There is no suspense for the Arab coalition to regain Khafji. With the support of the powerful air force and artillery of multinational forces, the Arab coalition regained control of this border town at a relatively small cost. After experiencing successive attacks by multinational forces, the Iraqi army's defensive will was demoralized. When the Saudi army invaded Khafji, they did not encounter arduous street fighting. The Iraqis abandoned their remaining tanks and took advantage of the opportunity. Night fled in the desert.
During this period, the Iraqi army collected the remaining soldiers that were bombed by Chinese fighter planes and formed a support force approximately the size of an armored brigade. This Iraqi armored brigade was subsequently repulsed under a coordinated attack by the multinational air force and the Saudi armored force. , failed to successfully support Khafji's Iraqi army.
Although the battle of Khafji was ultimately victorious, Schwarzkov, the commander-in-chief of the multinational forces, realized a problem, that is, if the Iraqi army was allowed to attack according to its own ideas, the multinational forces would be too big and they would eventually be able to find a way to attack. If there are any weaknesses, it will cause a lot of trouble to the multinational forces. The task of continuously bombing strategic targets in Iraq has been basically completed. Next, a new step must be taken in order to win the war.
The Joint Operations Command immediately issued a new order - to completely destroy the Iraqi Air Force.
During the beginning of Operation Desert Storm, although the Iraqi Air Force carried out resistance, it was very limited. In the early stages of Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi fighter jets only dispatched about 3 sorties per day on average. Despite this, they were still encountered by the air power of multinational forces. a heavy blow. The more severe the losses, the less Saddam wanted to continue fighting. Instead, he strictly ordered the fighter planes not to take off and hide them in various bunkers built by Iraq before the war.
Before the war, Iraq built a total of 594 aircraft bunkers, some of which even used missile silo reinforcement technology to withstand the shock wave of air blasts from tactical nuclear weapons. In order to completely destroy the Iraqi Air Force, the air forces of multiple countries, especially the Chinese and American air forces, began to use laser-guided ground-penetrating bombs to attack these hangar bunkers.
When carrying out this task, multinational forces dispatched electronic warfare aircraft such as PA6B electric fighters to control the electromagnetic control power on the battlefield, and then assisted with 6, A18, Qiang 7 and other aircraft. These aircraft successfully used "tactical air-launched decoys" to disrupt and deceive the Iraqi air defense system, and carried out high-speed anti-radiation missile attacks against the Iraqi low-frequency early warning radar and higher-frequency target search and tracking radar that were powered on for search. Operations to suppress electromagnetic fields and destroy the opponent's eyes and ears on the battlefield were carried out smoothly. The large-scale operations carried out by the multinational forces to suppress the Iraqi air defense system from the beginning of the war achieved remarkable results. A large number of Iraqi radar stations were destroyed by the high-speed anti-radiation missiles of the multinational forces. and hard-kill weapons, only one of the six interception control centers can still function normally.
After thoroughly grasping the advantages of the invisible battlefield, the multinational forces launched a mopping up operation against the participating Iraqi aircraft. They first dispatched heavy fighters such as B15 and B14 to provide air cover and support to guard against intrusion by enemy aircraft. After the radar systems of surface-to-air missiles in the Kuwait theater and Iraq were destroyed, the air power of multinational forces can freely maneuver at medium and high altitudes, thus avoiding the highly lethal low-altitude anti-aircraft firepower and infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles. Missile threat. By suppressing the Iraqi air defense system, the multinational forces severely weakened the Iraqi army's air defense capabilities, cut off its command and communication system, and prevented the information transmission of the entire Iraqi command system.
The main fighters involved in the sweep of the Iraqi army were the US Bl17A Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft, which focused on attacking fortified bunkers around Belaid and some other airports, the US Blll Aardvark fighter-bombers, the British Royal Air Force's Tornado fighter-bombers, and the Saudi Air Force fighter jets. H-B Flying Leopard fighter-bombers attacked bunkers at other airports from midair. These military aircraft with relatively strong ground attack capabilities can carry a relatively large number of ground-penetrating bombs, which can be described as a disaster for Iraqi aircraft hidden in bunkers.
Under the attack of multinational air power, many Iraqi aircraft hidden in bunkers were destroyed. In order to avoid the total annihilation of its air power, the Iraqi government decided to transfer some aircraft to Iran and hide them. The movements of the Iraqi army have long been detected by multinational forces. The Joint Operations Command responded quickly and dispatched American B15, B14 and Chinese J-Fighter, B14CN and other fighter jets to begin interdictive air strikes between Baghdad and the Iranian border. patrol.
On the day of the obstructive air patrol, China and the United States also staged a drama of "brothers working together can break gold".
A B14CN fighter jet co-piloted by U.S. Navy pilot Captain James Horton and Chinese Navy pilot Chen Feng took off from an airport in Oman and cruised in Iraq for more than an hour. The Tomcat fighter was then controlled by an American pilot. Then, it landed steadily on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier.
