Empire Conquest

Chapter 663 - 8 Testing Truth and Deception_2

Supported by the Airborne Early Warning and Control System, a squadron of eight "War-11B" could control air superiority over an airspace of 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers!

Furthermore, in the past few years of joint exercises, pilots from the "Expeditionary Mixed Wing" almost always came out on top.

According to internal simulations conducted by the Air Force, even if they couldn’t take on a hundred to one, they could definitely take on ten to one.

Theoretically, against an opponent like the Iraqi Air Force, two squadrons of the "Expeditionary Mixed Wing," meaning 16 fighter jets, would be enough to take the initiative in an air superiority battle with support from the rear command system and crush invading enemy aircraft of less than a large formation.

Li Tianling was fully confident in the combat effectiveness of the "War-11B."

It wasn’t just the fighter jet itself; it had to do with the new munitions used as well.

At the beginning of the year, to be precise, after the Spring Festival, the Wing commanded by Li Tianling was the first to be equipped with new missiles, which were actually tested and accepted by the military.

Yes, they were the "KK-12," also known as "Lightning," an active radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile.

This was the first in the Liangxia Air Force, as well as the first globally to reach service standards and be officially equipped for combat units, an air-to-air missile with active homing capabilities.

As for the true value of this missile, Li Tianling knew best.

After completing several rounds of test firing, Li Tianling, as the Wing Captain, suggested that they immediately order and equip this new missile that could change the face of air combat. A highly confidential test report explicitly stated that the missile had absolute lethality against enemy aircraft within a range of 50 to 90 kilometers.

Just the range alone was more than double that of the semi-active radar-guided "KK-6."

The advantage was not just reflected in the range.

With the "KK-12," the "War-11B" gained genuine multi-target engagement capability, meaning it could attack multiple targets simultaneously.

This was what the Air Force had dreamed of, or rather, was determined to achieve.

Let’s not forget that the Navy’s "War-9A" had acquired multi-target engagement capabilities more than ten years ago, able to fire upon six enemy aircraft at the same time.

Relying on the new fire control radar, the "War-11B" could theoretically control eight missiles to attack eight targets simultaneously, but in reality, due to missile limitations, it was simply not possible.

Because it lacked the multi-target engagement capability, in more than ten years of joint exercises, the Air Force was utterly beaten by the Navy’s fighters. Even in close-range dogfights, after the "War-9B" was put into service, the Air Force won less and lost more, being taught a harsh lesson without any resistance.

Truly, it was only through Li Tianling’s strong advocacy that the "KK-12A" was finalized and mass-produced ahead of schedule.

Now, the "War-11B" that Li Tianling piloted had four "KK-12A" missiles loaded, and there were over a hundred more in the cargo bays of the four "Yun-10A."

If you count on the high hit rate of up to 80% per missile, these missiles could wipe out nearly half of the Iraqi Air Force.

However, even if a battle were indeed to occur, that would be more than ten hours later.

...

At this moment, within Kuwait territory, was the Hammurabi Division of the Republic Guard.

After catching up to the vanguard forces, Ali immediately issued the order to halt their advance and instructed the soldiers to conduct immediate maintenance checks on their main battle equipment.

It wasn’t that the tanks had broken down; it was that Ali was somewhat fearful.

Having fought up until now, they had penetrated 20 kilometers inside Kuwait and had yet to encounter any serious resistance!

The few defensive positions with a makeshift quality along the way had either been abandoned long ago or, as the Iraqi military approached, the Kuwaiti soldiers manning them immediately surrendered.

As a result, they had basically not fired a single shot on this journey!

According to the surrendered Kuwaiti officers, they had never received combat orders from their superiors, and their commanding officers had left it to them to decide whether to surrender.

Kuwait had surrendered without a fight!?

Shortly after, Ali received a message from the rear.

Not long after launching their offensive, the Air Force had bombed a convoy leaving the royal palace, leading them to believe that the Emperor of Kuwait was within the convoy.

That is to say, the Emperor of Kuwait, Abbas III, might have already been killed in the bombing!

Additionally, Ali received an order from Hussein.

To rapidly seize Kuwait City, but without direct orders, not to continue advancing southward, and not to attack Saudi Arabia.

Ali of course understood the critical point.

