Possible Indian Military Scenarios - Part VIII

Rakesh
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Possible Indian Military Scenarios - Part VIII

Post by Rakesh »

Old Threads in Military Scenarios Archive.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7
Sudhanshu
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Post by Sudhanshu »

I think, Ajay Pratap talking some kind of simulation which my younger brother plays a lot and kills dozen of the enemy air assets, by setting the game on easy skill level settings :)

Having an engineering background, I never know that simulations gives idea about capability of enemy pilots instead of their aircrafts.
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Post by member_10461 »

Vivek the map was great...i have one question ..pls bear my limited knowledge about air warfare

What if the SU-30 Fleet (4 from bomdila and 4 from Tezpur) choose not engage the ingressing SU-27 (36) and instead went to engage the J-10 group.

What i mean is you have 36 SU-27 coming in with air to air ordinance...why should we engage them...Let them ingress wherever they want to ....let them meet no one in skies to engage and battle with…they are armed for air to air battle and cant do much ground damage…and they cant go very far because of fuel status

What if the IAF decides to focus just on J-10 batch and ignore them altogether...all SU-30 and Mig-21 will be engaging the J-10 + 4 SU-27 rather then 36 SU-27..the SU-27 fleet then have to change course to engage us..if by the time we have successfully taken care of the J-10 (armed for ground attack role) we may choose not to battle with SU-27 at all who will be coming back to engage us...our planes will have fuel and they can run away from battle....Su-27 wont be able to give chase and will have to return because of low fuel

Do u mean that IAF phalcon has not detected the J-10 Batch yet...
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Post by saumitra_j »

CalvinH welcome to BRF.

A few things you need to ponder about; despite all what we jingoes would like to think about the "sexiness" of sensors/weapons in terms of ranges, speed blah blah, one of the most important thing in AtoA warfare is correctly IDing the incoming aircraft and its types... In the given scenario, how does one know that the a/c is Su27 armed ONLY with AtoA weapons? In fact, how does one know that it is a Su27 to start with? Ok , we all know things about radars being able to count the turbine blades blah blah to ID the aircraft but that will only give a "General" picture and NOT tell you if it is a J10 or a Su27.....Also how do you know if it has the bombs or A2A weapons? A Su27 can do both so no reason why the Chinese would not arm it with A2G weapons for hitting targets of opportunity...

So net net ... relax and enjoy the scenario as it unfolds :)
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Post by Hari Sud »

Additional military minds like CalvinH are needed to make these battle scenarios a bit more sensible.

Above, CalvinH raises good points.

Till now, all scenarios have been win - win types in which India suffers some damage but inflicts a huge damage. Future battles will unlikely be that type.

Again, enagaging the enemy cleverly makes the battle worthwhile the sacrifice. Here again smarter minds are needed.

But let us not intrupt the thought process of the authors. They have a set battle plan in mind and they are following it. Let us give them all the credit for thinking thru.


Hari Sud
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Indian Military Scenario- China and Norhern eastern sectors

Post by deovratsingh »

Hi vivek,

It is very addicting and interesting to read and seems like you are really living the scenario. Vivek, you have done astounding job. Hats off to you man. Once one starts reading, one cannot leave it un read.

I will like to make the following comments-

1. It is a historical fact that India was convincingly defeated by, Chinese in 1962. It was not the fault of Indian military( who fought gallantly), rather political leadership, who in spite of bungling and creating mess in Kashmir, had not learned any lesson. Nehru was after Noble prize, and was an arrogant man in his own mind. He never listened to his Generals and their advice. Perhaps he should have read Chanakya Book- that you should always negotiate, when you have strong army behind your back.

2.Indian army has come out of China syndrome and feels very confident facing these Chinese off. That is regarded as one of the best fighting forces in the world. Except our political leadership, which is very timid in equipping our forces. These old 80-90 yr old corrupt politicians, have dragged their feet in equipping IAF, while their strength is depleting. Actual IAF strength should be 60-65 squadrons ( with 20-25 ac each).

3. Indian army of today is not the army of 1960's, and IAF will be able hold off PLA air force, and can soundly defeat PLA air force given their technological edge over Chinese(even at their current strength).

4. Indian navy will not sit back; they would block oil supply to China from day 1, in event of conflict. The Chinese Navy and would be Aircraft carriers, have a lot of catching up to do.

5. It is unclear to me, when IAF knew through satellites, that PLA has concentrated most of its strike fighters, bombers and SU 27 near border, how come IAF has not mobilized all its MKI 's,MIG 29, and Mirages towards Eastern border bases from even LoheGaon?

Lets see how the battle unfolds. When two lions fight, both of them going get hurt, it can never be unilateral. Even if Indian and Pakis, fight war is not going to be one sided, although eventually Pakis will be soundly defeated.

Regards,

D Singh.
[/u]
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Post by Shankar »

