Chapter 964: Relaxed Thoughts
"Three aircraft... of unknown model?" Wei Jingfang keenly captured this key information, and his eyes suddenly became as sharp as a knife.
An unknown model means it cannot be traced quickly!
"Circled...dropped a bomb...and disappeared..."
Wei Jingfang slowly repeated these key actions, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the rough table surface, making a dull "thump thump" sound.
His brain was working at high speed, trying to analyze the logical chain from this abnormal behavior pattern.
Weird! So weird!
Appears with unknown purpose.
Dropping bombs for unknown purposes.
Disappeared to unknown destination.
The whole process was as elusive as a ghost, full of deliberate, provocative...fog!
"Report to the commander, the theater air force - urgent message!!"
At this moment, the young major staff officer Wu Lei, who had just run out to verify the situation, appeared at the door of the office with rapid breathing. The word "urgent" was shouted with a broken voice, and the harsh feeling like metal scraping instantly tore the heavy air in the room!
'An urgent telegram from the war zone air force?'
Upon hearing this, Wei Jingfang's heart suddenly shrank, and an extremely ominous premonition coiled around him like a poisonous snake:
"Tell me! What's going on!"
"Report to the commander!" Wu Lei suppressed his surging breath and spoke as fast as a machine gun, but with a clear and chilling logic:
"After urgent verification and confirmation by the theater air force command post: our air force has not reported any air missions in the past 72 hours! There is no - any air action plan targeting Lan City!"
This answer was like a cold hammer, confirming Wei Jingfang's previous judgment. But Wu Lei hadn't finished speaking yet. He took a quick breath and threw out more devastating information:
"Moreover! The theater air force headquarters has combined reports from radar stations in various places. Just now - within our theater, ground-to-air warning radars in multiple strategic directions simultaneously captured an unidentified high-speed flying target!"
"Based on the combined interpretation of its extreme speed, ultra-low altitude penetration trajectory, and... strange radar cross-section characteristics, the Air Force technical department confirmed that the target was some kind of... unknown aircraft that was completely not on our existing aircraft identification map! Its performance... far exceeds that of our current main fighter jets!!"
'Multiple radars simultaneously captured... an unknown aircraft... its performance far exceeds that of existing aircraft?!'
Boom——!
These last few words were like a mental bomb detonating in Wei Jingfang's mind!
The muscles on his face stiffened instantly and his pupils contracted sharply. This was no longer just surprise, but a bone-chilling, cold shock!
As a commander who has been in military service for half his life, he knows very well what this means!
In modern warfare, air supremacy is the lifeline!
And now, above his battle zone, without him and his troops noticing, there were large-scale, unknown-model aircraft with far superior capabilities, infiltrating, cruising, and even dropping bombs as if they were strolling in their own backyard?!
How can this be called a "UFO" incident?
This is simply a complete military disaster preview! A horrifying, hellish joke!
Although the reasons for all this include the massive decline of air force talent after the end of the world, which forced an overall contraction, these are not excuses, and there is never an excuse for war.
Dead is dead, lost is lost, no one is like your girlfriend, who can start over with just one sentence: "Not in a good state"...
The current situation means that the entire airspace defense system of the Western Theater is useless in the eyes of the enemy! It has been penetrated like a sieve with thousands of holes!
This means that the opponent has absolute air technology advantage and terrifying one-way transparency on the battlefield!
This means that the enemy can come whenever they want and fight whenever they want, and in the eyes of the enemy, Wei Jingfang and his Western Theater Command may not even be able to organize a decent resistance? !
Thinking of this, an unprecedented chill mixed with anger, humiliation and great fear instantly overwhelmed the theater commander.
But Wei Jingfang is, after all, an old general who has been in charge of a region and has experienced many ups and downs. Even though he is a commander who grew up in a relatively peaceful era, his tempered mind is by no means comparable to that of ordinary people.
In just a few breaths, the shock, anger, shame, and fear that almost burst out of his chest were forcibly suppressed by an even stronger, rock-like calmness!
His eyes refocused, and although his voice was low, he had regained the composure of being in control of the overall situation:
"Where is our air force? Have the fighter jets been put into the air for alert and interception?" He asked directly to the point.
"Report to the commander... No..." Major Staff Officer Wu Lei lowered his voice, with a hint of difficulty and helplessness:
"According to the theater's Regulations on the Storage and Management of End-of-World Equipment, when ground-to-air radar detects an unidentified flying object, all non-mission military aircraft in the theater are strictly sealed in a reinforced cave with constant temperature and humidity, dust and corrosion protection for maintenance."
"So, by the time our fighter jets had finished unsealing, pushed out of the bunker, and were ready to take off... the UFO had already disappeared..."
After saying all this, Major Staff Officer Wu Lei's Adam's apple rolled subconsciously, and he dared not speak again, but nervously waited for the commander's possible wrath.
After all, it sounds like watching the enemy walk away without even having time to draw your gun!
However, to Wu Lei's surprise, there was no anger on Wei Jingfang's face, not even disappointment. He just nodded slowly and very slightly, as if he had already seen through everything.
Because Wei Jingfang knew better than anyone that every word Wu Lei said was the cold reality!
Even...the order to lock the fighter jets deep in the warehouse like treasures was signed and approved by Wei Jingfang himself!
why?
The reason is cruel and simple: in the end times, resources are life!
Especially in this northwest region, any industrial-related materials are extremely precious, not to mention the high-tech aerospace industry!
Once the precision parts of a fighter jet are damaged, there are simply not enough spare parts to repair or replace them!
The non-combat loss of a fighter jet is almost equivalent to the loss of a brigade, or even greater, because if a brigade is lost, soldiers can be recruited to replace it, but if a fighter jet is lost, it is gone...
The reason why it is given so much attention, in addition to the non-renewable nature of fighter jets, is more importantly its actual, terrifyingly strong strategic and tactical strike capability!
In this wasteland of the end times where the strong prey on the weak, an air force that retains its combat effectiveness is invaluable!
It is the sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all those who lack effective air defense capabilities!
Its ability to suppress ground forces can be called a dimensionality reduction strike! It is no exaggeration to say that it can "hammer" ground forces that are ten times its own!
Especially its strategic deterrent power, in the fragmented and separatist situation of the end times, even surpasses nuclear weapons!
Nuclear weapons are the ultimate button for destroying everything. Once pressed, no one can bear the consequences. More often than not, they are a symbol of terror rather than a practical tool.
But the Air Force is different!
It is a conventional strategic force that is reusable, can be precisely delivered, and can carry out surgical strikes!
It does not need to worry about mutual destruction. It represents a continuous and irresistible conventional force projection capability! It is a real extension of dominance!
That is why the Western Theater of Operations regards these precious fighters as their lifeblood! They are afraid of melting if they are held in their mouths or falling if they are held in their hands. So how can they be easily exposed to the open-air airport, to endure the raging sandstorms, the scorching sun, and even the threats of mutant creatures that appear out of nowhere?
Sealing is for the sake of survival. It is a helpless but inevitable choice in the face of extremely scarce resources in the end times!
Therefore, Wei Jingfang himself does not blame the Air Force for its inappropriate response, because one cannot have it all, requiring the Air Force to maintain its combat capability on a regular basis and also requiring the Air Force to have a timely response speed...
If I have to blame someone, I can only blame myself for being lax in thinking. I have been dealing with too many forces of survivors of the apocalypse and little Karami, so I lost my vigilance against forces of the same level!
In other words, I played too many low-end games and my level dropped...
...
"report!"
...
