"Direction 322, distance 2450, Class A target!"

At the same time as loudly telling Wu Qitie, Situ Lin pressed the switch on the control panel, unlocked the turret, and handed over control to the gun commander.

Now, instead of the turret, he controls the turret from the turntable, but the commander's perimeter mounted on top of the turret.

This is also an infrared imaging night vision device.

Unlike the infrared imaging night vision device installed on the top of the turret and specially used by the gun commander, the resolution of the commander's perimeter is slightly worse, and it cannot be linked with the laser rangefinder and wind speed measurement equipment, but it can rotate 360 degrees in all directions, and the field of view is also wider.

In fact, this is the "hunting-destroying" system.

To put it simply, the commander searches for the target, finds the target and hands it over to the gun commander, who completes the attack operations such as firing, and the commander continues to search for other targets.

When necessary, the commander can overtake the gun commander and directly control the tank gun to fire at the target.

To this end, with the commander's circumferential vision as the core, a relatively simple fire control system is configured, which is actually mainly used for ranging scales.

Factors that can affect accuracy, such as wind speed and temperature, are almost all ignored.

The reason is also very simple, the commander needs to fire directly, almost all of them are close combat, even if they are not corrected, it is only the difference between hitting the turret and hitting the hull.

In the event of a long-distance engagement, the commander of the artillery must have opened fire.

This "hunting-destroying" system is the core of the ZT-99B, which can also be said to be the essence, and it is the main reason for the high cost of the ZT-99B.

Just the car commander's circumferential sight, the purchase price exceeded 400,000 gold yuan.

Still, it's definitely great value for money.

Theoretically, the "hunter-destroyer" system is capable of increasing the combat efficiency of the tank by 8 times.

As for how this conclusion was reached, it is unknown.

It is undeniable that the system does have extremely high tactical value and can greatly improve the combat efficiency of the main battle tank in a complex environment.

"Big dumplings, open steadily, wait for my signal...... Stop! ”

At the same time that Wu Qitie shouted loudly, Tang Xuebing slammed on the brakes.

As if caught in a rope, the tank, which weighed 60 tons and was speeding at a speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour, came to a halt in just a few dozen meters.

Immediately, the deafening sound of shelling came.

"Bang-"

Although he stayed in the turret and wore earmuffs, the sound of the tank gun firing still shook Situ Lin's ears.

What was even more unbearable was the smoke that poured out of the chamber after the tank gun was reloaded, that is, after the bolt was opened.

Although the tank gun has a smoke extraction device, it cannot extract all the smoke from the barrel, and there must be residue.

Strictly speaking, the smoke produced by the propellant is a toxic gas.

Fortunately, in just 3 or 4 seconds, the smoke was discharged from the car through the air conditioner.

"Head, hit!"

"Don't stop, keep going!"

Before Situ Lin reminded him, Tang Xuebing had already stepped on the accelerator.

It takes about 7 seconds to reload, and 10 seconds are usually reserved, and before that, the tank must run and must not stay put.

Stop, and you'll be a target for the enemy!

More than 2,000 meters away, the tank hit by the armor-piercing shell had already caught fire, and it looked like it could explode at any moment.

Not only is the armor-piercing bullet sharp enough, but the relative position is also very important.

At the time of firing, the "Leopard 2" was facing the ZT-99B on the side.

Although it was not clear and could not be seen clearly, judging by the fire that ignited after the shot, it is very likely that the armor-piercing shell hit the engine compartment or the aft compartment of the turret of the tank.

A few seconds later, the shells stored in the aft compartment of the turret of the Leopard 2 exploded.

The flames from the explosion rushed straight from the top of the turret, like a sudden burst of fire, and the entire turret flew up.

After rolling in the air a few times, it landed in an open space dozens of meters away.

However, Situ Lin didn't care about that.

"Direction 015, distance 2100...... Commander's firefight! ”

When locking on to the second target, to be precise, intending to hand over control to Wu Qitie, Situ Lin clearly saw that the turret of the "Leopard 2" had turned around.

The enemy spotted the ZT-99B, which was rapidly approaching.

There is no way to tell which ZT-99B the "Leopard 2" is aiming at, after all, there are 4 main battle tanks of the guard company behind.

Only, there is no need to judge.

Situ Lin was the first to fire, so his car had the highest probability of being spotted and targeted by the enemy.

As he shouted, Wu Qitie let go of the lever that controlled the tank gun.

It's not a transfer of control, and there's no need to hand it over, the commander's control is above the gun commander. Release the joystick to avoid interference.

"Tang Xuebing, listen to my orders...... Stop! ”

This time it took less than 2 seconds, less than 20 meters, for the ZT-99B to stop.

