41: Chapter 41 All of this was in vain

Palmachim Airbase.

After the drone went missing, Colonel Benny spent several days investigating and determined that it had been shot down by anti-aircraft missiles in Syria.

And the only country with advanced anti-aircraft missiles was Iran.

After Colonel Benny reported his findings to the Israel Ministry of Defense, the Ministry and top military officials consulted and decided to launch a retaliatory operation against Iran.

The order to carry out the retaliatory operation was quickly issued to Colonel Benny. Colonel Benny was currently having a headache over the sudden anti-aircraft missile attacks that had caused two drones to crash.

Seeing the Ministry of Defense's order, Colonel Benny resisted in his heart; he had already ordered the airbase's fighter jets to stay away from the Syrian border.

However, now that he had received the order to launch retaliation, Colonel Benny had no choice but to carry it out.

After some thought, he decided to send Captain Haruz to fly an F-16 Fighter Jet to conduct an airstrike on a Glass House military base in the south of Damascus in the middle of the night, and to withdraw rapidly after the strike.

Colonel Benny submitted the detailed plan he had formulated to the top military brass and quickly received approval.

When Captain Haruz saw the order sent to him, he felt a little panicked.

If the Global Hawk hadn't crashed and the drones hadn't been shot down earlier, he would have been very relaxed about carrying out such a mission.

But after the Global Hawk crashed, there was still no definite news on which anti-aircraft missile model had shot it down, and the culprit behind the drone crashes hadn't been investigated either. Now, he was being asked to carry out an airstrike mission.

Captain Haruz was a bit worried that he would become a target for anti-aircraft missiles.

However, the retaliatory plan was already set in motion; it was not something Captain Haruz could refuse.

In the end, after praying a thousand times, he boarded the F-16 Fighter Jet. Seeing the instrument panel of the F-16 Fighter Jet and operating the familiar control stick, he felt a sliver of comfort.

"I won't be that unlucky. I won't be targeted by anti-aircraft missiles on this mission."

He repeated this to himself several times, then piloted the F-16 Fighter Jet to take off from the airbase, quickly bypassed the Golan Heights, and flew north from the southwest of Syria.

There were no anomalies along the way, and the tension in Captain Haruz's heart eased slightly.

However, just as he continued to speed up and head straight for Damascus, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded.

"Warning! Warning! Anti-aircraft missile detected incoming, aircraft locked on, initiate evasive maneuvers immediately! Initiate evasive maneuvers immediately!"

Captain Haruz glanced at the monitoring radar, and a "Fuck!" escaped his lips. He saw an anti-aircraft missile getting closer and closer to his fighter jet.

While frantically releasing infrared flares, he reported to Palmachim Airbase, "My aircraft has been locked on by enemy anti-aircraft missiles. I am currently attempting evasion, the situation is critical!"

Colonel Benny, who was monitoring the execution of the retaliatory plan, heard this in the surveillance hall and immediately said, "Evasive maneuvers immediately, abort the mission and return!"

Captain Haruz no longer had any thoughts of completing the mission; he only wanted to escape this damn place as soon as possible.

As one infrared flare after another was released from the F-16 Fighter Jet, the scattered flares did not cause even the slightest interference to the incoming anti-aircraft missile.

The incoming anti-aircraft missile remained locked on the F-16 Fighter Jet, and the alarm sound did not cease.

Captain Haruz broke into a cold sweat, his hands and feet feeling icy. He immediately maneuvered the F-16 Fighter Jet into a rapid climb, attempting to increase the fighter's altitude to break the anti-aircraft missile's lock.

However, all of this was in vain!

Captain Haruz's desperate voice reached Palmachim Airbase, "I cannot shake off the incoming anti-aircraft missile; I will be hit and crash soon!"

Colonel Benny slammed his fist hard onto the table, his eyes bloodshot, and said, "Abandon the aircraft, eject immediately!"

Now that the F-16 Fighter Jet could not escape its fate of being destroyed, he hoped to at least save the pilot's life.

Seeing the anti-aircraft missile gradually enlarging to the naked eye, Captain Haruz immediately pressed the ejection button.

But it was already too late.

Captain Haruz had only ejected a short distance when the anti-aircraft missile directly struck the F-16 Fighter Jet, a violent explosion hitting Captain Haruz directly. His ears rang, and his eyes hurt intensely under the glare of the bright light.

Subsequently, the shockwave of the explosion spread out, engulfing Captain Haruz.

Captain Haruz only felt a pain in his body before passing out instantly; the darkness that descended made him feel as if he were seeing God.

It was precisely because of his unconsciousness that he was spared the pain of being torn apart afterward.

Palmachim Airbase fell into sudden silence; Captain Haruz's final voice seemed to have gripped everyone's throat, and no one dared to make a sound.

As the green light of the F-16 Fighter Jet disappeared from the monitoring radar, Colonel Benny knew that this F-16 Fighter Jet was finished, and so was he.

Only then did the sound of swallowing saliva come from the surveillance hall, an subconscious reaction to being shocked.

Colonel Benny stared blankly at the surveillance hall, slumped powerlessly in his chair, his mind completely blank.

"How do I salvage this situation? How do I control the fallout?"

These two questions kept spinning in Colonel Benny's mind.

Suddenly, he stood up and said loudly, "Send the Storm Fighter Jets to bomb that area immediately! I want to turn that area into a sea of fire!"

The Storm Fighter Jet was a quasi-strategic bomber developed by Israel in collaboration with the USA based on the F-16 Fighter Jet, capable of possessing stronger long-range strike capabilities and launching preemptive and retaliatory strikes.

However, Colonel Benny's order was not carried out.

Major Nokin immediately questioned it, "No, we still haven't figured out the local anti-aircraft situation. If we send the Storm Fighter Jets there and they get shot down too, what then?"

Colonel Benny looked at Major Nokin with dissatisfaction and demanded, "Are you just going to watch our fighter jets get destroyed in Syria and do nothing?"

"But deploying the Storm Fighter Jets requires approval from the top military brass. If we deploy them without authorization, we will be violating military law." Major Nokin did not back down.

"You? You!" Seeing Major Nokin cite military law—something he dared not easily violate—Colonel Benny said, "Fine, I will contact the top military brass directly."

Colonel Benny immediately contacted the top military brass, briefly explained what had just happened, and put forward his idea.

However, the top military brass did not listen to Colonel Benny's idea and soon issued an order, "The airbase can send drones to scout and understand the situation. You cannot send the Storm Fighter Jets without understanding the enemy situation."

The top military brass also advised Colonel Benny, "An F-16 Fighter Jet has already crashed; we cannot let our pilots take any more risks. Only after we understand the true situation of the local anti-aircraft defenses can we arrange the next step. Let's pause the retaliatory operation ordered by the Ministry of Defense for now."