Conducting air combat close to the ground, as it is often called, is a problem in the world.

Although helicopter air combat has become the norm in the Iran-Iraq war, by the end of the war, neither warring side has summed up feasible tactics.

During the eight-year war, the two sides were mostly in a scuffle.

As for the high-profile helicopter air battles, they are basically encounters.

Of course, this is not the fault of Poland and Iraq.

The biggest problem with helicopter air combat is that the flight altitude is too low, and there are strict restrictions on the range of maneuver, resulting in many tactics that simply do not work.

It can be seen that the tactics of helicopter air combat are still being explored.

It is precisely for this reason that the Imperial Army Aviation formed the world's first army aviation imaginary enemy unit six years ago, modeled on the imaginary enemy unit of the Air Force.

In order to better simulate enemy aircraft, the hypothetical enemy unit of the Army Aviation not only got a few AH-1 and MI-24, but also modified its own "Z-7" and recruited dozens of experienced pilots to form a team of instructors mainly engaged in confrontation training.

Since then, all pilots of assault brigades in the army aviation, especially helicopter gunships, have been trained in real combat confrontation with imaginary enemy units every year.

That is, in the confrontation training, the performance flaws of the "Z-10A" were exposed.

Because the "WZ-6F" engine of the "Z-7W" was used, the supporting "WZ-9" failed to be mass-produced as planned, resulting in the output power of the power system being far lower than the design index, and the heat load was high, so the maneuverability of the "Z-10A" had serious defects.

Fundamentally, of course, the problem is in design.

At the time of design, it was not considered to use such a helicopter with heavy armor to carry out air combat missions mainly against armored targets on the ground.

In fact, when designing the "Z-10A", the Imperial Army did not have a clear understanding of helicopter air combat.

Restricted by these factors, the air combat performance of the "Z-10A" is indeed very average.

Of course, through training, there is a way to improve.

The simplest and most direct way is to change to a more powerful engine and increase the power-to-weight ratio to improve the agility of the helicopter.

It was for this reason that the Imperial Army continued to invest in the "WZ-9" engine, which required an improved version with a 25% increase in power output compared to the base version.

If it can be done, then the agility of the "Z-10" will reach a whole new height.

However, it was the confrontation training that made the Imperial Army realize more deeply that the "Z-10" was not a perfect gunship.

This problem can also be traced back to the design stage, to be precise, the performance indicators proposed by the Army before the design.

The development of the concept of armed helicopters actually preceded the official launch of the "Z-10" project more than ten years earlier.

As early as during the Polish-Iranian War, the Imperial Army proposed to develop a combat helicopter capable of accompanying and covering the operations of transport helicopters, which was mainly responsible for suppressing the enemy's ground fire and eliminating the ground enemy posing a threat to the transport helicopters.

This is also the need to be beaten out by the enemy.

At that time, the Imperial Army had already lost thousands of helicopters on the Poi battlefield, the vast majority of which were shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire.

And the point is, most of them were destroyed by light anti-aircraft weapons such as anti-aircraft machine guns!

In order to meet the needs of emergencies, the Imperial Army has converted some transport helicopters into "gunboat helicopters", that is, equipped with machine guns or machine guns, and hung rocket launchers to provide cover for other transport helicopters. In addition, almost all transport helicopters have been armed, mainly with door machine guns, which are used to suppress nearby enemies during take-off and landing, so as to enhance the security of the take-off and landing phases.

However, the effect of these measures is not very outstanding.

It was for this reason that the Imperial Army decided to develop a specialized "combat helicopter".

However, the performance indicators proposed at that time were too high, far exceeding the height that the technology could reach, so the development work was carried out extremely slowly.

In contrast, the operational needs are extremely urgent.

It is in this context that a large number of mature technologies and equipment are used, and the performance indicators are very average, but the "Z-7A", which was able to complete the test flight within a few months and put into production, stood out and won the favor of the army, and finally got the order for 300 aircraft.

In the beginning, the Imperial Army only used the "Z-7A" for emergencies.

At that time, no one imagined that such a "rudimentary" helicopter gunship would end up producing more than 3000 units!

In fact, that is, after the "Z-7" was put into large-scale service and showed strong combat effectiveness on the battlefield, the Imperial Army had enough time to develop a more advanced "Z-10", or it was no longer so urgent, so that the design unit could calmly complete the accumulation of technology.