FLASH BACK TO HISTORY -6


'
FLYING THE HUMP'
A FACT SHEET FOR THE HUMP OPERATION DURING WORLD WAR II
UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES (USAAF)
CHINA-BURM-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS
"The Hump" was a high altitude military aerial supply route between the Assam Valley in northeastern India, across northern Burma, to Yunnan province in southwestern China, flown during World War II. This operation was the first sustained, long range, 24 hour around the clock, all weather, military aerial supply line in history. It was a start-from-scratch operation. There was no precedent for it.
In April, 1942, China lost the Burma Road, its last remaining supply line to the outside world, due to the invasion of Burma by Japanese troops. The Road extended 425 miles from Lashio, Burma to Kunming, China. China's eastern seaports had previously been closed by Japanese invasion troops and the Japanese Navy.
The United States determined a continuous flow of military supplies into China had to continue to enable the Chinese Army, and the U. S. Army 14th Air Force (formerly the American Volunteer Group (AVGs) and the China Air Task Force) in China, to remain effective and keep pressure on Japanese occupational troops, thereby denying their use as fighting forces in other parts of the CBI or south Pacific. The only means left for getting supplies to China was by air. Due to the presence of Japanese Army and Air Force in northern Burma, the only available air route to China was via the Hump route.
The Hump route was an unlikely route for regular flight operations due to high terrain and extremely severe weather. It crossed a north-south extension of the main Himalaya Mountains that ran south through northern Burma and western China. On the very north end of the extension terrain exceeded 20,000MSL in height. Average elevations lowered to the south but did not fall below 12,000MSL for approximately 140 miles. The routes flown fell between these two extremes.
Northern Burma was largely uninhabited except for wild native tribes. In addition to mountains, it was covered by tropical rain forest with trees reaching over 150 feet in height. River gorges of the Salween, Mekong and Yangtze Rivers exceeded 10,000 feet in depth. Uncivilized headhunter tribes existed on the southern rim of the main Himalayas in China.
Severe weather existed on the Hump almost year around. The monsoon season, with heavy cloudiness, fierce rain and embedded severe thunderstorms with turbulence severe enough to damage aircraft, existed from around May into October of each year. The late fall and winter flying weather was better with many VFR days. However, heavy ground fogs, with ground visibilities down to zero/zero, occurred almost nightly during the early winter, and severe thunderstorms still occurred over the route on an irregular basis. Winter winds aloft were extreme, often exceeding 100MPH. Most night flying had to be done by instruments from takeoff due to lack of any ground or horizon references, until well into western China.
Early flights were basically daylight operations that were often forced to the northern portion of the Hump due to the presence of Japanese fighter aircraft to the south flying out of Myitkyina, Burma. Terrain heights in this area generally averaged around 15,000 to 16,000MSL. This was the high Hump.
The Hump initially contained few enroute navigational aids. Enroute communications were poor, and air traffic control, except for local control towers, did not exist. Aeronautical charts were very unreliable and weather reporting was very poor. These conditions slowly improved after the arrival of the U. S. Army Airways Communications Service (AACS) in August 1943.
Homing beacons existed at each airfield in India and China. These homers were severely affected by weather, night effect, and static electricity that built up on aircraft. Airport instrument approaches were normally conducted to airports on homing beacons and were non-precision approaches.
Living conditions in the Assam Valley were primitive. Personnel generally lived in tents or bamboo bashas. A few lived in tea plantation bungalows or in bungalow outbuildings. During the monsoon season bases were seas of mud. Sidewalks and tent foundations had to be elevated to stay above standing water. Temperatures during the monsoon season were extremely hot with very high humidity. Clothes and shoes mildewed within days. Food was government issued C-ration. Personnel did not eat off base for sanitary reasons. Malaria and dysentery were prevalent diseases. Water could be consumed only after purification by iodine.
Maintenance of aircraft was a serious problem due to a shortage of parts and poor working conditions. The need for maintenance was high due to the need to fly aircraft well above their normal operating limits. Work during the monsoon season mostly had to be done at night due to the heat. There were no hangers for aircraft maintenance. All maintenance work had to be done in the aircraft parking areas. Make shift covers had to be placed over engines to complete engine work during the rainy season.
The first supply mission over the Hump occurred in April, 1942, when the U. S. Army 10th Air Force in India contracted with the African Division of Pan-American Airways to handle the transport of 30,000 gallons of gasoline and 500 gallons of lubricants to China for use by the B-25s of the Doolittle Raiders. The Raiders had expected to refuel in China after their April raid on Tokyo. These Pan-American aircraft were also involved in the evacuation of northern Burma in May 1942.
Regular Hump operations began in May, 1942, with 27 aircraft (converted U. S. airline DC-3s, C-39s # C-53s) and approximately 1,100 personnel from New Malir Air Base, a British base located in the Sind Desert about 20 miles east of Karachi in western India. The aircraft and personnel were members of the First Ferry Group, provided by the U. S. Army Air Forces Ferry Command. The Group was attached to the U. S. Army 10th Air Force, newly established in India and headquartered in New Delhi, for logistical support. Their first regular Hump operations crossed India and eventually jumped off for the Hump leg of their flights from Dinjan, a British Air Base located in the upper Assam Valley. During April and May approximately 96 tons of supplies were delivered to China.
The 1st Ferry Group moved to the Assam Valley in August of 1942 where several bases were still under construction for the Hump operation. Initially these operations were conducted on sod and steel mat airstrips. On December 1, 1942, the Air Transport Command (ATC), formed on 7/1/1942 from the Ferry Command, established an India-China Wing, also headquartered in New Delhi This ATC Wing was then assigned the primary mission of flying supplies over the Hump route to China. The first Wing commander was Colonel (later Brigadier General) Edward H. Alexander. The aircraft and support personnel of the 1st Ferry Group were transferred to this Wing.
The ATC was a world wide Command that reported directly to the War Department in Washington, DC rather than to Theater Commanders. The Wing assigned the immediate responsibility of flying the Hump to the Assam-China Group, headquartered at Chabua Air Base in the Assam Valley, under the command of Colonel Tom Rafferty, former commander of the 1st Ferry Group. In the fall of 1943 the Wing was divided into Sectors with the East Sector, based at Chabua under the command of Colonel Thomas O. Hardin, continuing with the responsibility for the Hump operation. Colonel Hardin shortly afterward implemented an all-weather, around the clock Hump operation.
On October 15, 1943, command of the Wing was transferred to Brigadier General Earl S. Hoag. On January 21, 1944, Colonel Hardin was promoted to Brigadier General and on March 15, 1944, assumed command of the India-China Wing. At this time the Wing became the ATC India-China Division and the Sectors became Wings. Concurrently the Division Headquarters office was moved to the Hastings Mills complex in Calcutta. On September 3, 1944, Major General William H. Tunner became the fourth and final commander of the India-China Division.
Initially the Hump was flown with converted Douglas DC-3, C-39, C-53 and military Douglas C-47 aircraft. Loads over the Hump grew slowly until the arrival of Consolidated C-87s (converted B-24s) in December 1942 and the Curtiss C-46 in April 1943. The C-46 was a large super-charged twin-engine aircraft capable of flying faster, higher and carrying heavier loads than the C-47. The C-87, and its C-109 tanker modification, was a supercharged four engine aircraft capable of flying higher and faster but with smaller loads than the C-46. With these aircraft loads over the Hump reached 12,594 tons in December, 1943. Loads continued to increase in 1944 and 1945, reaching its maximum capacity in July 1945.
A military offensive against the Japanese Army began in February, 1944. By August, 1944, this offensive had forced the Japanese Army south far enough to enable the Hump operation to move south over the lower Hump with elevations generally not over 12,000MSL. This move increased the efficiency of the operation. Douglas C-54 aircraft were added to the operation in the fall of 1944 for further efficiency. The C-54s were based in the Calcutta area and crossed the Hump on the south end. This reduced the need to haul materials by rail to the Assam Valley for transport.
In July, 1945, 77,306 tons of supplies were flown over the Hump to China. At that time the ATC was operating 622 aircraft, supported by 34,000 U. S. military personnel and 47,000 civilian personnel.
Loads carried over the Hump were many and verified. The primary load was gasoline, carried in 55 gallon drums and added to by siphoning from tanks of the carrying aircraft. Also carried were: small arms and ammunition, small vehicles, heavy equipment cut up and carried in pieces, truck and aircraft engines, bombs and aircraft machine gun ammunition, mortar shells, hospital equipment, personnel, 20' lengths of 4" pipe, etc.
All operations over the hump required use of oxygen. Oxygen was provided to crewmembers by a demand system which provided oxygen on inhale. It also had a constant flow and an emergency forced flow capability. Oxygen masks were very uncomfortable. Regulations required that oxygen be used above 12,000MSL during daytime and above 10,000MSL at night.
Initially search and rescue efforts to find downed aircraft were informal and spasmodic. About August, 1943, search and rescue took a more formal approach with the establishment of a Search and Rescue group by the ATC. Equipped initially with C-47 aircraft and later with B-25 aircraft, this group swept the mountains and jungles of Burma and the mountains of western China at low altitudes in search of downed aircraft. This group proved very successful in finding and helping downed crews return to safety. PT-17s, L-4s and L-5s of the group flew out many downed airman.
Operations ended over 3 ½ years later on November 15, 1945, when the Hump was officially closed down. The last full month of war-time operations was July, 1945. Military supply operations were discontinued in August, 1945. The final months of operations provided for the closing of China Hump bases and the moving of support personnel from China to India for transportation home.
The success of this operation did not come lightly. Official records of Search and Rescue were closed at the end of 1945. Their final records showed 509 crashed aircraft records "closed", and 81 lost aircraft still classified as "open". Three hundred twenty-eight (328) of the lost aircraft were ATC. Thirteen hundred fourteen (1,314) crew members were known dead, 1,171 walked out to safety, and 345 were declared still missing.
Aircraft from other Air Force Commands also operated over the Hump routes during this time period. The China National Airways Corporation (CNAC), a civilian Chinese-American airline, owned jointly by the Chinese government and Pan-American Airways, flew the route primarily in DC-3s, C-47s and late added C-46s during the entire period and were a very prominent part of the Hump operation.
Troop Carrier Command Squadrons, assigned to the U. S Army 10th Air Force and flying C-47s, entered the theater in January 1943. Their primary mission was to support combat and supply operations in the Theater. They flew the Hump routes irregularly as required by their primary mission. Some of their squadrons flew the Hump regularly during the last few months of the war following the cessation of ground activities in Burma.
The 1st Air Commando Group (initially the 5318th Provisional Unit (Air)) was a special Air Force unit initially developed for action in Burma to support the British Chindit expeditions into Burma. The Group was comprised of Douglas C-47s, CG-41 Waco gliders, Noorduyn C-64 Norseman cargo aircraft, Vultee L-1 liaison aircraft, Stinson L-5 Sentinels, the Sikorsky Helicopter, the YR-4, the first helicopter to be used under combat conditions, P-51A Mustangs for fighter cover and B-25 medium bombers. This unit first saw action in March 1944. The Group was under the joint command of Lt. Col. Philip G. Cochran, a fighter pilot from North Africa, and Lt. Colonel John R. Alison, formerly with the 23rd Fighter Group of the U. S. 14th Air Force in China.
The 20th Bomber Command, of the 20th Air Force, arrived in the theater in April, 1944, flying B-29s, very heavy bombers. Their home bases were located at Kharagphur and 4 other air bases about 75 miles west of Calcutta, India. They were accompanied by three Air Transport Squadrons that flew C-46s in logistic support of this Command. The 20th departed the theater in March, 1945. During this period these B-29s and C-46s regularly flew the Hump in support of their primary mission, which was to bomb the southern islands of Japan from their forward bases in Chengtu, China.
Four squadrons of the 1st Combat Cargo Group, also assigned to the 10th Air Force and flying C-47s, arrived in the theater beginning in May 1944. Additional Groups soon followed. Together with the Troop Carrier Squadrons their primary mission was to support American and Chinese Ground Forces in the 1944-45 Burma offensive. Supplies delivered included those necessary to keep the fighting forces on the ground operating effectively. Reluctant mules were often included among these supplies. Supplies were delivered by aerial drops where no landing fields were available. These aircraft also provided troop replacements and aerial evacuation of the sick and wounded, often operating out of fields in close proximity to enemy forces. Near the end of this offensive some of their units were also assigned to fly the Hump regularly. Also flying the Hump on an irregular basis were aircraft of the U. S. 14th Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force.
An additional significant aerial supply operation also took place in the theater during this time. Aircraft of the Troop Carrier Command, flying C-47s, provided aerial supply support to American and British stealth forces operating in Burma during 1943.
wing commander Grewal was always serious and always busy -more so this morning .While the army engineers were trying hard the damaged saraighat bridge over brahmaputra was not likely to be operational in near future though some king of make shift ponttons were being lined up to restart a skeletal supply .

