Chimera

There were now four Chinese missiles in the air against two Indian ones. Two of the former were headed towards the Indian Il-38 and there was nothing much anybody could do. Two of the remaining missiles were headed for the Mig-29Ks and those pilots took evasive maneuvers and dived for the deck, punching chaff across the sky.

The Il-38 was headed away from the sector at its full speed and attempted to outrun the incoming missiles. Of the two missiles inbound, one splashed into the ocean behind the Il-38 as it ran out of power. The other slammed into the port wing section of the aircraft…

The explosion broke the outer wing section of the IL-38 and the outer engine broke off amidst furious flames. The shrapnel had also peppered the in-board port engine as well as the port side of the fuselage, wounding many of the ASW crew inside. A few seconds later the Il-38 cart-wheeled into the blue waters of the strait and broke up on impact.

The two Mig-29s and the Su-27s were also fighting for their lives. Both sides had successfully evaded BVR attacks on each other and had now entered the “merge”. Both sides were also using their helmet sights to try and take off-bore-sight weapon shots. But as with the similarity in weapons, the aircrafts were also just as maneuverable and highly so.

For the Indian pilots, the battle was getting very dangerous. Not only did they not outnumber the Sukhois, they also had shorter endurance and lesser number of weapons. The Su-27 could also absorb much more damage. The only way for them to end the battle was by either shooting down their opponents or breaking contact while they still had the means to do so.

The one true advantage on the Indian side was the aircrew quality. And it wasn’t long before it showed: one of the two Indian pilots managed to fire off a long burst of gunfire in a very tight turn that caught a Su-27 on its broadside. The canopy shattered and the pilot lost control at low altitude. The beast of a fighter splashed into the blue waters of the straits as the Mig-29K flashed overhead. The other Chinese pilot attempted to disengage: a very dangerous move in the heat of battle. The other Mig-29K claimed this kill with a tail chase R-77 shot right up the tailpipe of the Su-27. This aircraft blew up in a shattering ball of fire and fell into the sea.

A few minutes later the Mig-29s were pulling north as another Il-38 lifted off the tarmac on Nicobar Island to replace the loss of the first aircraft and all of its crew. The Indian navy and the PLAN had both suffered costly losses in the first skirmish over the high seas. But as more Chinese submarines approached Indian waters, a flight of three Mig-29Ks headed deep inside the Malacca Strait to establish a fighter barrier against future Chinese attempts to interdict Indian naval presence in the region…

EAST OF THE LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL

NORTHERN LADAKH

DAY 5 + 1005 HRS

“Go! Go! Move beyond it, damn it!”

Captain Kongara shouted at his vehicle driver as his BMP struggled to get around a burning BRDM vehicle.

The guilty Chinese tank had taken a direct hit from a Nag missile seconds after it had claimed the Indian BRDM reconnaissance vehicle. Kongara could see the pillar of smoke two kilometers away where the Chinese tank had been killed. But the crew of the BRDM was long dead, and that could not be changed by claiming revenge…

This is what happens when you take light armor against tanks!

Kongara thought as his vehicle passed the flaming wreck. His force of BMPs was spearheading the advance by the 10TH Mechanized to the battalion objective to the north.

He was worried about the overall design of the assault force he was leading into battle against the Chinese. Fact was that the Chinese infrastructure on their side of the LAC was vastly superior and flat. Both these factors were allowing them to bring in heavy armor units into the fight.

On the Indian side, the languishing infrastructure and tough terrain meant that not only were there fewer heavy units throughout Ladakh, but also that they were at the end of a very long logistical string that had to move from Leh to Shyok to Saser and then to the current FEBA.

As a result the only Indian armor units inside Ladakh were the battalions of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment. Three battalions were earmarked for the offensive in DBO. These were the 10TH, 4TH and 3RD Battalions. The 8TH Battalion was deployed near Chushul and involved in yet another high tech version of something that had happened before in 1962. Discussions were underway about bringing in an armored regiment, but the logistics problem was enormous. Any such force would simply have to drive up there. That would take time.

And time was not a luxury Kongara and the rest of the 10TH Mechanized could afford right about now…