Possible Indian Military Scenarios - XII

[p_saggu]

How about a rescue mission by a heliborne squardon to recover the few surviving CLAW pilots who were shot down? Including one across the LAC a-la behind enemy lines? Maybe some vital piece of intelligence can be acquired when the LAC is crossed?

[vivek_ahuja]

THE SKIES OVER LADDAKH
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1320 HRS (L)

Five survivors...nine shot down...seven confirmed dead...including the wingco...my god...Khurana lowered the visor over his face as the intense bright afternoon sunlight over the Laddakh skies flashed across the cockpit after being reflected off the shiny surfaces of the massive IL-78 cruising several hundred meters ahead. The three refuelling hoses were buffeting in the strong winds and the wake of the massive beast of an aircraft even as Khurana saw the refuelling controller sitting in what was the gunner’s position in the original transport version of the same aircraft. The controller’s voice was on the R/T but Khurana was barely listening. He could do this in his sleep, and that was the problem. His mind was going over the statistics of the battle...

The Phalcon had confirmed during their flight back south that only five Mig-29s out of the original fourteen were still in the air. The squadron commander was among the dead that included six other pilots. Two remaining pilots had ejected over the rocky peaks of eastern Laddakh near the border and over friendly airspace but were still missing among the windswept and snow capped Laddakh Mountains. The losses in men and airframes coupled with the losses on the ground at Leh during the Chinese cruise missile attack twelve hours ago made it clear that CLAW squadron was now at around thirty percent of its original strength and was now combat ineffective. And morale was not exactly being boosted by the losses either...

“CLAW-TWO, this is EAGLE-EYE-ONE. We are unable to re-establish contact with Leh TOWER-ONE. The base took heavy dedicated cruise missile attack during the time CLAW and GRIFFON engaged the inbounds. Redirect to Avantipur. Leh airbase is now shut down. Out” the R/T squawked in Khurana’s ears even as he cleanly detached from the refuelling hose and dropped altitude to take up position away from the tanker while the remaining two fighters behind him took up refuelling positions. His mind went over the latest bit of information coming in:

Leh is shut down...of course, those cruise missile inbounds must have broken through while we were engaged with the SU-27s. Damn! Damn! Damn!
And this is just the first day of the war! Fantastic! What else can go wrong?

[vivek_ahuja]

P.L.A.A.F. SECTOR COMMAND
SOUTH OF KASHGAR
SINKIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION
CHINA
DAY 3 + 1400 HRS (L)

Colonel Feng looked over the papers that detailed the initial estimates of the losses. The operation had gone wrong at all levels except one. Well, maybe two...Feng thought as he again read over the reports. The losses in airframes were staggering. Five SU-27s had made it back to friendly airspace along with two other J-10s. That amounted to a loss of thirty odd fighters in return for ten of the enemy. The entire SU-27 force had been mauled and the follow on bomber attack had been personally aborted by Feng after he had seen the disaster approaching.

The only aspect of the plan that had worked other than the mauling of the Indian Mig-29 squadron at Leh had been the simultaneous cruise missile attacks by the H-6 bombers behind the southbound SU-27s. Leh had been shut down as far the current BDA assessment went...

Now he had also ordered the two KJ-2000s to fall back further and had ordered the advance of two more batteries of S-300s to the Aksai chin. These were the only aspect of the PLAAF’s regional air defence system that had performed as predicted so far, and were keeping the Indian bombers far to the south. Combined with the data from the KJ-2000s, the S-300s could prove deadly.

Major-General Zhigao had meekly accepted these “suggestions” from Feng after he had had time to absorb the results of his disastrous plan of head on engagement with the enemy on their turf. The disaster had widespread consequences for both him and the region. Lt-General Chen had announced his plan to come to Kashgar personally to be briefed on exactly what had happened. Needless to say, Zhigao was none too happy about that particular visit...

“Leh has definitely been shut down. I cannot see how they can operate aircraft from such a heavily damaged airbase.” Zhigao said as he passed back the satellite images to Feng who took it without a word. Zhigao continued: “That will hurt their ability to bring in heavy reinforcements by air when the ground offensive starts.”

Feng nodded before speaking up: “Yes. In addition the bases at Chushul, Fukche and Daulat Beg Oldi are well under rocket artillery range. The PLA has assured us that they can shut those Himalayan airbases down when their attack begins. With the Indian political leaders having forced their Army commanders to maintain lower levels of deployments for the last few weeks, and with the Aksai chin skies secured by our S-300 systems, our ground forces should be able to sweep away the Indian defences and attain their objectives within the week if everything else goes according to plan”

And that, is a very big if...Feng thought as he poured over the data again. There was not much else they could do until Lt-Gen Chen arrived later in the evening and the aerial reinforcements arrived from the russian border...

