"It's too hot, it's too hot!"

In the middle of August and summer, on the back of a hill in Najran Province in southern Saudi Arabia, even though the scorching sunlight was blocked by camouflage nets, Yi Liqing, wearing a helmet and body armor, still stuck out his tongue and panted, like a wilted dog.

"The F30's cooling system can't cope with such a high temperature......"

"It's so hot, the fuel cell is fine, what should I do if the battery has a problem?"

"The identification system of friend or foe has not been added, and it costs an extra $2,000 per unit to die, and the big dogs are also picking on the door like this......"

While the high temperature consumes his physical strength, it also consumes Yi Liqing's confidence, and in this corner similar to the headquarters, he muttered endlessly as if he was chanting alone.

"No matter how bad it is, you can open an opening and occupy a few rooms, this result is enough to satisfy the Saudis."

It was the burly and stout Anson, also wearing armor and sweating, but still full of energy, his eyes fixed on the computer screen monitoring the battlefield.

Yi Liqing wailed: "This weather, even if we pull our elite troops in Huaxia, it can't work!" ”

The rickety old man next to him was furious: "What kind of bird is this weather!?" Isn't it just dry heat? ”

Lao Hong is like a lion whose tail has been pulled: "When we rushed to the top of the mountain, what was the situation lurking in front of the position!?" In addition to the heat, there is also wetness, and I can't wait to take off a layer of skin! The insects are sneezing in their noses and ears, and they don't even dare to sneeze! Just like that, a company can lie on its stomach for three hours without moving, and when the time comes, it will jump up and rush to the 800-meter hillside! ”

"Change our soldiers, two companies rushed up in five minutes, one on both sides, and the scum scattered on the opposite side collapsed in half an hour!"

The more Lao Hong spoke, the more disdainful he became: "Look at it, tens of thousands of regular troops are blocking less than 2,000 guerrillas. The planes kept bombing, the artillery kept bombing, and the tanks opened the way, and the infantry didn't dare to rush! On the front of a company, as long as three guns fire, even men and tanks can be retracted! ”

The old man pointed to the computer screen. The head shook so much that the helmet seemed to be thrown out: "It's the first time in my life that I've seen a soldier who is more scum than tofu!" ”

Anson now understands a lot of Chinese, and even Meng guessed what Lao Hong meant, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I think it's better than Douhua...... Well, or is it called tofu brain? Anyway, it's better than that, at least you can hold your current position. ”

Yi Liqing's face became even more ugly: "They will really bet on the power armor force?" ”

As he was talking, a Chinese man came over, it was Yang Guiqiang, vice president of NORINCO, who led the NORINCO Pavilion to participate in the Dubai Defense Exhibition.

He spread his hands to everyone: "The Saudi commander is out of options. Regardless of our opposition, we must bring power armored forces into play. ”

"A billion dollars, no, two billion ......" Yi Liqing's eyes darkened, and he squatted on the ground.

The agreement of intent signed between Saudi Arabia and NORINCO has been partially fulfilled so far, and Char Heavy Industries has launched an improved model IGM-F30 in accordance with their requirements after passing various tests by the Saudi military in April.

By reducing the amount of redundancy of the combined power unit. The use of U.S. motors, which are less accurate but more durable, and the simplification of information integration, are also being implemented. The price of the F30 has been reduced to $1.7 million. Although it exceeded the Saudi limit of $1.5 million, it was also the result of the Saudi military's request to strengthen the armor and change the battery to fuel cell, a price they accepted.

The first batch of F30s has been delivered to Saudi Arabia since May, and a total of 130 individual adaptation training units have been completed so far, and the support maintenance team is just a shelf. The technical work was still carried out by engineers from Char Heavy Industries and NORINCO.

According to the plan, these 130 F30s will be organized into a power armor battalion, with three companies and nine combat platoons, each platoon under two platoons, and each platoon will have six power armor units. The excess is used as a supplement.

