by Vivek Ahuja
SASER
SOUTH OF DAULAT BEG OLDI
DAY 3 + 1430 HRS
The single Smerch battery in the valley had been engaged in the counter-battery role for three days. More than a dozen Chinese field artillery batteries east of the border were by now nothing more than smoldering wreckage. And as a result the Chinese artillery fire on Brigadier Adesara’s force at DBO had substantially reduced.
But for all that, the constant fire-on-the-move tactics that had prevented the Indian Smerch unit from being wiped out by Chinese MBRL counter-battery fire had also exhausted its crews and nearly emptied its stock of ammunition at Saser. The launchers were covered with soot after having been used for so long without cleaning up. The tires of the vehicles were covered in muddy slush caused by melting snow and the gravel dust.
But after days of desperate combat against numerically superior enemy forces, it was a pleasure for the commander and crews of his battery to see a column of friendly armored vehicles moving past their positions in a long convoy to the north…
The outcome of the battles in Ladakh was far from clear at the moment. Frontlines were changing by the hour and chaos was in the air.
North of Saser was the DBO sector. In the DBO, the 5TH Infantry Brigade under Adesara had barely escaped being overrun the day before. South of the Chip-Chap River, southeast of DBO, forward deployed elements of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion under Colonel Sudarshan had been badly mauled trying to hold back the heavy armored push by Chinese forces. The battle had between the unit’s BMPs and the Chinese ZBDs had been bloody and desperate, both sides having taken severe casualties.
The Indian commanders knew the danger that had opened up. They were providing all the air-support needed to attack and hold Chinese armor, but it was something that had already begun inflicting losses on the Jaguar squadrons.
As the soldiers at Saser watched and cheered, dozens of BMP-IIs and NAMICA vehicles, ARVs, trucks and AXEs rolled through the dust cloud being raised by their tracks and wheels. But as the main force of the 10TH Mechanized Battalion finally began entering the plains of DBO, the battle for Ladakh hung by a thin thread…
OVER NORTHEAST ASSAM
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1620 HRS
“We have inbounds! Twelve inbounds approaching on vector three-one-seven at angels thirty, speed...nine-one-seven!”
The radar console operator pushed one of the buttons near the screen and his computer went into a diagnostics mode by checking radar and flight profiles with existing databases. It spat out the results on screen a moment later and the operator read it off screen to his Mission Controller:
“Type jolly-sevens!”
The mission-controller pondered that piece of information for the moment. The J-7s coming down from the said vector made them out to be the elements of the 130TH Air Regiment of the 44TH Fighter Division. The 44TH Fighter Division had been the first PLAAF unit to become involved in the battle for the skies of the Indian northeast two days ago. That struggle was still continuing…
But the J-7 series aircraft were Mig-21 knockoffs and hardly top of the line in terms of technology. The other Regiment in the Division was the 131ST, and it was better armed with J-10 variant strike-fighters. But they had already lost ten of these during the battle in Ladakh two days ago and had also lost several flights of aircraft in subsequent battles.
The other Division of the PLAAF in the region was the 33RD Fighter Division. This division was armed with a regiment of high performance Su-27s and J-11s. They also had a regiment of J-7s with them.
Facing this force from the Indian side was a combination of Mig-21 Bisons and Su-30s at Chabua and Mig-27s at Hashimara and Kalaikunda. In addition, Su-30s from Bareilly based No. 8 Squadron were available as were a detachment of No. 24 Squadron Su-30s on AWACS protection duty flying out of Kalaikunda airbase.
The reason the IAF had not deployed more fighters in the region was the inherent vulnerability of airbases there to Chinese missile attacks. This had been proven true at the start of the war when all major airbases had come under consistent missile attacks.
In fact, two Mig-21 Bisons had been lost just that morning at Chabua when the hardened aircraft shelter harboring the two aircraft had been hit and destroyed by a Chinese cruise-missile. But these things happen. Luck is a factor that good commanders always factored in operations.