His fleet of il-76 s and an-32s were already booked for next 15 days .Additional aircrafts were required as of yesterday and there was only place where he could get them quickly and whose pilots knew the north eastern skies and bases well -the civilian airlines

The necessary ordanances were issued in Delhi and one by one B-737 s and A-300/320 started flying in to netaji subhas international airport kolkata which will act as the main hub for resupply effort. Kolkata air port was closed to civilian traffic shortly there after .

The aero bridge to assam started forming up .Bangaladesh "agreed" to indian overflight after some "pursuation"

Indian air force personnel took over the air traffic control function at all the north eastern air bases mohanbari,lilabari, guahati,agartal along with those already under direct IAF control like bagdogra,tezpur,chabua .

The war on eastern front was now deadly serious
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Post by niran »

Dear Mr. Sudhanshu,
It was not a computer game as you think Sir, it was a real humans flying albeit in virtual reality. as far we had the information the other side were real pilots. whether they ever flew Su before me dunno.
Anyway methinks too much talk about it. I thinks it breaks the flow of the post. I will not post any tidbits from now on except my
two penny shabashi to the great writers we have here.
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Technological edge over China?

Post by SGupta »

For the moment I do believe that the IAF has a technological edge over China and perhaps we do with other systems as well. But the question to ponder is, how long will that edge last?

Fact is that the Chinese put together a good aircraft in the J-10, have developed crude but effective ASAT weapons and more. Over time a greater percentage of the worlds manufacturing is acceding to them because they are the low cost producer in the world. Technology transfer is taking place all the time to the Chinese and bluntly put they steal a great deal of it, making costs even lower.

Their military spending is estimated to be second only of the USA and by some estimates at current levels $135 billion as compared to India’s $22 billion. The additional billions buys lots of R&D. I also say that unlike the western world which is united through religion, race and history with examples of such being the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and others, India has no natural allies. Even if we produce a 5th generation fighter with the Russians there is no guarantee that the technology will not make it into the hands of the Chinese. The Chinese on the other hand are capable of producing indigenously and going up the learning curve, we proudly talk of ToT and who truly provides their best technology.

Further I believe most of you agree that their efficiency in procurement is better than India’s. We can certainly have some debate based on opinion, but I simply point to delayed project after project in India.

So I ask how much longer can India maintain a technological edge?


Regards,
Sanjay
Sudhanshu
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Post by Sudhanshu »

ajay pratap wrote:Dear Mr. Sudhanshu,
It was not a computer game as you think Sir, it was a real humans flying albeit in virtual reality. as far we had the information the other side were real pilots. whether they ever flew Su before me dunno.
Anyway methinks too much talk about it. I thinks it breaks the flow of the post. I will not post any tidbits from now on except my
two penny shabashi to the great writers we have here.
:) Don't be too defensive, I was expressing my views.
Thanks for clarification though. I am skeptical because, until it was sort of a top secret exercise ( which is highly unlikely) or something else, we should have read something in any corner of news-paper, at least in the Indian news paper about the triumph of Indian pilots over PRC pilots.

Anyways, lets finish it, lets leave it to wisdom of people to decide what is what.
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Post by vivek_ahuja »

SOUTH OF THE GREAT HIMALAYA PEAKS
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
INDIA
1857 HRS THURSDAY


As the main force of SU-27s came in over the Himalayan peaks, they had crossed over a wall and had now entered Indian airspace. Immediately their radar warning devices lit up. The major threats to them at the moment were the multiple ground radars and the one airborne radar to the south. Three flying minutes behind them were four EW /ECM H-6 aircrafts and they crossed the border as well. They were to provide the close escort jamming support for the fighters in order to protect them from the ground fire. Each of these massive aircrafts was loaded with all kinds of jamming gear, and even alone they were powerful electronic warriors. With four of them together, the jamming support for the strike force was considerable. Usually they would not follow the strike force so closely, not because of security concerns in as much as they didn’t have to. Their powerful equipment had significant range for them to act in the standoff support status. The problem for them was the mountainous terrain, especially the Great Himalayas range, which created a wall separating the Indian and Chinese territories.

