Cuba has a total of four air bases in Angola, among them, the Menungo base is the most main, the main air combat force, MiG-21 fighters, are all deployed here, and the two antiaircraft artillery battalions are also deployed here.

When those fighters appeared above their heads and kept dropping bombs, they didn't have any way to deal with it, but to find a bomb shelter to hide, watching those fighters all be blown up into scrap metal, and the base commander's fingers were deeply cut into their flesh.

The South African Air Force has always been very weak, why did it suddenly become stronger this time? What are these planes? After the bombing, the Cuban Air Force cleaned up the base that had been blown into ruins, and at the same time reported to the above, the South African Air Force had a new type of fighter plane!

Although the A-7 is not much different from the shape of its own MiG-21, the Tomcat fighter with variable sweep wing looks too clear. Could it be that the US Navy is directly intervening?

After getting the news from Angola, the Soviet Union was also shocked, at this time, they were still having a headache for the disadvantages of the Afghan battlefield, the MiG-29 and Su-27 were stepping up their improvements, and they could not export more advanced fighters to the Cuban Air Force in Angola at all, and these fighters needed to undergo special training before they could be modified, and they could not form combat effectiveness in a while.

Responding to the situation in Angola, they could only export the MiG-21, which is more advanced than the MiG-23, as well as a large number of anti-aircraft missiles to counter these air threats.

South Africa.

The Angolan battlefield, which has been a headache for several years, has almost been driven out by the Angolan people, and now, although it costs more, the hired Pakistani Air Force. The combat power is outrageously powerful.

In such a short period of time, they have completely turned the tide of the war, and now, the skies of Angola belong to the South African Air Force.

"Now that the battle in the air is over, let's start attacking on the ground." The South African military was excited. Seizing this opportunity, a counteroffensive was immediately launched.

Originally, UNITA had been squeezed in the southeastern corner, and now, spurred on by the victory in the air, they have begun a large-scale counteroffensive.

"Boom, boom." At the head of the attack queue was the South African Horn tank.

In the armored sequence of the South African Army, the earliest was the British "Captain of the Hundred" tank. This tank has a lot of firepower and strong armor protection, however, it is the least maneuverable, because it is equipped with a gasoline engine, the maximum speed is only 32 kilometers per hour, and the maximum range is only 90 kilometers. It's a product of the World War II era.

Although South Africa has suffered from the sanctions of the international community, South Africa's military industrial system is also extremely strong. They improved the tank, adopting a 750-horsepower air-cooled diesel instead of the original 650-horsepower gasoline. And self-developed semi-automatic transmission instead of the original manual gearbox, increased the fuel tank capacity, so that the maximum range of this tank from 90 kilometers to 500 kilometers, moreover, they also improved the fire control system, the use of fire control computer, gun commander dual-channel sight with image intensifier, commander sight, laser rangefinder and gun control device. Dramatically improved the accuracy of fire, this tank, against the T-55 tank of the Cuban army, had an absolute advantage.

Improved and called the Horn Tank.

This tank is more tailored to local conditions. It's just that there is an extra bathtub in the back, which is very popular among tank soldiers.

In the first few operations, this tank was not finalized and tested in the rear, but now it is officially equipped with South African troops, so to speak, specifically for the Cuban army in Angola.

The 750 horsepower engine, roaring, semi-automatic transmission greatly reduces the operating intensity of the tanker, and the 500-kilometer journey simplifies the logistics support, this tank rumbles forward, and in the attack, the tank is the largest assault force!

"Attention, there's a target ahead." A tank that walked in the front, the commander of the Guò scope, saw a large cloud of black smoke on the opposite side, the T-55 tank of the Cuban Army, came to intercept them!

"Attack!" The commander of the Horn tank shouted.

Both sides were advancing rapidly, and at a distance of 1,300 meters, 105-mm guns opened fire on the march.

"Boom!" A 105-mm armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the opposite T-55 tank, which was instantly penetrated and exploded into flames.

At this distance, the fire control system of the T-55 tank, which was not sure to hit the opponent at all, stopped and prepared to fire, and in this short time of stopping, the 105-mm guns on the opposite side were already constantly hitting them.

The Cuban tankers were shocked that the opposing tanks actually opened fire in motion! And the accuracy is so high!

The armored clusters on the opposite side, at a distance of nine hundred meters, began to move to the sides, almost as if they were going to encircle them.

