Empire Conquest

Chapter 646 - 1: The Sky Overlord

New Calendar Year 150, July 31st morning, in the heartland of the Giant Continent, west of Balkhash Lake, within the territory of the Luosha Federation Republic.

Beneath the cloudless blue sky, apart from the endless Gobi Desert and a few sporadic tamarisks, there was only that heavily guarded military base.

From a distance, viewed from high above, it resembled a sand castle built by children on a beach.

In the air, under the glow of dawn, a large Plane Group was flying this way. Leading the group was a squadron of eight single-engine medium Fighters.

All were last year’s 32nd batch of "War-10B" Fighters.

Compared to the "War-10A" and previous batches of "War-10B," the most significant change in the 32nd batch was the addition of two slanted external hardpoints at the front of the air intakes, which could be used to mount navigation pods and targeting pods, thus greatly enhancing ground attack capabilities.

The "War-10B" thus became a true Multi-purpose Fighter.

With its unparalleled agility, the "War-10B" remained an air-superiority Fighter, boasting the best dogfighting performance among third-generation Fighters.

Because of its extreme agility and quick response in operation, pilots liked to add the word "Swift" before its official name in private.

A single word, a significantly different meaning.

"Fierce Dragon" became "Swift Dragon."

Besides agility, another advantage of the "War-10" Fighter was its affordability; not only was the purchase price low, but its operation and maintenance costs were also very favorable.

As such, the "War-10" had become the most widely equipped third-generation Fighter in the Imperial Air Force, and indeed globally.

To date, just the Imperial Air Force had more than 2,000 units, with an additional 1,000-plus exported to dozens of countries.

According to manufacturers’ estimates, the production of the "War-10" series would exceed 5,000 units.

Behind the "War-10B" Plane Group was a squadron of eight twin-engine heavy Fighters.

This was the model nicknamed "Tyrannosaurus," also known as "Tyrannosaurus Rex," the "War-11B."

Strictly speaking, the "War-11" was indeed the Imperial Air Force’s first, or ideally, third-generation air-superiority Fighter, upon which great hope was once placed.

Regrettably, soon after the maiden flight, the "War-11A" was completely grounded due to unreliable engines, and the mass-delivery timeline was repeatedly delayed.

By the time the engine issues were resolved and the "War-11" was ready for mass delivery to the Air Force, the "War-10" had already been delivered using the "11" code.

Compared to the "War-11A," the deeply modified "War-11B" mainly involved installing a higher-performance radar and switching to a unified standard interface in the engine compartment, so that other engines could be used according to customer requirements. Other improvements aimed at increasing the Fighter’s reliability and maintainability.

Speaking of which, the "War-11" was truly a dedicated air-superiority Fighter.

Stimulated by the Boi War, during the design phase, the Imperial Air Force made it clear that ground attack capabilities were not needed and that maximum effort should be given to enhance maneuverability.

Moreover, the Air Force insisted that the "War-11" should perform interception missions to replace dedicated interceptor aircraft.

As a result, with an internal fuel fraction as high as 0.35, the "War-11" reached the astonishing speed of Mach 2.75 at high altitudes, thereby becoming the fastest flying and longest-range third-generation Fighter, aside from dedicated air-defense interceptors.

When carrying four air-to-air missiles for interception missions, the "War-11" had an operation radius of 1,500 kilometers.

However, the "War-11" also had significant drawbacks.

Aside from being less agile than the "War-10," its biggest problem was its exorbitant cost—even the well-funded Imperial Air Force found it unsustainable.

Actually, this was also a key reason why the "War-10" gained favor with the Imperial Air Force.

To date, fewer than 700 "War-11s" had been produced, with nearly 200 exported to allies, and about 500 equipped in the Imperial Air Force.

This scale was only a quarter of the "War-10."

Nonetheless, no one could deny that the "War-11" was a highly advanced Fighter with enormous potential for improvements.

More than eight years ago, the "War-11D," which was modified from the "War-11A," won the Air Force’s tender for an "Advanced Multi-purpose Air Superiority Fighter" over the "War-10D," which was derived from the "War-10A," and secured a mass purchase order from the Air Force last year.

However, this Multi-purpose Fighter was renamed "War-16A."

Since it had only entered production last year, fewer than 100 "War-16A" units had been equipped, and the few Wings equipped with this model were still undergoing re-equipment training.

As for the combat capabilities of this Multi-purpose Fighter, no one could say for sure at this point.

Behind the heavy Fighters were four "Yun-10A" Strategic Transporters.

As the world’s first wide-body and carrying capacity up to 150 tons, the "Yun-10A" was undoubtedly the king of the skies.

Medium Fighters, let alone heavy Fighters, seemed insignificant before it.

These four transporters carried all the support equipment and materials for two Fighter squadrons, as well as several hundred ground personnel.

It was precisely due to the powerful carrying capacity of the Strategic Transporters that the Imperial Air Force had become a global Air Force, capable of deploying military forces anywhere in the world.

During the Mosa Crisis, the tremendous military value of strategic air transport had been recognized by the Imperial Air Force.

In those months, without a large group of Transporters, the Imperial Army would surely have had to give up East Mossa City due to insufficient support.

However, like the "War-11," Strategic Transporters were extremely expensive.

To date, fewer than 100 "Yun-10A" units had been equipped. In the Imperial Air Force, however, there were as many as 600 units of the 50-ton "Yun-11" series.