For all the power of the equipment they carried, the signals could not see through solid rock, and neither did it accord them a clear picture of what was behind that mountain peaks. This meant that if they were to make sure that the SU-27s they were supporting didn’t enter an Indian shooting gallery from the ground and the air, they would have to follow close behind them. This had the additional effect that the extreme close proximity of the jammers with their intended targets would saturate the electronic space with so much power that burn through from the local radar directed ground batteries would be impossible. And the SU-27s would make sure that no Indian pilot got within firing range of these four lumbering aircrafts. They had to act quickly if they were to survive, and it took them less than a minute to orient the already worked up onboard equipment to the electronic environment around them.

The three major groups of SU-27s were arranged in an arrow formation, and the middle one was the leading formation. The one group on the eastern tip of the arrow was to turn a little to the eastwards and thus surround the airbases at and around Chabua from the south while another massive force of SU-30MKKs headed from the east via Myanmar, from the north and the northeast via Mainland China. These combined forces were to eliminate all Indian air activity in the region around Chabua, including destruction of airbases, once and for all. All that stood between were two-squadron worth of Mig-21s that was now scrambling all every available aircraft from the ground, one from Chabua and the other from Jorhat. Unfortunately for them, with the two other forces of SU-27s moving to the south from their west, they had cut off the region from any reinforcements. Unless the main Chinese SU-27 force was destroyed, the Mig-21 Force around Chabua TAC was on its own against a far superior force of much better capability aircrafts.

For them the situation was very bleak. If they both turned to face the twelve SU-27s, they could achieve numerical superiority over the enemy, but that meant that the Mig-21s from Jorhat would be engaged first as the aircrafts from Chabua TAC were far to the east and would take time to arrive. If the Chabua force left the Jorhat base aircraft to fight on their own while they attempted to engage the SU-30MKK force, they would be fighting from all bearing from the compass, and that was unacceptable. Unless they could eliminate on of these enemy forces before engaging the others, they had a fighting chance, else the only option that remained for them was to escape to the south, and while the commanders at Air-Headquarters struggled to come to terms with this fast developing situation and issue the necessary evacuation orders, that southern route was being cut off by the twelve Chinese SU-27s that were now moving south-eastwards to engage and decimate the Mig-21s scrambling from Jorhat before turning towards the northeast and head towards Chabua.

The middle force of SU-27s had a different mission from the other two barrier forces. This force was to move to the south towards another high value target: the Indian Phalcon AWACS, VICTOR-ONE. They had known the general position of the Phalcon via their own airborne EW systems, but the exact location they had not known. This was achieved minutes after crossing the border and so the twelve Chinese fighters realigned their bearing and were now facing more to the south than to the southeast, and the only thing to stop them from completing their mission was a force of four SU-30MKIs flying a CAP north of the Phalcon for its security. That would have been enough if the Indian pilots had had to only worry about themselves. Here, there was a chance, remote as it might have been, that one of the Chinese pilots would be able to engage the Phalcon with radar directed missiles while the rest of the forces engaged the massively outnumbered Indian fighters.

As a result, further orders were given to the second flight of four SU-30MKIs coming northeast over Tezpur to divert and assist their four embattled colleagues trying to protect the at present only AWACS aircraft flying in the region. Another order came from air headquarters to the EAC command centre to inform the Phalcon to shut down operations and to head southwest towards safety, but that plan was shot down by the EAC-AOC because that would lead to disaster. The only advantage the Indian fighters fighting for their lives in the region had was the Phalcon and its crew of radar operators. If they shut down, the situational awareness would be lost, and so would be the situation. However, the aircraft crew was informed that should the threat to them become severe, this option was indeed open to them. The mission commander in the Phalcon took this message with a grunt. He had no intention of leaving the region with his tail between his legs and his pilot agreed with him. Both men knew the consequences if they did what their superiors had ‘advised’ them to do.

The third force of SU-27s to the west was another of the barrier forces, and its job was to ensure that no reinforcements could reach the area of operations of the middle force or the J-10 force to the north. It was not alone in this mission. The north four SU-27s were coming south while this main force would turn to the west, thus forming a semicircle whose diameter was continuously reducing. One of the jammers was dedicated to this force and turned along with the force as they moved southwest.

The only thing in the immediate region between this force and its mission completion were two flights of four SU-30MKIs each. The flight of four north of Bomdila was already facing the heat from the north and the east. The second flight would northeast of Tezpur would have ideally assisted the flight near Bomdila, but the CAP SU-30MKIs were asking for assistance to protect the Phalcon and it had been ordered to move there, although to get there it looked as though it would have to shoot through the southern elements of the twelve SU-27s of the western force heading towards them. Another force of eight SU-30MKIs and another Phalcon was rushing to the east from the Sikkim area, but it was still far away. Mig-27s from Hashimara airbase were scrambling off the ground as well, and so were several other flights of SU-30MKIs from Kalaikunda.

The disaster that had struck the main SU-30MKI airbase at Bareilly in the afternoon was now showing the consequences. All earlier CAP missions had been undertaken from that base. With the loss of that airbase, all aircrafts had to be launched from Kalaikunda, and with Bangladesh not cooperating to allow over flights over its airspace, all Indian aircrafts had to take the roundabout route from West Bengal. And air headquarters was worried about further missile attacks at Hashimara and Baghdogra airbases so as to not allow the Sukhois to be based there. And the relatively small IAF fleet of tanker aircrafts was already straining to support all CAC and EAC operations.

The IL-78s flying with the EAC were already stretched to maintain the bare minimum of aircrafts in the air continuously around the clock, and it was quite literally impossible to main a massive alert force of fighters in the air. Also, the Chinese had more airframes and pilots. They could afford to have larger number of aircrafts in the air around the clock, and that was just for defence. If they decided to go offensive with every available asset, the strike force could assume massive levels, as it was starting to do over Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, the Indian fighters currently flying over Assam were now facing incredible odds while their support had to take the long route to get in the right place to support them. This fact meant that by the time help arrived, the first engagements would be over.

The first action in the tense situation in the air over the Northeast was taken by the Chinese H-6 EW aircrafts as all of them saturated the electronic battle space with large amounts of jamming signals. They were close enough to the ground based radars that were tracking the inbound fighters so that when the jamming signals went out over the entire frequency spectrum, sufficient power existed to make the Indian gun battery radars go blind with incredible return signals that saturtaded their screens and the Indian SAM tracking radars face immense trouble in trying to lock on to the enemy aircraft because of the redundant sand spurious signals showing up that made it difficult to see what an aircraft was and what was not. With these interruptions the response of the air defence systems was delayed further in a very time critical situation, much to the frustration of the radar teams. As they attempted to burn though the jamming, the SU-27s continued to move towards their targets.

Soon the SU-27 strike forces were across the range of the Indian army’s ground to air systems and reaching for the foothills. Now the loopholes existed within the air defence matrix. There were three main regions where the ground threat existed for the Chinese. The first region was the one around Chabua where, due to the Digboi refinery and other strategic targets, there were a total of three Akash SAM batteries and one Pechora battery. The second region was the single Akash battery at Jorhat. The third region was north of Tezpur where two more batteries existed. There were isolated batteries of the Pechora missiles in the region that were by now far too obsolete and the EW H-6s had no trouble jamming these systems. These loopholes existed in the region due to the late induction of the Akash SAM system that were only recently starting to some off the production lines.

