172: Top secret delivery: Longguo’s trump card for Yileke!

In March 1981, the Kremlin and the White House, in a rare strategic understanding, launched an all-out containment of Dragon Country, causing a fierce shock in the international community!

The Soviet Union urgently supplied five armored divisions' worth of equipment to Iran and dispatched an airborne instructor team to Tehran.

Su-25 attack aircraft squadrons had been deployed to the Arvand Rud front line, and MiG-25 interceptors completed accelerated training for Iranian pilots at the Gagarin Academy.

The Kremlin declared that it would “never tolerate a third-party force disrupting the strategic balance in the Middle East,” and the front-page headline of Pravda directly accused Dragon Country of “colonialist ambitions.”

The USA's Pentagon, meanwhile, announced the lifting of military sanctions against Iran, resuming the supply of critical aircraft components to the Iranian Air Force!

BBC headlines declared “Dragon Country faces its most severe blockade in history,” and The Wall Street Journal analyzed that “the combined efforts of the two superpowers are enough to sever Dragon Country’s economic lifelines.”

A Geneva think tank report showed that international oil prices had soared to $60 per barrel due to panic buying, and Dragon Country's automotive industry faced potential large-scale defaults on overseas orders!

At this moment, Dragon Country was walking on a tightrope; the Iraq oil fields had not yet achieved stable production, its automotive industry's overseas expansion encountered a cold front, and the war iron curtain of the two great superpowers was tightening by the hour!

...Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

After grasping the changes in the international situation, Saddam couldn't help but feel shocked and nervous!

He never expected that the USA and the Soviet Union, two world superpowers who were always at loggerheads, could actually join forces to encircle Dragon Country and Iraq!

Saddam had thought that a superpower would definitely support Iran!

But he had never imagined it would be two!

Saddam’s fingertips trembled on the map, and cold sweat soaked the collar of his military uniform.

He had originally thought that by sacrificing oil field interests, he could bind Dragon Country to his war chariot to counter a single superpower, but he never expected the Kremlin and the White House to form such a rare alliance!

Only now did this Middle Eastern strongman realize that he had underestimated the bottom line of the superpowers!

They would rather call a temporary truce than allow a third force to be stifled in its cradle!

The sandstorm outside Baghdad was not stirring up yellow sand, but rather the steel torrent of Iran, which was about to press on the border!

At this moment, even Saddam himself couldn't help but wonder if he had made a strategic error?

Or perhaps Dragon Country had also misjudged the strategy, not anticipating such a fierce reaction from the two superpowers?

“Notify everyone, tomorrow I will personally inspect the National Defense Guards and the National Defense Vanguard!”

A few minutes later, Saddam’s face regained its composure, and he issued the order.

At a time like this, he absolutely did not believe that begging the world's two superpowers would make them spare him!

He would personally go to the front line to stabilize morale and supervise the battle!

“I wonder if Dragon Country can withstand the pressure from both the Soviet Union and the USA simultaneously and hold onto its interests in the Middle East?”

Saddam’s eyes deepened as he gazed eastward, muttering to himself.

At this moment, he also felt a lack of confidence in his heart... The Dragon Country government and military naturally also felt the pressure brought by the sudden changes in the international situation!

However, Dragon Country's high-level decision-makers also understood that at this time, Dragon Country must not panic; the three parties were competing on strategic resolve!

With the Dongfeng-6 intercontinental missile, Dragon Country's homeland and its surroundings were safe!

Now, the biggest pressure on the Dragon Country military was how to hold out against the pressure far away in the Middle East and Iraq!

March 1st.

Xinhua News Agency published an article stating that Marshal Xu Yong'an inspected Dragon Country's Dongfeng-6 intercontinental missile train, reviewing Dragon Country's strategic nuclear capabilities!

This was to demonstrate Dragon Country's stabilizing force to the international community and stabilize the chaotic situation!

March 2nd.

At a Dragon Country air force base in the northwest, at dawn.

