As soon as it was light, the shelling began again.

Wang Dong had a feeling of helplessness, and Wang Haotian and others were also helpless.

A few hours earlier, a second Pterodactyl-2 sent by the Royal Saudi Air Force had been shot down while flying about 30 kilometers west of Nasiriyah.

Without any warning!

Because this is a "Wing Loong" 2 on a reconnaissance mission, flying at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters, it is suspicious and certain, and it must have been an anti-aircraft missile that shot it down.

The small-caliber anti-aircraft guns that the rebels were equipped with could not hit so high.

In addition, the firing height of individual anti-aircraft missiles does not reach 6000 meters.

That is, at least one short-range anti-aircraft missile, perhaps a long-range anti-aircraft missile, that is, the FD2000 that Iraq purchased from China a few years ago.

As a result, the Royal Saudi Air Force immediately withdrew its fighter jets operating near Nasiriyah.

Threatened by anti-aircraft missiles, the Royal Saudi Air Force clearly did not want to risk the fighters.

Then the rebels began shelling Nasiriyah.

The question is, did the rebels really send the only FD2000 they had?

The FD2000 is actually an export version of Huaxia's "Hongqi" 9 remote venting system, which Iraq purchased for $2.5 billion a few years ago.

All along, this air defense system was deployed outside Baghdad.

One way or another, Baghdad is the capital of Iraq.

There is reason to believe that the F-15SA fighter jet that the Royal Saudi Air Force previously lost over Baghdad was shot down by FD2000.

Although the Royal Saudi Air Force did not send fighter jets to drop bombs over Baghdad after that, the bombing campaign against military installations in the rear of the rebels never stopped, and the Royal Saudi Air Force learned its lesson and mainly used stand-off munitions such as Taurus to strike important targets.

So, what reason did the rebels have to send FD2000 to the front in the event of a threat to the capital?

You know, during the siege of Semavo, the rebels suffered heavy losses under the bombardment of the Allied Arab forces, and did not send FD2000 to the front.

Of course, the possibility of the rebels using the FD2000 to provide cover for the front-line troops cannot be ruled out.

After all, the timely capture of Nasiriyah will determine the outcome of the civil war.

Moreover, the threat posed by FD2000 alone is enough to deter the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Although Saudi Arabia did not purchase air defense weapons from China after obtaining the THAAD system from the United States and the Patriot air defense system purchased earlier, Saudi Arabia learned more about China's long-range air defense weapons after Pakistan became a user of the Hongqi 9 a few years ago.

In terms of performance, the FD2000 is about the same as the "Patriot", and there is still a certain gap in some aspects.

It's just that no one dares to deny the combat capabilities of the FD2000.

For the powerful U.S. Air Force, the FD2000 may not be a concern, but for the Royal Saudi Air Force, the FD2000 is a mortal threat.

Quite simply, the Royal Saudi Air Force lacks electronic warfare capabilities, and even less air defense suppression capabilities.

In fact, looking at the whole world, only the United States, Russia, and China have combat aircraft that specialize in air defense suppression missions.

For the vast majority of countries, electronic warfare aircraft such as the EA-18G are unattainable high-end goods.

In Yemen, any type of RAF fighter jet can take on the role of the Houthis, who are fighting the world with AK rifles and RPGs.

It's just that in a regular war, the shortcomings of the Royal Saudi Air Force's lack of air defense suppression capabilities are too obvious.

Whether it is the F-15SA imported from the United States and claimed to be the most advanced in the world, or the EF2000 purchased from Europe, it lacks the ability to perform anti-aircraft suppression tasks.

In fact, this also reflects the shortcomings of Saudi Arabia's defense policy.

In the past few decades, Saudi Arabia's defense and security have been highly dependent on the United States, and according to the Saudi authorities' vision, when it is necessary to fight a large-scale local war, it will definitely be able to get the support of the United States, so it is not the turn of the Royal Saudi Air Force to undertake such a difficult task as air defense suppression.

In addition, the Saudis are also unable to buy specialized electronic attack aircraft like the EA-18G.

It's not that Saudi Arabia is short of money, it's that the United States refuses to sell.

Not to mention the EA-18G, even the previous generation of EA-6B and EF-111A are exclusively for the US military, and have never entered the US foreign trade arms catalog.

To put it bluntly, electronic attack aircraft are "not for sale".

Not only the United States, but also Russia and China, which are capable of producing electronic attack aircraft, also regard them as non-sales and will never export them easily.

The point is that electronic attack aircraft are typical offensive weapons.

From the perspective of combat application, if the United States, Russia, and China export electronic attack aircraft at will, it will inevitably trigger an arms race on a global scale.

The Royal Saudi Air Force does not have electronic attack aircraft and can only be deterred in the face of powerful air defense systems.

The F-15SA and EF2000 have some self-defense capabilities, but they only play a role when they are attacked, and it is difficult to play a role in attack.

With the withdrawal of Royal Saudi Air Force fighter jets, the rebels no longer fear air strikes.

It's just that the rebels did not immediately launch a ground offensive either.

The FD2000 forced out the Royal Saudi Air Force fighters, but it couldn't deal with the defenders of Nasiriyah, not to mention that Wang Dong brought enough RA-12ERs with them.

In order to grasp the situation of the rebels, Wang Dong asked Zhang Zilan to take a team of personnel to reconnoiter the enemy situation before dawn.

As in previous cases, the shelling lasted fifteen minutes.

The rebels fought in a disciplined manner and did not let go of their hands because the air threat was temporarily eliminated, after all, the Royal Saudi Air Force had more than enough long-range ammunition.

While having breakfast, Wang Haotian received a message from Zhang Zilan.

The rebels had already begun to advance, but slowly, and the armored units in the lead had received direct cover from the infantry, unable to replicate yesterday's ambush.

In addition, no anti-aircraft missiles of the rebels were found.

Wang Dong did not feel strange, the FD2000 has an effective range of up to 100 kilometers when dealing with medium- and high-altitude fighters, and it can be deployed dozens of kilometers in the rear without following the troops, after all, the long-range air defense system is responsible for regional air defense tasks.

The problem is also prominent, the existence of FD2000 is equivalent to offsetting the air support provided by the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Without air support, relying only on more than 10,000 officers and soldiers of the government army, and a few hundred operatives brought in, can hold Nasiriyah?

Last night, Yunlong sent a message.

The Royal Saudi Air Force will send fighter jets to bombard the rebels with stand-off munitions when necessary, but it will not be able to provide close support to the Nasiriyah defenders until the threat is eliminated, and the Saudis' stockpiles of stand-off munitions such as Taurus missiles are not sufficient.

In other words, in order to get air support, you have to try to get rid of the rebels' air defenses.

It's easy to talk, but it's not so easy to do.

If nothing else, where is the FD2000 of the rebels?

Wang Dong had a feeling that he was at a loss, but the priority was not to find the rebels' air defenses, but to stop the rebels from advancing.