Babylonian Empire

Page 402

One of the tankers, the Tam, also sailed out of the harbor slowly, but, unlike the other tankers, his ship was loaded with a group of special oil products in addition to a full load of [-] tons of refined oil. Guests: more than two dozen Iraqi armed personnel.

They are the famous rattlesnake special forces in the war!

Although it would be very risky to send special forces directly into the southeast of Iran, Qusay agreed after careful consideration.

Because they have already got the exact information, the anti-ship missiles imported by the Iranians only got [-] pieces and four sets of launching equipment, so they only need to kill these four sets of launching equipment, and the threat of the Iranians will be gone. disappear.

Instead of trembling and risking crossing the strait, it is better to take the initiative to kill the opponent's missile launch equipment!After careful research, and after confirming the possible launching positions of Iran, Qusay finally agreed to this operation of the special forces: to destroy the Iranian missile launching equipment!

It's just that the only regret is that because at this distance, they can't get the support of the air force, the laser shooting that was originally easy for the special forces has become that they need to use their own equipment to blow them up. Therefore, they carried Anti-tank missiles, rocket launchers and other equipment.

And this distance has exceeded the voyage of the helicopters that special forces often take, so they also have to use the second method, taking a tanker, and when they are close to the Strait of Hormuz, take a rubber boat that they carry , quietly stepped onto Holmzgan Province.

At the same time, at an appropriate time, if necessary, the Iraqi Air Force will also take off the Tu-22 bomber to provide support. However, since this bomber cannot carry precision-guided weapons, the bombing effect on the ground will not be very good.

The Saudi government is unwilling to directly conflict with Iran. Otherwise, with the help of the Saudi air force base, the Iraqi air force will have the opportunity to carry out precise bombing under the guidance of ground personnel. Therefore, Qusay did not borrow the air force base for this. Talk to Saudi Arabia, and when it is really needed, his air force takes off from the Iraqi airport. After the bombing is completed, the fuel is insufficient, and it is always possible to borrow the Saudi air force base for an emergency landing, right?

Qusay had already made a calculation in his heart.At the same time, he also hopes that the escort formation can complete the task, and his set of interference equipment can play a role, otherwise, outside the Gulf, the forces of various major countries are watching here, the United States, the Soviet Union, even the The British navy that just finished the war last year is here!

The captain of this oil tanker has a close relationship with the Iraqi zhèngfǔ, so after the zhèngfǔ made this request, the captain readily agreed.

This kind of thing done by Iran has aroused the resentment of all countries, especially these crew members who depend on the sea for food.

Looking at the white clouds in the sky and the endless sea in the distance, the special forces members knew that their task this time was very difficult.

……

Since the last missile launch, the missile force has moved to a new launch position, but in the following days, they have fallen into a state of doing nothing.

Although the final battle report showed that they attacked the wrong target, not the Iraqi oil tanker but the Kuwaiti tanker, but the boss did not raise any severe criticism, but just let them continue to attack.

Unexpectedly, since the launch of that missile, the Persian Gulf immediately became quiet, and there was nothing on the sea, and no one dared to show up for oil tankers from the Gulf countries.

This made them feel complacent, and they only fired one missile to completely block this important air route. Compared with the steady retreat on the western front, their victory came too easily.

The great spiritual leader also personally praised them, praising them for their great contributions to the cause of Iran's Islamic revolution, which boosted the morale of the entire front, and hoped that they would make persistent efforts and continue to attack more ships.

In addition to their missile units, because the number of imported missiles is not very large, in order to achieve better results, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has formed many small units. They are training to ride speedboats and use rocket launchers to approach those cargo ships.

After several days of waiting, news finally came from above: the Gulf countries have set up an escort fleet, and their tankers will arrive in a day's time!

Thinking of those ships full of oil, the soldiers of the missile force were excited, and they began to prepare for the launch.

……

Although the first batch of ships confirmed for the first time was only 45 oil tankers, when the formation finally assembled in Dhahran, the number of ships in the formation became [-]. Escorting such a huge fleet It is a very big test for the hastily established peninsula defense force to undertake the escort mission for the first time.

On the Aibha, the commander of the escort formation, Rear Admiral Talal Mufudi of the Saudi Navy was full of ambition. As a senior Saudi naval officer who returned from training in the US Navy, he was eager to have the opportunity to make contributions. However, there has never been a chance. Saudi Arabia has a very good relationship with the surrounding Arab countries. Although Saudi Arabia and Iran are not in harmony, the territories of the two sides do not directly border each other. Therefore, in the war against Iran's export of revolution, Saudi Arabia has only contributed some funds. Few of the Saudi soldiers are able to go to the battlefield.

We want to prove to the people in the world that the Saudi army is definitely not an army that has lost its combat effectiveness intoxicated in petrodollars. We have the ability to defend our country and complete any tasks assigned by the king!

Iran has anti-ship missiles, but they already know that that kind of missile was developed from the Styx missile imported from China in the 50s and imitated by the Soviet Union. The electronic equipment still uses electronic tubes, which is very backward, although The volume is huge, and it successfully sank an oil tanker in the last attack. However, for the Ai Buha, which has Sea Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles, the anti-ship missiles that were still flying at a height of about 100 meters in the last sea-skimming flight , there is no threat at all.

Sea Sidewinder missiles are improved from land-based surface-to-air missiles. They are small in size, advanced in performance, and have high development potential.The French Navy began to develop several types of new surface combat ships in the early 70s. Most of them did not need to undertake regional air defense tasks, but they needed to be equipped with advanced short-range air defense missiles for self-defense air defense.

