178: Shocking the world, the J-10's first battle shook the world!

Inside the Tehran Air Force Command Center, electronic screens suddenly flashed a blinding red light, and the icons of two Il-76s exploded into snowflake-like static on the radar!

The Soviet Union advisor's coffee cup crashed to the floor, splashing brown liquid all over the battle map.

All the senior Iranian Air Force generals in the command center stood frozen in place, with only static remaining in the communication channel.

How could electronic warfare aircraft, dubbed "electromagnetic fortresses," be precisely hunted down?

Commander Kovalyov, head of the Soviet Union Air Force Expert Military Advisory Group, slammed his fist into the control panel. Amidst the dull thud of the metal casing caving in, the entire command room fell into a dead silence.

As the wreckage of the Il-76s plummeted into the desert, the Iranian Air Force's electromagnetic suppression field would directly collapse!

"What exactly is going on?"

"What weapon shot down the two Il-76 electronic warfare aircraft?"

"Was it Iraq's anti-aircraft missiles or interceptors that took off in an emergency?"

The Iranian Air Force Commander-in-Chief broke the silence first, asking with an expression of disbelief.

"A bunch of idiots!"

"How dare they fly electronic warfare aircraft so close to Iraqi airspace!"

Commander Kovalyov did not answer him but instead cursed angrily.

Although electronic warfare aircraft approaching closer would be beneficial for electronic suppression across all of Iraq, that's only if their absolute safety can be guaranteed!

Now, Iran's only two electronic warfare aircraft have all been destroyed. How can they still conduct electronic suppression against the Iraqi Air Force?

Originally, Commander Kovalyov had intended to solidify his position in the history of world air combat by commanding and planning "Operation Steel Storm," the largest air combat operation since World War II!

But now, the loss of the two core electronic warfare aircraft made him slightly dissatisfied with his own achievements!

Because his initial goal was to win a complete victory over the Iraqi Air Force with a perfect record!

And the loss brought by the two Il-76 electronic warfare aircraft was so great that it was equivalent to the loss of ten fighter jets!

"This should just be an accident!"

"We already have a huge advantage now, it won't affect the overall situation!"

The deputy head of the Soviet Union Expert Military Advisory Delegation advised.

He hoped that Commander Kovalyov could remain calm at this moment... Meanwhile.

After the Iranian Air Force's Il-76 electronic warfare aircraft were destroyed, the J-10E "Vigorous Dragon" officially launched a deadly surprise attack!

Deep in the Iraqi desert, 36 J-10Es tore open their camouflage nets, and the roar of their turbofan engines shattered the night sky.

Their silver-gray fuselages reflected the cold moonlight, and under their bellies, PL-12 medium-range missiles and PL-8 dogfight missiles hung like the fangs of death.

"Operation Dragon Roar, begin!"

As the command was issued, the fighter group swept towards the border in two-plane formations at ultra-low altitude.

The Beidou navigation system precisely outlined the enemy aircraft's trajectories, and the data link shared the radar signals of the F-14 "Tomcats" in real-time.

These hunters, circling at an altitude of 15,000 meters, were now marked as prey.

Although the "Steel Storm" air raid operation launched by the Iranian Air Force was massive, only the F-14 "Tomcat" and MiG-23 fighter jets carried air-to-air missiles and dogfight missiles.

Most of the other fighter jets carried ground-attack munitions such as incendiary bombs, bunker busters, and anti-radiation missiles.

That is to say, as long as the F-14s and MiG-23s carrying air-to-air missiles are destroyed, the other massive fighter groups will be completely lambs to the slaughter!

In the border area, 12 J-10Es suddenly climbed vertically, and their phased-array radars instantly locked onto the Iranian F-14 formation.

PL-12 missiles roared out, their tail flames drawing azure streaks across the clouds.

Before the Iranian pilots could react, the AWG-9 radar screens exploded with blinding alerts!

Before the "Phoenix" missiles could be launched, the F-14's canopy was pierced by shrapnel.

One "Tomcat" after another disintegrated in explosions, their burning wreckage plummeting like meteors into the desert.

The same situation was also happening in various airspaces across Iraq.

A J-10E burst into the chaotic airspace, and a MiG-23 had just turned its nose when it was bitten on the tail by a PL-8 dogfight missile.

