Chapter 1505 - 1503: Fake News!

Chapter 1505: Chapter 1503: Fake News!

Currently, on a global scale, almost every country is doing its utmost to avoid landing plans with no retreat in strategic and tactical considerations.

Because of aircraft.

The operational radius of aircraft is simply too large; it’s not just a matter of range, their firepower is also very strong.

Coupled with the coastal defenses, amphibious landing warfare is a nightmare for any country!

The beach will become a meat grinder, with shells and bullets tearing apart every weak human!

Just because aircraft are being used in warfare, the form of war has changed.

Aircraft are too important to both the army and the navy!

When the Federations, the Gafurans, and the Peng Jieao were all researching air-launched torpedoes for ships, the decisive factor determining the final outcome of naval battles had already begun to shift from battleships to aircraft.

When a large number of sea fortresses from Peng Jieao began service, and when they met the invincible fleet of Gafura, how to solve them?

This question left everyone, including the Gafuran Minister of the Navy, in silence because he really... didn’t know how to answer this question!

No solution at all!

He really wanted to say that!

According to intelligence they received from Peng Jieao, the Peng Jieao Navy had halted all battleship construction plans and was fully committed to producing destroyers and sea fortresses.

They have also built a large number of assembly lines for aircraft production, with many aircraft being assembled and test-flown every day, entering a state of readiness.

It is said that until now, the Peng Jieao Empire has trained no fewer than five thousand pilots, and in their plans, before the war begins, they aim to train no fewer than twenty-five thousand pilots.

In the mid-war period, they intend to maintain at least thirty thousand active pilots at all times to ensure that their offensive capabilities are not compromised due to a shortage of pilots.

They have placed all their heavy bets on aircraft!

One can imagine that this large empire might become the country with the most aircraft and pilots, not to mention Peng Jieao, and its allies?

Perhaps in the future, the sun above the ocean will be obscured by swarms of aircraft, and shadows will be cast everywhere beneath them!

Though both are "Empires," there is a difference between one empire and another!

The Prime Minister removed his glasses and sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with a feeling of exhaustion.

The domestic nobility has not completely settled down, and the new emperor, who appears docile on the surface, is secretly conspiring with the Secretariat. The Governor of the Amelia Region frequently chooses to ignore orders from the Main Island, and the new generation of nobles feels no sense of belonging to the Empire...

And now, with their enemies growing stronger, he feels a sense of uncertainty about the future.

Why can the Peng Jieao people unite?

Why can they possess such vast lands and populations?

Why is it so easy when they want to accomplish something, but for Gafura, it’s harder than eating shit?

Why...

Too many whys!

It’s not fair at all!

Previously, Gafura could still gain some advantage in naval battles; at least Peng Jieao would have to pay a heavy price to conduct a sea-crossing warfare!

The invincible fleet could blockade their coastlines at any time, and naturally sink all those landing craft along with the people aboard!

But now, aircraft have changed that situation; everyone knows full well that the influence of aircraft on warfare is growing.

The cost is very low.

Hundreds of thousands per aircraft.

The cost of training a pilot is also low, as long as you have enough aircraft and enough fuel to allow them to continuously test-fly.

Even an individual who isn’t very smart can master proficient flying skills!

In this era where some fighter combat tactics haven’t yet evolved, the requirements for fighter pilots aren’t as high as people might imagine.

You just need to be able to get the aircraft off the runway, know how to circle in the air, dive attack, pull-up, and finally land.

The training cost for non-dive bomber pilots is even lower; they only need to get the plane airborne, maintain a certain altitude, let the bombardier drop the bombs, and then return to base!

Yet, these cheap instruments of war pose a terrifying threat to Gafura’s only strong navy.

Sometimes the Prime Minister laments how unfair fate is, and how unreasonable the Lord can be!

The dull meeting did not conclude with any significant results. The only request the Prime Minister could make was to hasten the research on some air defense weapons, at least to ensure that these aircraft could not easily inflict too much damage on their fleet.

Besides that, they also began to reconsider the plan for sea fortresses. If the Peng Jieao people could build them, there’s no reason they couldn’t do it too.

When it comes to shipbuilding, Gafura talents are the true experts!

