That's how it is when business is so good; three An-124s are fully booked and running non-stop, and this one is only coming back for maintenance.
The neighboring Ermao's only An-225 is doing the work of two trips at once, and it's transporting medical supplies all over the world. It can only stop and rest in the hangar at Antonov Airport once the impact of the black swan event has completely passed!
"Yes, before flying to Europe, bring all the KF-31s, KF-41s, and Marder S30s to Kedar."
Xia Yu gave the order over the phone.
In emergency deployments like this, infantry fighting vehicles take priority over tanks, and attack helicopters take priority over fighter jets.
An-124 can transport four female Hinds in one sortie. Xia Yu, unable to make room for a second flight, opted to use two Il-76s to transport the old Deer Tiger, Longbow Cross Deer, and two upgraded Mi-24Ps to Nizhir together.
From the gold mine overseen by Elmenjo, a helicopter can reach Gibo in just an hour and a half, much closer than from Kidal.
However, deploying four attack helicopters at once is a rare and significant undertaking for Jihuo Defense.
At this critical moment, the interns really came through.
"Yes, boss!"
The staff of Jihuo Defense stationed at Pointe-Noire Airport were quickly mobilized, with infantry fighting vehicles, vehicle crews, and digital teams boarding the plane in turn.
"Buzz"
An-124 took off first in the darkness, followed closely by two Il-76s from Libya, which had been refurbished and put back into service.
"The other side is Jnim, but their numbers exceed those of mainland Kinabalu, reaching 3,000. A significant portion of them crossed the border from Marie. Clearly, their goal is to completely take over Gibo."
After the investigation results came out, Xia Yu contacted Ibrahim and explained the details.
“This damned extremist group has grown to so many people like locusts, without making a sound.”
Ibrahim was also stunned by the number, and this was just the number of armed personnel assembled by an extremist group in a single battle.
If the other side brings out all their resources, their numbers will only increase, but their mobility will also decrease.
Jnim's 3,000 men are all mobile troops equipped with pickup trucks and motorcycles, which is far superior to the Somali army, which only has broken-down trucks. Even if Ibrahim sent troops, they would not be able to catch up.
Their two toucans could be of some use, but the problem was that against the swarms of motorcycle units, they could only take out a hundred or two at most.
This vividly illustrates the saying "a drop in the ocean," and Ibrahim's early hiring of concentrated firepower defense personnel was quite prescient.
But for a target of this size, Xia Yu suddenly felt that four attack helicopters were not so safe, because you can't eliminate an enemy with a single bullet, let alone when the enemy is a mobile force.
Even with the combined capabilities of the old Deer Tiger and Weasel aircraft, the electronically controlled machine gun turret would need at least 25 rounds of 12.7mm heavy machine gun ammunition to eliminate a single soldier target. The other three aircraft, even with machine gun pods, wouldn't have that level of accuracy!
Infantry fighting vehicles capable of firing programmable airburst rounds are certainly accurate, but other people's motorcycles can simply twist the throttle and accelerate to escape the range of direct fire.
Therefore, what they need most right now are air units, air units that can deliver high-intensity firepower in a short time.
"Captain Ibrahim, I may need to make some adjustments to my operational plans if you want to keep as many of Jnim's 3,000 men as possible."
Xia Yu quickly came up with a second version of the plan.
"We must give them a good beating; we'll do whatever you say."
Ibrahim's specialty is artillery, and he doesn't have a good solution to this situation, but he has professionals on his side, so it's best to hand it over to Xia Yu.
A little more money is fine; at this crucial moment, we must interrupt JNIM's upward trend.
Otherwise, things would get messy if things got chaotic in the country, so he chose to cut the Gordian knot.
After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu went outside the office and drove to a hangar belonging to the Cold War branch.
The museum's Red Warthog Squadron is stationed here, which is also his planned aerial money printing machine.
The black swan event disrupted everything, and the Cold War branch museum will not officially open to the public until the storm has completely passed.
Prior to this, these quasi-operational aircraft also seemed to be available for Jihuo Defense to do some private work.
"What's the status of B3 and B4? Are they ready for combat?"
Xia Yu asked the leader of the Red Warthog Squadron.
These two are A-10Bs that retain aerial refueling capabilities. The Warthog's combat radius as a frontline ground attack aircraft is quite limited. The good news is that Jihuo Defense's aerial refueling aircraft can compensate for this shortcoming.
"Can!"