[vivek_ahuja]

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
NEW DELHI
DAY 3 + 1530 HRS

“So when does team five cross over?” the man behind the desk asked the others.
“Well, their last R/T contact put them here...north of the Kongra-La. Now that place is crawling with PLA ever since this mess began north of Sikkim two weeks ago. So my guess is that the team will have to go further west and then cross the Sikkim border between Naku-La and Kongra-La. I would say another two or three days.” The Lt-Colonel reported.

“Your guess?”
“Yes. My guess. We don’t micromanage our people. It works best that way. We set up a meeting point on our side of the border and they meet us there. Apart from that and their final destinations, the only people who know the actual paths they will be taking are the team members themselves.”

“Okay, point taken. So where are we meeting them on this side of the border?” the civilian standing by the digital map asked again as he turned to face the map. The Lt-Colonel walked over and jabbed his finger at a location marked ‘Dokung’ before speaking up: “Here.”
“And who do we have there to meet them?” this time the fourth and final member in the room spoke up.

“We have a RAW debriefing team heading there now. They will hold up at the meeting place and debrief the team. SOCOM is also sending a logistics team to resupply the team with whatever they need. The air force has promised one Mi-17 for the job but it will be flown by ARC crews. The Air Force has no pilots to spare now that the ground operations in the east are beginning.”

“Why are we depending on the Air Force for the helicopters? Doesn’t the ARC have its own choppers to do the job?” the man behind the desk asked the others. The Lt-Colonel responded without looking away from the map.
“They do, but we want to keep this low profile. Now the air force flies Mi-17 resupply flights to the regular Army Battalion east of Dokung on a routine basis. Besides, the ARC birds couldn’t reach that altitude anyway with the amount of supplies and men we need to transport up there.”

“How high is this place?”

“Around sixteen thousand feet. I hope your RAW boys are acclimatized to the high altitude because I can assure you they are going to need it. The region around these passes in northern Sikkim is the most inhospitable in the world. You cannot run fifty meters without the wind being knocked out of you. The temperature freezes you up to your bones and you have to walk everywhere you go. And that’s the altitude at which the damn passes are. Our boys in Tibet have to cross altitudes much higher than that to cross over to our side on foot. I don’t know if you noticed, but there is no pass between Naku and Kongra-la. They will have to cross the peaks to be able to come back over to Dokung.”

“And we appreciate their effort, Colonel. But remember that this needs to be done for this country’s security. What information they bring back is crucial to our efforts.” The man behind the desk said. The Lt-Colonel walked over and sat back down in his chair and leaned back. The other man by the map spoke up:

“So when do you leave, Colonel?”
That merited a grunt from the Lt-Colonel followed by a smile...

[neerajb]

Vivek Sir da jawab nahi. Simply awesome. Maza aa gaya.

Cheers...

[andy B]

Vivek saar,

Firstly awesome writing, brightens up the boring monday morning.

Secondly last time I checked with you about the book you are writing, you said that it would be out by november. It is november now so...

[Rupesh]

Vivek Saar,

Waiting for your book to come out...

.

Secondly last time I checked with you about the book you are writing, you said that it would be out by november. It is november now so...

[vivek_ahuja]

NAGPUR AIRBASE
CENTRAL INDIA
DAY 3 + 1540 HRS

The small puffs of smoke flew off sideways as the massive rear undercarriage of the BBJ touched on the hot concrete runway at the airbase. The escorting Mirage-2000s streaked overhead through the bright hot afternoon and banked away to take their own landing patterns. All five aircraft including the BBJ had been airborne for hours now, and could have stayed aloft for more hours in a stretch, but unlike the fancier American versions of the Airborne Command Post or ACP concept, the Indian one was not equipped for long endurance C3I capability. In other words, a war could be run from aboard the aircraft in an emergency such as nuclear attacks and so forth, but it was extremely hard to run a conventional one and unnecessary at that too.

Nagpur was far enough south so that in case of any renewed decapitation attacks by the Chinese on the airbase, there remained sufficient time for evacuating the BBJ along with its VIP passengers. But until that time, the war could be run from the ground far more effectively. The base had been equipped as a command and control node by the Air Force to allow for its use as a control centre for any air campaign against the Chinese to the north. Now it was being tested in active operations...

