Chimera

As that aircraft broke up in flight and tumbled out of the sky, the other J-8II was punching off flares and was already turning to get behind him. King-Hammer was busy with his first prey enough that he didn’t notice the threat on his tail until a line of tracers flashed by the cockpit, barely missing the aircraft.

“This guy knows his trade!” he noted and punched both afterburners while climbing into the sky, taking advantage of the large thrust-to-weight ratio of the Sukhoi against the J-8II in the vertical plane. Sure enough, he left his quarry behind, leading him on with lines of chaff and flares. But before he could think about re-engaging, a missile streaked from the side and slammed into his tormentor, blotting it out of the sky in a shower of debris. Hammer-Two streaked across the sky on both afterburners…

“Sorry boss! You took my kill, so I took yours!” King-Hammer heard over his radio. He responded back with a bemused grunt.

“Don’t get cocky, boy! Now: where are the rest of these buggers?”

ABOVE THE NORTHERN BHUTAN-TIBET BORDER

DAY 7 + 1430 HRS

As Hammer flight continued to wrest control of the air over southern Tibet from the PLAAF, another flock of Su-30s were out to do the same with the PLA air-defenses…

Six Su-30s were flying line abreast of each other and were devoid of all weaponry except a pair of R-73 missiles each. Their main focus today was not aerial dominance through air-combat but through the defeat of the Chinese air-defense environment. Each aircraft carried underneath the centerline pylon one air-launched Brahmos ALCM.

One after the other, the six fighters released their heavy cargo and rose higher due to reduced weight. As the six ALCMs fell clear, dropping a hundred feet below their parent aircraft, their boosters lit up with a smoky flame and propelled them beyond the launch aircraft for a few seconds before running out of thrust. Slight compressive clouds formed around the missile bodies as they crossed the sonic barrier. There was little to no humidity at these altitudes. Then a smokeless ramjet motor lit up and accelerated the missiles to three times the speeds of sound…

Their job done, the six fighters flipped on their sides, broke formation and dived back to the south.

The ALCMs broke into two groups in flight. One group deviated slightly to the east and the other to the west. The two groups separated quickly and moved away from visual range in short order.

Then there were more missiles in the skies around them.

Their intended targets had seen the incoming threats and engaged. As the S-300 battery near Shigatse airbase to the west and the other deployed near Lhasa launched missiles, the Brahmos ALCMs went into terminal maneuver mode. This ate up fuel at extraordinary rates and dramatically reduced the overall range of the missile. This was why Hammer flight had gone in over southern Tibet to sweep the skies for the launch aircraft.

It had been mere coincidence for the J-8II squadron that their mission had coincided with this Indian operation. They had paid the price for their bad luck, but they were not the only ones doing so that day…

The terminal maneuvering of the Brahmos missiles at such high speeds created claps of thunder heard all over the plains below as they ALCMs turned and weaved to throw off their interceptors.

Three missiles were knocked out by the S-300s in the minute worth of interception time. Two ALCMs from the Lhasa group and one from the Shigatse group were knocked out of the sky.

The two missiles from the Shigatse group hit their targets in quick succession. They exploded within the valley around the airfield and a few hundred feet above the dispersal areas of the S-300 battery. The resulting overpressure wave demolished everything within a two-hundred meter radius near both locations, killing the launch crews and the radar vehicles in split-seconds.

To the east, the single surviving missile for the Lhasa battery also hit its desired target and took out the battery vehicles. In both locations, large, brown mushroom clouds of dust rose into the air and were easily visible on Indian satellites that passed overhead. A tasking order went out to the IAF Eastern Air Command to prepare anti-radiation strike packages for the surviving Chinese radars in southern Tibet. A large gaping hole had just been carved out of the Chinese air-defenses.

THIMPU

BHUTAN

DAY 7 + 1600 HRS

“Delta-Flight inbound westerly.”