As a result, while on map the air defence ground environment system or ADGES may have looked impressive, in reality there were severe weaknesses in the chain. These weak links were the older Pechoras, and once the tracking radars of these were jammed, serious holes suddenly appeared in the network.

Although it restricted the free movements of the Chinese fighters, it is through these holes that the main Chinese strike forces were able to cut thorough and move into Himalayan foothills of the Indian Northeast.


III CORPS HEADQUARTERS
DIMAPUR, NAGALAND
INDIA
1900 HRS THURSDAY


As the ‘friendly air’ situation deteriorated further, an order went out from Army Headquarters to the command centre of the III corps at Dimapur in Nagaland. For III Corps here, the air support operations ad reduced drastically since the morning operations. The 57TH Mountain Division and heavy units of the 1ST Armoured Division had originally planned to move across the border in support of the loyalist forces with armoured columns at 1900 hours on Thursday, using massive air support from the IAF ground attack sorties. These were to have been carried out by the Mig-27s from Hashimara sometime aobut now, but instead their ground ordinance was being removed and they were being loaded up for air-to-air to help keep the IAF alive in the region, so their support for III corps was out of the question.

The army was supposed to have supplied large numbers of helicopters to support the region, but these helicopters were now flying out casualties from helipads all across the border regions of Arunachal Pradesh that were now coming under artillery attacks. The air force was supposed to help with logistics and air control, but with the loss of the radars in the hills of kohima in the late morning, and the evacuation of all Dornier Do-228s from the local airfields to help the army move equipment north in order to face the massive Chinese ground assaults, both the air control and the logistics support had run out.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, if the Chinese air strike went according to planned, and they neutralized the Chabua TAC, their fighter bombers could have a staright route from the north to attack the III Corps eastwards lateral movement where it hurts the most: logistics. With all this in mind, the Indian army commanders in delhi had decided that III Corps could not be provided with the support it would need in the near future for combat operations in Myamar. With that decided, III Corps was told to postpone its movement across the border indefinitely.

With that done, the last major offensive operations by the Indian army in this war was withdrawn and cancelled. Until the IAF won the air war over the northeast, all army formations were now on the defensive. Unknown to the Chinese, they had secured a major victory in the war against the Indian army.

The Indian ground initiative was now lost.
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Post by joy_roy »

who the f**k cares about Bangladesh's permission in such a situation??even now IAF overflies bangladesh many a times to save fuel and time without "permission" ..and we are talking about WAR here...not a cricket match that things will be by the book!
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Post by ksmahesh »

Shankar wrote:FLASH BACK TO HISTORY -6

The aero bridge to assam started forming up .Bangaladesh "agreed" to indian overflight after some "pursuation"
Vivek wrote:
............. with Bangladesh not cooperating to allow over flights over its airspace, ............


A smal tidbit of confusion. I believe we should go ahead with bangladesh "persuaded".
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Post by vivek_ahuja »

Shankar wrote:
FLASH BACK TO HISTORY -6
The aero bridge to assam started forming up .Bangaladesh "agreed" to indian overflight after some "pursuation"



Vivek wrote:

............. with Bangladesh not cooperating to allow over flights over its airspace, ............

A smal tidbit of confusion. I believe we should go ahead with bangladesh "persuaded".
umm, okay.
I think i need to point out that my posts are independent of Shankar's. please read them as so.

if shankar wishes, we can merge the storyline, but at the moment he hasn't contacted me on this issue at all. hence the disjointment in the storyline.

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Post by Shankar »

GUAHATI AIR PORT -ASSAM

The navy came to rescue . 20 out of 28 mig 29K had been launched about 90 minutes back ,refueling over rajshahi Bangladesh from a lone il-78 mki ,they were vectored in straight to battle in support of the small force of su-30mkis trying to stop the PLAAF avalanche .A flurry of diplomatic protests flowed in and a flight of two bangladesh air force mig 29s scrambled but then broke off engagement as the lead mig 29k lit up the zhuk phased array radar and turned inwards taking the local challenge .

The flight of 20 mig 29ks split up into groups of four and spread out as they crossed the brahmaputra river and angled northwards with thier radars on standby and getting all the target data and intercept vectors from the phalcon vide high speed data link .They transmitted thier own position to the sukhois also same way .No one wanted a blue on blue incident this stage of the battle .

The fields were some what levelled with 20 mig 29k each armed with 2 xR-27 and 6 r-73s each indian air launched weapon capability suddenly doubled .This was indeed a welcome development

As they climbed the first of the hills that border arunachal region ,the PLAAF su-27s was shocked at the sudden appearance of this new threat and they responded in an unusal way -they slowed down and asked for instructions since 8 sukhois and 20 mig 29ks were not an easy force to tangle with .

The orders came on after a few minutes -they were instructed to carry on as per original mission plan with just a small modification.one thirs of invading su-27 force was directed to neutralise the 20 odd indian fulcrums .
They did not know the new aircrafts were the navy k versions and had much bettre combat range and weapon loading than standard fulcrums .This small mistake would cost PLAAF dear
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Post by ksmahesh »

Oh bale - bale. Thank the heaven. Some help finally. Thanks Shankarji. I was down and almost out in the story. One small question BDs have already been persuaded so why protest and scramble Mig29s?
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Post by Malay »

Good god,
I LOVE the Navy :D

Go Navy! Navy sent in MiG 29K's to help the MKI's in the airwar. Now thats making the scenario more even!!

One question...MiG 29K's will engage which part of the invading PLAAF force?
The ones which are going to engage the Bisons and the 8 MKI's OR the Chinese MKK planes in the east??

Image

I believe that this map is needed in this thread too. Things are getting a little confusing!
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Post by Shankar »

PRIME MINISTERS OFFICE -DHAKA-BANGLA DESH

The prime minister of bangla desh was furious at the attempt to intercept Indian air force overflight by the token force stationed at tejgaon air base in the outskirts of the nations capital. The air officer commanding dhaka region have violated her direct order and risked anihilation of her countries tiny air force by an "independent initiative" as the air chief described the situation.

The indian high commisioner was on his way and she hoped her make answer stating a communication breakdown will hold for the time being.She was aware of considerable chinese influence in her armed forces but never anticipated it can lead to an explossive situation like this.

Fortunately the two bangla deshi fulcrums had the good sense not to engage a flight of 20 vastly superior indian mig 29 reportedly latest version and created a political military disaster .She intended promoting both the pilots for good judgememt .

The inter com beeped -the indian high commissioner was at the reception.
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Post by Shankar »

SEA EAGLE ALPHA FLIGHT 10XMIG 29K -PASSING TEZPUR

the first five mig 29k s peeled of form the main formation and dived for the rolling hill tops in a gut swooping banking turn. They were assigned a clear cut target - eliminate the lumbering J-10s .The lead aircraft used the contour of the rolling mountains to hide his approach till he came within r-73 range .His radar warning reciever bleeped on and off the escorting sukhoi 27s loosing and gaining the radar lock as the indian fulcrums flew the lay of the land twisting and turning evry 5 seconds and changing altitude continuously.

Suddenly they were under the tightly grouped J-10 wave which have just become aware of thier position and was starting to break up formation and trying to hide in the valleys and giving their escorting su-27s a chance to do some intercept .