In close-range dogfights, the powerful thrust of the J-10E's WS-10 "Taihang" turbofan aero-engine demonstrated a deadly advantage.

Almost every rapid maneuver and interdiction by a J-10E in the airspace was accompanied by the downfall of an enemy aircraft!

Furthermore, the "Vigorous Dragon" fighter's radar's multi-target tracking and multi-target locking capabilities gave it an incredibly powerful "one-against-many" capability!

In just 7 minutes, 24 F-14s and 18 MiG-23s were transformed into fireballs!

Iran's "kill corridor" completely collapsed, and the remaining F-14 and MiG-23 fighter jets jettisoned chaff flares, attempting to quickly withdraw from the battlefield.

But at this moment, the heavy synthetic brigade's field air defense units, hidden along the border, precisely broke radio silence and launched a thunderous attack!

Through the Beidou system's shared battlefield situation awareness, inside the field air defense command vehicle, the radar operator slammed the power-on button.

The S-band phased-array radar awakened like a giant beast, its electromagnetic beams piercing the night sky, instantly locking onto the Iranian fighter group.

"Target locked, fire!"

The Red Flag anti-aircraft missile vehicle raised its launcher, and the missile's tail flame tore through the darkness, heading straight for the F-14 "Tomcat" in the high altitude.

The close-in weapon system's radar operated at full power, and the integrated gun-missile positions spewed fire, simultaneously intercepting incoming anti-radiation missiles and launching anti-aircraft missiles to attack aerial targets.

As the F-14 and MiG-23 fleets, responsible for air superiority, were mostly shot down, with a small portion scattered and fleeing back to Iran, the Iraqi Air Force also began a rapid counterattack!

At this time, at airfields deep within Iraqi territory, MiG-25, MiG-23, and MiG-21 fighter jets, each carrying air-to-air and dogfight missiles, took to the skies for combat!

They were amply armed, carrying only air combat missiles!

Their only objective was to intercept and shoot down as many incoming Iranian Air Force fighter jets as possible!

Hundreds of Iraqi Air Force MiG fighter jets swept across the battlefield like a silver storm!

A MiG-25 tore through the clouds at a top speed of Mach 3.2, the tail flame of an R-40 missile drawing a crimson streak across the night sky, instantly piercing a bomb-laden F-4 "Phantom" fighter!

Before the explosion's fire had dissipated, the Iraqi Air Force's MiG-23 fleet had already dived, an R-60 dogfight missile biting like a venomous snake onto the tail of an Iranian Air Force Su-25 attack aircraft, tearing it into burning fragments.

The F-5 fleet attempting a low-altitude escape was enveloped by the MiG-21's cannon fire.

23mm shells rained down, hitting an F-5's fuel tank, instantly turning it into a tumbling fireball.

The wreckage crashed into the desert, detonating unreleased bombs, and the shockwave of the secondary explosion kicked up countless clouds of dust!

Because they were on bombing missions and not carrying dogfight missiles, these Iranian Air Force fighter jets were utterly defenseless at this moment!

They could only keep fleeing!

The entire airspace turned into a steel graveyard, with burning aluminum fragments falling like black snow!

...Meanwhile.

Having achieved absolute air superiority, the J-10E "Vigorous Dragon" fighter jets disdained hunting these second-generation fighter jets on the battlefield!

Their limited medium-range air-to-air missiles would have a greater purpose!

After a major battle, 36 J-10E fighter jets landed at border airfields for fuel and ammunition resupply!

It's important to know that the J-10E fighter is not a single-purpose interceptor; its design direction is that of a single-engine, light, multi-role fighter!

In addition to air superiority combat, the J-10E can also be used for ground attack, air defense suppression, reconnaissance and surveillance, and maritime strike, among other battlefield roles, through ammunition changes and electronic warfare pods!

And now, while other units of the Iraqi Air Force were hunting down the Iranian Air Force, the 36 J-10Es changed their ammunition and kicked open the door into Iranian territory!

The moment "Operation Dragon Roar" was activated!

The offense and defense had already shifted!

Moreover, "Operation Dragon Roar" formulated by Peng Lin was not just about shooting down most of the Iranian Air Force's main fighter jets!

Dragon Roar!

It was also a deterrent to the world's two superpowers in the Middle East!