Under this demand, they chose this air defense missile.

"Sea Sidewinder" meets the requirements of the French Navy in terms of size, weight, performance and technical maturity, and can also meet the requirements of shipboard air defense in terms of system composition and guidance methods, because they have already mass-produced "Sea Sidewinder" , so it also has an advantage in production cost.

Therefore, in 1973, the French Navy decided to improve the mature land-use Sidewinder 2000 into a ship-based type, maintaining the basic structure and guidance method of the land-use "Sidewinder", making comprehensive use of the ship's detection devices and adding an automatic loading system. Agency's stockpile of ammunition.

A famous weapon, the Sea Rattlesnake, was born.

In 1974, Thomson was selected as the general contractor, and the first contract was signed to start engineering development. At the end of 1977, the first launch device was delivered and installed on the ship for testing. The performance appraisal was completed in 1979, and it officially entered service in 1980, known as Type 8B.

At the same time, France and Saudi Arabia signed a contract for these frigates, hoping to upgrade to the 8S type. This 8S type is based on the 8B type with added anti-missile capabilities.

In later generations, this kind of missile was installed on the Aibuha until 84. However, in the Falklands War in 82, the great power of the anti-ship missile made the French who developed the Exocet missile feel the real threat. , Therefore, the development of this missile was accelerated, and the development was finally completed at the end of 82. It was installed on the Ai Buha in early 83 and joined the sequence of the Saudi Navy. However, the time for the Saudi Navy to operate this warship is still In less than three months, this missile has only been tested once and hit a target drone.

Standing on the bridge, looking at the aging Badr in front of him, especially the antennas that appeared after the rear modification, Rear Admiral Kalal found it very funny. For example, they relied on electronic interference to successfully throw off the Styx missile. I hope this new gadget from Iraq will not disappoint them.

"Report, all 45 ships have been assembled, but two of the tankers only have a speed of [-] knots." A chief officer said.

"Order the formation, with the Sidik-class missile boat in front, the Aibuha following, and then let the ship formation follow, the Badr and Sambuk-class at the end, and the Ahmed-class and Barzan-class patrolling around the formation. The distance between the two ships is five nautical miles, and the speed is fourteen knots." Major General Talal said.

If it is safer, it is more appropriate to be separated by one nautical mile. However, there are more than 40 ships, that is more than 40 nautical miles, and the formation is too long. speed, there will be no collisions.

On the Badr, the Iraqi technicians wearing the uniforms of the Saudi Navy also began to work nervously.

Since then, this jamming device has made greater progress than last time. It can interfere with designated areas in a targeted manner, and can also reserve multiple channels to prevent interference with one's own equipment. .

Chapter 448 The Battle Begins

More than 40 ships lined up in the Persian Gulf. They were sailing forward cautiously.

Since the speed was not very fast, it was already dusk when they approached the Strait of Hormuz.

This time the Arabs did not ask for American escort, but organized a fleet themselves to escort these ships leaving the Persian Gulf. This formation immediately attracted the attention of other warships outside the Persian Gulf.

The US Navy aircraft carrier took off a Hawkeye early warning plane, hovering over the Arabian Sea, monitoring every move of this formation, and also monitoring the Iranian land on one side of the strait.

This kind of escort mission is too easy for the U.S. Navy. They can shoot down the missiles launched by the Iranians with a few air defense destroyers, but it is very difficult for this formation.

The Hawkeye early-warning aircraft received the signal from the Thomson CSF Sea Tiger radar, which is the signal from the long-range warning radar equipped on the Medina-class frigate that the Saudi Navy has just entered into service. Although this French technology is still advanced, it is Well, the U.S. Navy is not optimistic about the quality of the Saudi Navy. How many of those guys who even have to install air conditioners in their barracks are the masters of war?

The Iranians on the coast have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. They have confirmed this time that the front of the entire formation is a warship of the Saudi Navy.

The Iranian missile force deployed on the side of the Strait of Hormuz received a task from its superiors: first kill the escorting Iranian warships!

They easily killed a Kuwaiti oil tanker last time, and they are more and more satisfied with the effectiveness of this missile. Unfortunately, they only have [-] missiles of this type. They must pick valuable targets to fight, since These people thought they could get out of the strait, so let them see who is the overlord here!

In addition to the missile unit, the newly formed units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which used speedboats to attack, also began to drive speedboats and began sneak attacks on oil tankers.

There are not enough missiles, but there are more than a dozen of their squads!

Attacking oil tankers with speedboats is the work of pirates, but the fighters of the current Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with love for the great leader, have devoted themselves to this kind of action regardless of their own lives.

The setting sun shone on the peaceful Persian Gulf, but, in the brief calm, there was a murderous intent every step of the way.

"Attention, turn on the search radar and make preparations before launch." Next to Silkworm Baby, a group of Iranian soldiers were constantly busy.

Preparations started in the morning. They had already fueled the missile and completed all the tests, so launching it now is very easy.

Following the order, the huge antenna on the radar vehicle began to rotate, and suddenly, invisible electromagnetic waves shot into the sky.

This electromagnetic wave was immediately received by the electronic equipment that was waiting for it.

The E-2 Hawkeye early-warning aircraft in the sky immediately received the signal, and it has detected, at least three places, the radar shots of the Iranians. This kind of radar is used to guide anti-ship missiles.