Empire Conquest
Chapter 121 - 117: Strengthening Air Defense

Chapter 121: Chapter 117: Strengthening Air Defense

"...at Nanjiang Port, at Atai Pass, within East Capital Bay, beneath Lion Spring City..."

Accompanied by a tremendous roar, the "Typhoon" fighter on the starboard side catapulted off the deck like a bullet driven by the launcher.

Actually, it wasn’t quite that exaggerated.

The hydraulic catapult merely provided the ship-borne aircraft with a speed increment, making takeoff a bit easier.

Looking up at the loudspeaker mounted atop the rear mast, Liu Xiangzhen pushed open the cabin door and entered the aviation combat center on the lower level of the island.

Inside, Brigadier General Li Hengjia, the commander of the Second Shipborne Air Force Wing, was assigning tasks to dozens of pilots.

Due to Li Yunxiang following Bai Zhizhan to the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, Li Hengjia was the highest commander of shipborne air force here.

As usual, Li Hengjia had prepared a mission briefing in advance, so he could deploy as soon as Liu Xiangzhen issued an order.

Liu Xiangzhen stayed at the doorway, not going over to disturb them.

The key point was just one: the search width had to be extended to one hundred kilometers, thus the "Flying Fish" squadron that needed to move forward had to spread out as much as possible.

The reason was simple: intelligence had a shelf life.

The reconnaissance aircraft that spotted the mobile fleet after 7:30 AM meant that the attack aircraft group could only depart at 9:00 AM at the earliest. If they were attacked before this, the departure time would definitely be delayed. The mobile fleet wouldn’t stop; they might not continue sailing east at twenty-eight knots. With lateral sailing for evasion, every hour of delay meant an additional one hundred kilometers to the search area.

Of course, this was just a theoretical result.

Since the mobile fleet was unlikely to veer northward or abandon its breakout maneuvers, the range of available maneuvers was extremely limited.

Additionally, there was the order of deployment.

According to the plan, a squadron of "Flying Fish" torpedo bombers would deploy first, and the pilots of these torpedo bombers were all veterans who had participated in combat the day before. Their mission was to fly ahead and search for the mobile fleet, guiding the following ship-borne aircraft. If they successfully reached the vicinity of the mobile fleet, they also had to assume the responsibility of frontline command, leading and directing the various aircraft groups in launching attacks.

Yesterday, fighter aircraft were deployed first.

There was no choice but to make such arrangements today.

Prior to this, even Liu Xiangzhen hadn’t anticipated that the mobile fleet would be spotted early in the day, necessitating an enhancement of air defense.

As a result, a significant number of fighters had to be retained for air defense missions.

Now, the fighters taking off outside were all used for air defense.

Furthermore, based on the combat conditions of the previous day, probably no one would any longer naively believe that "Typhoon" could easily seize air superiority.

Compared to the Zero Fighter, the "Typhoon" was significantly inferior.

The only advantage was perhaps its diving capability, which could only make a difference when it held an altitude advantage, otherwise, it could only take hits.

In escort combat, it was difficult for escort fighters to consistently maintain an altitude advantage.

Moreover, the mobile fleet would also adjust its air defense based on yesterday’s combat situations, certainly raising the patrol altitude of their fighters.

If they continued to use the escort tactics from yesterday, which meant sending the escort fighters forward, it would be tantamount to sending unprotected bombers and torpedo bombers to their doom.

Adjustments to the tactics were definitely necessary.

Since there were inherently not enough fighters, according to the new tactic, large aircraft groups were formed, with fighters accompanying for protection.

Such an arrangement would undoubtedly consume a large amount of fuel when forming up.

What to do if the operational radius was insufficient?

The Special Mixed Group would continue sailing east to try and shorten the return flight distance for the aircraft group.

Additionally, an emergency landing might be chosen if necessary.

In Liu Xiangzhen’s eyes, ship-borne aircraft were never a problem.

From the beginning, the Emperor had already issued a war mobilization order, with the military industry, primarily based on armaments factories, being the first to mobilize.

Aircraft production factories were also included within the scope of mobilization!

According to the mobilization order, all the Empire’s aircraft manufacturers had to accept the direct leadership of the War Cabinet and complete assigned production tasks. Following tradition, the mobilized factories immediately initiated a rationing system. Whether factory directors or workers, they could only receive their allocated living supplies after meeting production quotas. If they exceeded their tasks, they could receive corresponding and exceptionally valuable rewards.

After the war machine had been activated, was there still a worry about not having enough aircraft?

Besides, the Navy’s three main fighter types were already outdated, and their replacements had already been tendered for and designed.

The procurement process that would take years during peace could now deliver satisfactory results in a matter of months.

Once the new fighters were in service, these ship-borne aircraft would be left only for the second-line troops to use.

In fact, the tradition of the Navy was to prioritize men over ships.

From the era of Emperor Shiwu to the era of Chen Bingxun, no matter how harsh the conditions, the Navy always put people first.

This tradition was once mocked by the Western Powers.

In the eyes of the Western Powers, this was seen as promoting a fear of death, which they believed would ultimately cause naval officers and soldiers to retreat in the face of battle rather than to fight bravely.

However, in the past decades, the Navy had never retreated in battle. From the commanders of the fleet down to the boiler men in the engine rooms, everyone fought bravely. It was precisely because they had no worries about the rear and knew that as long as they were alive, there was always hope for rescue, that they could unite and bravely push forward whenever they faced strong enemies!

By now, the Western Powers had long accepted the Navy’s traditions.

The Newland Navy was most representative of this.

The president, famously known as the "Sea Cowboy" who led the Newland Navy on a path of rapid development, had said that the Newland Navy was the foremost follower of the Empire’s Navy.

Of course, even now, the Newland Navy was still learning from the Empire’s Navy.

Not to mention, in their attitude towards carriers, the Newland Navy followed closely behind the Empire’s Navy, almost mirroring their steps.

It didn’t take much effort for Li Hengjia to delegate the tasks. After seeing Liu Xiangzhen shaking his head, he didn’t delay any further and told the pilots to prepare.

Outside, after the last fighter had taken off, the ground crew could finally rest for a while.

Ready to launch an attack?

It was still early.

Liu Xiangzhen didn’t delay either; he went to the cafeteria for a coffee and just happened to pass by the aviation command center, so he stopped in to take a look.

By the time he returned to the Command Bridge, it was already 8:50 AM.

Zhuang Bisheng was just about to send someone to find him.

The reason was straightforward: the "North River" had activated its radar five minutes ago and had not detected any unidentified aircraft.

However, that didn’t mean much.

More than an hour had passed, and the reconnaissance aircraft sent by the Mobile Fleet had long since flown away.

Even if not afraid of being discovered, it had to consider the fuel needed to return.

Moreover, there was no need to continuously follow the Special Mixed Group.

Don’t forget, the Special Mixed Group had been travelling eastwards and had not changed direction.

Of course, activating the radar wasn’t to locate an enemy’s reconnaissance aircraft.

Now, patience was required.

From this point onward, within the next hour, the Mobile Fleet might send an Attack Aircraft Group composed of dozens of bombers and torpedo bombers at any moment.