

Because they fly at the front of the group, they are the first to attack.

In the intelligence provided by the reconnaissance aircraft, there are no air defense systems such as "Tunguska", so it is necessary to deal with the main battle tanks that rush to the front.

Judging by the intensity of thermal radiation, it should be the T-80U of the 9th Panzer Division.

In addition, the photographs taken by the reconnaissance aircraft also prove that at the forefront are dozens of T-80U with reactive armor, that is, in the strongest state.

The key thing is that this tank is equipped with a gas turbine, so when charging, the thermal radiation signal is very obvious.

If anything, equipping the T-80 with a gas turbine is a last resort.

Starting from the previous T-64 to the simplified T-72, all multi-fuel diesel engines were used, and only the T-80 used gas turbines. The explanation given by the Silosha military was that gas turbines were more adaptable, i.e., they could use almost all fuel oil, so during the offensive phase, the main battle tanks using gas turbines could make more efficient use of the fuel captured from the Eastern Bloc.

As for the disadvantages of gas turbine fuel consumption, in the eyes of the Xiluosha military, it is not a big problem.

Even in the field, the T-80 had a combat range of more than 250 kilometers, and on the road march more than 450 kilometers.

Within 250 kilometers east of the Volga, there are dozens of cities and military bases, and more than 100 oil depots, large and small.

Expand the range to 450 km, and that's more.

In addition, it can also be replenished by rail.

From a strategic point of view, being able to advance 250 kilometers in a single impact is definitely a very remarkable victory.

When the time comes, let the armored forces stop for resupply, that is, as a matter of course.

All in all, the West Luosha military doesn't care much about fuel consumption.

However, these are excuses and excuses.

Most typically, only the T-80 series main battle tanks use gas turbines, while the self-propelled guns and infantry fighting vehicles used together use diesel engines.

Infantry fighting vehicles can also be explained, after all, the weight is low, the power requirements for the engine are not great, and the diesel engine is enough.

However, the combat weight of self-propelled guns is comparable to that of main battle tanks, and the chassis of main battle tanks is often used, so why not develop a matching self-propelled gun with the chassis of the T-80, but design a self-propelled gun equipped with front-line troops on the chassis of the low-end T-72?

Fundamentally, it is actually the West Continent Group that is seriously short of oil.

Because the Baguo oil field is in East Luosha, West Luosha has always been an oil importer, and the only thing that can achieve self-sufficiency is natural gas.

For this, it is necessary to import oil from other countries of the Sairiku group.

Unfortunately, other countries are also short of oil.

As a result, high-quality fuels such as gasoline and diesel must be given priority to the Ranman Army, which is responsible for strategic defense, and then to ensure that the coalition forces such as Locke and Raleigh are secured. In the end, the only thing that Dongluosha can get is low-quality fuel oil such as kerosene.

It is precisely for this that tanks need to be equipped with gas turbines capable of running on kerosene.

To put it bluntly, it is impossible for Xiluosha to equip all the main battle tanks with diesel engines, so some of them must use gas turbines.

Obviously, it is actually a very smart choice to let the T-80, which acts as the absolute workhorse, use gas turbines.

First of all, in addition to high fuel consumption, gas turbines are actually better than diesel engines in other aspects, especially very fast starting.

When the "ZT-99" was designed, if it had not been for the successful development of a supercharged diesel engine, otherwise the Imperial Army would have equipped this tank with a gas turbine.

This makes it more suitable for driving a main battle tank that acts as an assault platform.

In addition, the T-80 is the first to equip the main forces on the front line, and acts as the first assault force in the big war, that is, the first to enter the battle.

As a result, most of the T-80s will not survive the day when they switch from offense to defense.

More importantly, because the cost is much higher than that of the T-64 and T-72, the probability of mass production of the T-80 in wartime is actually very slim.

If one considers that it will be difficult for the Western Continent Group to achieve a decisive victory through an offensive and will inevitably turn to the defensive at some point, then it is necessary to consider defensive weapons.

In this way, the T-80 that was used after the start of the war was actually reducing the burden of the war.

To put it simply, in the defensive phase, it is no longer necessary to face this oil tiger.

Finally, and most crucially.

The T-80 is an assault equipment equipped for the main forces on the front line, so it is also the least numerous of the 3 third-generation main battle tanks in Xiluosha!

According to the data provided by the Military Intelligence Agency, the total number of T-80s of various types is less than 5000 units.

Obviously, this can only be described as pitiful.

The production of the T-64 exceeded 8000 units, and the production of the T-72, which was famously cheap, has already exceeded 20 thousand units, and it is still being produced at a rate of several hundred units per month!

Almost all of these T-80s were given to front-line assault units deployed along the west bank of the Volga!

Only in the 9th Panzer Division of the 1st Guards Army, there were 364 T-80U.

This is clearly not a denial of the performance of the T-80U.

If anything, the T-80U is actually the most powerful main battle tank in Xiluosha.

In addition to having a standard 125 mm smoothbore gun, the T-80U is mainly advanced in armor protection.

According to information provided by the Military Intelligence Agency, the frontal protection of the turret is equivalent to 800 mm of mass armor, and the upper part of the hull is also 700 mm.

Crucially, this is still the level of the use of explosive reactive armor.

After wearing explosive reactive armor, the front of the T-80U's turret is protected against armor-piercing shells to 1200 mm!

If the intelligence is correct, then the T-80U will be the most protected main battle tank in the history of Xiluosha!

In fact, the design index of the KD-28A heavy anti-tank missile, nicknamed the "repeating crossbow", that is, the armor-piercing depth that must be achieved set by the army, was determined from this!

