Deep in the desert.

At the end of the road, a large military convoy had stopped.

In fact, there are no roads in the desert at all, and the so-called roads are actually ruts that have been rolled out.

After the guards dispersed, the officers and men in the convoy became busy, mainly deploying the air search radar carried by the eight-axle truck.

For the radar to work, other auxiliary vehicles, such as power supply vehicles, are also needed.

This set of mobile deployment anti-aircraft search radars was imported from the Empire at a huge expense last year, and its main purpose is to fill the loopholes in the air defense network.

In fact, this radar is one of the few advanced equipment imported from the Empire in the possession of the Iraqi army.

Most of the main battle equipment of the Iraqi army was imported from the Luosha Democratic Republic or the Locke Kingdom, and some were also purchased from the Raleigh Kingdom.

The reason for this is nothing more than that the weapons and equipment of the Manman Empire are very expensive, and many of them are still "not for sale".

Iraq would not have spent huge sums of money on this radar if it were not urgently needed and could not meet the needs of other countries.

To put it simply, during the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi army's air defense systems were all aimed at Poland, and air defense radars were deployed along the northern border, while facing the south, towards the Saudi and Kuwaiti sides, hundreds of kilometers of border, there were few air defense radars.

There is no need to beware of neighbors to the south during the Iran-Iraq war.

It was for this reason that, at the time of the decision to invade Kuwait, Iraq procured four sets of mobile deployment radars to plug the loopholes in the air defense network.

So far, only this one has been delivered, and the other three have not yet arrived.

The value of this radar is reflected in the "mobile deployment".

Theoretically, the radar system needs to be deployed on a pre-set position, but in actual combat, it is often a temporary position.

Of course, in the deserts of Iraq, there is no such thing as a preset position.

Even without any preparation, it only takes half an hour to turn the radar from a marching state to a working state.

Crucially, the radar vehicle was able to evacuate the deployment position within 15 minutes.

The biggest benefit of this is that it allows the radar to be turned on when it is needed and to remain hidden when it is not.

If there is a possibility of attack, it can also be frequently relocated.

It's just that Abdullah knows very well that this radar must be a thorn in the enemy's side and flesh.

As the battalion's commander, Abdullah went to the Empire last year and received training for more than half a year, including basic tactics.

Before returning to China, he also spent three months as an observer in the Manman Army, where he participated in joint military exercises.

The crux of the matter is that in the Hindman army, this kind of mobile deployment of air defense radars is actually organized in the air defense units of the group army to carry out field air defense tasks, and to provide air defense cover for armored assault troops during surprise attacks, and are not used to carry out air defense tasks in key areas.

The problem with this is that the radar does not last long and is not reliable.

This puts forward requirements for tactical use, and the radar cannot be allowed to work for a long time, and it is best to use it in cooperation with other air defense systems.

Obviously, in the Rimman army, this is not a problem.

The Manman army has enough long-range search radars, as well as a large number of early warning command aircraft, and does not need to have the air defense radars of the group army as the main force.

It is usually activated after receiving an alert.

In the Iraqi army, such a possibility simply does not exist.

It is precisely in this way that the Iraqi air defense forces, with the help of the Hindan advisers, have come up with a completely new set of tactics.

To put it simply, it is to turn on the machine from time to time, and after fifteen minutes to half an hour of searching, it will be transferred to the deployment position to avoid staying in one place for too long.

Unless in a state of engagement, the radar must never remain in a position for more than an hour.

Even if a battle breaks out, that is, the enemy's incoming aircraft group is discovered, we must do our best to control the deployment time within an hour and a half.

Even if the adversary has a strong electronic reconnaissance capability, it is difficult to launch an attack in time.

This tactic is very simple to say, but it is very difficult to implement.

The point is that in many cases, the timing of deployment in a position is not decided by Abdullah, but by the superior commander.

If the battle has already started and there is no support nearby, the superior commander will definitely let the radar continue to work.

Actually, it had been like this for the past few days.

Because there were too few radars facing Saudi Arabia, and they were jammed by the electronic reconnaissance planes of the Liangxia Air Force, several fixedly deployed radars in the vicinity could not work normally, and Abdullah's radar was required to carry out the vigilance mission, so the deployment time in each position exceeded 6 hours, and the transfer distance was not very far, or the range of radar activities was severely limited.

