Within a day, four squadrons of J-10 fighters from the Chinese Air Force were stationed in Pakistan, and the Pakistani Air Force received 36 FC-1s, or Thunderbolt fighters, from China...... Suddenly, the combat effectiveness of the Pakistani Air Force returned to the level before the outbreak of the war.

Unlike high-profile fleet dispatches to the Indian Ocean, Chinese officials have kept a low profile when it comes to sending pilots to war.

Chinese state media reported on the story only once, and it took less than five seconds to broadcast in a very short sentence: Pakistan would recruit fighters from China on a hired basis.

In the face of China's unclear attitude, on July 5, the Indian Air Force temporarily halted its offensive.

This was not only the decision of the commander of the Indian Air Force, but also the decision of Santos.

Upon learning that naval aviation had bombed workers' dormitories in Gwadar port, Santos felt that China would not handle the matter in a high-profile manner.

As the most important military port of the Pakistan Navy, when the construction of Gwadar Port was still in the planning stage, Pakistan signed a secret agreement with China to undertake the design and planning work, send a high-quality construction team, provide half of the construction cost, and share the right to use it with Pakistan after completion. Although the first phase of the project is for the Pakistan Navy, the main project of the second phase of the project is a submarine cavern for the Chinese Navy's submarines. The one who was bombed was the construction team responsible for the construction of the submarine cavern, to be precise, the engineering unit of the Chinese Navy.

If China were to deal with it in a high-profile manner, domestic anger and military pressure would force the government to declare war on India in the event of a blow to military personnel and heavy casualties. Santos is convinced that China will not declare war on India. The intelligence provided by the United States also proves his point that China does not want to get involved in this war.

In order to boost morale, instead of blaming Das, Santos announced the results of the bombing of Gwadar port in a high-profile manner.

What he didn't expect was that China not only avoided the casualties suffered by its military personnel, but also responded very strongly. By the time Santos regretted it, there was no way to retract the news he had announced a few hours earlier.

In desperation, Santos immediately called the hotline with US President Jappel.

Mr. Jappel failed to obtain valuable information from Mr. Ji and the Chinese ambassador to the United States. It was impossible to give Santos an affirmative answer. Only Santos can be reminded. Keep a close eye on China's every move; And hinted at Santos. The United States will help the Indian Navy intercept the Chinese task force.

Moment of truth. Santos was undecided.

In the end, do you want to intercept the Chinese fleet?

If the Chinese fleet is allowed to run rampant in the Indian Ocean. India's prestige in the Indian Ocean Rim will be challenged. It has even caused pro-Indian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives to turn to China. The Chinese fleet will definitely go to the Arabian Sea. Across the Indian fleet with Pakistan. Use the destroyer's ground-mounted phased array radar to monitor the Indian warplane's every move. Make the Indian Naval Aviation the same type of furnishings. Not only could Indian warplanes not be able to bomb Pakistani ports. Even the Indian fleet could not continue to blockade Pakistan. Lose overwhelming superiority over the Pakistani Navy. If Chinese submarines do something. It was even able to assist Pakistani submarines in attacking the Indian Navy's ground aircraft carrier battle group.

If the Chinese task force is intercepted. This will inevitably lead to an escalation of the conflict. Give China more reasons to go to war.

Just when Santos was hesitant. A piece of information sent by the United States made up his mind.

A senior Pakistani military officer was instigated by U.S. intelligence agents to provide information that Pakistan had hired pilots from China on a mercenary basis and had obtained J-10 and FC-1 fighter jets from the Chinese Air Force.

In other words, before Liang Guoxiang and them arrived in Pakistan, Santos had already grasped the situation.

Now, Santos doesn't have to be embarrassed. Even if the Chinese fleet did not exchange fire with the Indian fleet, the Chinese took part in the war. If China is determined to enter the war, there is no reason to make a reason. If China does not want to enter the war, it makes no sense that there are sufficient reasons. China has already taken substantial steps toward war, and if India swallows its anger, its national majesty and international status will be devastated.

China's provocations must be resolutely countered.

On the night of the 4th, Santos gave an order to Das: to concentrate all forces to intercept the Chinese fleet and, if necessary, to attack first.

Subsequently, Santos contacted Russian President Nedmev.

India, like Pakistan, has a serious shortage of pilots.

In the air battle, the ratio of Indian and Pakistani pilots to exchange reached 2.4 to 1. In other words, if Pakistan loses one pilot, India will lose 2.4 pilots. The main reason is that the Indian Air Force lacks training in peacetime, and the average annual flight time of pilots is only 120 hours, compared with 360 hours in developed countries in the West, 300 hours in China, and 220 hours in Pakistan.

The Su-30MKI has already achieved domestic production, and the reserve of two hundred and thirty aircraft is enough to consume.

No matter how good a fighter is, without a suitable pilot is equivalent to decoration.

At this time, Santos was thinking not of the United States, but of Russia, which he once "spurned".

The Su-30MKI is a Russian-made fighter, and even if American pilots can fly into the air, it will be difficult for them to fly "tricks". Only Russian pilots, well aware of the performance of the Su-30Ki, will be able to familiarize themselves with this fighter, which is sold exclusively to India, in a relatively short time.