Unknown to the Eastern Air Command operations staff, that very idea was about to be put to test…
“More inbounds!” the radar operator on the CABS AEW aircraft shouted, the strain in his voice increasing.
“Second set of inbounds detected! Twelve new inbounds approaching on vector two-five-seven at angels thirty-five, speed seven-three-five. Type Su-27s!”
The mission commander changed radio frequencies to get the EAC operations staff on the line.
“Launch the Bisons from Chabua. Vector them towards the J-7s. Tell them to leave the Su-27s to the No. 8 Squadron Sukhois. Alert the EAC air-defenses! Bring the Mig-27s on readiness and send out a warning to all army aviation units to keep their heads down while we deal with this.”
He then turned back to his on-board operators: “Get the CAP fighters moving right away!”
“Roger!” two voiced replied in unison. The cabin filled with the sound of radio traffic going both ways.
“We are noticing electronic interference here! Possible electronic warfare aircraft trailing the attackers! Attempting burn-through!” the EW-operator shouted over the headphones.
A minute later he shouted again:
“Okay! We have burn-through! Suggest passive tracking of possible Tupolev electronic-warfare aircraft behind their fighters!”
“Do it!”
CHABUA AIRBASE
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1640 HRS
The klaxons were ringing around the airbase as pilots of the Mig-21 Bisons on the operational-readiness-platform were strapping themselves into their seats. Skies above were clear at Chabua with white clouds in an otherwise blue background.
Other ground crews were rushing to get the other aircraft out of their shelters and onto the tarmac outside for immediate scramble. There were ten available Mig-21 Bisons at Tezpur and at Chabua there were four Bisons that were already taking to the skies. A few moments later the glass windows around the base reverberated as the Bisons took to the sky on full afterburners...
OVER ASSAM
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1650 HRS
“What’s the latest?”
The mission-commander said quietly after walking up behind the radar console operators sitting side by side.
“Okay, we have this group of twelve J-7s coming in from the northeast and heading southwest over the Chaukan pass hills on way to Chabua. The first ones to make contact on our side will be four Bisons from Chabua, with BVR ranges reached in seventeen minutes, but they will be outnumbered three to one unless we commit the Su-30s from Chabua into the fight as well.”
The mission-commander nodded his disapproval on that:
“No. That will bog them down making it easier for this second group of Su-27s to destroy our group of ten Bisons from Tezpur and cut off the Chabua fighters from the west. Perhaps even make a run for us over here! That’s unacceptable. We need to concentrate our force of Bisons from Chabua and Tezpur into an iron fist before we commit them to the fight. How far are the Tezpur birds?”
“At their current speeds they will be over Chabua in fifteen minutes,” the radar operator replied.
“Good. Pull the Bisons over Chabua to the west and task them to await the arrival of the Tezpur birds. In the meantime, we will let the Su-27s come in through the front door for now.”
NORTH OF TEZPUR
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1705 HRS
The Dhruv helicopter came in low over the ground followed behind by its weaponized escort, known as the ‘Rudra’. Both helicopters reached the helipad near the relocated IV Corps headquarters despite the air-force warning orders on the
impending air battle that was about to engulf the skies over Assam.
That said, the two army-aviation flight-crews did not have a death-wish. The escort chopper did not land but continued to hover near the helipad. The Dhruv came to a quick landing on the helipad, raising a dust cloud into the air by its rotor downwash.
The army ground-crews immediately opened the sliding doors to allow Generals Yadav and Suman and two other Brigadiers to clamber out onto the dust filled air holding their caps. They were directed away from the helicopter by a ground crew-man who then banged on the cockpit glass to notify the pilot to get the hell out while he still could. The pilot nodded and immediately pulled the Dhruv back into the air with every strut and bar inside groaning under the stresses. Within a minute both helicopters were streaking away to the west at treetop heights and the dust around the helipad dissipated away...
Yadav and Suman were met outside the helipad by Lieutenant-General Chatterjee and his senior staff officers. The IV Corps commander was not in a happy mood and Yadav and Suman soon found out why as they clambered on board the three AXE vehicles nearby. The vehicles took them from the helipad to the headquarters further into the foothills where there was more cover against missile attacks.
