After coming to the Peshawar base, it took less than half an hour for Li Tianling to figure out the mission.

It was a long-distance operation.

To put it simply, Li Tianling and his men carried out the task of escorting the enemy forward, diverting the enemy's air defense fighters in the front, covering the bombers in the rear to reach the airspace where the missiles were launched, and smoothly projecting the cruise missiles they carried, and finally covering the bombers to fly away from the dangerous airspace.

This kind of task is actually not special.

Although in today's era when cruise missiles are popular, bombers no longer carry out volley bombing and drop cruise missiles hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away, cruise missiles are not omnipotent, nor does it mean that bombers will be able to launch missiles in relatively safe places.

In some cases, bombers still have to put themselves at risk.

Actually, that is, the range of cruise missiles is not far enough!

The Imperial Air Force was equipped with a first-generation cruise missile with a launch weight of 3 tons and a range of only 500 kilometers.

By the standards of the time, that was pretty good.

In order to ensure sufficient power, the warhead should not be too small, and it can only appropriately reduce the range index and reduce the fuel carried.

In addition, the range of cruise missiles is not always better.

In the vast majority of cases, it is not really necessary to have a long range, and providing a longer range will only lead to an increase in the price of cruise missiles.

It can be seen that the key is still cost.

According to rumors, the Imperial Air Force has long imposed a hard limit on the "price" of cruise missiles. Under the mobilization system, the ex-factory price of cruise missiles must not be higher than 50 times that of unguided bombs of the same yield, and it is best to control it within 20 times to ensure that they can be mass-produced in wartime.

The ex-factory price of a 500-kilogram aerial bomb with wind deflection correction is only 5,000 gold yuan.

In other words, if it is produced in large quantities according to wartime standards, the unit price of cruise missiles must be less than 250,000 gold yuan, and it is best to control it within 100,000 gold yuan.

This requirement is tantamount to limiting the maximum range of cruise missiles.

Of course, the approach of the Imperial Air Force is understandable.

If, in pursuit of range, cruise missiles are too expensive, then it is better to build more bombers, or use ballistic missiles.

It is precisely because of this that the firing range of the early version of the "Snake Spear" is just over 1,000 kilometers.

A later modification, with a turbofan engine, had a range of 1200 km. The latest model, after the reduction of the warhead, is also only 1500 km.

This range, most of the time, is more than enough.

Obviously, to say that this is not enough in some very specific circumstances.

These special circumstances included the strategic bombing of the city of Mosa, the capital of West Losha.

Of course, it is also necessary to consider the penetration efficiency of cruise missiles.

Although the penetration rate of cruise missiles is extremely high, and the performance of cruise missiles in the previous month or so, that is, in the bombing of Iraq, was very prominent, as the first army in the world to develop and use cruise missiles, the Imperial Air Force actually knew that cruise missiles can have such a high penetration rate, not because they are difficult to shoot down, but because they are difficult to be discovered, and there is no problem of being shot down.

As long as cruise missiles can be detected, it will not be difficult to shoot them down.

In the exercises conducted by the Imperial Air Force, it has long been proved that the key to intercepting cruise missiles is actually to discover cruise missiles in a timely manner.

Countries like Iraq, apparently, do not have the ability to detect cruise missiles in time.

However, West Luosha is different.

The air defense strength of Xiluosha ranks first among the Western Continent Group, and even above the Riman Empire, with almost 100,000 anti-aircraft guns alone.

In addition, there are hundreds of anti-aircraft missile systems.

Influenced by the development and equipment of cruise missiles in the Liangxia Empire, the Xiluosha Air Force invested heavily in the development and equipment of large early warning aircraft in the Western Continent Group, using large transport aircraft as a platform.

In order to enhance its long-range interception capability, Xiluosha has also developed and equipped the MG-31 interceptor.

This anti-aircraft interceptor can carry six long-range missiles and simultaneously fire at several low-flying targets at a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

In addition, the MG-31 is capable of flying in a sprint at Mach 2.5 for half an hour.

The West Luosha Air Force places special emphasis on the supersonic flight capability of the MG-31, hoping to intercept those bombers that have not yet launched cruise missiles in time.

Theoretically, the MG-31 can fly at supersonic speeds of up to 1,400 kilometers and then fire at bombers more than 100 kilometers away with long-range air-to-air missiles of the R-37 type.

That is, its interception range exceeded 1500 kilometers.

Obviously, this distance is not a coincidence, nor is it a decision to pat the head.

Don't forget, the ultimate range of the "Snake Spear" is only 1,500 kilometers, and the early models of a large number of equipment are actually only a little over 1,000 kilometers.