In addition to power armor, there should be special armored vehicles for carrying and supporting, some reconnaissance equipment and support firepower. Except for the power armor, other equipment was provided by NORINCO, and the overall scheme was designed by Xia Ming.

Since the leak of Xia Ming's private conversation with Hassabis in April, he has been in retreat, saying that he is making every effort to promote the research of neuronal chips, and the plan has been thrown to NORINCO and Char Heavy Industries.

The result of the toss is that there is no result, no one can convince anyone, and the Saudi side does not want to build a complete power armored force immediately, but treats the power armor as a special hoplite, and directly uses the LAV4 armored vehicle as a carrier and support platform.

As a military reform program worth more than $1 billion, it is already a rapid process to see the prototype in a few months. It is planned to finalize the overall plan at the end of the year, and after testing and integration, the construction of the second battalion will begin next year. Saudi Arabia wants to have the world's first regiment-sized power armored force, and it will be after 2022.

But unexpectedly, since July, the situation in Yemen, south of Saudi Arabia, has changed dramatically.

The Saudi-backed former Yemeni President Abs-Hadi was assassinated by his subordinates, and his power fell apart, and the Houthis regained control of 70% of West Yemen's land in just half a month.

The Houthis then invaded Saudi territory again, capturing the valley south of Najran and part of the city south of the Najran road.

The Houthis have been here for a few years, and they are familiar with the road.

Saudi Arabia quickly dispatched troops and piled up tens of thousands of troops around Najran, blocking all the ways of the Houthis, hoping to quickly regain the lost ground with the momentum of thunder.

But the problem is that even the most elite troops, in the face of the Houthi team with a strong fighting spirit, are tofu hitting the tree and making no progress.

That's why Saudi Arabia's commanders will pin their hopes on power armor, which is not good news for Yi Liqing or even Yang Guiqiang.

Whether it is equipment or training, the power armored units are far from reaching the level of actual combat. If you rush into the war, you will be lucky to pass the test if you win, and if you lose, the reputation of Huaxia Power Armor will be ruined by non-war crimes, just like the 5969 tanks in the Iraq War.

The ground shook suddenly. The camouflage net also shook off patches of dust, and a mushroom cloud rose in a certain direction in the distance, and it turned out that the ammunition depot of an artillery position had been hit by a missile.

The Houthis have missiles, and a few years ago they even took down a headquarters, killing a Brigadier General in Saudi Arabia and a colonel in the United Arab Emirates.

Anson muttered, "Keep going like this." The big dog can't hold it, and the commander's choice is correct. ”

The Saudi commander was already in a hurry to burn chrysanthemums, and at his urging, another coordinated ground-air offensive was soon launched.

Yi Liqing, Yang Guiqiang, Lao Hong, and Anson watched the waves of planes passing overhead, and their mouths were slurking.

The F-15SA, the Hurricane, and the Typhoon all flew high, throwing precision-guided bombs as if they were ordinary bombs. Because the Houthis do not have a clear command node. I had to fry it piece by piece.

To the south of the Najlan Highway, seven or eight kilometers wide, clouds of smoke and dust burst out, and the tremor of the earth was transmitted to the headquarters four or five kilometers away, and it was still very clear.

Saudi artillery also followed up, but because of the missile attack just now, the self-propelled artillery ran away with a single shot, and the bombardment was scattered.

This was followed by helicopter gunships. He did not dare to cross the highway and go deep into enemy territory, but wandered to the north. Attack forward areas with missiles and rockets while looking for targets with individual missiles.

After tossing and turning for almost two hours, the ground forces began to sortie.

The Saudi Army's M1A2SEP tanks were in front, cowering back and forth on the road. After confirming that there was no fire on the front line south of the road that could threaten him, he crossed the road.

The M2A3 and LAV3/4 infantry fighting vehicles follow the tanks like chickens behind the old hens. Enter the low-density residential area that has been bombed so that it is completely untouchable.

