After the end of the air battle, Xiang Linghui did not immediately get a chance to rest, he had to organize military coordinators to sum up lessons and lessons, predict the enemy's next move, formulate relevant plans in advance, make a summary report to the Pakistani military and political leaders, listen to the opinions of the Pakistani military, hold an internal meeting after dinner, criticize several subordinates who were too "enthusiastic and unrestrained", once again emphasize discipline, and prohibit all words and deeds that tarnish the image of the republicans...... It was not until three o'clock in the morning that Xiang Linghui lay down on the bed, closed his bloodshot eyes, and relaxed his brain, which had been running at high speed for more than 20 hours.

After sleeping for less than three hours, Xiang Linghui was woken up.

"Just received satellite photos." The officer in charge of the duty put two radar photographs on the big screen, "It has been identified that they are 'Vikramaditya' and 'Vikrant'." ”

"They came into the range of fighters?"

"I just entered the range of the 'Thunder' fighter to strike at the sea, but," the officer hesitated for a moment, and then called up another set of data, "This is the specific location, and the direction of the wind at that time." It was preliminarily concluded that the two aircraft carriers were sailing against the wind at a speed of more than 27 knots. ”

Xiang Linghui was taken aback and immediately asked, "Have you alerted the Pakistani Air Force and the Pakistani Navy?" ”

"An alert has been issued." The officer immediately nodded and said, "Judging by the positions where the fighters were released by the two aircraft carriers, the target of the attack may be Karachi." ”

"Karachi?" Xiang Linghui frowned slightly.

Karachi is Pakistan's largest port city, the largest commercial port in Pakistan, and was once Pakistan's largest naval base. Since the opening of the Gwadar port, Pakistan has gradually diluted the color of Karachi as a naval base, deploying only a few offshore speedboats here, and the main warships have been transferred to the Gwadar port.

Will India bomb Karachi?

It's not forty years ago, and unless India wants to offend more countries and go to all-out war with Pakistan, there's no reason to bomb a commercial port.

"How did you come to this conclusion?" Xiang Linghui asked.

"Lost G-29K ground combat radius." The officer replied directly. "The two aircraft carriers are four hundred and fifty kilometers from Karachi. It is exactly within the radius of the G-29K ground-to-sea combat radius. The two aircraft carriers are more than 600 kilometers away from Gwadar. Mi G-29K takes off from an aircraft carrier. Even with only two air-to-surface missiles. The combat radius is also only 550 kilometers. If only one land-attack missile is carried. Increase the fuel carrying capacity. After reaching the skies over Gwadar. There was also less than five minutes of combat fuel left. The two aircraft carriers will carry out a maximum of twenty-six warplanes. Each fighter carries only one missile. The attack capabilities will be very limited. ”

Xiang Linghui's expression became solemn. He didn't immediately make a judgment.

Gwadar is certainly the preferred target of Indian naval aviation. The main ground forces of the Indian Air Force were pinned down in the north-western theater. At best, it is possible to supply naval aviation with escort fighters. The main attack tasks were carried out by the Navy. In the case of insufficient combat radius of the fighter. It is indeed possible that the Indian Navy will bomb Karachi first. Probing the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Air Force. Then decide whether to bomb Gwadar or not.

No. Wrong!

Xiang Linghui was startled. A very important factor comes to mind.

India has purchased several large tanker aircraft from Russia, the Indian Air Force has a large number of airfields in the northwest, and the combat radius of the fighters is mostly between 500 and 600 kilometers, even the short-legged Mi G-29 does not need the support of tankers. That is, it is quite possible that the Indian Air Force will provide air refueling support for naval carrier-based fighters.

"Does the Mi G-29K have in-flight refueling equipment?"

"Yes, specifically requested by the Indian Navy." The officer hesitated slightly, "Colonel, you mean ......"

"Immediately contact the Pakistan Navy to strengthen the air defense of the Gwadar port. In addition, contact the Pakistan Air Force, do not rush to the Indian aircraft carriers, and concentrate on intercepting the attack aircraft groups of the Indian Air Force and Navy. With the support of tankers, the two aircraft carriers will turn south after releasing their fighters, leaving the strike range of the 'Thunder' fighters. ”

The news was sent quickly, but it was a little late.

At the time of the first alert, one squadron of "Thunder" and two squadrons of "Thunder" stationed in the southern region of Pakistan immediately entered combat condition. The 12 "Thunder" fighters carrying three large auxiliary fuel tanks, four C-803 anti-ship missiles, and two "Thunderbolt-11" combat missiles were responsible for attacking Indian aircraft carriers, and 24 "Thunderbolt" fighters, carrying three large auxiliary fuel tanks, two "Thunderbolt-12" medium-range air-to-air missiles, and four "Thunderbolt-11" combat missiles, were responsible for escorting the "Thunder" fighters.

At that time, the fighters of all three squadrons were already loaded with ammunition and were preparing for takeoff.

After receiving the order, the orderly personnel in the three bases were busy again.

Ten minutes later, the first batch of "Thunderbolt" fighters took off urgently. Each "Thunderbolt" carried two less auxiliary fuel tanks and two more medium-range air-to-air missiles, and the combat mode was changed from tactical escort to air defense interception.