In addition, the end of the Polish-Iranian war had a serious negative impact on the development of the Z-10.

All in all, it took about another 5 years after the end of the Bo-Iranian War for the Imperial Army to feel the need for a more advanced helicopter gunship.

It was only at this time that the development of the "Z-10" entered the fast lane.

It can be seen that the tactical performance indicators of the "Z-10" were actually obtained by the Imperial Army in exchange for heavy losses in the Polish-Iraqi War.

This also created the "Z-10".

To put it simply, the Z-10 is a flying tank that operates at treetop altitudes, and its ferocious fire is almost always aimed at ground targets.

As for air combat, it is not considered at all.

At that time, the Imperial Army tested combat missiles on helicopters, not against helicopters, but against attack aircraft that were also operating at ultra-low altitudes.

If needed, it will have to be used against fighters.

It can be seen that it only gave the helicopter a barely sufficient means of self-defense.

In the Polish-Iraqi War, the helicopters of the Imperial Army never encountered an air threat!

In addition, at the time of the design of the "Z-10", many new technologies, or rather, new tactical ideas had not yet been born, and they could not be adopted by the designers.

The most typical, that is, stealth.

The stealth combat aircraft represented by the "Attack-11" was born after the "Z-10" completed its design, and it was proved by actual combat that it was four years ago.

As a result, the "Z-10" was not considered for stealth at all.

In previous years, the Imperial Army was still entangled in the question of "whether helicopters need stealth", or rather did not want to follow the crowd.

These are all shortcomings of "Zhi-10".

However, it also became the direct motivation for the Imperial Army to launch the "Z-X" project, or the tactical performance indicators set for the "Z-X" project.

Although this advanced helicopter gunship, which is still being designed, is not going to replace the "Z-10", but the "Z-7", the performance requirements put forward by the Imperial Army are actually aimed at the defects of the "Z-10", and all the problems existing in the "Z-10" must be solved on the "Z-X".

Compared with the "Z-10", the most prominent feature of the "Z-X" is that it is positioned as a "medium multi-purpose combat helicopter".

Unfortunately, the "Z-X" is still in the design stage, and even if it is fast, it will take several years before it is expected to join the Imperial Army combat sequence.

Like the original development of the "Z-10," the main reason for the slow progress of the development of the "Z-X" is that the tactical performance indicators set by the army are too high, and the existing technology cannot meet them at all, so it takes a lot of time to solve technical problems or to mature relevant technologies.

For now, we can only use the "Z-10A", which has not yet reached its full state.

Of course, Lian Mingyang is not completely unsure.

Through training in confrontation with imaginary enemy troops, Lian Mingyang and other pilots have long known that the ideal way to engage enemy helicopters, especially the more agile armed helicopters, is to fire at as far as possible and avoid engaging with enemy planes as much as possible.

If it is really unavoidable, it is also necessary to seek a quick solution.

To put it simply, try to avoid fighting enemy aircraft that are more nimble than you.

Fortunately, helicopter combat tactics are still in the exploration stage.

To be precise, there are basically no tactics to follow. The only rule is to fire in front of the enemy and not give the enemy a chance to fight back.

In fact, after entering the range of machine guns, helicopter air combat is almost always a one-hit-kill "instant kill".

Not to mention a medium-sized helicopter gunship, even the "Z-10A" cannot carry a few 30-mm shells.

Because the climb performance is too poor, and there is no space required for a dive attack, in air combat, helicopters are mainly horizontal maneuvering, that is, trying to avoid the firing range of the opponent's machine guns, go around behind the opponent as much as possible, and then shoot the opponent down.

Here, the key is the helicopter's cannon, and the weapons operator, who is primarily responsible for controlling the cannon.

This is also the most prominent advantage of the "Z-10A".

The 30mm cannon specially developed for the "Z-10A" not only has great power, but also has the widest firing range among all the armed helicopters today, with a horizontal rotation angle of plus or minus 120 degrees and a vertical rotation angle of plus or minus 75 degrees.

Under the control of the weapon operator, the cannon is capable of attacking almost any target except for a 120-degree radius in the rear and directly below.

In addition, against targets such as helicopters, 30mm shells can kill instantly.

In comparison, the "Tiger" machine gun was significantly worse.