It was a good move but came in too late . The IN 29k s used thier slow speed high turn rate capability to maximum advantage as they lit their twin after burner and initiated a max rate climb . Closing the altitude advantage of j-10 in about 40 seconds they closed their throttle in unison and dropped from the sky in a classic tail slide ,recovered one by one from the post stall phase and re engaged throttle in a well choreographed and much practiced move .

The full flight of j-10 was now in thier forward hemisphere trying to escape the inevitable death .

But then a fully loaded J-10 is no match for a mig 29k even under best circumstances and today surely the situation ,the terrain was not in j-10s favor .

The lead mig 29k pilot looked side ways at the first target and squeezed the fire button .The first r-73 leaped off the launch rail and arched flawlessly into the wing root blowing the j-10 in a mass of primary and secondary explossion . He checked the weapon status display and moved the target selector to a distant su-27 vectoring in quickly on the mig 29 k flight. Then selected a r-27 and fired in one smooth motion ,pushed the nose down ina spiral and lit the after burner for a few seconds as he moved out of reciprocal missile launch zone ,reselcetd r-73 and another j-10 which was now leveling out just in front of him Changed his mind ,switched to GUN and squeezed off a short 10 round burst ripping open the lumbering bomber like a tin of sardine can as he pulled out of the dive and moved the target cursor ot the next approaching sukhoi 27 almost within r-73 range as he saw the targets wing tip glow and smoke trails leapt out at him .

The automated counter measures activated deploying bundles of chaff and flare in the slip stream as he deployed the air brakes and pushed the nose down putting his agile aircraft in a suicide dive into the floor of the deep valley ,pulled up as the river rushed at him quickly and executed a maximum rate turn at the approaching enemy and launched two r-73s one after another at the overhead hot tail pipes of the su-27 .Had the satisfaction of seeing the tail pipes suck in one of the heat seeking missiles and a second alter there was just a orange fire ball where the sukhoi was

The better training of indian pilots and advanced avionics was at last showing up .

In a brief but furious engagement norht of tawang 14 j-10s and 4 su 27s were shot down . It was a limited victory that came at substantial cost .6 of the mig 29ks also went down .But the mission objective was met for the time being as rest of the j-10s turned back to mainland china
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Post by ksmahesh »

Shankar Ji,
You deserve a lot of ladoos for this victory. :lol: great victory for us. Loss of 6 Mig29k :cry: :twisted: :twisted: . Even though attrition rate is 1:3 it is costly victory. Why some of enemy craft are not taken care by army's air defence arty?
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Post by Shyam_K »

Shankar, if you are posting the navy Mig29K stuff as part of a merged storyline with Vivek, then great!!!

But if it is an independent effort then please cease and desist, let Vivek develop his own storyline. You can always write a parallel (but different) storyline. It will be interesting to see what Vivek has planned for the IAF-PLAAF engagement without your attempts to bolster the Indian side. You have written some brilliant stuff on your own, now please don't hijack someone else's story.
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Post by Hari Sud »

Shankar

Would you like to begin your long awaited Indo - US Conflict scenario of 2020.

It will be fun.

There is a need of this scenario as not much is known about nuclear war preparations.

You being a high intellectual can visualize this possibility.

Good Luck and begin as soon as possible.

My suggestion is start a new thread.


Hari Sud
Toronto.
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Post by Sudhanshu »

if everybody is giving his opinions.

I think Shankar should be contacting Vivek "back channel" and continuing on what he is doing. I strongly in opposition of starting a brand new scenario, before we reach Beijing in this :). It will be a win- win situation for us (reader) if Vivek cant write on any given day, at least Shankar would write. Hence we won't miss our daily dosage.

We should encourage ourselves to understand, the concept of author and co-author.
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Post by ksmahesh »

I agree with Sudhanshu. Starting a new thread doesnot look prudent (also ADMINS (with all good reason) do have a bias against putting avoidable threads). The current glitch of 2 authors covering same events from different perspective actually has no problems as we can continue to treat the two posts separately. Ideally combined efforts among authors shall be much more rewarding. But the fact that collaboration also involves a lot of effort on the part of both of the authors adn perhaps their time resource shall be better utilised if they continue to narrate their own versions. It will be a treat for us (leechers).

I also think that it is not a question of "hijacking story" :shock: as someone here has put it. Infact Vivek is moving ahead with his own version and Shankar on his own. Well we can have two flavours :D :D
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Post by member_10461 »

Though shankar has some great inputs to give here but i agree on the point that it confuses the reader. Vivek's post are very intensive in narration and engagement and thus need some kind of attentive reading. I am finding myself reading each post twice to come to grips with it.

Vivek you are writing some truely amazing stuff...the sheer numerical superiority that chinese have when combined with the brilliance of tactical planning will somewhat make up for the inferior training skills (if they really are inferior in those skills as pointed by someone). and if they have same superiority in Intelligence gathering then its a really potent combination.

India should start hitting now everything that have a chinese flag and is in Arabian sea or Indian ocean to Malacca straits. Also India should capture the islands in mynmar (cocoa islands??) with forces based in Andaman. The fact is we have naval resources which can augment our response if they cant help the air force or IA directly.

I wonder what the commander/defence minister is thinking..
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Post by Sudhanshu »

In war there are many deciding factors than just numbers. After learning about the "6 day Israel war" I started strongly believing in this.

Some side makes error because of over-confidence. Some makes error because of mis-information. Some makes error because of agnorance. And some error are out of human controls and are not even govern by law of probablity.

So, don't see from perspective that Chinese would surely defeat us because they are more in number.
But, it is up to the authors to potray or justify how we overcome their numerical superiority. I understand it is not an easy job, it requires great deal of thinking for one man to do, for which there are hundreds of very experienced people (generals and commanders) are employed by any government.

If I were to think like a typical Chinese soldier, having defeated/humilated India long time back, even after being reminded of cliche "Never underestimate your enemy" I would consider India as easily defeatable adversary. So, I would be more susceptible to commit error than an Indian soldier.
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Post by ksmahesh »

hi vivek & shankar,
When can we expect todays' shot.
8)
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Post by niran »

Dear Writers,
Thanks for a nerve racking nail bitting post.I was wee bit worried
for our brave artillery personnel. kudos and medal for IN Migs.

Methinks there is no need for two separate forums. It would be more time consuming, I for one work long hours, I have to steal time from me working hours,lunch breaks,tea breaks, etc,etc.What me do is, download
the printable version and read later.Two writers in single page is a wee bit quicker to download & read & post.

Now for my Two cents tidbits, I still thinks most of the people to
suffer from" phoren" syndrome.the reasons
(a)- The chinni artillery battery surviving a barrage of cluster munitions rockets. well, according to the information that me have, a barrage of rocket
artillery will devastate every thing in an area of the size of 8 football fields.with cluster munitions nothing survive within the attack radius.
hard skinned soft skinned vechical humans animals even the bacteria.
any way few chinni artillery survives, they shoot backs and they take out a battery of IA 155mm guns. must be some kind of chinni kala jaado.
(b) PLAAF jamming INDIAN radars. its all well known that the radars on PLAAF SUs, even the Ruski Sus for that matter are of older generation radar,and avionics. any one jamming INDIAN radars will have their ac radars jammed as well. Its the reason IAF opted for non Ruski avionic suits. Fighters have to have avionics for proper situational awareness, else
they are just live targets for practice.it is well known that SUs in Ruski air force wrere just a grate ac good for air shows, when IAF took it in the form of MKI then it came into it real being.the true potential realized.these
ac can and should shoot down PLAAF ac very easily.no need to lose 5 miggies. any comments would be superfluous.
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Post by vivek_ahuja »

Okay guys; let me take this opportunity to share my views on the current point of contention.
I think Shankar should be contacting Vivek "back channel".
Eagerly waiting...
We should encourage ourselves to understand, the concept of author and co-author.
I have no problem with the concept of author and co-author, as long as they are on the same frequency, which is not the case here. Also, author and co-author concept involves merging of the two writing styles into a single style so that maintains a continuity of sorts. Failing that, you have two different styles for the same battle scene, and that is not good from the reader's point of view.
Though shankar has some great inputs to give here but i agree on the point that it confuses the reader. Vivek's post are very intensive in narration and engagement and thus need some kind of attentive reading. I am finding myself reading each post twice to come to grips with it.
Case in point.


