Chimera

The rumbling noise and vibrations of the four turboprop engines were monotonous and tiring when exposed to it for hours on end. For the twelve-man Indian navy flight-crew on board the Il-38 anti-submarine-warfare and maritime-patrol aircraft flying over the waters of the Malacca strait, it was the fifth hour of the long patrol.

The aircraft was flying at a low enough altitude that the spotters inside were busy with their binoculars and other optics as they checked the few fishing vessels and other merchant ships still making their way through this passage. Most other commercial shipping had long since stopped transiting through this area.

With the morning sun up, it was hot, humid and sunny outside. The skies were clear blue and the waters below reflected the same. From this distance the small islands and the Malaysian coastline were mere green blurs on the horizon…

“We have inbounds!” The port spotter said over the intercom.

“Friendly?” the pilot asked as he peered outside cockpit glass.

“Neutral. Su-30s. RMAF markings,” the spotter said. He lowered his binoculars as the two new aircraft closed on them.

The two Malaysian Su-30MKMs flying in a tight formation flew by the lumbering Indian Il-38. Both sides managed to take a good look at each other…

“Okay, I have visual! Confirmed RMAF markings. Good call!”

“What are they doing?” the co-pilot asked.

“Maintaining situational awareness.”

“Two more visuals!” the starboard spotter said. “Long-range… single-engine high-altitude contrails to the west. Possible Indonesian F-16s!”

“It’s getting real crowded over here now,” the co-pilot said.

“Yeah, no kidding! Soon the Singapore jets will start piling in as well. We better call in additional support of our own!”

THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

DAY 5 + 0850 HRS

Two Su-27s finished refueling from the two escorting H-6U tankers and climbed away back to cruise altitude and speed. As they did, they left pairs of high-altitude white contrails against the bright blue sky. The H-6U tankers changed course and began flying back towards Hainan. They would be replaced with another pair of tankers when the two Su-27s returned from patrol over the Malacca Strait…

EAST OF THE LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL

NORTHERN LADAKH

DAY 5 + 0930 HRS

One of the side-effects of moving further and further east beyond the LAC was made clear to Colonel Sudarshan and Brigadier Adesara after their requests for fixed-wing air-support was denied on account of presence of the PLAAF and the S-300s. Though their men were busy snatching the ground from the Chinese, the skies above were neutral at the moment.

Captain Kongara looked above to see the cloudy gray sky and put his worries aside given that there was not much they could do about it. He walked into the forward command post of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion and found Colonel Sudarshan in a foul mood.

“Where the hell is the 4TH Mechanized? They were supposed to be here an hour ago!” Sudarshan shouted into his radio set.

People from his staff were running around through the tents set up between several parked BMP-IIs and being used as the forward battalion headquarters. Kongara walked past the snow covered vehicles and realized that he was stepping on slushy-wet mud made by the vehicle tracks. He silently cursed as his feet sank into one such shallow hole.

And it wasn’t restricted to the men either.

The tracks on the BMPs were getting worn out because of this slush, the gravel and the hard rocky terrain. While the advancing elements moving east over fresh terrain were facing less of a problem, repeated back and forth movement on the same terrain was causing trouble. Several supply trucks had gotten bogged down this way in the last few hours.

And it was about to get more congested out here.

The 4TH Mechanized Battalion was also inbound to the sector and was near Saser at the moment. Behind them, the 3RD Mechanized Battalion was assembling east of Leh for their drive into the sector. Lieutenant-General Gupta had requested for and been granted resources to turn the relatively minor spoiling attack by Brigadier Adesara into a major mechanized offensive by the reinforced Division into Chinese controlled Aksai Chin.

As things stood, the 10TH Mechanized Battalion had sliced across Chinese controlled sectors south of the Chip-Chap River and was placed to launch a hook maneuver to the north to drive into the Chinese left flank. Meanwhile the 4TH Mechanized, when they arrived, were supposed to be engaging the enemy in a free rolling advance into the Aksai chin in the general direction east by southeast, securing 10TH Mechanized Battalion’s right flanks by keeping the Chinese unbalanced.

In theory, at least…

Kongara reminded himself as he wiped his boots clean of the slushy mud. The tents were fluttering in the crisp cold winds. In the background he could hear the muffled thunder of falling artillery. Kongara looked around and then walked over to a colleague from the operations staff standing by the map table.