The twelve "Thunder" did not have such good luck, and had to remove the anti-ship missiles and the auxiliary fuel tanks under the wings, and replace them with medium-range air-to-air missiles and combat missiles. Even the most skilled operatives need at least twenty-five minutes to get everything done.

For modern warfare, where time is measured in "seconds", twenty-five minutes is enough to change the outcome of a battle.

To make matters worse, the Pakistani Air Force did not send AWACS. The main reason is that the number of fighters deployed in the southern region is relatively small, and it is difficult to provide escort fighters for AWACS. The Pakistan Air Force has only three Saab-2000s, each of which has been dispatched once during the day and has been maintained at night in preparation for tomorrow's battle.

The Indian Air Force also made a mistake that was not too big or too small.

The 24 Su-30MKIs that took off from Dandur Air Base west of Hyderabad and escorted naval attack aircraft did not directly enter Pakistani airspace, but first entered the skies over the Arabian Sea and joined up with the Navy's attack aircraft group before heading for Gwadar.

If the escort fighters of the Indian Air Force enter Pakistani airspace ahead of schedule and pounce directly on the Pakistani air base, it is very likely that they will arrive in time for the "Thunderbolt" fighter to take off urgently. Even if the Indian Air Force's A-50I is difficult to arrive in time, the Su-30MKI is completely able to catch the "Thunderbolt" by surprise with its more advanced airborne radar and excellent performance of the R-77 medium-range air-to-air missile.

The mistakes of the Indian Air Force did not turn the situation in Pakistan's favor.

When the air raid sirens sounded, there were four missile frigates, two corvettes, six missile boats and one integrated supply ship in the port of Gwadar. Except for the three "Agusta-90B" submarines that have long since left Hong Kong, and the other three submarines stationed in the submarine cave, this is almost the entire home of the Pakistan Navy.

At 6:15, with the support of the A-50I, the Su-30MKI group opened fire on the "Thunderbolt" group first.

When the radar early warning aircraft screamed, the "Thunderbolt" fighters simply did not have time to avoid the R-77 medium-range air-to-air missiles that were fired at a speed of Mach 4.

As in daytime air battles, the side that launched a surprise attack, supported by AWACS, won a big victory.

At this time, the 12 "Thunder" fighters had just left the airfield, and the "Saber-2000" early warning planes sent by the Pakistan Air Force had just arrived near Larkana, and they could only arrive in 40 minutes at the earliest.

The Indian Navy's G-29K fleet will attack the port of Gwadar in twenty-five minutes.

Having successfully repelled Pakistani air defense fighters, the Su-30MKI did not enter Pakistani airspace and seemed to be afraid of long-range anti-aircraft missiles deployed in Gwadar.

At 6:30, the Mi G-29K fighters, who skimmed the sea, began to climb higher.

Five minutes later, seven Mi G-29Ks first fired anti-ship missiles at the port of Gwadar, one hundred and ten kilometers away.

The remaining nineteen Fan G-29Ks moved on.

It's not that they don't want to launch missiles as soon as possible, but the maximum range of the air-to-surface missiles they carry is only seventy kilometers, and not one hundred and twenty kilometers for anti-ship missiles.

Five minutes later, the nineteen Fan G-29Ks also began to climb higher.

Twelve "Thunder" arrived on the battlefield and spotted the Mi G-29K fighter that was gaining altitude. Although the threat of the Su-30MKI was close at hand, the "Thunder" fighter still gave up the Su-30MKI without hesitation, approached the Mi-29K group at the fastest speed, and launched all the "Thunderbolt-12" medium-range air-to-air missiles from a distance of 70 kilometers. Nine "Thunder" were shot down by R-30 missiles from the Su-77MKI after launching the missiles and before they had time to evade them. All nine pilots lost their lives at sea, and Pakistan posthumously awarded them "national heroes" and erected a monument to them at the Aviation Academy.

The valiant Pakistani pilots failed to trade their lives for a turnaround victory.

Before the "Thunderbolt-12" missile was launched, all 19 Mi G-29K missiles fired ground-attack missiles, and quickly lowered their altitude to avoid the attack of "Lightning". Only two G-29K were blown to pieces because they were too slow to dive and could not escape the killing range of the "Thunderbolt-12" in time.

When the two G-29Ks were shot down, the Pakistani warship in the port of Gwadar was also destroyed.

The narrow harbor makes it difficult for the terminal self-defense weapon system on the warship to exert its power. Twenty-one of the 28 anti-ship missiles hit the target, all six frigates and six missile boats were sunk and destroyed, and the integrated supply ship was also hit by two missiles, and if it had not rushed to the shoals in time, it would have sunk in the harbor.

Immediately afterward, the infrastructure of the Gwadar port was devastated.

When he received the news of the bombing of Gwadar port, Xiang Linghui also received another piece of information.

Dozens of people, most of them from China, were killed when a missile hit the workers' quarters for the Gwadar port expansion.

Not daring to delay in any way, Xiang Linghui immediately asked the communications officer to send the news to the General Staff.

Although Xiang Linghui did not know the reason why the Republic was waiting to enter the war, he was already vaguely aware that the "accidental attack" of Gwadar Port would have an irreversible impact on the war.

Damn it*

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