Postby Shankar » 06 Jan 2010 16:52
DRAGON FIRE FLIGHT -5XSU-30 MKK-38 KM FROM BARATANG ISLAND -APPROACHING PORT BLAIR NAVAL BASE
Patrick Chan was boiling inside loosing 3 of his team mates to ground fire even before reaching the weapon release point . He needed to climb out before releasing the laser guided 500 kg bombs he was carrying and his target was the naval base of port blair .He hoped not all ships have dispersed and even if they have not gone very far from exit channel .He was tasked with crippling the base so that the Indian ships cannot use it for the next few days and if possible block the channel with a few sunken ships and also blow up the control tower and the 8000 ft main runway at the nearby naval air station.
He pulled on the stick for a shallow climb out and the picturesque bay And the enclosed harbor immediately came into view on his forward looking infrared display. The radar warning receiver went crazy at about the same time as he was painted by a dozen radars from ground as well as warships dispersed around the bay .Patrick quickly changed course sharply to port and decrease altitude as first of the long range surface to air missiles lifted out of its mobile launcher quickly followed by second from some where up north .Then the massed triple A opened up throwing an almost impenetrable curtain of hot lead up to an altitude of 2000 meters.
Patrick knew he has to stay above the murderous triple A from ZSU23 4 barrled guns spewing out more than 6000 rounds per minute and the good tracking altitude for the Akash and Spyder SAM s so he adjusted his flying height 1200 meters over sea level ,touched the photo of his wife and kids in his jump suit pocket and made the final course adjustments as in the distance he could make out the shape of the massive floating dry dock and the wharfs with some ships still tied on .
His finger toggled the arming switch and the attack display came alive showing 16 500 kg laser guided bombs ready for release. The head up display showed the target cursor moving smoothly over the target icon and just as prompted “release” he clicked on the fire button and kept is pressed as the 500 kg bombs dropped three at a time at 5 second interval and floated away lazily following the advise of laser receiver on the nose,their fins robotically doing micro adjustments correcting the flight path of the bombs based on high speed commands generated in the built in auto pilot .
Now was the difficult part as he stayed on course till weapon impact the Akash battery on a small island with a tiny light house on it opened up. The missiles were launched in pairs and they kept on coming climbing up vertically and then dipping their nose at the PLAAN flight .The Chinese flankers started dispersing flares and chaff packets on full auto mode as they released and guided their bombs to target. Within 90 seconds first of the high explosive bombs hit the floating dry docks and blew up inside the dock and then the second one hit one hit more or less at the same spot and the dry dock started listing heavily to one side.
About the same time the triple A units around port got lucky as one flanker as it tried to make a climbing turn to escape took on a full belt on the side and disintegrated in mid air, splashing down into the adjoining forest and immediately starting a flash fire
Patrick kept on course and had the satisfaction of seeing two of his bombs hit the main jetty and the follow on pair hit the control tower of nearby naval air base ,a pair of Mi 17 possible on repair blew up in unison and then it was time for him to go .
He never noticed the small Igla team lying prone at the end of the runway tracking his aircraft patiently and launched a single missile as he started his climb out . The missile flew true and straight up his starboard engine exhaust –ripping open the fuselage –spraying fuel over hot metal and the whole automated safety system came alive –but it was too little too late .The unbalanced thrust made the heavy aircraft cart wheel into ground even as Patrick pulled the ejection handle . The rocket motor ignited a fraction of a second later ejecting his unconscious form sideways into an empty hanger wall ,killing him instantly .
Development of the Igla man-portable surface-to-air missile began in 1971. The development program was protracted, and conducted in two phases. The Igla-1 9K310 with the 9M313 missile was accepted by the military in 1981. As opposed to the Strela, the missile used not just the force of its warhead against its target, but also the explosive potential of any remaining solid propellant. In comparison to the Strela-2 the Igla-1 could intercept targets by overtaking them, as well as on an intercept course. The operation of the system was simplified, with the launcher signalling to the operator the best moment for launch. An IFF interrogator was included in the launcher to prevent inadvertent destruction of friendly aircraft. In 1983 the Igla 9K38 with the 9M39 missile was accepted for production. This had maximum commonality with the Igla-1, using the same rocket motor, warhead, launch mechanism, and sensors. It featured a new optical homing head with a logic unit to optimise the effectiveness of the warhead against the target, while ignoring infrared decoys. The Igla-2 was claimed to be twice as effective as the American Stinger missile, while being substantially cheaper. Total Mass: 13 kg (28 lb). Core Diameter: 0.0700 m (0.2290 ft). Total Length: 1.55 m (5.08 ft). Span: 0.16 m (0.52 ft). Standard warhead mass: 1.18 kg (2.60 lb). Maximum range: 5.20 km (3.20 mi). Boost Propulsion: Solid rocket, dual thrust. Guidance: Cooled Infrared Homing. Maximum speed: 2,050 kph (1,270 mph). Minimum range: 0.50 km (0.31 mi). Ceiling: 3,500 m (11,400 ft). Floor: 10 m (32 ft).
AKASH BATTERY 34 B –NORTH BAY ISLAND –ANDAMANS
Squadron leader Sorabjit Sing kicked hard at the auto loader as it has jammed and then simply screamed at his helpers to load up another load of sleek yet heavy missiles into the launcher. All his 4 launchers have gone empty and he could see As well hear the Chinese bombs exploding across the bay .But manual load up took time and that is what Sorabjit did not have at the moment . He could see a large fire just outside the main runway and could only guess the triple A or Igla teams were indeed earning their pay. A loud scream filled the air as one of the PLAAN flankers were hit on the wings and swerved uncontrollably towards his command vehicle with 6 barrel gun blazing .As he jumped into a ditch the stream of tracers hit the command vehicle and blew it up like a toy and then the flanker itself crashed 20 ft from a mobile launcher setting it on fire and secondary explosions filled the air