The Boeing built aircraft rolled off the runway with a ground convoy of Air Force Police vehicles driving alongside the aircraft and brimming with heavily armed police personnel. The airbase perimeter itself was being guarded by INSAS totting soldiers as well as patrol dogs. In the skies around the base perimeter three army Dhruv helicopters were flying with sniper, controller and observation teams even as they kept an eagle’s eye view on the BBJ rolling on to the central tarmac area on the base alongside one of the parked IL-76s.

There was a large entourage of people waiting outside on the tarmac area in the sweltering heat of Nagpur when the B-737 came to a halt and the massive turbine engines began spooling down. Even as the noise dwindled down, tanker trucks were already rushing for the aircraft while ground crews ran over to get to work on the aircraft. The doors were opened and the mass of people began pouring out. The PM was one of the first people to step out of the aircraft and he was whisked away by his security team towards the waiting convoy of three bulletproof vehicles towards the secure operations centre. Behind him stepped out the various military and civilian officials including the Home Minister.

The Defence Minister put on his sunglasses even as he stepped outside into the bright sunlight being reflected off the tarmac. A moment later he grunted as the massive heat wave hit him like a punch in the face. But even as he walked down the stairs on to the concrete tarmac, his conversation with the Army Chief behind him continued...

“So where are you heading now?”

General Yadav was walking alongside the defence minister followed by his own entourage of uniformed personnel. He stopped walking when the defence minister did the same right outside the black SUV waiting for him. Yadav had a different ride to take and he pointed it out to the Defence Minister: the single Embraer aircraft waiting at the end of the tarmac with open doors...

“I am off to the EAC. We need to take control of the ground situation there and Generals Suman and Chatterjee are working on it, but I need to get a feel of what is going on there before I can be of any use to them. It’s not the same as sitting in the conference room on board this aircraft and going through a teleconference session. The ground war has started off in the region with the vanguard forces on both sides already engaged in deadly skirmishes. The main fight is approaching fast. All in all, it’s time to get the hands dirty. This strategic exchange of missile and air attacks will only last till the leading Divisions of the PLA make contact with IV Corps forces on the ground. Then it turns a whole lot messy.”

“Understood General, but what about the other fronts?” the Defence Minister asked.

“Laddakh is at least a day away from opening up, and we need all the time we can get on that front. The Chinese have taken down Leh and the other airbases near the border will only last till that first artillery shell leaves the barrel. We have troops pouring in but every hour can make a difference there. On the Sikkim front we have three Divisions of the PLA pouring down from Gyangtze towards the Chumbi Valley region. But on this front the terrain is against them. So it is unlikely that these forces are anything more than reinforcements for the troops they already have there. It’s one of the issues that we will be dealing with during our commander’s meet in the EAC. I will let you know what options we have for Sikkim after speaking with General Suman.” Yadav said. The Defence Minister nodded and then noticed the looks on the faces of his security people: they were not happy with the Defence Minister standing out on the open tarmac where he was vulnerable to a sniper. He turned back to Yadav:

“All right, General. Keep me informed. Looks like I will be holed up somewhere around here for some time to come. I will avoid making any decisions on the ground war until you can report back with your take on the realities on the ground. In the meantime, though, let’s see if we can take the initiative in the other dimensions of war. By the way, how long do we have before we are in full contact with Chinese forces on the ground?”

“We are in contact with them now. But if you mean when we will be fully committed into the fight, then we have less than two days, sir.” Yadav said.

“So we have forty eight hours to set up our side of the chess board before the serious fight starts. That’s not a long time now, is it?”

“No sir, it is not.”

[vivek_ahuja]

REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTRE
WESTERN AIR COMMAND
NORTHERN INDIA
DAY 3 + 1740 HRS

“So they pulled them back?”
“Yes sir. The two Chinese AWACS are now in the air defence mode with the S-300 batteries on the ground. They are networking with the ground based radars to form a nice large picture of the airspace south of the LAC. If we approach the LAC, they will know about it.” The Group-Captain said as he pointed out the layout of the Chinese air assets on the large digital map in front of the IAF senior commanders.

“What about their fighters?” the WAC-AOC asked.

“The current force under direct control of the PLAAF Kashgar Sector was mauled severely. We estimate they now have around ten fighters of their original force remaining. But DIA suggests movement of SU-27 Flankers around the airbases in Central China preparing to deploy southwest. These reinforcements are already flying into the region and will be combat effective by tomorrow morning.” The Group-Captain reported.