Just as Santos turned away the Russian presidential envoy at the beginning, the Russian president did not give Santos a good face.

Russia does not want to get involved in the Indo-Pakistani war, and at a time when China's attitude is becoming more and more obvious, Russia is even more reluctant to risk breaking with China or even hostility, putting aside tens of billions of Sino-Russian trade every year to provide substantial help to a little brother who has betrayed him. Not to mention sending military personnel to participate in the war, even when selling important spare parts for Russian-made weapons and equipment, such as when India has not yet realized the domestically produced AL-31 aero engine, Russia strictly follows the contract and does not have "special affairs".

It is obviously a fool's dream to want Russia to send pilots to India to participate in the war in an official form.

After eating the closed-door soup, Santos had to consider using the "three indiscriminate" means.

In the middle of the night, he called Macri over and assigned a task to India's intelligence chief: to recruit excellent pilots from Russia in the form of heavy money and even rebellion.

Figuratively speaking, this is digging into the corners of Russia.

Although India will pay exorbitant fees for the Russian pilots it hires, these pilots are trained by Russia with a lot of resources, and if there are three longs and two shortcomings, the losses will be borne by Russia, not by India. Counting the diplomatic risks that Russia will take for this, I'm afraid Nedmève even has the heart to kill Santos. If the actions of the Indian intelligence services are revealed, India-Russia relations will certainly be greatly affected.

Rushed to the doctor, and Santos couldn't take care of it so much.

By this time, Santos had lost his weight and was out of order.

Unlike the interim prime minister, Rear Admiral Patel, commander of the Eastern Fleet, received the order, and instead of being disorganized, he was full of confidence.

Fighting in the Arabian Sea, he had to obey the command of the commander of the Western Fleet.

The "Vikramaditya" and "Vikrant" aircraft carrier battle groups were transferred to the Bay of Bengal, and he became the supreme commander, and the "Vikrant" aircraft carrier battle group had to obey his command.

In the early morning of the 5th, the aircraft carrier "Vikramaditya" took the lead in making a turn.

Rear Admiral Patel, who was in the midst of excitement, wasted no time, and the aircraft carrier battle group was still regrouping, so he gathered his staff and began to formulate an operational plan to intercept the Chinese fleet.

For the Chinese fleet to enter the Indian Ocean, there are only three routes to choose from.

Strait of Malacca, Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait. The first two are the main shipping lanes, and the Lombok Strait is too remote, which will increase the fleet's range a lot. According to information provided by the United States, at least two attack nuclear submarines of the Chinese Navy entered the Strait of Malacca, and two others reached the Sunda Strait. Patel basically concluded that the Chinese task force would either take the Strait of Malacca or the Sunda Strait.

Although the two straits are not far apart, the impact on the operation of the fleet is very large.

If the Chinese fleet goes through the Strait of Malacca, it will go to the Bay of Bengal and challenge the Indian Navy. If the Chinese fleet were to go through the Sunda Strait, it would plunge into the heart of the Indian Ocean, bypass the strike range of the Indian Navy's shore-based aviation, avoid the Indian fleet, and go to the Arabian Sea.

Different situations require different tactics.

Whether the Chinese fleet intends to go to the Bay of Bengal or to the Arabian Sea, it cannot be allowed to succeed, let alone penetrate deep into the Indian Ocean.

It must be intercepted near the strait!

To this end, two carrier battle groups will be dispersed, one in the southern Andaman Sea and one in the southwest of Sumatra.

When considering this, Patel did not feel that dispersing his forces was a serious problem.

The Chinese task force does not have aircraft carriers, and outside the cover range of shore-based aviation, only a few air defense destroyers and general-purpose destroyers, as well as a few general-purpose frigates with weak air defense capabilities, cannot withstand the attack of carrier-based fighters, and two waves of attack aircraft are enough to destroy the Chinese fleet.

The battle will be fought in a one-sided situation, and it will certainly be another great victory.

Thinking of this, Patel felt an inexplicable excitement and excitement. The sinking of Pakistani warships moored in the harbor is not enough to show the great strength of the Indian Navy, and only the sinking of the warships of the Chinese fleet on the sea can prove that the Indian Navy is the hegemon of the Indian Ocean.

In Patel's opinion, he only needs to solve one problem: to get to the blocking sea in time.

The Chinese fleet, departing from the Zhanjiang military port, would enter the Strait of Malacca within four days, or pass through the Sunda Strait after one hundred and four hours. The Indian fleet sailed at the same speed of twenty-four knots from the waters of Kempard Bay, and it would take eighty hours to reach the Andaman Sea, or eighty-six hours to the southwest of Sumatra, and it would take several hours to search for the Chinese fleet. For the Indian fleet, time is indeed very precious.

What Patel saw was a victory, a decisive victory.

What he didn't see was the danger lurking, and the great risk that the rush to win brought to the fleet.

Just as the "Vikramaditya" and "Vikrant" aircraft carrier battle groups turned southward, the "Swordfish" submarine quietly arrived at the ambush area