If anything, it's actually going around in circles on 4 positions.

It is precisely because of this that Abdullah has been worried that the Liangxia Air Force has mastered the deployment rules, so it is extremely risky to continue to stay there.

To that end, Abdullah also sent a request in the afternoon to move the deployment 50 kilometres north.

Unfortunately, the request was denied.

In the evening, news came from Basra that all diplomatic efforts had failed and that there was a high probability that the coalition forces would strike in the early hours of the morning.

To this end, combat units must be brought into combat readiness in a timely manner.

The transfer to the north will take several hours, and it will not be possible to enter combat readiness in the early morning.

Abdullah had done his best to the best of his ability, and after receiving the order, he rushed to the No. 5 position as fast as he could, which he had never been to before.

According to his judgment, if the coalition forces launch an air strike in the early hours of the morning, the first thing to do is to destroy the radar under his command.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with this judgment.

Unfortunately, Abdullah didn't know that his every move was under surveillance.

More than 200 kilometers to the south, south of the border with Saudi Arabia, at an altitude of about 11,000 meters, the only "Finger-10A" deployed in place was flying along a course parallel to the border, using synthetic aperture radar to search the northern desert, and the convoy had already been spotted.

It's just that on the radar composite image, it is impossible to distinguish whether it is a radar vehicle, or a tank combat vehicle

However, there is no need for the "Finger-10A" to make a judgment.

After the convoy was discovered, the Finger-10A sent a message contacting the special forces who had secretly entered Iraq two days earlier.

The task of the unit is to find the mobile air defense warning radar.

Several large Army helicopters flew through the transition and sent special forces and four off-road vehicles into Iraqi territory on the night of 3 August.

For the sake of secrecy, the helicopters, which are part of the Special Forces Command, did not stop in Saudi Arabia and were refueled in the air on the way to and from Saudi Arabia. Because of the slow flight speed of the helicopter, the Air Force also specially dispatched 4 special tankers to provide support.

This battle is not ordinary!

It so happened that this special forces unit happened to be in the immediate vicinity of the radar positions of the Iraqi army.

As soon as the convoy stopped and the radar was deployed, the special forces arrived and confirmed that it was the target they were looking for.

At this time, it was already 11:30 p.m. on the 5th.

To the south, Marine Corps Temporary Stronghold No. 2.

After several days of intense construction, the base has been upgraded to an advance base, and a site capable of more than a dozen helicopters taking off and landing at the same time has been opened.

In the past few days, helicopters have been used to deliver equipment and supplies to the front line.

Only now, deployed here is an aviation assault unit of the Army Aviation.

The leader of the unit was Lian Mingyang.

Yesterday this time, he was still in the empire itself.

Immediately after receiving the mission, he led his troops aboard the Air Force's strategic transport plane, which arrived at the King Khalid military city in Saudi Arabia this morning.

After completing the preparations, he led his troops to fly directly to the forward base codenamed "Trampoline", which is the No. 2 temporary stronghold of the Marine Corps.

As a result, after meeting Liu Zunshan, he learned that the Marine Corps had already fought a battle a few days ago and had achieved a complete victory. Probably thinking that Lian Mingyang would not believe it, Liu Zunshan also took him to "visit" the "ZT-99AL" that had been hit by enemy tanks in the battle, but had been repaired, and showed Lian Mingyang several privately preserved trophies, including a saber picked up on the battlefield.

Of course, Lian Mingyang knew that Liu Zunshan was deliberately showing off to him.

In the evening, he received an operational order from the command of the combined forces.

As with the tactics used in the previous "Westward Expansion" exercise, at the beginning of the operation, Lian Mingyang's air assault force, with the assistance of special forces, will destroy the enemy's air defense radar, open a breakthrough in the enemy's air defense network, and allow other air forces to attack.

In addition, the combat order mentions only the approximate area of operations, and does not mention the specifics of the target.

The reason is also very simple, it is a mobile deployment of air defense radar, and the special forces have not yet found it, and there is no way to inform the specific location of the target in advance.

Lian Mingyang's task is to ensure that the tactical assault force is ready to set off as soon as the news is received.

There are only 6 helicopters in total, of which 4 are "Z-10A" gunships and the other 2 are "Z-13A" for reconnaissance missions.

