On October 12, the 51st Special Mixed Fleet flagship "Nitz" super aircraft carrier.

It was the sixth day of attacking the transit island, and the ground battle had been going on for 5 days. The landing troops failed to annihilate the defenders on the island as planned.

Not only because the defenders fought tenaciously, but also because of the counterattack of Liang Xia's army.

Three days ago, the third day of landing, Liang Xia's Air Force sent bombers to attack the landing ground with hundreds of long-range cruise missiles regardless of the possibility of accidentally injuring the defenders.

Because the strike came very suddenly, the bombers projected missiles more than 1,000 kilometers away and did not conduct reconnaissance before the attack, so the landing troops on the beach did not make any defense and did not have time to evacuate. A large amount of equipment and supplies that had just been sent to the beach were destroyed.

Just by ammunition, the drug cost almost 5,000 tons.

In addition, there are hundreds of engineering vehicles.

Relatively speaking, the casualties are not too large.

Although this battle reflected a very serious problem, the Marines lacked field air defense systems and did not even have a few anti-aircraft guns.

When attacked by cruise missiles, Marines on the beach could only use heavy machine guns to shoot at the air.

In addition, there are not enough individual air defense missiles.

But, this cannot be blamed on the Marines.

Ground battles are still going on, and the beachhead positions are often bombarded by defenders. Even if they are just mortars, there is a significant threat.

According to the combat plan, during the landing phase, the fleet provides air defense cover for the landing troops.

To this end, Stark specially arranged four Kidd-class air defense destroyers to move south and move south to operate north of the transit island to provide cover for landing troops.

Unfortunately, the distance between these four warships from the landing ground is more than 30 kilometers, and the cover it can provide is very limited.

In addition, the Kidd class is not a real air defense warship.

This kind of destroyer is an air defense warship developed based on the "Sp" class general destroyer and in accordance with the requirements of the Boy Navy. Because it uses the same hull as the Newland Navy's own "Tikang" class air defense cruiser and is exactly the same as the air defense missile launch system, it is designated as an air defense destroyer and is also known as the most powerful air defense warship outside the "Tikang" class.

Unfortunately, the "Kidd" class did not adopt the most critical "Aegis" system developed to combat saturated attacks of anti-ship missiles.

As a result, when the four Kidd-class ships were completed and about to be delivered, the Boy Navy quit and asked to carry the Aegis system and was willing to pay additional fees for this, otherwise the four already built destroyers would not be accepted.

For this matter, the two sides almost turned against each other.

After several years of stalemate, the Newland Navy received the four destroyers and was incorporated into the Viagra Fleet, forming a special destroyer team.

If you want to say it, the Newland Navy took a big advantage.

Before the fall, Boy had already paid 75% of the procurement fee, which is 600 million dollars. In the case of unilateral repentance, the Newland Shipyard would definitely not return the fee. In other words, Boy had spent money to buy four destroyers for the Newland Navy.

Of course, electronic equipment and weapon systems are not included.

In order to get the four destroyers to serve, the Newland Navy spent 150 million dollars to purchase electronic equipment, weapons and ammunition for it.

In fact, the Newland Navy has the "Aegis" destroyer.

This is the first ship that has been launched at the beginning of the year and plans to build more than 30 Burke-class ships.

If you want to say it, it was only after knowing the existence of the "Burke" class that the Boy Navy suddenly changed its mind, otherwise it would have taken away four "Kidd" class ships.

According to the final agreement, the Newland Navy will purchase three Burke-class ships and then transfer them to the Boy Navy after the acceptance is completed. For these three destroyers, the Boy Navy will not only have to give up the four Kidd-class ships, but also pay 600 million NZD construction costs. The key is that after delivery, it will have to spend about 300 million NZD to purchase supporting electronic equipment, weapons and ammunition for these three destroyers.

In other words, for the three Burke-class ships, the Boy Navy used about 1.5 billion dollars.