"Immediately order the ammunition depot to extract two basic loads of tungsten-core armor-piercing rounds mixed with high-explosive rounds, and also send all the GUV-8700 machine gun pods stored at Kidal Airport to Niger."
Museum target practice vehicles can use depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds, but for concentrated fire defense in actual combat, small steel needles are better. Moreover, the Warthog's 7-barrel Gatling gun was designed to open tank canisters; 30mm shells are far too ineffective at licking people.
This way, all pickup truck targets were assigned to two A-10Bs, all attack helicopter heavy pylons were replaced with machine gun pods, and the remaining motorcycle units in JNIM were taken care of by them.
Only the magical Afica region could afford this kind of setup; a regular army simply couldn't play like this.
Fortunately, he built the Kirdar base in the Sahel region; otherwise, while attack helicopters would be fine, attack aircraft would be absolutely impossible.
"Yes, boss!"
The staff at Keidal Airport sprang into action, and boxes of shells were delivered to the hangar and loaded one by one into the two A-10Bs with the help of the loading machine.
On the other side, 16 of the GUV-8700 machine gun pods that Xia Yu had mass-produced were also taken out and stuffed into the cargo hold of the C-160 along with 7.62x54mm and 12.7x108mm bullets.
The transport version of the AC-160 can be deployed, but the armed versions can only remain in Keidar as a guard aircraft. Due to the relatively complicated operating procedures, they are currently all in storage and cannot take off for combat.
However, the A-10B is sufficient. Xia Yu will act as the lead aircraft this time, personally piloting the B-3 in the sortie.
After his business plans were disrupted, he had plenty of time to familiarize himself with the operation of various aircraft, including the two-seater Warthog, which he was able to handle with ease.
But this is my first time using it in real combat, so I hope everything goes well.
"Buzz"
Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofan engines on the back of the aircraft roared with the distinctive roar of a warthog. Xia Yu piloted the B3 into the sky and, together with the B4, chased after the refueling aircraft that had taken off before them.
In the videos circulating online, many A-10s have sunken noses, which is due to the poor skill level of the tanker crews.
If a rigid pipe cannot be inserted into the filler neck, it may at best scratch the paint, and at worst cause dents in the metal of the machine.
The tanker aircraft crew of Jihuo Defense is quite capable. After refueling B-3 and B-4 aircraft in the airspace of Tsongkhapa, they turned around and withdrew back to Marie's territory.
The armored convoy, consisting of three infantry fighting vehicles, had just unloaded from its trailer after crossing the border. It was less than 100 kilometers away from Jibo and would take at least an hour to deploy.
Fortunately, the ground forces were mainly used for support this time, while the main offensive force consisted entirely of air units.
"Calling groundhogs, this is weasel, report your current location."
Xia Yu turned on the radio and called out.
At this moment, Rudolf was still on the old doe, and Andrei was the driver, serving as both gunner and commander.
This arrangement is also to train him; the ones who truly grasp the rhythm are the Siberian Wren and the Gloydius, while the little groundhog is just an intern with a lot to learn. "We're 120 kilometers from Gibo, we'll arrive in half an hour."
With 1, 2, 3... a total of 13 Gatling guns at this moment, Rudolf felt extremely safe, even though the most accurate one was still the machine gun turret on the old Deer-Tiger's nose.
"What is Gibo's current situation?"
Xia Yu asked Rudolph.
The Old Deer Tiger was modified as a command aircraft, which could obtain first-hand information from the Howling Eagle crew. The A-10B, as a museum operation aircraft, did not have this function.
"The first echelon has launched an attack on the army camp, and casualties can be seen among the soldiers, but JNIM has not yet entered the camp."
Although he couldn't see the live broadcast, Xia Yu could imagine the situation. It was basically a battle of weaklings. The Somali government forces had fewer troops, but as the defenders, they were still in good shape for the time being.
But the attacking JNIMs are in a tough spot. Unlike the Tuareg, they didn't inherit Colonel Kadaz's legacy; their weapons are limited to old-fashioned AKs, PKMs, and RPG-7s.
So the government troops with shelters have only lost a few men so far, while those without protective firepower have lost more than twenty men.
Human life is cheap in Afika, and extremist ideologies are rapidly spreading among the starving people, enticing a steady stream of people to take up arms, join their organization, and seize territory and resources.
While the fire prevention and control system, as an outsider, cannot cure the root cause, it can still sweep away the fallen leaves like autumn winds and remove all the branches that dare to protrude from the ground.