“Which gives us less than twelve hours to pull off whatever we have planned before this vicious cycle starts off again. All right. What about the Pakistanis?”

“Well, they had four F-16s deployed during our engagement with the Chinese this afternoon but pulled them back once it became clear that the Chinese aerial force was about to be defeated. Nevertheless, we can expect them to try and do the same diversion tactics again whenever the Chinese attempt to challenge our control of the skies.”

And there was not a thing we can do about it unless we actually take out their runways at all major airbases in the POK sector...The Air Marshal thought as he leaned back in his chair. Maybe we might just do that too, if it comes down to that...

The IAF had been forced to temporarily postpone their planned takedown of the Chinese S-300 defensive belt around the Aksai Chin region when the Chinese Flankers had hit the skies around the LAC. There was every indication that they might do the same tomorrow, in which case the IAF was left with a small window of opportunity during the night where they could attempt their SEAD operations. But for all the Chinese losses so far, there was no denying in the IAF WAC that the Chinese S-300 belt was achieving a very critical objective: it was keeping the IAF away from hindering the hundreds of convoys that were passing continuously through the CNH-219 across from Sinkiang and into Tibet.

Entire fleets of IAF Jaguars were being forced to sit idle while the plans to shut down the S-300 systems was being planned and executed. And if these anti-air systems were not taken down before the ground war in this sector started, then these Jaguar squadrons would have to fly into the battlefield in support of the Indian Army despite the deadly environment around them. And that was going to prove lethal...

With the night approaching along the entire front, the IAF was now working in crisis mode to take down the Chinese systems because the Chinese Army across the LAC was now at near complete deployment in the Laddakh sector across the LAC in terms of manpower in several sectors while other sectors were approaching full deployment. Their expected jump-off was now less than a day away...

[ovein]

THnaks VIvek for the double post............

[mdhoat]

It can't get realistic than this. It's takes a great effort to keep the balance in virtual scenario and not let your bias tilt the balance towards home forces. Superb writing Vivek... Best IMHO on BR since few years... Please don't let the tempo die down.

[panky]

Common Vivek ! its high time that we strike out those chini s300 batteries

[chandrabhan]

ViVek,
I am deriving additional sadistic pleasure sitting in Shnaghai Please take out the S300 batteries before i leave from here on 19th or I will have to cancel my trip back home and head towards lhasa to do the same

chandrabhan

[kapilrdave]

Hey Vivek,
you simply rock.

Where are the hundreds of ballistic missiles of both the sides.
How about silo based Shaurya against S300 as a battle field test before mass induction?
By this time frame i dont think we would have them in numbers.

But whatever you do for S300, do it ASAP because i can't wait them being proven Diwali rockets .

Thanks again for awesome writhing.
Kapil.

[Vivek K]

Vivek,

Awesome scenario and gripping writing.

How would the MRCA influence the scenario? If the MRCA were to be available in numbers, would Sqdn Ldr Khurana have been more belligerent towards the PAF F-16s? Could the MRCA provide cover to the Phalcons thus unshackling the Sukhois to join up with the 29s to blast the 27s and the J-10s?

Also, since we seem to control Indian airspace for the moment could missiles like the Shaurya/Brahmos target and take out the S-300 batteries? Or a low flying DPSA Jag use LGBs to attack the S-300s instead of waiting around?

I wish that India's strategic planners also read this thread.

Does anyone have Shankar's earlier scenario vs the Chicoms in a single file?

[asbchakri]

Does anyone have Shankar's earlier scenario vs the Chicoms in a single file?

Boss go through this thread an u will find the link to where they were uploaded. If u still cant find, tell me u'r mail id, i send it

[sunny_s]

vivek and shankar sir's writting is like addiction for their readers all around..cant wait for the next dose..vivek sir a humble request if possible give us a post today..desperately waiting for the day ur book comes out

[vivek_ahuja]

THE SKIES OVER LADDAKH
CENTRAL INDIA
DAY 3 + 2240 HRS

Darkness had fallen around the region hours ago. Now the stars were up as the temperature fell even further. It had crossed zero degrees even before sunset. At fifteen thousand feet above the local region, the single ARC Gulfstream-III was barely high enough to do its job properly. But even at this altitude, it was thirty five thousand feet above the sea level, which was something not easily grasped. The aircraft tore through the rarefied air even as it approached the LAC...

“Standby for acquisition.” The pilot said over the intercom from the cockpit to the Mission Controller in the cabin behind him. The ARC Mission Controller in turn raised his own intercom mouthpiece and spread the word to his crew of six: “Standby. We are entering the Chinese electronic space...”