The Houthis have been fighting back, initially with sporadic anti-aircraft missiles, completely unable to hit fighters that fly too high. During this period, another missile launched from the rear dozens of kilometers away hit a starting position, but fortunately it was not accurate enough, which only caused a panic.

Wait for the Saudi army to enter the area south of the road. The counterattack became fierce, and Lao Hong heard the sound of hundreds of Soviet-style automatic rifles and at least a dozen Soviet-style light machine guns, which was probably enough for the first wave of Saudi ground attacks to retreat.

So the Saudi army did not retreat, which surprised Lao Hong.

Looking at the computer screen again, the image sent back by the power armored battalion turned out to be that they got out of the car and began to search piles of rubble and clear fire points everywhere, which stabilized the position of the Saudi troops.

"There is a play", Lao Hong thought so, as a training consultant hired by Char Heavy Industries, of course he hoped that the power armor would enable these Douhua soldiers to get a good record.

Armed with an MG4 light machine gun, Fasher and the other five teammates formed two triangular formations, slowly advancing through the rubble. Behind him were tanks and armored vehicles, and dozens of meters to the left and right were his comrades who were also wearing power armor, which made him feel a little relieved.

The most reassuring thing for him is the F30 power armor he is wearing. With a dead weight of sixty kilograms, it can carry thirty kilograms of weapons and ammunition. The reinforced front of the protection can withstand direct fire from 7.62mm machine gun shells within 10 meters, if not shot in the head.

The head protection of ordinary helmets and bulletproof AR glasses has made all power armored infantry, including Farsher, accustomed to advancing with their necks bent. So when they came to a piece of rubble, they heard the sound of bricks sliding down, and they noticed the movement on it.

"Fasher!"

Two of his teammates shouted, turned and ran, and the other trio behind them, unaware of what was happening, reflexively followed. It is worthy of the elite selected from the National Guard, and they did not drop their guns.

The heavy footsteps of the power armor and the muffled sound of the motors combined into a very intimidating momentum, and if they had been reversed, their enemies should have run faster than them.

Only then did Fasher feel his chest shake a few times, and the not too strong force pushed his body back a few times.

Then he saw two Houthi militiamen with old semi-automatic rifles on their waists above the rubble, staring at him in a daze.

At that moment, the faces of the three people were as pale, and their eyes were as frightened and helpless.

When Fasher's brain pulled out of fear, his first reaction was: Run!

Then he felt that with this iron skin, he would definitely not be able to outrun the other party, let alone the bullets.

Finally, he realized that he had been shot several times, but he had not been injured at all......

All three raised their guns at the same time. The MG4 light machine gun opened fire first, and Farsher swept away an entire chain of bullets with his eyes closed, only to see that the bodies of the two militiamen had already fallen and were lying at his feet.

"Alahu Akbar!"

After gasping for breath for a while, Fasher finally realized that he had survived the one-on-two shooting! He's alive!

He shouted ecstatically. The comrades-in-arms who were hiding dozens of meters away followed up again.

El Fasher-style "heroes" soon emerged on the front. The first time the Houthis faced this kind of mechanical monster, not only could the AK not be injured, but even the light machine guns could not effectively solve it, and they were a little panicked.

Infantry vs. infantry, these mechanical monsters are far superior in protection to unprotected opponents, and their firepower is also stable because they can hold light machine guns. So in this kind of ground warfare that does not consider maneuvering and sweeping area by area, the Saudi Army tasted the taste of overwhelming power for the first time. It actually advanced nearly 100 meters in one hour.

With the experience of pulling out dozens of firing points, the power armored forces began to be bold. When encountering fire resistance, at least they will not retreat first and then shoot, but will find cover on the spot to shoot.

El Fasher was different, he had a one-on-two victory, and when he was blocked by a Houthi militia again, he chose to rush straight forward, which made his comrades stunned.

The other party was also stunned. Just watch as a stout mechanical monster strides, shooting as it rushes. It wasn't until the bullets splashed rubble under his feet that he panicked and retracted behind the rubble.