However, Navy Boy will become the first navy to have the "Aegis" battleship besides the Newland Navy.

Although in the Newland Navy, the four Kidd class are "DDGs", nominally missile destroyers, commonly known as air defense destroyers, compared with the "Tikang" class cruisers, the Kidd class's air defense capabilities are not strong, and they are even less than the "Qingzhou" class of the Imperial Navy.

For this reason, four "Kidd"-class ships were listed separately and organized into one destroyer team, but not included in the aircraft carrier battle group.

When the landing ground was bombed, these four destroyers did not play their due role.

The destroyer squad commander did not receive the news until the bombing was over.

From beginning to end, none of the four Kidd-classes detected cruise missiles fired at the landing ground.

The main reason is that the flight altitude of these cruise missiles is very low, less than 50 meters, and when they are fired from the west, four destroyers are in the northeast of the island.

As for the air defense fighter jets sent by the 51st Special Mixed Fleet to cover the transit island, they are also far away.

Fundamentally, this is the pot of the 51st Special Mix Fleet.

It is precisely because the 51st Special Mix Fleet did not advance westward, and to be precise, it expanded the air defense circle westward, that Liang Xia's Air Force seized the gap. If the 51st Special Mix Fleet advanced 500 kilometers west of the transit island, the air defense range could be expanded to 1,000 kilometers west of the transit island, and the incoming enemy aircraft would be discovered in time and fighter jets would be arranged to intercept. Even if all bombers could not be shot down, it would be able to provide more than an hour of early warning time for landing troops. As long as people and materials were evacuated in time, even if they were bombed, the losses would not be too great.

This sudden and very violent bombing disrupted the plan to attack the transit island.

Affected by this, the Marines basically gave up the offense in the next two days and began to consolidate the landing ground and send combat supplies to the landing troops.

The key point is that on the night of the 9th, that is, the night when the landing ground was bombed, the 51st Special Mixed Fleet sailed 500 kilometers west to the northwest of the transit island, and arranged carrier-based aircraft to establish an intercepting defense line about 500 kilometers west of the transit island.

To be precise, just send an early warning aircraft over and let four F-14Bs stand by behind the early warning aircraft.

After the early warning plane discovers the enemy plane, the fighter plane will then intercept it.

This move has an immediate effect.

In the early morning of the 10th, the F-14B that was leaving the front successfully intercepted a group of bombers under the command of E-2C. Although the results were not achieved, it was mainly because the Liang Xia Air Force dispatched large early warning aircraft. When the F-14B accelerated forward, the bombers turned and flew away, but successfully prevented the Liang Xia Air Force from bombing the landing ground again and protecting the transport ships that were transporting combat materials to the landing troops.

At that time, there were at least 20 transport ships loaded with ammunition and drug supplies in the landing ground!

The largest one is loaded with about 7,000 tons of ammunition, including at least 2,000 tons of shells. If the transport ship is bombed and the loaded ammunition is exploded, the consequences will be unimaginable, and the combat operations to attack the transit island will not be abandoned.

In the following two days, Liang Xia’s Air Force launched at least five attacks, but all of them were shattered.

It was not until last night that the landing troops regained their momentum.

According to the telegram sent by the Front Command, the offensive operation will be resumed at the latest on the afternoon of the 12th, and strive to annihilate the remaining enemies on the island within 3 days.

Obviously, the Marine Commander was indeed very confident.

However, in Stark's eyes, this confidence is very blind.

Just last night, the F-14B fighter that went to the west to intercept the bomber encountered Liang Xia fighter!

Although there was no fire exchange, when the distance was about 150 kilometers, the four F-14Bs had to turn back because they had reached the limit combat radius, and then they broke into contact with the enemy planes. Moreover, the E-2C in the rear was too far away, and only the fighter planes were determined. The specific model was not distinguished, and it was impossible to determine whether it was a fighter plane of Liang Xia. However, one thing is certain that in the past few days, Liang Xia's Air Force did not arrange fighter planes to escort the bomber, but only sent large early warning planes to coordinate and command in the rear.

