Empire Conquest

Chapter 681 - 16 Opening Battle_2

According to the data released by the Imperial Authority, the total military strength of the Reserve Forces has been maintained at around 8 million.

Among them, the total strength of local armed forces ranges from 2.5 million to 3 million, and there are about 1 million in the Air Force and Navy Reserve units included in the local armed forces.

Thus, the main Reserve Forces are almost configured one-to-one with the regular military.

These forces are meant for preparation for the Global War!

In plain terms, after the outbreak of a major war, each Reserve Unit has a clear support assignment, namely the regular military combat units. Unless there is an unexpected strategic collapse, during the initial stages of the war, the major value of the Reserve Forces is to replenish personnel for the regular forces.

Clearly, trained reservists are definitely more combat-effective than newly recruited soldiers.

Moreover, the equipment standard of the Reserve Forces is no worse than that of the regular forces!

Take, for instance, the Army’s Reserve Forces, not only do they receive main battle equipment pulled from front-line units, but they also possess a lot of active main battle equipment, maintaining around one-third of the ratio. This is so reservists can familiarize themselves with the latest weapons and equipment to ensure they can immediately participate in combat if war suddenly erupts.

It is evident that the Empire’s Reserve Forces are stronger than the regular armies of many countries!

To deal with a small Iraq, the Empire actually had to deploy its Reserve Forces.

Frankly speaking, they really held Hussein in high regard.

Actually, this was a clear signal, intended as a warning to the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic, not to kick someone while they’re down.

Boss Bay is not the well, the Empire hasn’t fallen into it, and neither Iraq nor Boi Country qualify as the stone!

Should real combat commence, the Empire would certainly not be lenient!

After waiting in the Great Hall for over ten minutes, until the reporters had all departed, Zhou Yongtao began his return to the Prime Minister Mansion.

During this time, he revised the speech he was going to use later.

Additionally, after the two Speakers announced the voting results, Zhou Yongtao publicly declared the initiation of military actions against Iraq, precisely speaking, to liberate Kuwait.

From that moment, the Boss Bay War officially kicked off!

...

At this time, in the northern part of Saudi Arabia, the Boss Bay region.

At an altitude of ten thousand meters, two "War-10B" had jettisoned their auxiliary fuel tanks, which had become redundant, and after turning, they opened their engine afterburners.

In less than three minutes, these two fighter jets reached a speed of Mach 2.0.

Immediately, they crossed the border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, entering Kuwaiti airspace.

However, the two fighter jets did not turn but continued along the No. 3 highway that connects the two countries, heading toward the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

This highway was also the main route for the Iraqi military’s invasion of Kuwait.

In the preceding days, 7 divisions, approximately 100,000 Iraqi troops, had attacked Kuwait along this highway.

Additionally, the logistics support of the Iraqi military heavily relied on this highway.

One could say, the No. 3 highway was the lifeline for the 100,000 invading Kuwaiti troops!

Those two fighter jets were clearly on a reconnaissance mission.

Before entering Kuwaiti airspace, these two "War-10B" had been detected by air defense radars near the outskirts of Basra.

It’s no surprise, flying so high, it would have been strange if they weren’t detected.

Indeed, before the two "War-10B" could enter Iraqi airspace, several Iraqi fighter jets prowling near Basra had already turned.

Among them were two "Pivot" MG-29s acquired from the Luosha Democratic Republic.

Like the Liangxia Air Force’s "War-10", the MG-29 is also a mid-sized fighter, hailed as a third-generation combat aircraft with capabilities not inferior to those of the "War-10". However, the MG-29 is a typical front-line air defense fighter, without needing a large operating radius.

As for how good the performance really is, it’s hard to say.

Of course, those two MG-29s had already been detected by a "Zhi-8C" patrolling north of King Khalid’s Military City and a "Zhi-6C" hovering over the western skies of Boss Bay, and they were closely monitored, their every move kept track of, and data was continuously transmitted to the operational command center behind the lines.

The two MG-29s veered southward, rushing towards the two striking "War-10B."

Combat orders were given to four "War-11B" lurking at an ultra-low altitude south of the Saudi border.

Leading this squadron was Li Tianling.

The two "War-10B" masqueraded as reconnaissance aircraft, luring the Iraqi air defense fighters, then the "War-11B" launched the attack.

This ambush tactic was very simple and not difficult to execute.

The key was to lure the Iraqi fighters into Kuwaiti airspace, ideally into Saudi airspace.

Despite Baghdad’s authorities showing no signs of weakness and ignoring the Empire’s ultimatum, tactically, the Iraqi Air Force was very cautious.

Starting from the early morning of the 4th, the Iraqi Air Force had halted air support for ground troops.

Of course, Kuwaiti forces had already been routed, and there weren’t many targets worthy of bombing within Kuwait, so whether the Air Force provided support was irrelevant.

As such, Iraqi fighter jets were active over their own territory, not entering Kuwaiti airspace.

They also stayed away from the border, not venturing into the soon-to-be-enforced no-fly zone.

One could say, this was also related to the battle three days ago, which was the first shot fired by Li Tianling.

That sudden attack served as a warning to the Iraqi Air Force.