Seeing Farsher step on the high point of the rubble, his majestic figure like a sculpture, caught the attention of his companions and even several nearby comrades.

There was a loud bang, and the people clearly saw a ball of fireworks piercing through Fasher's body. From the front of the chest to the back, splinters of metal, fabric, internal organs, and broken bones sprayed far and wide, smashing against their helmets.

At the same time, El Fasher even carried a hundred and fifty kilograms of armor. It flew back more than ten meters and fell to the ground like a flour bag. Green smoke mixed with the smell of meat floated from the large hole in his chest, and a soldier who had been unable to eat because of fear swallowed his saliva.

Then they scattered, no longer wanted their guns, and ran backwards in a desperate manner. Occasionally, someone fell to the ground with a bang, and that was due to extreme panic, unbalanced pace, and the intelligence of the power armor failed to adapt.

As the power armoured forces penetrated deep into the Houthi lines, heavy firepower, which had been designed to evade air strikes and artillery shelling, began to come alive.

In addition to heavy machine guns, the most active is the bazooka, and the one that killed Farsher was Huaxia's PF8-9 bazooka, which was originally used to fight tanks and armored vehicles, and was used on power armor, which is really a knife to kill chickens.

Another power armor fled in a hurry, and was hit by a bullet in the back of the fuel cell, the bullet that penetrated the battery ignited the hydrogen stored in the metal inside the battery, and the violent explosion made this power armor fly out dozens of meters away as if it was equipped with a jet engine, and even the Houthi militia who hit the power armor were stunned.

Seeing this scene from the screen, Yi Liqing covered his face and was about to cry.

I'm afraid I will lose all of the alien weapons if I hand them over to the Saudi army......

Anson said with relief: "Yes, the performance is okay, the Saudi military should be very satisfied." ”

In order to avoid the disaster in Madagascar, Anson now holds Xia Ming's thigh, and now he has taken orders from NORINCO and Char Heavy Industries to protect their actions in Saudi Arabia.

For Anson, he was all too familiar with the level of the Saudi infantry, having fought alongside these friendly forces during the Iraq War. At that time, I was deeply touched. It is several times more difficult to get these allies to charge after them than it is to let the Republican Guard escape.

The current situation has far exceeded the expectations of Saudi commanders. At least the power armoured forces have the courage to engage with the Houthis, which is enough to give the air force and artillery on the Saudi side an advantage.

Sure enough, when the power armored forces accurately demarcated the Houthi firing points with hindrance or even casualties, the artillery shells and guided bombs dropped by the aircraft were targeted.

By the time the sun was setting, the Houthis finally couldn't hold it anymore and retreated south.

"The Saudi army has captured the commanding heights in the south, and the Houthis have no way to continue to defend it, and the battle is won."

"Nine pieces of armor were badly damaged and could not be repaired, 6 people died and 10 were seriously injured. The commander said that the military will definitely urge us to step up the assembly and training of the second batch of power armor. ”

Yang Guiqiang said with a happy face: "In short, the reputation of F30 is out. ”

Lao Hong said disdainfully: "Hmph, if we change our Huaxia soldiers, 100 is enough to end this battle!" ”

Yi Liqing let out a sigh, slapped his face and said, "This is a new chapter in the history of human warfare!" For the first time, the power armored forces have been formed into actual combat on a large scale! ”

Anson shrugged: "Actually, it doesn't mean that much, when you encounter heavy machine guns, bazookas, snipers, whatever you want, the power armor will be over." ”

Yi Liqing shook his head and said, "Why is it not big!?" That's two billion! No, more dollars! ”

"Compared to what Xia is doing, this amount of money is nothing," Anson deliberately carried it.

"That's true, but it seems that there is some problem", speaking of Xia Ming, Yi Liqing was also a little puzzled.

The Terminator Neuron chip was originally scheduled to be released in June, but now it's August...... (To be continued.) )