Emperor Abbas III of Kuwait was originally a chief of prince rank who, after being recognized by the Liangxia Royal Family, ascended the throne as king.

In other words, the Liangxia Royal Family provided a security guarantee for the Kuwaiti Royal Family.

This was not just a verbal promise.

Though the Liangxia Empire had long since undergone a constitutional amendment, with the Emperor serving merely as a symbol of the nation, the Imperial Family’s status was very stable, and the Emperor’s guarantee was also the Empire’s guarantee.

Bombing the Kuwaiti Emperor protected by the Liangxia Emperor was no trivial matter!

Should things go wrong, the Liangxia Empire could fully use this as a reason to enter the war.

"Don’t forget, hundreds of kilometers to the east in Boss Bay, the ’Zhu Shijian’ carrier, loaded with nearly a hundred ship-borne aircraft, has been ready for action."

From this carrier, ship-borne aircraft could reach the skies over Kuwait within half an hour.

Ali knew that fear was futile.

Fortunately, since the attack had gone very smoothly, even if they now slowed down their advance, they could still capture Kuwait City within 72 hours.

Of course, slowing down a bit was also a way of leaving oneself an escape route.

To put it bluntly, if the Liangxia Empire used this as an excuse to send troops into the battle, then according to the pre-established plan, the Republic Guard would have to continue south after taking Kuwait City, advancing towards the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, and therefore, they must make even more thorough preparations beforehand.

The most crucial aspect was logistical support.

Although the whole area under Boss Bay is full of oil and gas fields, there are not many refineries, and the fuel required for tanks and armored vehicles must be transported from the rear.

In fact, Ali was not the only one with these concerns.

...

In the Capital of Iraq, Baghdad, President Mansion.

In the early hours, Hussein had summoned his main generals and officials, and even had a sand table set up in the huge central office.

Actually, the sand table was brought from the Republic Guard headquarter.

Clearly, Hussein originally thought that after the attack began, he could demonstrate his military talents by issuing commands to the front-line troops.

After all, he was first a military man and only secondly a politician.

At least, that’s how he saw himself.

But who could have expected that the course of the battle would be almost completely contrary to his expectations.

In the previous month, everyone had believed that after the Liangxia Empire stepped forward, the Emperor of Kuwait would surely order his troops to fight to the death.

In addition, Tiaoman military consultants had also mentioned that the Kuwaiti military was actually commanded by Liangxia officers.

In short, it was believed that taking Kuwait would be possible, but there was bound to be a fierce battle.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have committed the elite Hammurabi Division.

Now this situation left Hussein somewhat at a loss.

The key was not whether Abbas III had been killed in the bombing, but that the Liangxia Empire, until now, hadn’t shown any reaction, not even an official diplomatic statement.

Due to the unclear situation, the atmosphere was very grim.

Only when Hussein’s most trusted person, the head of the Republic Security Bureau and intelligence director Jamal, arrived did the atmosphere slightly ease.

After reporting to Hussein and getting his permission, he allowed the staff to mark the latest military intelligence on the sand table.

Approximately 100 kilometers east of Kuwait City, in the western international waters of Boss Bay, there was a Liangxia Empire missile escort ship.

From its deployment position, this battleship was covering the civilian ships coming out of Kuwait, like those fully loaded supertankers.

Of course, most of the tankers belonged to the Liangxia Empire.

No explanation was necessary, nor was it needed.

The operation plan had been drawn up a long time ago, the government and military high command were clear on it, and the primary objective was actually to test the limits of the Liangxia Empire.

No one ever worried about the difficulty of attacking Kuwait.

The key question was whether to continue pushing south after conquering Kuwait.

Clearly, this would depend on the response of the Liangxia Empire.

Over six years ago, just half an hour after the military coup erupted in Sri Lanka, the Liangxia authorities issued a strongly worded statement.

Following that declaration, they launched a military operation to interfere in Sri Lanka.

But now, the Liangxia Empire had no reaction at all!

After a while, Hussein finally used his gaze to inquire of the military and political leaders standing around the sand table.

No one made a sound.

Withdrawing his gaze and looking at the sand table again for a moment, Hussein nodded gravely, then gave Jamal a significant look.

That was enough.

Without another question, Jamal turned and left the central meeting room.