Empire Conquest

Chapter 647 - 1 Sky Overlord_2

In addition, the requirements for strategic transporters on airfields are extremely high.

The "Yun-10A" needs a hard runway of up to 2500 meters when fully loaded, and less than 10% of airports worldwide have runways this long. In contrast, tactical transporters like the "Yun-9" can take off and land on soft runways less than 1000 meters long.

Because of this, more than a decade ago, the Empire Air Force had proposed the development of a large transporter that could adapt to various situations.

Simply put, it would be able to carry the heaviest and largest land combat equipment, possess the adaptability of tactical transporters, fully land on any runway at least 1000 meters long that had been simply cleared, including field airports, and take off again when empty.

To summarize, it would feature the carrying capacity of a strategic transporter with the tactical flexibility of a tactical transporter.

These requirements are exceptionally high.

As a result, after more than a decade of effort, the first full-sized prototype has not yet been manufactured, and the earliest it is expected to come off the assembly line is next year.

Undeniably, massive transporters are the backbone of the Empire Air Force.

Behind the "Yun-10A" Plane Group were two "Oil-29A" large refueling aircraft, one "Zhi-8C" airborne early warning and command aircraft and one "Reconnaissance-29C" electronic reconnaissance aircraft.

These three support aircraft all use the "C-29" civilian airliner body.

Because there was no need to perform missions at the front lines and they operated hundreds of kilometers behind battlelines, the Empire Air Force did not design and manufacture dedicated support aircraft platforms.

Using civilian airliners greatly reduces the daily usage and maintenance costs.

If the transporters are the backbone of the Empire Air Force, then the refueling aircraft, early warning and command aircraft, and electronic reconnaissance aircraft are the catalysts for combat effectiveness.

It is with these support aircraft that the Empire Air Force becomes a whole, with its combat efficiency increasing exponentially.

The absolute main force of the Empire Air Force makes its grand entrance last.

Yes, the strategic bombers!

First to be mentioned are the four "Hong-9D" heavy bombers.

This is the oldest type of main bomber in the Empire Air Force, having served for over 30 years, and was the absolute backbone during the Boi War.

In that war, which ended in utter defeat for the Imperial Army, a total of 211 "Hong-9" were lost, with 143 shot down during missions.

Thus, the "Hong-9" became the most heavily lost strategic bomber after the great war.

However, the Empire Air Force did not abandon this bomber that had been in service for over 30 years, continuing to improve it and enhance its combat efficiency.

The key is the "Hong-9’s" extremely high reliability and a whopping 35 tons of bomb load.

Although the "Hong-9" can no longer fly in formations of dozens over target areas and drop hundreds, even thousands of tons of bombs in a reckless manner to completely destroy targets as it did in the Boi War, due to modern air defense systems primarily composed of air defense missiles, with its powerful bomb-carrying capability, a range of over 10,000 kilometers, and the use of cruise missiles with a range of 1500 kilometers, the "Hong-9" still holds great value.

With cruise missiles as its main weapon, the "Hong-9’s" cost-effectiveness ratio far exceeds that of various bombers developed later.

Next are four sleekly designed "Hong-10A" variable swept wing strategic bombers.

Although it is the world’s first strategic bomber with a variable swept wing configuration, strictly speaking, the "Hong-10A" cannot be considered an excellent bomber.

This bomber was the product of tactics for ultra-low altitude breakthroughs.

Initially, the Empire Air Force had high hopes for this strategic bomber that could fly continuously below 500 meters at 1.1 Mach, thus breaking through the enemy’s air defense network. They planned to purchase hundreds to replace all strategic bombers, including the "Hong-9."

Unfortunately, modern air defense systems strengthened by airborne early warning and command aircraft, as well as long-range precision munitions such as cruise missiles, have sent ultra-low altitude breakthrough tactics to the graveyard.

As a result, the Empire Air Force only ordered 150 "Hong-10A" and has received just over 70 so far.

The number one problem with the "Hong-10A" is the need for a variable swept wing to achieve both low-altitude supersonic breakthrough and the intercontinental range required.

This aerodynamic layout, which adjusts the lift-to-drag ratio by changing the sweep angle to accommodate both long range and high speed, has a very fatal flaw.