Although the B14CN fighter jet has been improved a lot by China's Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, such as using its own domestic -10 engine, and adopting a more advanced and intuitive glass cockpit, some of the characteristics of the old B14 have also been retained, such as the carrier-based aircraft's Sturdy?Landing gear and tailhook. Therefore, the Chinese version of B14CN also has the ability to take off and land from aircraft carriers.
The Chinese Navy has its own aircraft carrier, but it has not been made public. In fact, a group of pilots have been trained and become aircraft carrier-based pilots.
This time, China¡¯s red Tomcat landed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It was actually to demonstrate the mutual military trust and alliance between the two countries. American pilot Horton was even sent to China to get familiar with China's modified B14CN fighter jets for a period of time before he carried out this mission, which was more meaningful than actual combat.
Qi Yiming believes that the B14CN itself is modified from the old foundation of American fighter aircraft. As for the glass cockpit and the two-trunk canopy, there is nothing to hide, so it is not necessary for the Americans to take a look. However, it is impossible to show the B14CN fighter jets that Shenyang Aircraft will produce to the Americans after it is authorized.
It was also the first time for Chen Feng to fly the B14 with a foreign colleague. The two had a lively exchange. Because they were both B14 pilots, there were many topics to talk about. Chen Feng also had a good impression of this naval pilot named Holden. .
¡°Mcr, the fuel and weapons have been replenished, we will take off in ten minutes,¡± Holden patted Chen Feng on the shoulder and said. U.S. military pilots like to use code names. Holden gave him the code name McR when he first met Chen Feng, because Chen Feng said his name meant mountain peak.
Chen Feng nodded and said: "No problem, I'm ready."
The two of them entered the front and rear seats of the cockpit through the boarding ladder one after another. Because only Holden can take off and land on the aircraft carrier, Chen Feng served as the weapons officer's back seat pilot this time. Chen Feng is also looking forward to this mission, not to cooperate with the public opinion and political show, but because he will be recruited to become an aircraft carrier pilot after the war. .
Although the Navy currently has only two Type 62 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, more aircraft carriers will appear in the battle sequence of the People's Navy in the future, so training carrier-based aircraft pilots is an urgent matter. Before actually becoming a carrier-based aircraft pilot, it is also a good experience to experience taking off and landing on a nuclear aircraft carrier.
Horton himself is a member of the aviation squadron on the Roosevelt, so he cooperated well with the crew members on the ship and completed the flight inspection quickly. Then the pressure storage tank of the steam catapult is injected with high-pressure gas from the ship's boiler. After the steam is full, the exhaust valve releases the high-temperature and high-pressure steam in the piston cylinder, providing sufficient kinetic energy for the carrier-based aircraft. The carrier-based aircraft's front wheel bracket tow bar is hung on the slider. After ejection, the tow bar directly pulls the front wheel to accelerate. The aircraft reaches take-off speed on the ejection rail, jumps out from the aircraft carrier deck, and soars into the air.
Holden laughed and asked Chen Feng: "How do you feel? Is it really good?"
"Ah, I'm still a little uncomfortable with it, but I think I might like this feeling in the future." Chen Feng was also quite excited.
?Then the Tomcat fighter jet entered the combat zone again and successfully shot down an Iraqi Air Force MiG-2B
The world's media did not care what Horton and Chen Feng said. The front pages of major newspapers published this picture: a B14 fighter plane with the August 1st Red Star logo painted on the tail. , taking off from a US military aircraft carrier, there is also a floating Stars and Stripes in the picture.
The Washington Post named this photo "PItt. (Fighting Side by Side)." This photo also became one of the most iconic photos of the Gulf War and was selected as one of the 100 most important photos in the world in the 1990s. One of the photos.
A spokesman for the White House said: "In this war, the United States and China have fully demonstrated to the world that we can trust and have a strong alliance, support and rely on each other, and have played a major and positive role. We firmly believe that the United States The sound development of China-China relations is one of the most important cornerstones of world peace and one of the most important cornerstones of maintaining world peace, stability, prosperity and development."
Relatively speaking, China¡¯s response is relatively low-key, and its words are similar to those of the Americans, but it emphasizes that China is a responsible big country and is willing to make more positive contributions to the world.
This little show-off did not affect the multi-national forces' operation to completely clear the air of the Iraqi Air Force in Iraq. After two days of air interception and shooting down several Iraqi fighter jets, Saddam finally stopped the operation of hiding the fighter jets in the air. Iran's plan, and the complacent commander-in-chief of the Joint Operations Command, Schwarzkov, publicly stated to the media and reporters: Multinational forces have successfully seized air supremacy in the theater.
Multinational forces are one step closer to launching a large-scale land offensive