As far as the continuation of the story is concerned, there are severe disjointments so far because Shankar is writing independently on the same scene. That gives you two alternate endings for the same scene, and I am not sure how many readers would agree with that...despite the choice that this accords them.

Fact is, for the last few posts, i seem to be setting up a battle scene and building up the tension (I hope), only to find that by the time i can post the next bit, the scene has already ended by Shankar...

The result is that I am then forced to write the ending halfheartedly, seeing that the readers lose interest by the time my post comes along.


Basically what I am saying is this:
Give me the chance to finish this and a few other scenes (including the air war in Tibet that everybody seems to be waiting for), independently and then, if everybody wants, Shankar can take over while I sit back and just read his posts and enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong on this. I accept and fully support anybody's input on this storyline as long as it’s in synch with the existing storyline. I also support the simultaneous continuation of a different scenario, but the same scenario with two endings for the same scene is eating me up...



Vivek Ahuja
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Post by niran »

Dear Vivek,
please do hurry and post your story. Let Shanker post his part, methink it will be a case of "donno hath me laddoo".
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Post by JCage »

Vivek go ahead and write what you want. That will be the original story, Shankars join in makes little sense to the original plot anyways.
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Post by ksmahesh »

Well Vivek,

Our interest in your posts will not wane. Please carryon posting. I deally I would love to see the cooperation.
regards
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Post by Sudhanshu »

I very well understand vivek concern.

That's why, I emphasize again that Shankar should contact Vivek "back channel". And, since vivek started it, Shankar can accept Vivek as leader for this scenario and respect his decisions. I think it can be easily done since war can be fought in different theater simultaneously.

The idea is to create such synergy that 1+1>2, not just 1+1=2 or <2.

Right now it <2 kind of thing is happening.
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Post by vivek_ahuja »

3 TACTICAL AIR CENTRE (TAC), CHABUA REGION
NORTHEASTERN TIP OF INDIA
1905 HRS THURSDAY


“Scramble, scramble, scramble! All flights scramble. Initial vector zero three zero, angels twenty. Switch airborne control to Victor-one. We have bandits inbound from all directions…â€
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Post by ksmahesh »

Vivek,
I read this post with a heavy heart for 12 Bisons fighting 40 Su30MKKs. Although terrible, this is more realistic scenario. What can 12 bison accomplish against 40 Su30MKKs. Obviously they cannot be stopped.

I have a 2 paisa suggestion. Is it possible to have any remaining Spyder system or any army's AAA to help Bisons?[/u]
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IAF preparedness

Post by RamaY »

[quote="vivek_ahuja"]3 TACTICAL AIR CENTRE (TAC), CHABUA REGION
NORTHEASTERN TIP OF INDIA
1905 HRS THURSDAY


Vivek - Thank you for the realistic and strategic scenarios. Your story telling skills are exceptional. Kudos!

That said, this shows the state of unpreparedness of our strategic thinkers and political leadership. Our biggest strategic threat is from China. Yet, we don't have well developed infrastructure support, I understand the geography, in the north-east India.

Hopefully somebody important is reading your posts and understands the kinds of threat scenarios we might end up.

Another thought - How about one of you and shankar brings the worst case scenarios for India from enemy perspective and the other plans and plays India hand? This would be something like a war-simulation...

Any way, looking forward to your next post...

Thank you.
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Post by saty »

Great post Vivek, I for one am following your threads independently of what is being written by other authors. Please do feel free to continue your thread in your own style with the zest you would accord it. This will benefit us all the most I think.

Great work once again.

Regards
Saty
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Post by Surya »

Sudanshu


And how are you able to think like Chinese soldier????? :eek:

For all you know their system is capable making them think and not assume things.


That is the problem with all these Tom Clancyish writings

The winner is a forgone conclusion albeit with a loss or two thrown in for consolation.

Sadly if only real life were like this
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Post by Devendra »

Vivek

Your posts are excellent.
My suugestion is that you carry your posts independent of Shankar. Readers like me are following your post from the day one and loves the style of your writing.
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Post by vivek_ahuja »

AIRSPACE NORTH OF JORHAT
EASTERN ASSAM
1909 HRS THURSDAY


The first engagement in the 3 TAC zone was initiated by the Jorhat based Mig-21s. The first flight of four aircraft were in the air, and were being trailed by two more sets of four aircraft as the entire force headed north to meet the eastern force of twelve SU-27s coming south. The first four aircraft pilots were highly experienced. They were the same people who had engaged the four J-8II aircrafts in the morning of this extremely long day, and between them, had four kills to their credit already. The Squadron commander was a shrewd tactician, and knew how to make the most use of his weapon systems.

At the moment his flight of four was the only one among the twelve that was armed with the R-77 BVR missiles, with each aircraft having two on board and holding another pair of R-73 missiles. The follow up flights, as well as the westbound flight from Chabua were armed with R-60s, as with both friendly and enemy fighters dashing headlong towards each other, it had been perceived that by the time the first flight could use up all its R-77s, visual acquisition would be achieved and then it would turn into a melee. It had also a lot to do with the relative paucity of R-77s compared to other missiles at the base depots thanks to the massive requirement by all airbases for such missiles throughout the region. The pilots in the follow on flights were already relishing the thought of dogfights as their fingers twitched on the joysticks. They knew that they had the Chinese already outnumbered Sixteen to Twelve.

Since the Squadron commander, Wing commander Suresh Raina, knew that his first flight was armed with R-77s having more range than that of the locally produced Chinese BVR missiles mounted below the wings of the Chinese SU-27s, he had full intention of taking the first shot. He also wanted to maximise their effectiveness. As a result, he had his squadron move to the south, facing their backs to the Chinese when they had originally entered Indian airspace. This had opened up the range between them and the SU-27s, thus enabling his aircraft to garner the maximum range for the R-77 while denying the same to the Chinese pilots. That’s when he had ordered his aircrafts to turn around by 180 degrees and head north to face the enemy.

The Chinese realized this tactic for what it was and engaged afterburner to rapidly close the range between the Bisons and their own aircrafts. Very soon however, the Chinese RWRs were screaming of acquisition, and that’s when the first four R-77s were punched off and the rocket motors ignited after falling several feet towards the ground. The massive flash blinded the pilots looking into the darkness using their night-vision goggles and the promptly turned their faces away. The night vision systems magnify existing light, and the huge yellow blips showing in front of their eyes were the rear ends of the lethal missiles as they headed of into the darkness, the brightly lit smoke vanishing into the darkness. The light intensification allowed for long view, and the first night time BVR engagement in the Subcontinent region was witnessed by the Indian pilots as the four missiles streaked away towards their targets.