Although the "Tiger" type also uses a 30-mm machine gun, which is not badly powerful, it is installed in the nose of the aircraft, to be precise, under the nose.

Blocked by the fuselage, the directional firing range of this M781 cannon is much worse than that of the "Z-10A".

As for survivability, the two are even less on the same level.

The Z-10A's key parts, such as the rotor after being hit by a 30mm shell, can work for 30 minutes, providing the pilot with an emergency landing. The two engines mounted on each side of the fuselage are separated by organisms, so the probability of being destroyed by a single shell is very low. Even with only one engine, the Z-10A is capable of overloading another engine for 15 minutes.

These abilities are not available in the "Tiger" style.

To put it simply, if both sides hit each other, then the "Tiger" will crash immediately, and the "Z-10A" will be able to fly for at least 15 minutes with a high probability.

Don't underestimate these 15 minutes.

On the battlefield, this means being able to fly to the rear of your line and then land in your zone of control, giving pilots a higher chance of survival.

Of course, these are not the issues that Lian Mingyang considers.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Lian Mingyang set off with the team.

The latest reconnaissance reports indicate that the enemy's forward forces have advanced dozens of kilometers south from Akhtubinsk and are still about 80 kilometers away from the line of defense of the Eastern Luosha army.

With the speed of the enemy's advance, it is possible to attack between 9 and 10 o'clock at night at the earliest.

Even if you get into trouble, such as spending some time preparing for the attack, you can definitely attack before 0:00 in the morning.

In addition, the armored units of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division did not arrive until after 1 a.m.

In the previous few hours, except for the Dongluosha army on the defensive line, the only one who could stop the enemy was Lian Mingyang's low-altitude assault force.

As for the attack aircraft of the Air Force, they operated mainly from the north, bombing enemy forces that were advancing towards Orenburg.

The Eastern Luosha Air Force was mainly responsible for the south, blocking the enemy forces attacking Novorossiysk.

In addition, the Imperial Air Force had already begun to carry out strategic bombing of the Western Continent grouping, striking targets behind the battle line and not contributing much to blocking the enemy's armored assault forces.

In Zheng Zhishuang's words, whether or not the enemy can be kept out of Astrakhan depends on tonight.

Only by thwarting the enemy's offensive spirit tonight, defeating the enemy's assault forces, halting the enemy's advance, and remobilizing forces to organize the offensive will there be enough time to adjust the defensive deployment, and only then will there be a chance to form a defensive line north of Astrakhan, and then fight to the death with the enemy's main force.

If tonight's counterattack fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Don't forget, there are 3 armored brigades to the north, one of which is the elite unit of the Manchurian Army.

In addition, there is the Euman low-altitude assault brigade.

If you can't stop the enemy, it will only take 2 days at most, and the enemy's armored torrent will be able to kill Astrakhan.

Of course, Lian Mingyang and they are not alone.

The 04101st Battalion of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division has already gone north and is rushing to the battlefield at full speed, and it is expected to arrive at the front line about half an hour early.

Zheng Zhishuang temporarily adjusted the task for this reason.

Lian Mingyang's first task is to ensure air supremacy, that is, to block the enemy's helicopter gunships and ensure that the armored units of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division can smoothly enter the battle.

In this way, it is necessary to cooperate with armored forces.

Thankfully, it's not that hard.

Fighting with armored forces is itself the number one task of low-altitude assault forces, i.e. helicopter gunships, and the top priority of daily training.

To this end, the Imperial Army also set up a communications and command system covering the whole army.

Relying on this system, after arriving at the battlefield, Lian Mingyang and his team had to obey the orders of the commander of the armored brigade and become the temporary reinforcement of the armored brigade.

Actually, it's also a relief.

When fighting with armored forces, Lian Mingyang no longer needs to think about logistics.

According to Zheng Zhishuang's arrangement, the brigade will set up several temporary take-off and landing grounds behind the battle line and arrange logistics units to provide necessary support for the helicopter gunships.

Of course, fuel and shells are mainly supplied.

Needless to say, the turboshaft engine is capable of running directly on diesel. The infantry fighting vehicle also uses a 30 mm cannon, and the ammunition is the same as that of the Z-10A.

As for the missiles, they need to be sent by transport helicopters from the rear.

However, this can effectively improve the combat efficiency of helicopter gunships.

All in all, this time it's no longer about being a lone hero, it's about fighting in tandem with your brothers!