“What’s the situation up north?”
Yadav asked Chatterjee as their convoy finally moved off on the dusty road and towards a clearing in front of the entrance to the headquarters. The majestic snowcapped Himalayan peaks could now be seen on the northern horizon.
“We have the 13TH Group-Army trying to fight its way past my Divisions all along the Arunachal Pradesh border from Tawang to Walong. Their missile attacks on the first day did heavy damage to my artillery forces and RPV units just before the 13TH Group Army pounced on my boys. But we are holding in all sectors! For now anyway. 13TH Group-Army has suffered heavy losses and is consolidating its forces at the moment,” Chatterjee shouted over the sounds of their speeding vehicles.
“Be warned,” Suman added, “that the 21ST Group-Army from Lanzhou is also deploying into the sector to replace losses taken by the 13TH Group-Army Divisions. The air-force says they are going to have a knock at the inbound convoys heading into southern Tibet. If that fails we might have to go in for some attacks of our own using Brahmos units. We will see how that works out.”
“Roger that!”
“How’s our own readiness right now?” Suman asked as he looked at the convoys of army trucks they were bypassing.
“I have the sector covered. But I can always use additional artillery units. Especially if the 21ST Group Army units start reinforcing the existing units opposite my boys,” Chatterjee shouted from the front seat as they reached their destination.
OVER NORTHERN ASSAM
INDIA
DAY 3 + 1715 HRS
The inbound 44TH Fighter Division J-7s entered Indian airspace over the Chaukan pass hills at the extreme eastern edge of India. The twelve J-7s flying in a loose line-abreast formation now punched off their external fuel drop-tanks. This was immediately noticed by the radar crew of the Indian CABS AEW aircraft to the west as the screen became cluttered with small fading radar intercepts dropping behind the fast moving jets…
The Chinese knew what they were up against.
The path they were taking skirted around the handful of Indian Akash surface-to-air batteries protecting the high value targets in the region. This was also noticed by the AEW radar crew, and the mission commander made a mental note to ask those battery commanders to relocate. At the moment though he had other things on his mind. Now that his hopes for a few kills at the hands of the ground missiles was nothing more than just hope, he turned to the group of fourteen Mig-21 Bisons assembled in the skies west of Chabua airbase.
A few minutes later both the Bisons and the inbound J-7s traded shots. And twenty-six missiles ranged out in quick succession with fourteen more a few seconds later. The Indian Mig-21s had released two quick salvos of R-77 beyond-visual-range missiles while the Chinese had reciprocated with a salvo of their new AIM-120 knockoffs called the PL-12. Seconds after the Indian fighters had launched their second salvo, the Chinese reciprocated with another twelve PL-12s.
There were now fifty two missiles in the air…
All twenty six fighters broke formation to evade the swarm of missiles heading towards them.
Results were mixed. Five Indian Mig-21s were lost in exchange for six Chinese J-7s before the survivors from both sides merged into visual range. A desperate dogfight broke out in the skies above the Digboi oil refinery.
The AEW controllers were pragmatic. They realized immediately the futility of their involvement in the chaotic battle now taking place. The mission-commander realized that the Chinese J-7s had lost the initiative and unit cohesiveness, as had the Assam based Bison pilots. The J-7 pilots were also unlikely to be able to make their way home if they did not break contact soon given the short-range of their aircraft. In case any of the J-7 pilots decided to make a run for the Indian AEW aircraft to the west, the two Su-30 escorts flying alongside the aircraft could be dispatched on to the threat.
No. They Bisons are on their own now.
Time to deal with the Su-27s…
The mission commander pointed to the inbound Su-27s on the screen in front of him:
“Tell me about these guys!” he ordered.
“They will be breaking into our airspace in a few minutes. Lima flight-leader has signaled his readiness. He’s maneuvering into position now.”
The mission-commander rubbed his eyes as he looked at the screen again. Two groups of Sukhois, one from the Indian side and the other from the Chinese, were moving parallel to each other but in opposite directions.
