Chimera (27 page)

Ansari nodded in silence. He didn’t know whether that was true or not, but he knew Gephel had indeed seen it from both sides…

As the other team members disappeared into the camp, Ngawang walked over to Gephel and Ansari.

“I wonder what that chap General Macdonald would have thought if he had to face us instead of the peasants he massacred!”

Ansari laughed at that and neither Gephel nor Ngawang knew why. He explained after a few seconds of uncontrolled laughter:

“Just a while ago I was thinking about the same thing. I will say this though: all
he
had to do was face those Tibetan peasants armed with bloody matchlocks while he used field artillery and crack mountain troops. He
still
ended up needing a Brigade of men and thousands more people maintaining a threadbare logistical artery on a three hundred kilometer march to Lhasa. Your people ask us now why we didn’t go into Tibet in 1950 when the Chinese invaded. Guess what: back then the Chinese army was a two-hundred-fifty Division force. We couldn’t even spare a Brigade back then from the other requirements of the nation to help create an expeditionary force. But
that
was fifty years ago.
Now
things are different,” Ansari concluded. His two Tibetan charges nodded in silence.

“Perhaps,” the battalion commander noted. “But we still have less than a Brigade guarding these northern passes. When
Lef-
tenant-General Suman decides to divert some units to help me protect these northern passes better,
I
might feel better about our adventures into Tibet!”

The Colonel emphatically waved towards the darkened peaks north of his camp. Ansari, dismissed that line of thought:

“I don’t think you have to worry about these peaks, sir. We are monitoring the Chinese pretty closely on this. They are aiming for the killing blow to our military ability, not land grab. The last thing they want is unnecessary diversion of resources for tracts of land they cannot maintain in the long run. These peaks are natural watersheds, and will remain unchallenged.”

KASHGAR AIRBASE

SINKIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION

CHINA

DAY 3 + 0820 HRS

“This is not working,” Feng said quietly.

Chen nodded silently as both men watched the large sized screen inside the operations center showing the ongoing battle between four J-11Bs and four J-8IIs from the 32
ND
Fighter Division and a mixture of Indian Su-30s and Mirage-2000s from Srinagar and Avantipur airbases.

Losses had been registered on both sides as the BVR engagement had disintegrated into a melee at close range. On both sides the battle was being watched by AWACS aircraft. 

Two Indian aircraft including one Mirage-2000 and one Su-30 had been destroyed so far. In return, all four J-8IIs had been lost during the initial stages of the BVR engagement while the J-11Bs had suffered two losses. The last two J-11B pilots were currently trying desperately to disengage from the battle by pulling closer to the Aksai Chin sector where the few handful of surviving S-300 batteries could provide cover…

The role of the PLAAF during the ground offensive of the PLA into Ladakh had been to provide air cover against Indian air attacks. Unfortunately, the powerful S-300 defensive belt in the Aksai Chin set up by Feng, Chen and Wencang had been chopped down by the elaborate attacks of the IAF the night before.

The only recent significant gains were the complete destruction of airstrips at Daulat-beg-oldi, Chushul and Fukche by the PLA long-range artillery systems. Other tactical Advanced Landing Grounds or ALGs had also been made inoperative but they only affected the army.

As it stood now, the PLAAF’s ability to defend the PLA Divisions surging into Ladakh was critically reduced. In fact, IAF Jaguars were striking deep and hard into Chinese territory even inside south-western Tibet now. The war for the skies of Ladakh was close to being lost, and both Feng and Chen could see it.

And once that happened, it was only a matter of time before the PLA forces on the ground began to feel the
real
heat of the reverses in the skies above them.

Such an outcome was unacceptable.

“What are our options, Feng?” Chen asked.

They heard the radio communication between their AWACS controllers and the two J-11B pilots as the latter successfully disengaged from combat after entering the S-300 defensive belt in northern Aksai-Chin. Feng pressed his fingers on his lips as he thought about that.

“Not many, sir. It’s only a matter of time now. We don’t have nearly the kind of airbase infrastructure needed to base the numbers that would be needed here. This was exactly
why
I had proposed the S-300 defensive belt to begin with. One S-300 battery supported by carefully placed Su-27s and J-11s on patrol could hold off fleets of Indian fighters. But once we lost the initiative after Zhigao’s disastrous operation two days ago, we lost a crucial piece of our structure,” Feng said, and then reflected on that with brutal honesty. 

So is it all Zhigao’s fault now?

You are not to blame for anything at all?

“Indeed,” Chen added. “That fool cost us this sector! Had it not been for him, we would still be maintaining control of the skies in this sector!”

So there it is. All of this has been pinned on Zhigao now.

Feel better?

Feng shook off his inner voice and told himself quietly that Zhigao had indeed been to blame for some of this, if not all of it. And that
he
was not to blame for the wall that Zhigao would soon find himself in front of. 

“We need to spread the Indian fighters out. They cannot be everywhere at the same time!” Feng said.

Chen caught the cue on that one and nodded agreement:

“Yes! It’s time the skies over the Indian northeast
really
caught fire from the dragon’s breath!”

BANGALORE

INDIA

DAY 3 + 0930 HRS

The drizzle and the gray, low-hanging clouds over the city were not helping matters along. Pools of water on the tarmac were reflecting the moody skies above. Ground crewmen were pushing the first Light-Combat-Helicopter or LCH as it was universally known, into the cavernous interiors of the parked Il-76. 