It’s structurally complex.

The consequences of this lead to not only a heavy dead weight, but also poor reliability and maintenance disasters, with equipment and maintenance costs frighteningly high.

In addition, the operational readiness rate is also very low.

In fact, this is also a major reason why the Empire Air Force had to retain a large number of "Hong-9" bombers.

As for the next generation of strategic bombers, it is still under development and highly confidential.

Currently, the only certainty from the outside world is that this Bomber will upend all bombing tactics and even be able to completely change the face of future warfare.

According to speculation, it will be a type of Bomber that cannot be detected by radar.

If that’s true, then radar-centric air defense systems will become useless!

By relying on stealth capabilities, this Bomber will be able to penetrate deep into enemy territory and destroy the enemy’s tightly-guarded strategic targets with precision-guided munitions.

At that time, strategic bombing will become an art!

No one can deny that Bombers are the heart and soul of the Empire’s Air Force.

The Empire’s Air Force sprang from the Army’s Strategic Air Force, starting with Bombers and gaining its current status through large-scale strategic bombings.

The motto of the Empire’s Air Force is: "Destroy the enemy on the ground."

For decades, the Empire’s Air Force has always taken an offensive lead, building its equipment around strategic bombing.

Approaching the base, the two "War-10Bs" at the front suddenly dived and accelerated, breaking the sound barrier as they flew over the base.

The thunderous sound of the sonic booms swept across the entire base.

After circling around, those two "War-10Bs" flew back.

By the time they landed on the runway, the other six "War-10Bs" and eight "War-11Bs" in the squadron had already landed.

The Transporters hovered in the distance, giving way to the two Fighters on the approach path.

To shorten the landing roll and, more importantly, to show off, the two "War-10Bs" deployed their drag chutes upon landing.

When the two pilots crawled out of the cockpit, the squadron leader of this Tactical Air Force squadron and Air Force Colonel, Li Tianling, had already driven the military vehicle over.

At this moment, the first "Yun-10A" was about to land.

"You two, when will you ever give me a break?" Li Tianling shouted out loud, not just out of anger, but also because of the roar from the Transporter.

He regretted the situation because, before departure, he had placed these two hotheads among the reserve personnel.

"Squadron Leader Li, isn’t this what you taught us?"

"That’s right, you’ve always taught us that whatever the Empire’s Air Force does, it has to be done with a bang, no matter where, we’re always the leading heroes."

Upon hearing what his subordinates said, Li Tianling couldn’t help but laugh out of exasperation.

The one who spoke first was Du Dashuang, followed by the equally assertive Du Xiaoshuang.

Yes, they were twins, but with distinctly different appearances.

Not just in the squadron, but even across the entire Wing, and the entire military district, the Du brothers were notorious, though mainly for infamy.

In the past three years, they had consecutively won first place in the Empire’s Air Force’s "Golden Eagle Competition" for two-person team air combat.

In other people’s words, the brothers seemed to have a telepathic connection, their tactical coordination practically seamless.

But as a result, for three consecutive years, due to failing to meet daily assessment standards, they could not earn the "Golden Eagle" medal that symbolized the title of champions in the competition.

In a word, they were resting on their laurels.

Li Tianling was simply frustrated to no end with these two.

If not for the private relationship going back three generations, he probably would have kicked them out long ago.

Indeed, Du Dashuang and Du Xiaoshuang were the grandsons of Marshal Du Kang.

As for Li Tianling, his background was even more impressive. His grandfather was the first Commander-in-chief of the Empire’s Air Force and the Empire’s Air Force’s first Grand Marshal, Li Yunxiang; his maternal grandfather was the Army Marshal and the former Grand Secretary, Lian Xusheng, hailed as "the foremost contributor to the Empire’s renaissance."

He also had a similarly formidable father-in-law, the former Navy Commander, Grand Navy Marshal, hailed as "the Empire Navy’s most outstanding Commander," Bai Zhizhan.

Truly, only Li Tianling could suppress the Du brothers.

Soon, the Transporters, Tankers, Airborne Early Warning & Command Aircraft, Electronic Reconnaissance Aircraft, and Bombers all landed at the airfield.