The Chinese electronic space of course was much deeper inside Indian Territory south of the LAC than the geographical boundaries thanks to the KJ-2000 AWACS loitering two hundred and fifty kilometres north of the LAC and the Big-Bird S-300 3D acquisition radars. By the same token the Indian electronic space extended a good two hundred kilometres north of the LAC thanks to the Phalcon AWACS loitering south of the LAC. For the crew of the ARC aircraft, though, the battle began within the electronic space, not the geographical one.

The pilot and the co-pilot in the cockpit were already monitoring the airspace around them but with the cockpit lighting and the darkness outside it was difficult to see anything other than a dim outline of the Karakoram peaks. Inside the cockpit though, the GLONASS-K was telling them a lot of things. The GPS was also available in the cockpit but the Americans had threatened to shut down the GPS availability as a feeble attempt to arm-twist both sides in the war if they continued to ignore demands for peaceful negotiations. Unfortunately, neither side was interested in that right now. Even though the threat had yet to be carried out by the Americans, the Indian Air Force had now completely deactivated the use of the GPS systems as a precautionary measure. In addition to the IAF’s navigation satellite flying over the region and the GLONASS-K systems, the transition had hardly been felt. Of course for the Chinese the issue was trickier and the Indian intelligence agencies were still evaluating how they were coping with the American threat. If the latter were in a position where an easy and quick transition was not an option, then it was in India’s interests to ensure that the Americans carry out their threat of a GPS blackout. But that was still in the future.

The onboard Radar Warning Receiver or RWR was already passively tracking the emissions of the KJ-2000s to the north but the ARC aircraft had still not entered the extreme southern limits of the region where the KJ-2000 could pick up the returning emissions of the Gulfstream. The Big-Bird radars were also still out of range. But there was no real way of knowing just where the KJ-2000 would have picked them out. So the flight crew was therefore waiting for the Phalcon MC to inform them when they had entered the suspected detection region of the Chinese AWACS and after that the Fuzzy Detection Range or FDR of the S-300 systems in the Aksai Chin...

“EAGLE-EYE-ONE to HELIOS-TWO-SEVEN. You are now lit up by the commie AWACS and approaching FDR in one point five minutes at current heading. Out”

The single burst transmission over the SATCOM allowed the flight crew of the ARC aircraft to immediately adjust the heading and bring the aircraft on a north-westerly heading so that they were flying just along the perimeter of the FDR. Entering the FDR was dangerous as that meant that a long range 48N6E2 S-300 missile round might blow them out of the sky with no warning whatsoever, even though it was highly unlikely that the Chinese would throw a missile at such a low probability shot. But this probability of intercept increased once the Chinese KJ-2000 AWACS was factored into the picture.

Without any active fighter operations from the Kashgar region currently underway, a single KJ-2000 was now acting in the air defence mode with the ground based S-300s, effectively extending the detection range. In effect, the crew of the KJ-2000 could collaborate with the Big-Bird radar crew of a S-300 battery to enact a highly elaborate setup to take down the Indian electronics warfare aircraft. It was unlikely but possible nonetheless. Finally, even without entering the FDR, there was no accurate data on where the FDR began. It was all an estimate based on intelligence data and the Indian experience with their own S-300 systems deployed in the strategic role.

Overall, the threat was significant. But that was part of the dangerous job that the ARC found itself regularly at work with. Except that a shooting war was happening around them, for the crew of the single Gulfstream-III now tickling the Chinese defenses in Laddakh, it was yet another day on the job...

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE SOUTH OF THE REZANG-LA
DAY 3 + 2250 HRS

The silence of the night above the ridges was shattered as four waves of four Jaguars each streaked at just above the ridge-tops and flew eastwards, crossing the border with Tibet a few seconds later. The Chinese soldiers on the ground had barely a second to grab their weapons before the sixteen aircraft flashed overhead and disappeared beyond the next parallel ridgeline behind them and into the darkness of the night into Tibet...

[Mihir.D]

C'mon Vivek give us one more....
More action from the Jags sir .. plzzzzz

[Vivek K]

Does anyone have Shankar's earlier scenario vs the Chicoms in a single file?

Boss go through this thread an u will find the link to where they were uploaded. If u still cant find, tell me u'r mail id, i send it

vivdhruv at gmail dot com. Thanks.