The key is that the islands with large airports are 2,000 kilometers away.

Even if Liang Xia’s Air Force has many large tanker aircraft, allowing fighters to fly to 2,000 kilometers away for combat, there is no efficiency at all.

Besides, frontier airports also need to deploy bombers, early warning aircraft and electronic reconnaissance aircraft, and there is no way to deploy too many fighter aircraft.

More importantly, it has been 7 days since the Newland Navy began to attack the Transit Island!

With these 7 days, the 41st Special Mixed Fleet has already returned to the vicinity of the transit island, and perhaps even the 61st Special Mixed Fleet has arrived.

In this way, there are probably two special mixed fleets in the southwest of the transit island!

Because carrier-based aircraft were arranged to intercept Liang Xia's Air Force bombers, even if the F-14B had a large combat radius, it could expand the interception range through air refueling. However, the interception operation lasted for several days was enough to make Bai Huawei make a general judgment on the whereabouts of the 51st Special Mixed Fleet. Therefore, Stark did not believe that it was Liang Xia's Air Force fighter, and it was more likely to be a carrier-based fighter jet from a special Mixed Fleet.

So, is it the 41st special mixed fleet or the 61st special mixed fleet?

This is the most critical issue.

The first thing Stark thought of was that the 41st Special Mixed Fleet had already moved to the southwest of the transit island and planned to enter the Northeast Ocean with the support of the Air Force.

What to say is also the most normal way to play.

Even with the support of the 61st Special Mixed Fleet, in order to achieve decisive victory and to reduce combat losses, Bai Huawei will make full use of the shore-based aviation and air force.

No commander likes to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of them.

However, Stark immediately rejected the judgment.

The reason is also very simple. The 41st TCM fleet rushed back from Yoton Island and could reach the waters near the Transit Island on October 9. Even if you don’t want to encounter the Newland fleet too early and fight to the decisive battle, when the 61st TCM fleet arrives, Bai Huawei can stay south of the Transit Island, and then dispatch carrier-based aircraft to bomb the landing troops, or dispatch fighters to provide cover for bombers bombing the Transit Island.

Worried about being exposed?

If the round of bombing succeeds on the night of the 10th, even if you know where the 41st special fleet is, Stark will choose to withdraw his troops.

On a strategic level, Liang Xia's navy must first guarantee the defeat of the combat operations against the transit island.

As long as you keep the transfer island, everything will be easy to say.

In fact, as long as the 41st Special Mixed Fleet is far enough from the transit island, you don’t have to worry about being hit.

Besides, if Bai Huawei hopes that the 41st Special Mixed Fleet will remain hidden, why should he dispatch fighter jets on the night of the 11th?

From this perspective, those fighters are likely to be from the 61st Special Mixed Fleet.

The 61st Special Mixed Fleet has arrived!?

From time to time calculation, as long as the average speed is maintained above 22 knots, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet will be able to reach the southwest of the transit island on the night of the 11th.

This 22 chapters is not a coincidence.

The fastest cruise speed of Liang Xia’s battleship is 22 knots.

This "fastest cruising speed" refers to the navigation speed that half of the power equipment, usually gas turbines, can be achieved when operating at maximum power.

Because the fuel consumption is too high, it is not economic cruising speed.

In addition, judging from the sea areas where fighter jets appeared, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet is likely to be on the west side of the transit island, or to be more western.

As expected, between the Transit Island and Wei Island.

In this way, the 61st Special Mixed Fleet can obtain cover from the shore-based aviation deployed on Wei Island, so that carrier-based aviation, especially a limited number of heavy fighter jets, can perform offensive tasks, such as escorting the attack aircraft fleet and improving the penetration efficiency of the aircraft fleet.
To be continued...