This was deliberate.
The twelve Chinese Su-27s from the 33RD Fighter Division were making a run for this airborne-radar aircraft and its crew. Everybody on board the aircraft knew it and the mission-commander could swear that he could sense their nervousness. But they were calm and manning their stations and that was all that mattered for now.
In between them and the inbound Su-27s was No. 8 ‘Pursoots’ Squadron and its gaggle of Su-30s. They were moving northeast and were near Tezpur.
To the east the dogfight around Chabua was ending at heavy cost to both sides. The last two surviving J-7s made a run for home but lost out when their fuel ran out near the Chaukan pass. Their ejections were noted on the radar screens aboard CABS AEW aircraft…
“Our boys near Chabua are checking in…” the radar controller announced and then waited as information piled on both in his headsets from the surviving pilots as well as the radar returns.
“…Seven survivors. All of them diverting to Chabua. Two of them declaring fuel emergency,” he said after a minute.
“Okay. Get them to Chabua to rearm and reload. We may need them again pretty soon,” the mission-controller ordered.
“Roger.”
“The Pursoots have engaged!” the other operator announced.
The eight Su-30 pilots fired sixteen R-77s at the inbound Su-27s over the snowcapped Se-La just as the last rays of sunlight illuminated the peaks below. The missiles arced into the darkening night sky and disappeared from view. The Indian flight-crews lowered their helmet-mounted NVGs and adjusted themselves in their cockpit seats.
But the Chinese Su-27 pilots were also spoiling for a fight.
The Chinese response was quick and the Su-27 pilots fired a barrage of PJ-12s and immediately broke formation, dropping chaff all over the sky whilst diving for the safety of the peaks below. A few seconds later five Su-27s were blown out of the skies above Arunachal Pradesh by the volley of R-77s. Two Su-30s were also knocked out by the PJ-12s. But the odds had been evened and now it was to be a knife fight within the Great Himalayan Mountains...
CHABUA AIRBASE
EASTERN ASSAM
DAY 3 + 1743 HRS
Two of the five remaining Mig-21 Bisons in Assam were on open tarmac at the airbase as airmen were attaching drop-tanks on the inner
pylons and a single R-77 on one of the outer pylons on each aircraft. The corresponding pylon on the other wing was loaded with an external electronic-warfare pod. The pilots were still strapped into their cockpits as the crew-chief was leaning over their shoulders with bottles of water to drink. It was essentially like an F-1 racecar pit-crew.
It had to be. Especially when turnarounds on returning aircraft were the key to operations.
A few minutes later the crew-chief slapped on the pilot helmets and closed the cockpit glass behind them. Others on the ground visually inspected the new load-out and showed a thumbs-up to the two pilots who nodded. Seconds later the two aircraft began rolling towards the runway...
Two minutes later two Mig-21s were climbing steadily over the foothills of the Great Himalayan peaks as they headed northeast, away from the raging dogfight between Indian and Chinese Sukhois to the west. The pilots checked fuel usage: they were using up the external fuel tanks first...
By this time the skies to the east were a shade of dark blue. The silhouettes of the mountains were still visible with their western slopes lit by the fading reddish light.
Like the Sukhoi pilots, these pilots also lowered his helmet mounted NVGs and changed the visceral colors in front of them into a greenish-black hell-scape. The stars suddenly became visible almost as if they were lights that had been switched on. The Himalayan mountains were blanketed in light green coloration now…
The two Mig-21s were burning the external fuel fast as they built up speed and altitude. The HUD showed all the required statistics.
The external fuel tankage indicators were on their way down. A minute later the two Mig-21s reached twenty-five thousand feet altitude and the pilots brought their aircrafts down to zero climb-angle. But the afterburners were still on and the acceleration was high.
Several minutes later the external fuel tanks were dry and the aircraft were cruising at very high subsonic velocities. That was when the pilots flipped over a switch to separate the source of unnecessary drag and four empty drop-tanks punched off their pylons and separated into the slipstream behind.