It can be seen that the MG-31 is an interceptor developed for cruise missile carriers.

Under the command of large AWACS aircraft, ground-based air defense systems are equally capable of intercepting cruise missiles.

According to the tests conducted by the Imperial Air Force, the echelon-deployed air defense system can reduce the penetration rate of cruise missiles to less than 20 percent under effective command.

Theoretically, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns such as the FP-95 would be able to intercept cruise missiles flying at low altitudes.

It is precisely for this reason that in order for cruise missiles to have a high enough penetration rate, it is necessary to carefully plan the flight path and try to avoid the enemy's air defense positions.

In fact, during the bombing of Iraq, the Imperial Air Force and Navy adopted this method.

As a result, cruise missiles, after launch, do not fly directly to the target, so they have a longer range than a distance.

To do this, it is necessary to make the bomber fly closer.

Because the terrain matching guidance system is also used, and the digital map as a reference is actually provided by reconnaissance satellites or reconnaissance planes, there will inevitably be a certain error, so the relative altitude between cruise missiles and the ground is generally controlled at about 500 meters over land.

Obviously, this also restricts the penetration rate of cruise missiles.

In addition, cruise missiles must be equipped with navigation data before the bomber takes off, so the bomber can only deliver cruise missiles in a specific area.

It doesn't mean that it has to be at a point, but it has to be within a predetermined range.

If the deviation is too large and exceeds the maximum correction range of the cruise missile in the inertial flight phase, there is no way for the terrain matching guidance system to work properly. This is especially true over land, where cruise missiles must be delivered in predetermined airspace in order to reduce the impact of the terrain.

Obviously, this seriously limited the combat flexibility of the bomber.

All in all, due to these factors, when attacking a strategic target such as Mossa City, which is located in the heart of the continent and is surrounded by a large amount of anti-aircraft fire, it is necessary to carefully plan the flight path of the bombers and provide adequate cover for the bombers.

In the Imperial Air Force, the only one capable of carrying out escort missions is the "Battle-11".

The reason is also very simple, only heavy fighters have enough range.

Modern escort operations are fundamentally different from those conducted during the last war.

To put it simply, escort operations in the modern sense are actually to let fighters advance and seize air supremacy, to be precise, to intercept the enemy's air defense fighters.

It can be seen from this that the escort fighters are actually carrying out an interception mission.

In terms of tactical use, it has many similarities with interceptors.

If it is to be said, this is also the real reason why when the "Zhan-11" was developed, the Imperial Air Force put forward high-altitude and high-speed performance indicators, which were to be used to replace the special interceptor.

It's just that the escort fighter is not an interceptor.

In addition to high-altitude and high-speed performance, escort fighters must also have a long enough range, strong maneuverability, a large enough bomb load, and advanced electronic equipment with fire control radar as the core.

To put it simply, escort fighters are able to cope with any challenge and defeat all enemy aircraft.

So far, only the "Zhan-11" of the Imperial Air Force can be regarded as a qualified escort fighter. In the Western Continent group, there are simply no analogues of fighters. In the North Lonely Group, the F-15 fighters of the Nuland Air Force are not only not reliable enough, but also have the problem of short range. Only by attaching three large auxiliary fuel tanks can the combat radius reach 1,500 kilometers, which is only the level of the "Zhan-11" private internal use.

The latest modification of the "Zhan-11", the D model, which is still in test flight, has the ability to mount 2,000 liters of auxiliary fuel tanks at the belly and wing root re-anchor points, plus two conformal fuel tanks with a volume of 3,300 liters each, and the combat radius can reach an astonishing 2,500 kilometers when mounted according to the air superiority mission.

It's just that the number one value of escort fighters is actually to attract the attention of the enemy.

Of course, it is certainly not only the "Zhan-11B" that participates in combat operations.

According to the arrangements of the Air Force Command, at least one Finger-8C aircraft is in the rear, in addition to electronic reconnaissance aircraft and communications relay aircraft to provide assistance.

The key is still distance.

If you want to say it, it's too far away.

After taking off, the group will fly north over the Imperial mainland, then westward over the Ink Sea over the Ink Sea over the Broad Sea and the Shackled Land Bridge, and then turn north to fly over the land from the direction of Crimea, while the bombers on attack missions will drop cruise missiles north of Crimea.

This is a one-way flight of more than 5,000 kilometers!

To this end, the Air Force will arrange for about 30 large refueling planes to provide fighter planes with one refueling each over Lake Balkhash and the Shackled Land Bridge, as well as one refueling for large support planes such as early warning planes and electronic reconnaissance planes in the airspace east of the open sea.