Naturally, the Prime Minister also requested to send this intelligence, along with some of their own findings, to the Federation.

Although the Prime Minister and the ministers were reluctant to admit it, they had to acknowledge that now the World Development Committee and half the world revolved around the Federation.

If they wanted to gain a more important position in international society and have more influence, then let them take on heavier responsibilities!

Once the information reached the Federation Ministry of Defense, it was taken very seriously, and a high-level meeting was convened immediately.

However, the atmosphere of this meeting was much more relaxed compared to Gafura’s.

"These will not pose a threat to us!"

The statement was made by a senior officer from the Strategic Command. Generals sometimes are just the ones responsible for making choices and decisions; the real work is done by these officers.

You cannot expect a fifty or sixty-year-old general to be familiar with everything. As long as they can make sufficiently accurate judgments in war, they are already responsible enough.

So when this officer stood up to answer the President’s question, everyone was watching him, eager to hear his explanation.

The senior young officer walked to a projector, holding a projection card which he inserted into the projector, and immediately, some photos and images appeared on the screen behind him.

"Firstly, the ’Midway Island’ plan by the Ministry of Defense is almost entirely completed. We have controlled fifty-seven important islands in the East Ocean area and have constructed defense installations on them."

"These islands have been transformed into ’nails’ on the East Ocean. If the Peng Jieao people don’t mind these nails, they will become ’hives’."

"Each island has an airfield that provides for aircraft takeoff and landing. Once surrounded by these islands, any fleet is doomed to destruction."

"However, removing these nails is not an easy task. We also have enough aircraft for defense, and many shore guns on the islands provide fire support..."

He continued introducing while constantly switching projection cards, showcasing various unusually shaped islands to the audience.

Rather than calling those islands small islands, it’s better to describe them as concrete fortresses standing on the East Ocean!

Concrete several meters thick, along with deeper underground bunkers, are enough to ensure each island’s combat and survival capabilities.

The President and the generals nodded repeatedly, especially the President, who pointed at the screen’s projection, "I remember this project was proposed by Lynch?"

The officer nodded affirmatively, "Mr. Lynch proposed the Midway Island plan. He connected the islands of the East Ocean into one. Our fleet can always find a supply point and always use at least two to three fixed islands as fortifications, either for defense or counterattack, or to launch attacks on enemy fleets."

The President kept nodding. He remembered this because Congress was not very fond of this plan at the time, thinking Lynch was scamming money.

But the military found it valuable, held two more hearings, and finally, the military convinced the legislators in Congress. As a result, Lynch got some extra money to acquire a shell company—

The acquisition fees flowed into the accounts of those Senator lords through dividends by the former equity fund of that shell company.

When you get a major project, it’s the congressmen lords giving you face; you need to be grateful.

Those who know to be grateful get to have good days!

The officer continued his introduction.

"Additionally, the performance parameters of Darkstone Airlines’ fighter jets are at least above the data we have obtained so far."

"Simply put, if we dispatch a fighter jet, it can at least hold off or even destroy two or more enemy aircraft. Our current shortcoming is perhaps just the number."

"Not long ago, we already gave Lynch a large order..."

He referred to the twenty-billion-dollar aircraft order, and these planes are coming off the assembly line in a steady stream, then being equipped.

At this moment, the President frowned, "But from the intelligence I have in hand, Peng Jieao plans to maintain at least twenty thousand aircraft ready for combat during the war, while we have only a few thousand..."

This numerical comparison is indeed a significant disparity.

At that point, the officer planned to say something, for instance, that this was "false intelligence."

He did not believe that Peng Jieao could have so many aircraft in service at the same time. After all, although the cost is cheap, having too many might not be sustainable.

Based on the price Lynch provided, two thousand aircraft already cost twenty billion.

If this number is increased tenfold, that would be two hundred billion.

You also need to consider organizing tens of thousands of pilots and various additional expenses. Even the Federation couldn’t sustain such a plan. This is clearly false intelligence.

The Strategic Command analysis suggests that this is likely a smokescreen released by Peng Jieao to increase pressure on countries!

But he didn’t have time to say it before being stopped by a lieutenant general...