In addition, four helicopter gunships are required to make sorties.

There is nothing to say about the state of the helicopter, and after arriving at the "trampoline" base, Lian Xusheng and they seized the time to inspect and maintain 4 armed helicopters.

The real problem is actually the sortie distance.

More than 250 km, and possibly up to 300 km!

This is almost the extreme combat radius of the "Z-10A".

If something happens during the operation, I am afraid that I will not be able to return to the base, so it is necessary to minimize the probability of an accident as much as possible.

In addition, it was necessary to increase the combat radius of the helicopter.

According to the arrangement made by Lian Xusheng, the two rocket launch nests were replaced with auxiliary fuel tanks to increase the range by 150 kilometers.

In addition, the Marines were asked to set up emergency contact points near the border.

To put it simply, if you can't return to the "trampoline" base after completing the mission, you will land after flying across the border and wait for the Marines to pick you up.

Liu Zunshan has already agreed, and he also promised to personally carry out the task.

As for the attacking tactics, there is nothing peculiar about it.

Lian Mingyang's task was to fly the helicopter to a distance of 8 kilometers from the target, and after making contact with the special forces that had gone ahead, they would launch the laser-guided anti-tank missiles they were carrying in accordance with the instructions of the special forces, and then turn to return home.

As for the rest, it's all about the special forces.

To put it simply, the special forces are responsible for illuminating the target with a laser pointer, screening the effect of the attack, and determining whether a second attack is needed.

Of course, that's the key.

If a second attack is to be launched, it is necessary to put the 2 helicopters of the "substitute" into battle.

To this end, Lian Mingyang divided the four helicopters into two echelons and maintained a 15-minute interval to ensure that after the first echelon failed to attack, the second echelon could keep up and launch an attack.

Only in extreme situations does it take four helicopters to complete the task with a 30-mm cannon mounted under the nose.

Although helicopter gunships are known as "flying tanks", with thick armor and very strong battlefield survivability, no pilot is willing to take the risk of using machine guns as long as they can destroy targets with missiles beyond the enemy's anti-aircraft fire.

In the past, the main training was how to use anti-tank missiles.

As for the propaganda that the tungsten core armor-piercing shells fired by the 30-mm cannon can penetrate the top armor of the tank, that is just propaganda, more like a gimmick.

Because they don't have to rush forward, they don't have much to do with Lian Mingyang's actions to take over the actions of the special forces.

What made Lian Mingyang feel the most painful was actually the waiting before departure.

Although it was known for a long time that the expected start time of the second round of strikes was 0:00 a.m. on the 6th, the Joint Forces Command did not say anything to death, and in the order issued, it also demanded that all combat units be ready for combat before 10 o'clock on the night of the 5th.

As a result, Lian Mingyang sat in the cockpit of the "Z-10A" before 10 o'clock.

He was the commander of the aviation assault unit, as well as the captain of the "Z-10A" and the pilot of the tactical formation.

In the previous hour or so, he had patiently checked the digital map provided by the Air Force.

There is no way, it is a habit that has been cultivated for many years.

Flying a helicopter at an altitude of less than 20 meters above the ground at a speed of more than 250 kilometers per hour on a dark night requires not only the eyes of an owl, but also an accurate and absolutely reliable digital map.

In fact, it is with the digital map that the helicopter gunship has the operability to carry out assault missions at the "treetop height" in complex terrain conditions.

In the past, there was nothing to worry about.

If nothing else, at least you know the exercise venue well.

Now in actual combat, we must be careful, after all, the digital map provided by the Air Force may not be accurate.

At three o'clock after 11 o'clock, Liu Zunshan personally sent a message that he had received the information forwarded by the joint forces command, and the special forces had confirmed the target.

The assault operation, codenamed "pole vault", has officially begun!

Subsequently, Lian Mingyang confirmed the combat order sent by the early warning command plane.

Five minutes later, the "Z-10A" piloted by Lian Mingyang lifted off.

By 11:50, all four helicopter gunships had taken off.

At this time, in the King Khalid Military City in the rear, four "Attack-11s" also began to refuel and reload, ready to take off half an hour later.

The second phase of combat operations, codenamed "Overwhelming", is about to begin.