The reason is also very simple, after the restart, the speed of the ZT-99B was not raised, and when Situ Lin gave the order, it was only 20 kilometers per hour.

After shouting "stop", to be precise, when the ZT-99B stopped, Situ Lin did not fire.

What was he waiting for?

"Nourishing ......"

With the strange whistling sound, Wu Qitie gasped in fright.

It was the sound of an armor-piercing projectile flying past nearby.

To be precise, before the sound was heard, armor-piercing shells flew past the tank. The strange sound was actually a sonic boom produced at supersonic speed.

If it's a fighter jet, it's a thunderous roar. The armor-piercing bullet is too small, and the sonic boom produced is sharper.

Obviously, Situ Lin gave the order to stop after judging that the enemy's tank was about to open fire.

If Tang Xuebing didn't stop the tank, but continued to rush forward, he would definitely be hit by that armor-piercing projectile!

Even if the DM33 armor-piercing projectile of the "Leopard 2" is not advanced, it can theoretically penetrate homogeneous armor up to 450 mm thick, while the equivalent protection thickness of the ZT-99B's turret and the front of the hull is more than 800 mm, which can withstand the direct impact of DM33, but as long as it is hit by an armor-piercing projectile, even if it is not penetrated, it can shock the tank's electronic equipment and injure the driver and passengers.

At least for a short time, it will be incapacitated.

"Bang-"

After the enemy's armor-piercing shells flew past the front of the tank, with an interval of less than 1 second, Situ Lin controlled the tank gun to fire a counterattack shell.

"Head, accurate hit!"

Because it was facing the enemy head-on, the shock from firing was not violent.

Needless to see, the armor-piercing shell penetrated through the front of the turret of the "Leopard 2", and when it came out from the rear, it also brought out a ball of fire.

However, the fireball is not large, and it does not look like an ammunition explosion.

Immediately, the hatch at the top of the turret opened, and a burning object, in fact, a tankman on fire, emerged from the turret.

Unfortunately, the tankman failed to climb out of the turret and collapsed after opening the roof.

Although sub-caliber armor-piercing shells rely entirely on kinetic energy to kill targets, without loading explosives and without blasting effect, when dealing with armored targets, especially the personnel inside the armored targets, the lethal effect is no worse than that of armor-piercing bullets and grenades and other ammunition that rely on blasting to produce damage.

The point is that after the armor-piercing projectile penetrates the armor, it will produce a large number of fragments scattered at an extremely fast speed!

These fragments, like scattered shrapnel.

In addition, a large amount of kinetic energy is converted into internal energy during armor piercing, so the temperature of the fragments is very high, which can create an arson effect inside the tank.

In any tank, there is no shortage of flammable and explosive materials.

It is precisely for this reason that armor-piercing shells have always been a sharp weapon against tanks.

Behind, 3 ZT-99Bs of the guard platoon also opened fire one after another.

To the south, it was divided into 6 assault groups, and 33 tanks of 3 companies were already in battle, and they were playing as well as they should.

Although this was the first battle of the 04101st Battalion after the Polish-Iraqi War, and it was also the first battle of Situ Lin and other officers and soldiers, the value of rigorous training in the past was fully demonstrated at this time. If I really want to say it, the live-fire confrontation drills that are held several times a year are of great significance.

If nothing else, at least let the officers and men not be in a hurry because of the enemy's return fire when they enter the battle.

In the forward command post.

Pavlov witnessed the counterattack of the 04101st battalion.

Prior to this, Pavlov was still a little worried about this armored battalion commanded by "Situ", mainly because the officers and men of the battalion were very young, and even Situ Lin was only in his 30s, and he was not a veteran who was in danger at all, so he might not be able to play well.

After the start of the counterattack, that is, in the first few rounds of firefighting, Pavlov changed his mind about the 04101st battalion.

The counterattack was not only violent, but also very sharp.

Not only is the performance of the ZT-99B excellent, but also related to the tactics and courage of the commander.

The counterattack unit that rushed to the front was in the far north, so it invisibly outflanked the enemy's rear and cut off the enemy's retreat at once.

Several firefights, and even destroyed the enemy's fighting spirit with unparalleled firepower.

Pavlov saw with his own eyes that even if the "Leopard 2" turned the turret and hull towards the ZT-99B, they could not block the incoming armor-piercing shells.

More importantly, the counterattack of the "Leopard 2" poses little threat to the ZT-99B.

When the combat distance was more than 2,000 meters, the artillery fire of the "Leopard 2" was not accurate at all, and all the armor-piercing shells fired out were off target!