[chandrabhan]

Vivek Sir,
I don't want to extend my Visa here moreover this Howard johnson Hotel sucks. In case you don't kill those S300's , I may be forced to do it myself... . Don't deny me this pleasure of seeing their destruction

Chandrabhan

[kaangeya]

Vivek Sir,
I don't want to extend my Visa here moreover this Howard johnson Hotel sucks. In case you don't kill those S300's , I may be forced to do it myself... . Don't deny me this pleasure of seeing their destruction...

It seems we have the 5th grader jingos market cornered

[Sudhanshu]

I am really curious to see how Vivek chose to get rid of that S300 impregnable wall.

Please make it somewhat unpredictable, if you can

[kapilrdave]

Common Vivek. we are waiting.

[asbchakri]

Boss go through this thread an u will find the link to where they were uploaded. If u still cant find, tell me u'r mail id, i send it

vivdhruv at gmail dot com. Thanks.

I have sent it, hope u got it. Enjoy

[Anshul]

I expect high attrition rate in this mission for the Jags during ingress..so they are likely to break formation mid-way and head to the target from two directions ...assuming there is one target.

BTW if there are two targets then ...they will break formation and proceed to targets in groups of 3 or 6.

Low flying Jags likely to be brought down by perimeter ACK - ACK and Manpads.

Also vulnerable to SAMs during ingress and egress.


Another aspect......are they going in for SEAD.They are gonna need a pack of Mirages of Su-30MKIs with jammers emitting.

Vivek...please relent!

[Sanku]

Another aspect......are they going in for SEAD.They are gonna need a pack of Mirages of Su-30MKIs with jammers emitting.

Thats what the ARC is there for bhai.

[Anshul]

Logically I wouldn't expect the ARC to be directly involved in SEAD.IMHO They are on a recon mission looking out for blind spots.Likely ingress points and S300 thresholds(I maybe wrong).

AFAIK the ARC Gulfstream III isn't configured to launch offensive weapons.It may well have an ECM suite.

[Sanku]

AFAIK the ARC Gulfstream III isn't configured to launch offensive weapons.It may well have an ECM suite.

The last scenario (unfinished one) involved ARC doing the ECM work from a "safe" distance while the actual mud moving was done by Jags et al -- I assume thats what Vivek is setting up for in this case as well.

[Anshul]

I get this eerie feeling whenever i think about combat with the chicoms.The buggers are an unknown quantity.Experts dismiss them for their lack of first hand combat experience.

But assuming the IAF and IA were more experienced and had the WW2 and British - American Legacy to back them up...we still lost...bad planning...bad leadership and outdated equipment....and so on.

We aren't prepared for a war with china....period.I just get the shivers when i think about what the future holds for us.Coz Kargil tactics won't work in the future.

[Sudhanshu]

PING PING PING

Desperate BRFite to Vivek, please respond... I repeat, Desperate BRFite to Vivek, please respond, do you copy?

[Victor]

Prolly what Vivekji was describing in his Jaguar scenario. If the Jags were not picked up on radar in good time, there is no way anyone will have time to react, even with manpads. You need advance warning to arm a manpad, point it in the right direction and pull the trigger. It's worse with ack ack. Keep in mind that the Jags in this video are actually flying quite slow.

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE SOUTHWEST OF THE L.A.C.
DAY 3 + 2310 HRS

“Okay, that marks seventeen BIG-BIRDs deployed along this threat axis.” The EW console operator told the EW-MC standing over his shoulders even as he jabbed his finger on the computer screen to show the latest entry in the listing of enemy radar emission sources. The EW-MC was intently reading down that list on the screen...

“These Buk radars here south of the ingress route and these older LR surveillance emissions are highly familiar. We have countermeasures for those. What about the S-300 BB radars? You think we can blind them?” the EW-MC asked the console operator.

“Well, that’s the unknown in this equation. The Chinese have never really deployed these S-300s so far south before. This is just about our first look at these systems. And our own experience proves these to be highly capable. We just don’t have the EW power on board for even attempting a serious blackout of these systems.” The console operator replied even as he punched in the priority rankings for the two dozen emission sources in order of proximity of the known ingress routes. The EW-MC pressed on:

“Correct. What about the ECM support from the SOCOM aircraft?”

