1020: Chapter 1005: In Advance 1020: Chapter 1005: In Advance PS: For the exclusive story behind “War of Mercenaries” and more of your suggestions about the novel, follow the official WeChat account of Qidian Chinese Network (add friends via WeChat – add official account – type in qdread to find us), and tell me quietly!
Time ticked away every second, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Gao Yang was burning with impatience at this moment.
He had just managed to get Badadi’s information, but due to the limited time and slow progress, he missed the chance, leaving Gao Yang utterly frustrated.
Gao Yang’s mind was in turmoil; the ground crew was already working hard to install everything he had requested, but fitting auxiliary fuel tanks wasn’t a trivial task since they had to ensure there were no issues with the fuel system.
Gao Yang had time to check his equipment again to make sure nothing essential was overlooked in his haste.
Since it was daytime, the Syrian Air Force could carry out bombings, and for the first time, Gao Yang had air support.
However, making contact with the air force was a bit of a hassle.
For communicating with fighter jets, the walkie-talkies that Gao Yang and his team carried were definitely not going to cut it.
This required specialized radio equipment, and Treiler had a radio station specifically for communicating with the air force’s fighter jets.
Taylor had one, too, but Taylor’s was specifically for directing air strikes, which made him more professional than Treiler.
Gao Yang turned to Taylor and Treiler and said with a heavy voice, “Are the radios ready?”
“Of course, they’re ready, boss.”
Treiler appeared somewhat nervous, but Taylor looked relaxed and smiled as he responded, “Ready.
I have the AN/PRC-152 radio, which can communicate with the fighter planes using UHF and VHF frequencies, and I also have the Radar Transponder.
As long as I can see the target, I can provide the jets with precise locations.
If they miss, that would be the pilot’s fault.”
Suddenly, Gao Yang raised his hand and said, “Wait a moment, Postman, who do you think is stronger in terms of ground support, you or the airport’s pilots?”
Taylor shrugged his shoulders and smiled, “I’m streets ahead of them.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “Then you shouldn’t participate in the ground operation.
Having Military Dog as the radio operator is enough.
You go fly a plane; I trust you more.
Go fly an Su-25 and give your radio and transponder to Military Dog.”
“Alright, I’ll go fly the plane,” Taylor immediately responded.
Gao Yang grabbed Gilanor and exclaimed loudly, “Arrange an Su-25 for him to fly, and make it quick.”
Without another word, Gilanor informed the airfield, and Taylor quickly took off his gear and set off to change into his flight suit.
Gao Yang gestured with his hand, looking at Glolov who was moving machine guns onto a Mi-17 helicopter and said, “Big Dog, bring an extra machine gun!
Worker Bee, did you bring the mortar?
Take more shells, if they’re not used, we’ll just throw them away.
Rabbit!
Rabbit, did you bring your gun?”
Cui Bo turned his head and said, “Brought it, how could I not?”
Gao Yang took a deep breath and turned to Number Thirteen, “Why aren’t you wearing a bulletproof vest?”
Number Thirteen, holding an AK47 and wearing an ammo pouch but not a bulletproof vest, shrugged his shoulders in response to Gao Yang’s question and said, “Not used to it, I don’t need it.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “Not acceptable, put on a helmet and wear a bulletproof vest.
Hurry up.”
Gao Yang wanted to utilize every able person, so in addition to bringing a satellite phone, Gilanor also carried a rifle.
Gao Yang had done all he could, and half an hour had already passed.
Finally, the ground crew began to wave their hands and swiftly withdraw.
Reinstallation was complete, and Gao Yang shouted, “Board the choppers, let’s move out!”
Four helicopters took off one after another and immediately headed towards their destination at the fastest cruising speed and the optimal altitude for long-distance flight.
The helicopters advanced at the highest cruising speed instead of maximum speed.
Flying at maximum would not only cause significant engine wear but also consume more fuel.
The time was now 2:55 PM, and there were only thirty-five minutes left until Badadi’s scheduled appearance.
To reach the destination, they needed at least an hour or more, with the most likely time being around eighty minutes.
Meetings usually take some time, so now Gao Yang could only hope that Badadi’s meeting wouldn’t end too quickly.
Suppressing his inner restlessness, Gao Yang sat motionless on the makeshift seat.
As the time reached 3:30 PM, if everything went as expected, Badadi should have arrived by now.
Gao Yang spoke to Gilanor, “Ask your planes, have they arrived?”
Gilanor began calling over the UHF radio, and soon he turned to Gao Yang and said, “Yes, a reconnaissance plane is in position, and five fighter-bombers are in position—three Su-24s and two MiG-27s.
They have enough fuel to hover at high altitude for about fifty minutes.
Including the Su-25 you’ll be using, there will also be four Su-25 attack planes arriving to provide support for your ground operation right as we reach.
Since the Su-25s have a shorter range and combat radius, arriving too early would just waste fuel; it’s better for them to arrive at roughly the same time as the helicopters.”
Gao Yang exhaled and said, “Fifty minutes, that should be enough.”
Wild Man whistled loudly and exclaimed, “Fourteen planes!
And if we include our four helicopters, that makes fourteen aircraft altogether, what a big show, fellas.”
For a special operations mission, fourteen aircraft was definitely a significant force.
For a group of mercenaries to be able to mobilize and command fourteen aircraft, that was more than a significant force.