The response on the receiving end was naturally not so awe struck. The radars in the Chinese SU-27s detected the fast moving blips heading towards the Chinese fighter group almost as soon as they were launched. The Chinese aircraft were flying three aircraft flights and the tactical formation was that of a diamond pattern, with three flights heading south in an arrow formation and the fourth flight behind them to watch their tail and to take care of targets of opportunity. This rear flight of three had been diverted to take care of the four Bisons coming from the east from Chabua.

And already the Chinese pilots were outnumbered. The now nine aircraft facing the twelve Bisons from Jorhat now let out chaff in all directions as they broke formation and flew in all directions in the three dimensional space. At first it was not clear who was being targeted by the missiles, but with this manoeuvre, they were able to tell the unlucky ones from the lucky ones when the missiles also diverted from their straight line path to follow their targets. These four aircraft now dived for the deck at full military speed, leaving behind clouds of chaff once the missiles came into visual range. While diving, they also made their dash northwards, and attempted to outrun the missiles that had been fired slightly within the outer range parameters.

A valid tactic, and one that allowed two of the Chinese SU-27s to evade the missiles as one missile ran out of propulsion while the other ran into a cloud of chaff that had just been released directly behind the aircraft and exploded. The massive fireball and shrapnel consumed the tail section of the SU-27 before it could escape, however, and red hot shrapnel pieces hit the port engine and nozzle and caused the turbine blades to fail catastrophically which in turn caused an engine flameout. This SU-27 had been crippled. The aircraft started to gain speed with whatever flight energy it had left and the one engine it had running. The horizontal stabilizer had been shot to pieces, and with this sluggish flight control the Chinese pilot turned his aircraft to the north and attempted to take his mount out of Indian airspace, trailing smoke from the port engine.

The second SU-27 that had escaped the missile targeted on it continued to run north at low level unnecessarily and the highly relieved pilot did not think about the dangers involved in flying at extremely low altitudes over enemy territory. There was a sudden warning sound for acquisition and the aircraft was rocked by a massive jerk and his head turned to see the source of the orange glow in the engines. Then his cockpit warning lights came on. Among all the warning bells ringing, another screeching sound was what got his attention as a second Igla launched from the ground headed towards the SU-27. The last sensible thing done by the pilot was to pull the ejection handle as the Indian army’s Igla missile hit the already crippled aircraft and pushed it down into the black peaks below before smashing it into the slopes. The aircraft disappeared into a huge yellow-orange ball of fire that lighted up the sky for everybody to see.

The two missiles that had not lost track had slammed into their targets just as the manufacturers had promised, and all that could be said of those two Chinese pilots was that their death was swift. Their aircrafts had disintegrated in mid air and vanished from everybody’s screens. Three SU-27s were now down and one had been sent north, crippled. There were five more SU-27s of the southern element still alive.
These had now reformed into a single formation of five and in a line abreast pattern. They were now lined up for their own shots. So were the four BVR armed Mig-21 force heading towards them. Wing Commander Raina ordered another R-77 ‘punch off’ and these streaked away just as the previous four had done. Seconds later the five Chinese SU-27s launched their BVR missiles as well and it started to look like a duelling match. Now things were different. Both sides wanted to guide their missiles into the terminal phases before breaking off to evade, and both sides continued to do the same until the last moments, when all nine aircrafts suddenly broke formation and dived in all azimuths. The missiles were on their own now. The luck ones would survive.

The first to take a hit this time was a Mig-21 that had two missiles targeted on it. The small delta winged aircraft vanished into a ball of fire which completely destroyed the aircraft. Then the second missile flew into the fireball that was its target only milliseconds ago. There was no chance for the pilot to eject. As fate would have it, his R-77 missile did not hit it’s target and went after a series of chaff clouds before detonating in one of them. The other three R-77s hit their targets and three more SU-27s tumbled out of the sky on fire into the hills below. Of the remaining three Chinese missiles, two hit a single Mig-21 and in both cases caught the aircraft only in its ‘Frag’ pattern and not in impact, thanks to some skilful flying, which allowed the IAF pilot to eject before his aircraft wings came apart from the effects of the damage. The third missile hit a third Mig-21 that was also blotted out of the sky before Wing Commander Suresh Riana could eject. He was killed instantly, and burning wreckage of the aircraft fell towards the ground and country he had fought for gallantly. He had broken the back of this Chinese SU-27 force, but his fight was now over, while for the other Mig-21 pilots it had just begun.

There were now two SU-27s standing. There was also now only one Mig-21 standing from the first flight. And the Indian pilot was out of R-77s, thanks to the limited carrying capability of the Mig-21s. But the Chinese SU-27s had far greater capacity for such missiles, and now two more were released against the rear flights of Mig-21s that were coming within range of their R-60s. Before the second flight of four could launch, they had to evade the inbound missiles. Again chaff was released in all directions, and the aircrafts were now evading in all directions.

To the credit of the remaining two Chinese pilots, they did not disengage, knowing fully well what would happen if they presented their engine heat to the R-60s. They chose the chaos caused by the frantic evasion of the Mig-21s to toggle off another pair of radar guided missiles. They didn’t have to worry about targets. The sky in front of them was buzzing with Mig-21s, and they knew that it wouldn’t be long before they got hit. Instead, they now attempted to take as large a toll on the Indians as possible, and rolled to their sides and separated left and right to go after individual targets. The skies were full of missiles now, and soon two more Mig-21s were knocked out of the sky in quick succession in small fireballs, caused by the small warheads of the heat-seekers, and another was caught in the ‘Frag’ pattern of an exploding missile that left the aircraft riddled with holes and the pilot bleeding inside his cockpit. He was barely able to maintain his aircraft in the level position and another Mig-21 diverted from the main fight to escort him back to base at Jorhat.

Finally the two Chinese SU-27s were blotted out of the night sky by the third flight of Mig-21s in a very clinical fashion once the threat of radar guided missiles had receded. The skies were clear, but the attrition rate had been very high. Eight SU-27s had been knocked out of the sky and another had been sent home badly damaged. In return, five Mig-21s had been knocked out. Another had been crippled and a seventh one had to be diverted to escort the crippled aircraft back to Jorhat. That left barely five surviving Mig-21s armed with only heat seeking missiles flying north of Jorhat.

The job had been partially successful and partially a failure. The main Eastern SU-27 force of twelve aircraft had been partially defeated, with the three remaining SU-27s of the Eastern Barrier force now facing the Mig-21s from Chabua. Even with that battle as yet undecided, the casualties had been high. The force had lost its commanding officer, and now did not have the strength to effectively assist the twelve Mig-21s facing the SU-30MKKs, although all of them did turn northeastwards to finish off the remaining four SU-27s of the Chinese eastern barrier force. That would be a small consolation against the isolated and now doomed battle about to be fought between the forty Chinese SU-30MKKs and the twelve Mig-21s from Chabua.

A disaster of high magnitude had taken place over the skies of Jorhat, even if the IAF could claim a tactical victory, and its magnitude was about to felt in the region as the massive Chinese SU-30MKK force now approached the bases of the 3RD TAC.
Last edited by vivek_ahuja on 24 Apr 2007 01:20, edited 1 time in total.
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