The third day of the U.S. military in Pakistan. The U.S. 4th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 10th Mountain Division, which had been recuperated and replenished after the Battle of Peshawar, were dispatched together, and the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division was on the left flank and advanced along the M-1 road; And the 10th Mountain Division on the right flank advanced along the N5 road.

At the same time, three F-35 squadrons and two F-15E/F squadrons of the US Air Force took off from Kabul and Jalalabad air bases, and under the command and early warning of six E-3Cs, they flew straight to Islamabad, on the one hand, seeking a decisive battle with Pakistani fighters, and on the other hand, escorting ground troops. Two Thunder squadrons and two J-10B squadrons of the Pakistani army at the air base near Islamabad urgently took to the air to wait for the arrival of the two J-10C flying regiments of the People's Liberation Army.

The U.S. 4th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 10th Mountain Division were overwhelmed and soon broke through the Pakistani Army's Mardan and Nauchera defense lines, but the Pakistani Army was not to be outdone after learning of the U.S. dynamics, and the 3rd Independent Armored Division and the 17th Infantry Division on the right flank met the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, while the 1st Independent Armored Brigade and the 5th Mechanized Infantry Division on the left flank stopped the U.S. 10th Mountain Division.

Looking at the intelligence of the Pakistani army transmitted back by the aerial predator unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, the commander of the Mardan front line of the US army, the commander of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division, Stanley. Major General Hawke smiled slightly, if the Pakistani army retreated near Islamabad, relying on the terrain and fortress to defend step by step, it would be a big trouble for him to be unable to achieve air superiority, but now the Pakistani army is attacking strongly and pulling to the periphery of Islamabad to fight with him, which is exactly what he wants, and the battle situation has progressed so far, it is really smooth, as for the two divisions of the Pakistani army that need to be faced next, Major General Hawke has not yet put it in his eyes.

Major General Hawke pondered for a moment, then turned to the Chief of Staff Charlie Hawke. Brigadier General Bullock said: "Charlie, how far are we from the Indas River now?" ”

"About 40 kilometers." Charlie. Brigadier General Bullock had obviously put a lot of effort into the course of operations in Pakistan, and he came as soon as he opened his mouth. The biggest obstacle to the attack on Islamabad from Peshawar is the Indas River in the Attaq area west of Islamabad, which has been built in the upper reaches of the Indas River in the northern part of the Ataq region, which has formed a swampy area of river flats several kilometers wide, and it would be quite a problem for Major General Hawke to blow up the Indas Bridge on the M1 and N5 roads.

"Charlie, do you think it's impossible for the Pakistani army to blow up the Indas Bridge on the M1 road?" Major General Hawke asked.

"I don't think so," Brigadier General Bullock seems to have studied this issue for a long time, "the Pakistani army has not yet conceded defeat, they fantasize about counterattacking us at any time, and the three bridges they have built over the Indas River are the main passages for their heavy equipment to pass through, and they will not easily blow up these bridges until their main armored force is annihilated." ”

Major General Hawke nodded, and apparently, this was good news. In front of him, the 1st Tank Battalion and the 2nd Tank Battalion, which were tasked with opening the road, together with the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the Attack Helicopter Battalion, formed an indestructible sharp knife, maintaining a combat speed of 30 kilometers per hour, while the 1st and 2nd Infantry Battalions of the Mechanized Infantry Battalion followed closely behind them drove M2 combat vehicles to sweep away the remnants of the Pakistani army along the way. And Major Hawke led a large army to follow, forming a long dragon that stretched for several kilometers.

High in the air, the Pterodactyl unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that urgently supported the Pakistani army transmitted every move of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division of the US Army back to the front command of the Pakistani army. Lieutenant General Latif watched the Pakistani army's temporary fort almost play a role and was destroyed by the US army's M1A2SEP tanks or longbow Apache, and the rockets sent by the bazooka attackers ambushed on the side of the road were completely ineffective against the M1A2 tank, and couldn't help frowning, the Pakistani army has always been relatively poor, and the PLA Red Arrow-8 anti-tank missile is such a equipment, in addition to being equipped in the elite troops of the Pakistani army, other ordinary troops are rarely equipped with this kind of sharp weapon, As a result, the ordinary troops of the Pakistani army are powerless against the main battle tanks of the US army.

The same scenario also appeared in the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army on the N5 road.

Lieutenant General Latif sighed, and finally ordered the troops lurking on the front line to no longer launch a futile attack on the American tank troops, but to retreat to the mountains on both sides of the M1 road to wait for a new opportunity.

It was only on the question of whether to set the battlefield on the east or west bank of the Indas River, Lieutenant General Latif hesitated for a long time before making up his mind: "Order the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Destroyer to attack and knock out the American striker Longbow Apache attack helicopters along the M1 and N5 roads!" Lieutenant General Latif ordered the combat staff officers beside him, "Order the 1st Separate Armored Brigade and the 3rd Armored Division to cross the Indas River and intercept the American troops on the west bank of the Indas River!" After all, Lieutenant General Latif was reluctant to blow up the three bridges that had been built with great difficulty, although for this battle, blowing up these three bridges would make it more difficult for the US army to attack, and the Pakistani army could have a greater advantage in a half-way attack.