Li Qiu laughed heartily and exclaimed loudly, “I really never thought I’d be fighting from a helicopter one day, truly guys, I never imagined it.
But even more, I never thought I’d possibly fight with the coordination of the air force, especially with our operations as the priority, this feeling is just awesome.”
Gao Yang couldn’t even fake a smile.
What use were more aircraft and a grander spectacle if they couldn’t keep up with the timing?
By four o’clock, Treiler, who had been monitoring the radio, suddenly exclaimed loudly to Gao Yang, “The Su-25 squadron has arrived!
Postman has reached the designated location!”
Gao Yang nodded, remaining silent.
Fighter jets, or attack aircraft, even if they arrived early, couldn’t simply hover over the target they intended to bomb—they would be discovered.
Therefore, no matter what type of aircraft it was, it could only circle at a considerable distance from the target and wait.
Finally, Gao Yang heard the notification from Jacklan.
“Night Demon Three, less than twenty kilometers from the target.
It will take a maximum of five minutes to arrive, get ready for combat.”
Gao Yang stood up and yelled, “Prepare for the assault!”
Night vision devices were no longer needed.
Everyone performed the same action: the clicking sound of guns being cocked in unison.
Gao Yang lifted his Shotgun and after glancing at his watch, he commanded loudly, “Open the hatch!”
No sooner had the words left Gao Yang’s mouth than Gilanor, who’d been communicating with the fighter jets, suddenly turned pale with shock, and then shouted at Gao Yang, “They’re pulling out!
Recon plane report!
The ground personnel are moving; they’re getting into vehicles—they’re going to withdraw.
The fighter jets are requesting immediate attack permission!”
Gao Yang nearly choked with frustration.
Despite all the rushing, were they still too late?
But it wasn’t time to declare failure yet, as the prematurely arrived fighter jets could launch an attack very soon.
Gao Yang immediately roared, “Permission granted to attack!
Bomb them, saturation bombing!”
Why couldn’t they have just bombed the place directly after learning that Badadi would be there?
Because the Syrian Air Force’s bombing accuracy wasn’t good enough.
Syria didn’t have any dedicated bombers, only fighter-bombers, and Syria lacked precision-guided bombs.
This meant the Syrian Air Force couldn’t carry out either old-fashioned carpet bombing with conventional aerial bombs or precise point bombing with precision-guided munitions.
If simply dropping bombs on the ground had been sufficient, Gao Yang wouldn’t have needed to dispatch helicopters for a ground assault.
But to ensure Badadi’s elimination, he had to be there personally.
As for the aerial bombardment, it could only serve as a supplementary measure.
If the Syrian Air Force could fight like the United States Air Force, the Syrians would have finished everything themselves long ago, and there would be no need for Gao Yang and his team to meddle.
Gao Yang was incredibly frustrated—it was just a matter of a few minutes.
“Can we confirm if Badadi is inside?”
Gao Yang shouted, and after Gilanor quickly exchanged words in Arabic, he shook his head and said, “No, we cannot confirm.
Around three o’clock, a convoy entered the target area, but since then no one else has arrived.
The recon plane can’t be certain whether the convoy that entered first is Badadi’s!”
Gao Yang swung his fist in dismay and exclaimed, “F**k!
They arrived early!”
Gilanor yelled, “The first bomber has arrived, and he has dropped his payload!”
Whether it was an attack plane or a bomber, since the plan was an aerial ambush, they couldn’t continuously circle above the target to avoid being detected.
They had to keep their distance, and when it was time to strike, even at high speed, it would take some time.
“Night Demon One!
Target in sight.”
Gao Yang urged anxiously, “Report on the damage effects!”
“Night Demon One, the first bombing missed the target, F**k!
The bombs were dropped off target!”
Gao Yang, helpless, punched the helicopter cabin wall.
The two Mi-24s flew faster, and after Gao Yang gave the order to attack, they broke formation and hastened toward the target area, hoping to arrive before the enemy’s convoy could leave.
The enemy was about to depart, making a ground assault virtually impossible.
Now, it all depended on whether the attack planes and armed helicopters could hit their targets.
Just then, Jacklan suddenly shouted, “Night Demon Three, target area visually acquired, open the bomb bay doors!”
The side hatch opened, and Gao Yang, unable to wait, rushed to the hatch entrance, holding on to the handrail and leaning out to view the situation below.
With the hatch open, the strong wind currents along with the helicopter rotors’ intense noise made it so loud by Gao Yang’s ear that he couldn’t hear anything.
However, he saw two fighter-bombers swoop over the target area from an altitude of about one thousand meters.
Gao Yang didn’t see any bombs, but four violent explosions suddenly erupted on the ground followed by four columns of smoke.
They were close to the target area, but to Gao Yang’s dismay, the bombing was ineffective, with at least seven or eight vehicles scattering frantically in all directions.
Gao Yang was helpless.
He could only pray that the bombs would hit closer to their marks on the next run.
At that moment, he suddenly saw an aircraft swoop past, less than five hundred meters to the side.
It was a Su-25.
After quickly surpassing the helicopter Gao Yang was on, the Su-25 dived, skimming super low over the target area, and unleashed a continuous barrage of rockets at the ground, hitting one vehicle after another, causing explosions and fires.
Then, two Mi-24s also opened fire.
Maybe their arrival wasn’t too late, because as the Su-25, piloted by Taylor, and the two Mi-24s began firing, Gao Yang’s nearly extinguished confidence in the air strike was somewhat restored.