"Keep going." The Cuban commander ordered.

In the fields south of Angola, tank units of both sides competed.

In the past, the Cuban army mainly relied on the air force, and when they advanced, the air force would wipe out the opponent in the sky, and they could just push forward, but now, as the air force temporarily lost its combat capability, they faced the South African army alone, and the disadvantage was suddenly revealed.

The more than seventy T-55 tanks that made this sortie were all destroyed by the Horn tanks, and only three of the Horn tanks were damaged by mines and lost their ability to act.

Behind the Horn tanks, the Oryx and the Honey Badger armoured vehicles followed, both wheeled armoured vehicles, which were more advantageous to gallop over the mountains, and behind these armoured units were large groups of UNITA troops.

The 3,000 South African Defence Force, 3,000 South African Land Army and 5,000 UNITA soldiers advanced rapidly towards the north, and in two days they advanced to the Lubango-Menungei line.

Having lost air superiority, the Cuban Army and the SPLM army were defeated one after another.

These days, the mercenaries of Pakistan did not take off, with the Cuban Air Force being destroyed in one fell swoop, in a short period of time, the Cuban Air Force was difficult to recover its combat effectiveness, and there was no opponent, and there was no combat target when flying.

Rick remembers his mission, coming here, in addition to fighting, but also to get in touch with the military workers here, South Africa's military industrial system is extremely powerful, even if it is a fighter, they have the ability to develop their own, for example, they are now working on a carver fighter improved from the Mirage fighter!

Although South Africa is in the process of modifying their Mirage fighters, no matter how they modify them, they will not be able to meet the needs of the future, and they need a completely new fighter with the distinctive characteristics of a third-generation aircraft. Atlas Aircraft of South Africa, which had assembled the Mirage F1 under license and was responsible for the overhaul and refurbishment of all of the SAAF's Mirage fleet, became the main contractor for the project.

At the same time, South Africa hired a number of engineers from France who participated in the Mirage 2000 project, and Israel also provided the technology of the "Lion" for reference. Now that the aircraft has finished its design on paper, it's ready for the next full-scale model. The completed fighter has a strong Phantom pedigree, and the layout is similar to that of the LCA of later India.

At the same time, due to the fact that they did not have access to advanced engine technology, they had to use the old "Atta" 9K-50 engines, which were from France.

The French engine development is also quite backward, and the seemingly advanced Mirage 2000 fighter is only a single-rotor turbofan engine, and as an engine for the Mirage 2000, it will not be exported to South Africa.

Rick watched Dennis, the commander of the South African Air Force, hang around near his own fighters, and Rick knew what this guy wanted to do, the South African Air Force was envious of these advanced fighters from Pakistan, but the United States had already made a rule not to let them access these fighters, and it was Pakistanis who maintained them.

"Hey, Rick, it's nice to meet you." When Dennis saw Rick, he immediately shouted, although Dennis is a lieutenant general, but now the South African Air Force relies on the Pakistan Air Force to fight, they are very polite.

"Well, I'm happy too." Rick said.

"Your fighters are too powerful." Dennis said: "It would be great if our air force also had such fighters!" ”

South Africa has been sanctioned by the whole world, and it is simply unable to import any advanced fighters from foreign countries, so it can only develop its own.

"If a country's air force wants to be strong, it is not possible to buy it, and it is more important to develop it yourself." Rick said: "We are equipped with American-made fighters, which are bought and powerful. ”

This sentence said to Dennis's heart: "Yes, we also want to develop advanced fighters, but unfortunately, there are too many restrictions." ”

"Actually, the formation of the battle is also very simple." "The engines, the avionics, the airframe, it's as simple as that," Rick said. ”

It's easy to say, but just one engine has stuck the neck of many countries that want to develop their own, Sweden's Gripen, using American engines, Israel's Lion, also intends to use American engines, and Huaxia's self-developed fighters, because there is no engine, have almost been miscarried many times, as for South Africa, only old turbojet engines can be selected.

"Yes, alas, we don't have enough reserves." "In terms of engines, we have a big gap," Dennis said. ”

As the commander of the Air Force, he was the one who made the decision on the carver fighter project, and he naturally knew the flaws.

"We have secret channels to get Spey engines." "If you need to buy it, we can make a connection," Rick said. (To be continued......)

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