At the time of the development of the "repeater", the Military Intelligence Bureau had obtained more reliable information that the armor protection of the new main battle tank in Xiluosha would exceed 1,000 millimeters, and perhaps even reach 1,200 millimeters, that is, some higher than the 900 millimeters of the main anti-tank missiles of the Imperial Army at that time.

As a result, the Imperial Army demanded that the breakdown thickness of the "repeater" must not be less than 1200 mm.

This also led to the fact that the launch mass of the "repeater" exceeded 45 kilograms, and it could only be carried by helicopters, which could not be used by individual soldiers at all, and it was difficult to even carry a vehicle.

Of course, the use of tandem warheads was actually a later requirement.

Although according to the tests, the vertical armor penetration depth of the "repeater" is as high as 1400 mm, which far exceeds the design indicators, but there is also intelligence that the M1A1 of the Nuland Republic uses new composite armor, which is very likely to be equipped with reactive armor in the future, and the equivalent protection thickness may reach an astonishing 1600 mm, or even 1800 mm, and exceed the armor-piercing thickness of all anti-tank missiles today.

It is precisely for this reason that the Imperial Army not only demanded that the improved version of the "repeater" increase the armor-piercing thickness to more than 1,800 mm, but also began to develop newer, to be precise, anti-tank missiles with a completely new attack mode, but first tested the waters with individual light anti-tank missiles.

This is also very understandable, the helicopter carries heavy anti-tank missiles, the size and quality of the restrictions are not strict, can use a larger size of the shield, and more charges to increase the thickness of armor piercing, while the light anti-tank missiles used by individual soldiers, obviously can not be so casual.

It is precisely in this way that the new generation of light anti-tank missiles of the Imperial Army, for the first time, adopted the "Attack to the Top" mode.

By avoiding the frontal armor of the tank, relying on electronic equipment control, allowing the missile to detonate on the top of the tank's head, and then relying on the metal jet to penetrate the weak top armor of the tank, it is also possible to obtain a more ideal destruction effect without increasing the mass and size of the missile.

It is a pity that this new missile has not yet been developed.

Of course, against the T-80U, the "repeater" carried by the "Z-10A" is more than enough, not to mention that it is actually the KD-28C that is equipped with the front-line troops.

This latest modification, thanks to its miniaturized electronics, is capable of being equipped with a large front-mounted warhead with an armor penetration depth of up to 1,500 mm.

Not to mention the T-80U, even the "Challenger", which is known for its good protection, will definitely not be able to withstand it.

For the "Z-10A", which flies at a speed of 240 kilometers per hour, it takes only 3 minutes to fly more than 10 kilometers.

However, this is enough time to complete the preparations for the attack.

When it was about 8 kilometers away from the target, when the infrared imager on the nose had already captured the heat signature of the tank, Lian Mingyang pulled up the helicopter, and while trying his best to control the helicopter to maintain stability, he unlocked the fire control system and delegated the right to attack to Jiang Shanggui.

In fact, it only took less than 10 seconds for Jiang Shanggui to lock on to 8 targets.

Subsequently, he fired out eight "repeater" missiles located on the inner hardpoints of the short wings one by one.

At the same time, Lian Mingyang controlled the helicopter to reduce the forward flight speed to 150 kilometers per hour.

It's just that he did not reduce the flight altitude.

This time, there were no special forces on the front line to illuminate the target with a laser designator, that is, to guide the missile to complete the attack, so the guidance work could only be done with a laser irradiator on a helicopter.

This is also the biggest problem with the "repeater".

Under the condition of self-guided guidance, the helicopter must not evade the target until the "repeater" hits the target, and must keep the target in sight.

Obviously, the helicopter at this time is the target to be beaten!

Even when designing the "repeater", this problem has been taken into account, so the army clearly requires the missile to have the ability to fly at supersonic speed, but due to the limitation of mass, the maximum speed of the "repeater" is only Mach 1.4, and when the range reaches 8 kilometers, the average speed is only Mach 1.1.

This means that it takes about 25 seconds for the "repeater" to fly 8 kilometers!

In those 25 seconds, an anti-aircraft missile with a speed of Mach 2 can fly 15 kilometers!

Even if the "Tunguska" is 7 kilometers behind the tank, it can use missiles to counterattack the attacking helicopter gunship.

If there are enemy fighters nearby, or helicopter gunships, then the trouble is even greater.

However, when the next generation of "repeaters" comes out, this problem will be completely solved.

Of course, for Lian Mingyang and other pilots at this time, they would certainly not expect the new missiles that were still being developed.

"Head, withdraw!"

When Jiang Shanggui shouted loudly, Lian Mingyang had already pressed down the lever.

In the distance, 8 T-80U have been beaten into fireballs by "repeaters"!

Before and after, less than 3 minutes in total.

After leading the captain plane to attack, the other five "Z-10A" were put into battle one after another, and all the anti-tank missiles they carried were fired.

A total of 6 anti-tank missiles were fired from 48 helicopter gunships!

In fact, there are simply not so many enemy tanks.

It's just that Lian Mingyang can't manage it so much.

There are also 24 "Z-10A" of 4 squadrons behind, and Lian Mingyang, as the team leader, must continue to find and guide the attack targets for the group.

As for whether it was a tank or not, it didn't really matter.

In the words of the pilots of the Army Airlines, after going to the battlefield, those with wheels and those who can still move are all dishes of armed helicopters.

As long as the enemy can be defeated, no one cares about hitting a military vehicle worth up to 50,000 gold dollars with a "repeater" worth 100,000 gold yuan.

In addition, the helicopter carried rockets and machine guns.

As long as the battle is not over, no pilot will want to return home with ammunition.