But in the same way, if the Pakistani army wants to counterattack and conquer the lost ground, after blowing up these three bridges, the Pakistani army will have to make a detour of hundreds of kilometers before it can move west into Peshawar, whether it is the independent 1st Armored Brigade or the 3rd Armored Division, they are the first-class elite of the Pakistani army, with the strongest main battle tank in service in the PLA, plus the destroyer UAV with strong attack power and the theater joint combat and tactical system of air-ground coordination, Lieutenant General Latif has strong confidence in them.

However, as soon as the Pakistani destroyer drone moved, the US E-3C early warning aircraft that was carrying out early warning missions in the air found their traces, and although the US military has not directly encountered this kind of unmanned fighter from the PLA, it is already very familiar with it, and the destroyer unmanned fighter has shined in the battle to destroy the capital ship of the Japanese army's 2nd Escort Group, which has attracted great attention from the US military.

The U.S. generals are amazed at the level of waste utilization of the PLA, although this is a second-generation aircraft based on the old and extremely old modification, but this UAV can break through the air defense system of the main destroyer of the Japanese army based on the Aegis defense system of the U.S. Army, which is definitely a great threat to the U.S. Navy, because of this, the U.S. military has studied this UAV thoroughly.

In the eyes of the U.S. military, this is a powerful weapon with very distinctive characteristics, and its attack power and flexibility are many times stronger than cruise missiles or ballistic missiles, but the weakness is also obvious, that is, it is easy to show its whereabouts, and there is almost no self-protection ability in the face of the attack of air fighters, so as long as the distance is widened, with any fighter aircraft of the U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft, these UAVs can be solved with great ease, the problem is to give the carrier-based aircraft enough time and space, and the PLA will dispatch at every turn3, With the 400 planes in a cluster of operations, the US aircraft carriers are now afraid to enter the 500-kilometer sea area of the PLA defense line, so as to leave enough time and space to solve them and prevent the entire fleet from being beaten to death by a group of nests.

The difference between an elite naval escort group of the Japanese army and the US aircraft carrier battle group is that there is one more aircraft carrier and a carrier-based aircraft wing, but it is such an elite maritime force that has been piled up to death by the scrapped old aircraft of the PLA.

With such a lesson from the past, the US military has always been very vigilant against the PLA UAV, and has long prepared various targeted tactics, so when the air early warning aircraft discovered the Pakistani army's destroyer drone, the US front-line commander quickly reacted, and the "Avenger" anti-aircraft missile battalion attached to the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 10th Mountain Division of the US Army immediately went forward and followed behind the M1A2SEP Forward Tank Battalion to provide air protection for the forward.

The US military's "Avenger" air defense missile battalion uses Humvee multi-purpose off-road vehicles as mobile platforms, and it has extremely strong mobility capabilities, but the "Stinger" air defense missiles attached to it have an effective fire altitude of 3,800 meters and a range of 8,000 meters.

In the previous battle of Lahore, Pakistan, the "Avenger" anti-aircraft missile battalion attached to the American mechanized infantry division of the Indian army made the Pakistani army's destroyer drones suffer a lot, and the US military is naturally full of confidence in this.

Although the U.S. military's action was not very large, the Pakistani unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and latent scouts in the air still transmitted this change to the Pakistani Army's Ataq front-line command, after all, the appearance characteristics of the "Avenger" air defense missile system based on the Humvee off-road vehicle are quite obvious.

"General Latif, judging from the latest situation of the US military, they have already spotted our drones and now look ready for the air defense of their forward forces, in this case, I suggest that the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Destroyer hold off their sorties and stand by in the skies over Ataq for the time being." PLA Colonel Zhao Zezhong suggested that as part of the Sino-Pakistani military cooperation agreement, the PLA has openly sent a large number of middle and senior staff officers to the Pakistani army headquarters at all levels as military advisers, and Zhao Zezhong, who serves as a military adviser at the front command in the Ataq region, is the chief of staff of a brigade in the Northwest Military Region, and he has rich experience in the integrated air-ground combat of armored and destroyer UAVs.

"However, without the help of the Destroyer drones, our ground tank forces alone would not be able to pose much of a threat to the U.S. Army's Longbow Apache helicopter gunships." Lieutenant General Latif said, of course he knows what the US "Avenger" air defense system means for the Destroyer unmanned fighter, but in this situation, how can there be no sacrifices?

"We can consider putting them in and fighting again." Colonel Zhao Zezhong pointed to the location on the electronic map, "We will temporarily withdraw the main forces from these two places to the edge of the Indas River" The place Zhao Zezhong pointed out is the decisive battle site that Lieutenant General Latif ordered to defend before, and the retreat of 5 or 6 kilometers is the Indas River.

Lieutenant General Latif looked at Zhao Zezhong with some puzzlement, retreating here is really a backwater battle for the two armored forces crossing the river, if there is any mistake, there is no room for even retreat, and to retreat across the two bridges across Indas under the US tank and Longbow Apache helicopter gunship is tantamount to being used as a target for others. Although Lieutenant General Latif is confident in his two elites, what if something goes wrong?

After all, in modern mechanized warfare, there is no point in fighting a last-ditch battle.