"B4 and I will arrive in Gibo in 20 minutes and strike the target first."
"Yes, boss!"
After ending the communication, Xia Yu pushed the throttle valve all the way down, and the warthog also sped up to its top speed of Mach 0.7.
That's how attack aircraft are; they can only achieve supersonic flight with variable-sweep wings. Otherwise, no matter how fast they go, they'll only be subsonic. Fortunately, they're still faster than attack helicopters.
"Da da da"
"Whoosh!"
"Buzz"
On the outskirts of Gibo, near an army camp, the sounds of gunfire and rocket explosions echoed.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh"
As the only heavy weapon, JNIM's two armed pickup trucks, towing 107mm multiple rocket launchers, launched an attack on the camp.
However, due to the unknown country of origin of the counterfeit goods, coupled with the debuffs in their own capabilities, most of the damage was inflicted outside the military camp.
"Quickly, reload, aim and fire."
The commander, who himself didn't understand the thing, kicked one of his men and passed the buck.
Just as a few militants had filled half of the directional tube, the faint sound of an airplane could be heard in the distance.
"Dula"
"Boom boom boom"
The signature "farting" sound rang out sharply as a burst of small steel needles mixed with high-explosive shells swept across the barrels of the two multiple rocket launchers, the high-explosive shells directly detonating the 107mm rockets in the directional tubes.
That's good now. Even if I miss, it's okay. I can just be more accurate in my next life.
"Is it the Air Force? Is it the Air Force of Kinabalu, Faso?"
Upon hearing the explosion, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to the sky, where two very familiar fighter jets swooped down towards them.
"Americans"
Hollywood's influence is enormous; even in impoverished Afica, many people have access to pirated DVDs. The popularity of smartphones has also taken over the role that MP4s played back then.
They might not know that this fighter jet with its engine on its back is called a Warthog, but they do know that it's a fighter jet from the US military.
But this shouldn't be happening. Shouldn't the Americans be fighting their own al-Qaeda in the Middle East? Why are they coming to Afica to fight these black Muslims?
That's right, JNIM is affiliated with the base.
The base couldn't take the beatings back home, so they decided to export their ideology and established themselves in Afica, where American involvement was limited.
The Chinese intervened, but they only randomly selected unlucky people to make an example of, until things changed today.
"Damn it, they didn't say the Americans were coming. We've been fooled by these guys."
The JNIM leader, hidden among the crowd, muttered curses.
He also knew about the Warthog, and knew that it was a type of aircraft used only by the US Army.
To be honest, the Americans really wanted to sell the A-10, but since they only used it themselves, no one else would buy it until a museum bought it for commercial operation.
Unfortunately, a black swan event occurred, and the publicity plan was withdrawn before it even started. The news that the Afica War Museum had a Red Warthog squadron has been passively blocked until now.
It just so happened that another company owned by their boss was facing some difficulties, so they naturally ended up in Ketuna Faso, causing some misunderstandings.
"Retreat. Dealing with the Americans is a different price. Everyone should disperse and evacuate."
After giving the orders over the radio, the leader opened the car door and was about to get in when he suddenly remembered something.
"Give me your car, and you can get in mine."
Faisal grabbed the motorcycle from his men; he knew it wasn't safe to ride in a car, and the motorcycle was the best option now.
This judgment is a bit premature. Regardless of the mode of transportation, as long as it appears within the range of concentrated fire defenses, it is the worst possible outcome.
Not to mention that Xia Yu dispatched the Warthogs specifically to free up four Mi-24s so they could freely deal with unarmored soft targets.
"Dula"
"boom"
Rapid bursts of fire destroyed one armed pickup truck after another.
With 50 rounds per burst and 1350 rounds of ammunition, the A-10B can fire 27 times, but a single burst can take down two vehicles at close range. The two Warthogs in the sky are clearing out pickup trucks on the ground with extremely high efficiency.
This scene reassured the militants who were scattering on motorcycles, realizing that the two planes were not targeting them!
That's true, who would use a cannon to kill a mosquito?
"Splash splash"
What is that sound?
Many motorcyclists looked in the direction from which the commotion came, their dark faces turning pale in an instant.
"One, two, three, four, four helicopters!"
Although it's not the American helicopter from the movie, many people in the JNIM Mari branch are familiar with this type of armed helicopter used by the government forces and are aware of its power.
No, they don't know!
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