Wing-Commander Dutt was standing by the ramp of the parked Il-76 along with two of his former test-pilots in their flight-suits while the chief warrant officer was supervising operations. As Dutt watched, another spout of rain began to fall from the sky following a rumbling thunder. The weather was bad, at least for flying, and he wondered whether nature would force its way into the combat debut of his newborn helicopter unit. But the captain of the Il-76 had assured him that the flight to Leh would take place regardless of the weather. They were not going to let weather get in the way of destiny…

The No. 44 Squadron Il-76 had arrived on schedule at Bangalore to pick up and transport the 199HU to Leh. Most of the Il-76 force and the newly inducted C-17s under Nos. 44 and 25 Squadrons were already fully committed to the war, flying every hour of the day ferrying supplies, equipment and evacuating wounded soldiers to safety. Now the Il-76s would help mark another debutant to the war… 

The induction of 119HU into Ladakh was currently underway. Six helicopters had been literally pulled off the production and testing lines for this job because the LCH was not yet fully deployed with frontline squadrons. Each of these six helicopters was either a production, testing or technology demonstrator vehicle. Therefore in many ways each helicopter was unique to the rest.

Weapons would be the key in their upcoming deployment.

The squadron, ground-crewmen were still taking delivery of the ready-to-fire rounds of the HELINA anti-tank missile that had gone into production just a year prior, being yet another piece of new technology being thrust into battle. Dutt had asked for volunteers from the HAL engineering staff to come with the squadron on the deployment and help maintain the helicopters since very few ground-crews had been trained on this new helicopter. He had found many willing employees in the staff. These HAL employees had already been working night and day to get the system up and running ever since the war started.

Desperate times for desperate measures…

“So how are we doing?”

Air-Marshal Subramanian asked as he walked over to Dutt. The latter pointed towards the first LCH being strapped to the floor of the cargo cabin of the Il-76 while another was being pushed into position behind it. Both helicopters had been stripped down and their main-rotors dismantled to allow them to be loaded into the transport.

“We are on time. The second helicopter is being loaded right now. Then we just have to load the ATGMs, rockets, Cannon rounds and spare parts. We are also sending ground-crews and two of my pilots along. We need to hit the ground running once we land at Leh,” Dutt answered.

Subramanian looked over to the remaining four helicopters parked outside in the drizzle awaiting airlift. They had been covered with tarpaulins now that the rain had picked up slightly. Their main rotor blades had been removed and the tail rotor blade system locked down and feathered. Armed guards with water dripping off their INSAS rifles were patrolling the perimeter nearby even as a round of thunder ran across the clouds.

Dutt had studied both the long-term and short-term meteorological reports. It was going to be cloudy over there.

And cold like hell...

“Dutt, once you get to Leh, you are to send a detachment of two helicopters to the FARP near Saser, south of DBO, after you reach Leh. Deploy another two of your birds at Shyok. The last two will remain at Leh.”

That caused Dutt to turn around. He did not like last minute changes in plans. Subramanian continued before he could speak:

“My boy, the war in Ladakh is not going as planned for either side. The situation at DBO is a bloody mess. We have our chaps on the verge of being run over by Chinese tanks. They have beaten off the first wave of attacks, but without support they wouldn’t be able to last another. We are diverting every last Jaguar we can spare for the CAS role towards DBO until the situation stabilizes. Take your two birds there and see if you can even the odds, will you?”

Dutt absorbed what all he had been told just now. The stakes were high, and despite the politeness of his Commander, it wasn’t a request.

“What about supplies, sir? My unit has just been formed ad-hoc. It has barely a skeletal logistical and maintenance setup. You stretch us out there from Leh to Shyok to Saser, and I will be struggling to get the basic supplies and ammo sent to my guys to shoot at the reds!”

“It’s already taken care of. We have an ALH unit in Leh along with a Cheetah unit. Plus Mi-17s at Thoise. Apart from that we have half a dozen other transport and utility helicopter units in the region already or arriving as we speak. The forward detachments of 199HU will receive supplies and logistical support through these units. Use their setup to transport your special supplies. Understood?” Subramanian said.

“Yes, sir. And what about our original task?” Dutt continued.

“It still stands as far as the two birds at Leh are concerned. You will receive your intelligence update from the Army once you land there.”

“As long as the bloody weather doesn’t get in the way!” Dutt answered, putting his arm out into the pouring rain. Subramanian smiled and grunted before walking away.

KASHGAR AIRBASE

SINKIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION

CHINA

DAY 3 + 1120 HRS

Feng read the report stating that back-up radars for two S-300 batteries were now online. The handful of surviving launchers from various decimated batteries had been pooled together to bring up the semblance of two active batteries in the Aksai Chin.

Two.

Out of the original ten!

He crushed the report into a paper ball and threw it aside in a fit of rage. The Indians had conducted a very elaborate and deceptive takedown of his S-300 coverage capabilities yesterday night.

But the attacks had not been completely free of cost for the IAF either. They had lost three of their Jaguars to low-altitude point-defense weapons. Only one crewmember had been able to safely eject and make it to the ground alive. He had been quickly captured by a search party led by one PLAAF Major who had been embedded with the PLA battery commander at one of the sites.

And what a catch it is!

Feng thought about it. Group-Captain Parekh had been captured. Chinese military intelligence knew him as commander of the Indian No. 5 Squadron. The man who had led the attacks on his missile sites…

Feng looked up to catch the sound of the incoming rotor noises and saw the bright sun glistening off the Mi-17 as it approached for a landing. On the tarmac below, a group of armed guards ran off to greet the new guest of the PLAAF. As the helicopter touched down and the tires pressed against the hard concrete, the cabin door slid open and a blindfolded Indian man in his mid-forties was guided out by soldiers inside. An air-force Major also jumped out. Feng recognized him to be the man who had captured the Indian pilot.