Thirty-six J-10E “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets were neatly arrayed, their silver-gray fuselages reflecting the rising sun, and the Dragon Country Air Force insignia on their tailfins shone brightly.

Ground crew shuttled among them, conducting final pre-flight checks, and the PL-12 air-to-air missiles under the wings gleamed with a cold light.

The Dragon Country Air Force would fly to an Iraq air force base on a top-secret mission and deliver this batch of fighter jets!

As the tower command was issued, the 36 J-10E aircraft successively started their turbofan engines, their roar like thunder rolling across the Gobi Desert.

The fighter jets took off in three-plane formations, and under the precise guidance of the Beidou satellite navigation system, they formed a massive aerial steel torrent, speeding towards Iraq.

Thirty-six J-10E “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets roared into the sky from a Dragon Country air force base in the northwest, their silver wings cutting through the Gobi morning mist.

The formation headed west along the Karakoram Mountains, making a technical stop at Pakistan's Peshawar Air Force Base, where ground crew quickly refueled them with Dragon Country's specially formulated high-flashpoint fuel.

After taking off again, the fighter squadron descended to fly low over the sea; in the morning light of the Persian Gulf, the Beidou navigation screen flashed with the coordinates of the Arvand Rud.

Iraq's radar stations finally captured the silhouettes of these steel dragons, and Saddam's air defense commander cheered in broken Chinese over the channel:

“Dragon Country’s heavenly sharp swords have arrived!”

When the 36 J-10E fighter jets landed one by one at the Iraq Air Force Base, the Iraq Defense Force generals were incredibly excited, personally stepping forward to greet the Dragon Country Air Force delegation.

The “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets taxied on the runway, and the professional Iraq pilots, who had been trained by Dragon Country, eagerly boarded the cockpits, touching the advanced avionics systems made by Dragon Country!

They had completed their J-10E flight skills training in Dragon Country a month ago and had returned to Iraq.

Today, they finally awaited the moment when Dragon Country would deliver the fighter jets to them!

The Dragon Country Air Force delegation then solemnly removed the Dragon Country Air Force insignia from the tailfins and delivered this batch of fighter jets into the hands of the Iraq Air Force!

...March 3rd, Baghdad.

Under Saddam's command, 36 J-10E “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets were secretly inducted into the Iraq Air Force.

And based on the international community's reactions, it was clear that the USA and the Soviet Union had not detected Dragon Country's top-secret delivery mission.

Dragon Country's secret delivery operation, except for Pakistan, was conducted entirely in international airspace.

Furthermore, the Dragon Country military had negotiated a cooperation agreement with Pakistan, with the latter tacitly agreeing to remain silent on the Dragon Country military's actions in the international community.

Therefore, neither Iran, the USA, nor the Soviet Union could have anticipated that the Iraq Air Force would be equipped with J-10E fighter jets so quickly!

“Dragon Country’s tactics were successful!”

“Their ace pilots flew thousands of miles to deliver the fighter jets to us in Iraq, and in the Persian Gulf, utilizing the advantages of the Beidou satellite positioning system, they flew at ultra-low altitude over the sea the entire way, avoiding radar detection from both Saudi Arabia and Iran along the Persian Gulf coast!”

“Now, the J-10E “Vigorous Dragon” fighter jets are our trump card!”

Saddam said with some excitement in the underground command center of the Ministry of Defense in the capital, Baghdad.

The 36 J-10E aircraft secretly equipped by the Iraq Air Force were a trump card prepared by the Dragon Country military for Iraq!

When fighter jets fly low over the sea, they are in the low-altitude blind spot of radar, especially at long distances, where the angle between the radar beam and the sea surface is small, making it difficult for radar to detect targets flying close to the sea surface!

In addition, when radar systems detect low-altitude flying targets, they are susceptible to interference from ground clutter, sea reflections, and other factors, causing the target signal to be submerged and making it difficult to accurately identify and track!

Therefore, Dragon Country's top-secret delivery operation was perfectly executed!