“We can use them effectively if we deploy them to the south against the southern half of these systems. Even there they will be limited for use against the Buk and these three LR radars. That effectively clears an ingress path. But the S-300s will remain active as far as we can tell. The Americans had plans for these kind of defences back in the cold war days. The thing is, there they deployed dozens of specialized EW aircraft much more powerful than the handful we are using right now twenty five years later against a much more modernized variant of the same threat. What do you expect the result to be?” the console operator looked back at the EW-MC for an answer to the question that he knew would not be forthcoming. The EW-MC in turn shook his head dismissively:

“I know. But we have what we have. Let’s work from there. We don’t have time to spare. Work up the procedures for the Buk and LR emissions in the southern sector. I will coordinate with the SOCOM EW people so that they know their targets. Once that is done, work up a diagnostic on the S-300 emissions.

We may find a weakness yet...”

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER SOUTHERN LADDAKH
DAY 3 + 2320 HRS

The sixteen SU-30MKIs began spreading out from their Box-Four formations into a line abreast pattern as they entered the skies over southern Laddakh and headed for the northeast. The wings were clean of all ordinance except for the EW pods and a single centreline pylon...

[vivek_ahuja]

REGIONAL COMMAND CENTER, KASHGAR
KASHGAR, SINKIANG
DAY 3 + 2325 HRS

For PLAAF Colonel Feng, the meeting had been long and excruciating. Nevertheless, he felt less burdened now than before mainly because while his meeting had been long, that of Major-General Zhigao had been somewhat short. Lt-General Chen had arrived early in the night to Kashgar to be personally briefed on the happenings of this part of the general air war even as the one in the east was now beginning in full flow despite the initial strikes. The Aksai Chin sector of the air war had gone badly so far for the Chinese and the fact that Lt-Gen Chen had been forced to fly several thousand kilometres to be personally briefed was an indication of the severity of the crisis to any layman.

The Chinese fighter force under the regional command had been mauled in the vicious dogfights twelve hours ago against the Indian fighters. Lt-Gen Chen had taken swift and decisive action to rectify the situation. He had personally ordered the deployment of another Flanker regiment from central china to make up for the losses at Kashgar but had been forced to replace the composite J-10 units with standard J-8II units in lieu of the lack of sufficient numbers of the former. He had also had Maj-Gen Zhigao relieved of his command and arrested for showing lack of command abilities. He had also taken personal command for the time being. Colonel Feng had now been placed in command of the air defence units in the Aksai Chin region.

The meeting was winding down and Feng was rubbing his eyes as he looked at his watch again. Fresh SU-27s were now beginning to land at the airbases further to the north along with the H-6 tankers and IL-76 transports were bringing in the ground crews and equipment, though the latter two were already in good supply at the bases. Despite all that, Feng was also expected to go over the details of his own command and he had his officers running back and forth outside the conference room collating data and bringing regular updates for him to read even as he sat for the meeting with Chen and other senior officers.

And as if on cue, the door opened and a junior officer walked over to Feng even as the meeting continued and handed him the latest updates from the air defence command centre. The five pages in his hand spoke of somewhat unconnected incidents. One spoke of an Indian Jaguar squadron having penetrated the skies and currently over Tibet. Another report spoke of Indian electronic warfare aircraft now probing the Chinese defences. But the Jaguars had penetrated far to the south and had headed northeast, away from the Aksai Chin, while the EW aircraft had stayed just opposite the LAC.

Feng paused from his reading and stared at the far wall of the conference room as he went over the data in his hands. The idea was to look at this from the Indian standpoint and find the connection. The obvious answer was that the incidents were connected. But with the limited data in his hands, the connection was hard to find. The obvious connection was not so obvious. Not after knowing the fact that any Jaguars attempting to approach the Aksai chin would be detected and blown out of the sky by the S-300s long before they even got close. But Feng was no fool.

The Indians are up to something.

But what?

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER SOUTH-WESTERN TIBET
DAY 3 + 2340 HRS

“Approaching waypoint five.” The WSO in the back seat replied over the R/T. In the front seat of the Jaguar, Group Captain S. Verma looked away from the HUD to see the moonlight reflect off the water surface of the massive lake that formed at the extreme eastern end of the Pangong Tso inside Tibet as they flew in from the west on the first approach. Now it was time to act. G/C Verma looked back through his HUD and spoke over the R/T even as his hands guided the beast of an aircraft that the Jaguar was at these speeds, just above the peaks of the local hills.

“Blue-Section peel off on my mark. Three...Two...One...Mark!”

Four of the sixteen jaguars now flipped to their sides and pulled away, heading southeast. Verma looked away from the HUD through his helmet mounted NVGs to see the section of four Jaguars flying off as four dark specks against the greenish night sky.

