Chimera

It had several unloading tarmac areas where PLAAF transport aircraft were active in offloading supplies which were then to be driven to the Ladakh front. At the same time they were loading on board the sick and wounded soldiers evacuated from the frontlines to hospitals in mainland China. Three Il-76s stood on the eastern tarmac area of the airbase while several Mi-17 helicopters and lighter transport aircraft were parked at the extreme western tarmac areas. In the central area, two Boeing 737 airliners from the Chinese airlines fleet were parked as they offloaded PLA soldiers heading to the Ladakh front. The airbase was full lit as enemy action threat this deep inside Tibet was minimal.

In the skies southwest of Hotien, two J-8F fighters from Kashgar airbase armed for air-to-air combat were now conducting mid-air refuelling with an H-6U tanker from Korla airbase. A hundred kilometres north, a KJ-2000 AWACS aircraft flew on radar picket duty…

For the Jaguars streaking in such low altitudes, the margin for hitting the airbase was low. The J-8Fs would be back on station soon enough. As they flew over the terrain, the ground cleared and Hotien rolled in over the horizon. The airport well-lit and clearly visible.

The Chinese did get a few moments of warning as the eight Jaguars now climbed. As they reached several hundred feet above the desert floor, for the minimum CBU release height and to align themselves with targets, the KJ-2000 detected the eight inbounds and the warning was sounded.

As the base klaxons sounded off, the mass of confused soldiers and ground-crewmen ran for cover. One Il-76 had just taken off the runway on a return flight loaded with wounded soldiers. The pilots of that aircraft began screaming for air cover…

There was no time.

The first six Jaguars screamed over the well-lit runway before the first anti-air guns had even opened up, releasing two dozen cluster bomb units within seconds of each other. The Hotien tarmac area suddenly exploded within a mass of spark filled carpet punctuated with orange fireballs. The two parked Il-76s were ripped into pieces by the explosions and the control tower was a mass of blazing fires. The Mi-17s and the two airliners on the ground were also turned into funeral pyres. Several hundred Chinese lives were extinguished within those few seconds.

Two of the eight Jaguars were tasked for anti-air, and they immediately latched on to the slowly lumbering Il-76 as it took to the air in front of them. The pilots didn’t even bother with missiles. As the two aircraft strafed the large four-engine transport aircraft, its two port side engines caught fire and the wing broke into pieces. As the aircraft tumbled towards the desert below, the wounded soldiers inside were swept out by the winds without parachutes. The aircraft was fully loaded with fuel for a long flight and it disappeared into a blazing fireball on impact…

The two J-8Fs on patrol terminated refuelling operations and began diving to low altitude over Hotien. By this time the Jaguars were egressing south, away from the blazing fires and clouds of smoke encompassing Hotien airbase. One the two air-to-air configured Jaguars fired off two Matra-Magic heat-seeking missiles followed soon by his wingman as they cleared the way for the other six Jaguars down below. One of the two J-8Fs exploded under impact of the missile. The skies filled with flares as the other aircraft evaded for its life. But the J-8F is not nearly as manoeuvrable to evade from advanced heat-seeking missiles such as the Magic series. The missiles claimed the second J-8F low over the desert sands where it disappeared in a cloud of dirt and smoke.

It was over within minutes.

The eight Jaguars headed southeast towards the safety of the Himalayan peaks, ending their brief foray over the Taklimakan Desert. Behind them lay a devastated PLA logistical node for the Ladakh front.

THIMPU

DAY 5 + 2150 HRS

The first news reports of the situation on the streets of Thimpu began airing on news networks worldwide. Images of Bhutanese civilians fleeing to the south towards the Indian border filled the waves. Rumours filled the airwaves as the Bhutanese government began to collapse in the chaos. The situation was vastly reminiscent of the situation in Assam in 1962 during the previous Sino-Indian war. Rumours also spread that the Royal Bhutanese Army had been routed.

As night fell, the citizens of Thimpu saw the ground thundering to the north as the last few Royal Bhutanese Guard units attempted to hold off the Chinese Regiment poised to take the capital of Bhutan. In a few hours the news media across the world were talking of explosions being heard north of Thimpu. At about the same time, Indian television channels began showing the same news, and started asking questions about the India’s failure to prevent the fall of Bhutan. No one stopped to ask Lieutenant-General Potgam, if he had anything to say or do about it.

NORTHWEST OF LEH

LADAKH

DAY 5 + 2340 HRS