After completing the mission, that is, on the way back, you can decide whether to refuel in the air or not, depending on the situation.

To say, this is also a real big deal.

If nothing else, 30 tankers are capable of carrying 4,500 tons of fuel.

It's a pity that there are still not enough tankers.

It is precisely because of this that no air defense suppression fighters were arranged to participate in combat operations, and Li Tianling and his men had to avoid entering the interception area of the enemy's regional air defense system as much as possible.

Of course, for fighters performing offensive escort missions, the enemy's anti-aircraft weapons generally do not need to be taken into account.

The point is that the escort fighters are flying at high altitudes.

If you really want to be threatened, just turn and fly away.

Even if it is necessary to pay attention, it is enough to carry an electronic jamming pod at the wingtip hardpoint to ensure timely interception of the enemy's radar signal.

In fact, what Li Tianling couldn't understand was why it was so complicated.

Just strategic bombing?

From a reasonable point of view, at least fighter jets should be stationed at the air base on the other side of the shackled land bridge, and if not, they should be deployed on the east coast of the wide sea.

As a result, the flight distance during sorties can be greatly reduced.

Of course, it is possible to reduce the number of refuelings.

If 30 tankers are still put into service, it will be possible to arrange for anti-aircraft suppression fighters to participate in the battle.

As for the bombers, there is certainly no problem with deploying them in the rear, anyway, the range of the bombers is long enough.

Because of the assistance of large AWACS aircraft, there is no problem of coordination difficulties, and there is no reason for the fighter jets to be deployed in the rear.

In fact, having fighter jets deployed behind will not solve the coordination problem.

Because the cruising flight speed of each type of aircraft is different, they are all deployed in the rear, which is even more troublesome.

If I want to say, in the past joint exercises, similar tactics have been practiced many times, and all of them have the fighter jets on escort missions deployed in front.

The reason given by the commander of the operation, Major General Zhang Jiazheng, was that it was necessary to achieve the suddenness of the campaign.

Of course, he said this in front of all the pilots.

The bombing targets were strategic targets such as the Presidential Palace, the General Staff Headquarters Building, the Army Headquarters, the Air Force Command, the National Telecommunications Center, and the National Television Station.

All in all, the operational intent must not be revealed in advance.

Allowing the escort fighters to be deployed in front will certainly reveal the operational intent.

If nothing else, on the side of the shackled land bridge, the Imperial Air Force deployed light fighters such as the "Battle-10", and did not deploy heavy fighters.

Even to the east of the wide sea, there were not many heavy fighters.

The only heavy fighter unit deployed by the Imperial Air Force in the North-Western Theater of Operations was still in Chelyabinsk to the north, and its main task was to cover Fort Ye.

In addition, heavy fighters mainly perform interception missions and are deployed at rear airfields.

As long as heavy fighters are deployed to front-line airfields, it will inevitably be related to strategic bombing.

In Li Tianling's view, this reason does not make sense at all.

Secrecy is important, but there are plenty of hangars at forward airfields, and fighter jets on escort missions are only temporarily stationed.

Besides, no matter how powerful the enemy is, it is impossible to deduce the flight path of the bomber from dozens of fighters, let alone guess the bomber's bombing location.

Even if it is speculated, what can it be?

No matter how powerful the enemy's intelligence agencies are, the most they can conclude is that the Imperial Air Force will launch a strategic bomb in the near future, and it is impossible to know the exact time of the strategic bombing.

Let the president leave the presidential palace because there is a threat, let the General Staff stop functioning, and let the national telecommunications center and national television shut down?

If that's the case, then do you still need to bomb?

Li Tianling did not expose Zhang Jiazheng's words to his face.

Zhang Jiazheng is not only his superior, but also his grandfather, that is, the right-hand man personally promoted by Li Yunxiang, and can also be said to be a closed disciple.

Don't look at Zhang Jiazheng as a major general of the Air Force, his military rank is far higher than that of other major generals.

He has been serving in the grassroots troops, has flown more than a dozen types of combat aircraft, and has never been to the headquarters!

To say, it is precisely because of the lack of experience in the headquarters that Zhang Jiazheng has not been promoted.

Of course, when it comes to personal ability, it will definitely not be bad.

In fact, Zhang Jiazheng has always been a model for Li Tianling to emulate and learn, otherwise he would not have been in the grassroots troops and gave up the opportunity to return to the headquarters many times.

After Zhang Jiazheng introduced the mission, Li Tianling took the other pilots.

If something is hard to say at first, then there is nothing inconvenient about it after the others have been spent.