“FIREFLY-ONE to FIREFLY-BLUE. Good hunting. Give them hell! Out”

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE SOUTHWEST OF THE L.A.C.
DAY 3 + 2342 HRS

The EW-MC looked at his watch and then the digital version mounted in the MC console before bringing up his intercom mouthpiece: “Okay, people. Time to go. Let’s light up the skies.”

The crew of six experienced EW operators now went into a frenzy of activity as they flipped switches that brought active electronic warfare systems online. The ARC Gulfstream was now actively emitting jamming signals as the onboard crew attempted to black out the Chinese S-300 systems...

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE EAST OF THE L.A.C. AT DEMCHOK
DAY 3 + 2344 HRS

The long convoy of trucks and several armoured vehicles was rolling steadily on the highway as it headed east towards the LAC. This sector, once bogged in desperate firefights with Tibetan rebels had seen a vast influx of PLA units that had crushed the Tibetan resistance within the short few weeks after the initial uprising. It had also allowed a vast number of Chinese ground forces to gather east of Shiquanhe as they prepared to assault the Indian defences beyond the LAC near Demchok.

The three crucial mountain passes in the region at Chang, Jara and Charding to the north, east and south of Demchok had all been under Chinese control since 1962. If used, they provided a south to north movement axis to roll up the Indian defences at Rezang La and then Chushul. As such, the side that controlled these regions could affect the overall outcome of the upcoming ground war in this sector. For the Indian army that meant capturing these passes or at least preventing the Chinese from using them. For the Chinese it meant holding off the units of the Indian XV Corps trying to take these passes and instead moving ground troops and vehicles northwards to ultimately capture the entire tract all the way up to Chushul. All in all, it was a crucial sector in southern Laddakh and therefore a juicy target for the Indians...

The convoy was moving in total darkness with all headlights switched off. The drivers were using the moonlight to easily navigate the road which had traffic moving on it all along its length. There was no warning of impending trouble until it was too late.

The first flashes of light erupted when a line of a dozen or more supply trucks disappeared into the napalm fireball even as a single Jaguar streaked overhead. The secondary explosions rocked the mountains as ammunition storage exploded amongst many of the vehicles. The convoy was immediately brought to a stop as the drivers abandoned their vehicles with engines still running even as more aircraft noises filled the skies.

The second Jaguar streaked above the ridgeline to the north and approached the line of five Type-99 MBTs parked on a stretch of the road. The tank crews were already jumping out of the vehicles as the aircraft approached. A second later the Jaguar streaked overhead and left behind two cluster-bombs falling onto the five tanks. In a fraction of a second the red hot shrapnel struck the upper surfaces of the tanks and the ground nearby and sent five neat and clean fireballs rising into the air before a dust cloud enveloped the smoke columns. By the time the dust settled, all that remained were five pillars of fire from what had been brand new Type-99 series tanks.

The third and fourth Jaguars were now rolling into their places of the attack cycle even as the first two aircraft raced skywards and banked away to make another pass. By this time the anti-air artillery started picking up and started filling the skies with exploding shells. It was now getting dangerous for the Jaguars. Nevertheless, the third Jaguar lit up another twenty trucks with sequential dropping of its entire warload of napalm before banking away. As it fled the skies at high speeds, a line of exploding anti-air artillery shells followed in its wake, but did not touch the aircraft.

The fourth Jaguar was able to determine the location of the triple-A site that was lacing the sky with tracers and flew over it and released a cluster munition unit. The weapon decimated the ground battery and abruptly silenced the stream of tracers heading into the night sky. By this time the first two Jaguars were on their second approach into the sector with empty pylons but full gun loads. Five more trucks went up in flames as the large cannon shells punched through their cargo and engine compartments during the strafing runs. At this close ranges, the cannon rounds punched massive holes even on the road and sent smoke clouds flying everywhere.

The two white smoke trails that left the ground behind the banking Jaguars and followed into the streams of flares being released by the former confirmed for the four Jaguar pilots that it was time to leave. The surprise element was now used up and the ground defences had settled in. There was no second pass for the third and fourth Jaguars and the entire formation of four left Tibetan airspace by entering Indian airspace west of Demchok. On the ground east of Jara-La, they left behind dozens of smoke pillars and massive dust clouds reaching into the night sky while massive fires raged on the supply road below.

The message being sent out by the local PLA commanders to the PLAAF Air Defence Sector, Kashgar, was loud and clear: The Indian Jaguars had just attacked the Chinese ground forces near Jara-La and headed back into Indian airspace...

[Rupesh]

Thanks Vivek...... you have made my day