If anything, there must be something wrong with the quality of the Yamaman armored corps.

In the panic, several "Leopard 2s" used multi-purpose grenades against fortifications!

Of course, this has something to do with the fact that the "Leopard 2" did not use an automatic loader, and the loader loaded the shells. In the case of immediate return fire, it takes a lot of time for the "Leopard 2" to withdraw the loaded shells, and there are certain safety risks. For safety reasons, and in order to fire faster to suppress the enemy, the commander of the "Leopard 2" often chooses to shoot directly the loaded shell.

However, even if the combat distance is shortened to less than 2,000 meters, the performance of the "Leopard 2" is very poor.

Pavlov saw with his own eyes that at least 3 ZT-99Bs were hit by armor-piercing shells fired by the "Leopard 2" at a distance of 1000 to 1500 meters. It's just that none of these 3 ZT-99Bs were destroyed, and after staying for a few minutes, they flew back into the race.

The only loss in this battle was that the side of the hull of one ZT-99B was pierced by a heavy anti-tank missile fired from 3 kilometers away. Immediately afterwards, the BZ-98, which followed behind, used the "Ballista" anti-tank missile to kill the Hindan tank that was hiding in the woods.

By the time the last of the Men had withdrawn, it was 1:50 a.m.

Seeing that the tanks of the 04101st battalion stopped their assault to the north, released a smoke screen, and withdrew in reverse, Pavlov rushed up with the guard company.

It's still a step too late.

The soldiers on the forward positions had already launched a counterattack first, and with the assistance of the 04101st Battalion, or more precisely the infantry fighting vehicles that arrived later, they eliminated the stubborn Men infantry one by one, and pushed the enemy who had surrendered to the rear.

Although it repelled the enemy's attack, it could only be regarded as a crushing victory at best.

At the time of the signal, the enemy had already advanced into defensive positions, had occupied forward positions, and was preparing to strike in depth.

Otherwise, Pavlov would not have signaled.

The infantry battalion that was the first to enter the battle was only about a third of its officers and men who were still able to fight, and suffered more than 200 casualties.

When the battalion commander's car was withdrawn, it was already 2:01.

For the sake of safety, Situ Lin did not let the troops stay in the forward position and still withdrew to the rear.

When he arrived at the forward command post, he learned from Pavlov that the counterattack had begun to crush at least two battalions of the Hindman Army, one armored battalion and one infantry battalion.

Although part of the enemy withdrew, according to the prisoners of war, the commanders of both battalions were killed.

The commander of the armored battalion, who was in a tank, was destroyed by an armor-piercing shell fired by a ZT-99B after the counterattack began.

This result is very likely to be counted on Situ Lin's head.

Here's why: this "Leopard 2" is behind the offensive front, and is the first to react after the ZT-99B arrives, and is the first to fire back.

After that, it was destroyed by armor-piercing shells.

Situ Lin was also very surprised, after all, he didn't expect that he would personally kill the enemy's armored battalion commander.

As for the commander of the infantry battalion, he was hit by a stray bullet while organizing the retreat.

While cleaning up the battlefield, one of Pavlov's subordinates found the body of the officer and brought back the officer's epaulettes and identification badges.

The most important thing is that it is indeed the elite units of the Manman Army that are killed, and it is the core force of the unit that launched the assault.

Although the brigade still has at least 2 armored battalions and 1 infantry battalion, after suffering heavy losses, especially after the armored units of the Liangxia Imperial Army enter the battle, it is likely to give up the second attack and let the West Luosha army that follows behind launch another assault before dawn.

If you have enough time, you might be able to launch two assaults.

Either way, the next round of battles will start at 3 a.m. at the earliest, and at 3:30 a.m. at the latest.

In order to find out the timing of the enemy's attack, or to be more precise, to prepare for the attack, Situ Lin adopted Pavlov's suggestion, removed three infantry fighting vehicles from the infantry company, and after leaving behind the infantry on board, went north from the east of the defensive line and tried to approach the offensive assembly area.

As a rule, such tasks are given to the Air Force, which is responsible for tactical reconnaissance aircraft, or joint command aircraft.

It's a pity that the Air Force certainly can't count on it.

As for the army aviation, even if there are still some helicopter gunships that can fight, it is already good to replenish fuel and ammunition, and be able to return before the next battle, that is, before 3 o'clock in the morning, so don't expect to send helicopters to carry out reconnaissance missions.

On the side of Astrakhan, there are also no specialized reconnaissance helicopters.

In fact, at the temporary support point of dozens of kilometers in the rear, Lian Mingyang and they were busy preparing for the second sortie.