The Brave
The Chinese soldiers nearby looked faintly startled. The group captain thought that they had probably never seen a grey-bearded old man still flying fighters. Fair enough; Chinese soldiers did not wear beards.
"Hello," the group captain said, jumping down from the metal ladder. As he stripped off his anti-g combat vest with its dangling oxygen hoses, the onlookers saw his rank insignia. For a man of his age, the group captain did not seem especially distinguished. He shook hands with those gathered around him. The highest-ranking member of the Chinese party, he noted, was a PLA Army lieutenant colonel. This close to the Line of Control, the purpose of their visit was presumably to assess the Indian Army. The lieutenant colonel now appeared to have something to say.
"Group Captain, we heard about today's fighting. The Indian Air Force sent up Su-30s." The Chinese lieutenant colonel put his question in English. It was remarkably direct.
"They send up Su-30s every day. Nothing new about that; they just played a trick today, heh. The worst of it isn't even that. The Indian XVI Corps,1 southeast of Machhal valley, could come across at any moment. Their engineers are building roads and bridges, and there are large numbers of shallow-depth strongpoints. I've never seen them work this efficiently. But, my friend, I can't say too much. I can only report to my superiors." The group captain had mentioned the Indian ground forces deliberately. It had the desired effect: the Chinese lieutenant colonel immediately turned and exchanged a few words in private with his companions.
"Hello. I'm a staff officer with the Chinese Army. My name is Lin Huaisheng."2 The lieutenant colonel introduced himself with some formality.
"And I am the commanding officer of No. 26 Squadron. Mohammed Sami."
They shook hands again, then walked side by side past the aircraft. Sami patted the Thunder's fuselage as they passed; the skin was still hot.
"A fine aircraft. But Air Headquarters3 wants to treat her as a ground-attack platform. That's a mistake."
"You mean this little aeroplane is better suited to air combat?" Lin Huaisheng asked.
"Exactly. Though it would need more investment. An electro-optical sensor, for instance; very useful in mountain warfare. And an aerial refuelling probe. The staff people spend too much money on the Falcons' F-16s,4 and that way the Americans know our every move." The group captain seemed almost too casual, openly criticising Air Headquarters in front of a foreigner. Or perhaps he was saying all this to Lin Huaisheng quite deliberately.
"Group Captain, what about in the ground-attack role?"
"Frankly, not good. At present it can only carry 500-pound dumb bombs. There's no laser targeting pod, so it can't strike small or moving targets. The payload is too light; its sortie efficiency is certainly worse than the Mirage V."
"Hm, it really is quite small." Lin Huaisheng nodded in agreement. He knew nothing about air force aircraft, in truth; he simply felt this machine was not much larger than the J-6s or Q-5s5 one commonly saw back home.
"You have a more capable multirole fighter. The J-10,6 for example. Greater payload."
"You've been to China?"
"Every year. Chengdu, Zhuhai, and… Shenyang."7 The group captain said this with a smile.
"Ah, I see." Lin Huaisheng noticed Pakistani ground crew preparing to remove the missiles from the wingtips.
"What happened to those?"
"French equipment. Always reliable, until today. These Magic missiles had a problem; probably a fault in the seeker-head cooling system. Couldn't achieve lock. That Indian pilot was lucky. We bought these missiles a few years ago from Libya, along with the Mirage Vs. Gaddafi had the original factory batch numbers scrubbed off, so we had to take his word on the shelf life. I've been to Libya too. Their weapons maintenance leaves a great deal to be desired. Incidentally, the fuzes have been safed, but we should still keep our distance."
"Er… Group Captain, you said the Indian Army is preparing an offensive along the border?" Lin Huaisheng quickened his pace to keep up with Sami, steering the conversation back to the Indian ground forces.
"I'd imagine your satellites can see it more clearly than I can. The Indians are rushing to improve the roads in the valleys. Ordinarily they're not nearly this industrious, especially in April. Don't you find that strange?"
"Certainly somewhat strange. I've only heard that the UN envoy arrives the day after tomorrow. Perhaps a new settlement between your two countries can be reached." Lin Huaisheng brought up the United Nations deliberately; it made him appear less interested in the military situation than he actually was. In reality, he did not believe for a moment that the UN envoy could restrain the BJP's new Prime Minister.8
"My friend, if envoys were always useful, what would they need you and me for?" The group captain said drily.
"By the way, my friend, do you know a Major Song Ning?"9 Sami asked, changing the subject.
"Song Ning? Who?" Lin Huaisheng looked around at his companions. They were all shaking their heads. None of them had heard the name.
"A Chinese Air Force major currently visiting our 33rd Wing's base. He brought two J-10s for test flights. I simply thought, being in the Chinese military, you might know one another."
"Group Captain, we have an army of several million." Everyone laughed at that. Then they climbed into separate vehicles and drove off in different directions.
Northern India, Bareilly Air Force Base
Wing Commander Mohsin sat behind his desk, visibly furious. Flying Officers Goyal and Jafar stood at attention before him, clearly being dressed down.
"Flying Officer, why did you go off the air?" The Wing Commander tossed his cap onto the desk.
"Terrain, sir. The ridgeline blocked radio communications."
"Terrain? A fine excuse. Let me ask you this: do you remember the rules of engagement?" Wing Commander Mohsin pressed on. The question was an obvious trap, yet one had no choice but to step into it.
"Yes, sir. Long-range attacks only."
"Then why didn't you follow them?"
"Sir, because long-range attacks don't work. The Lions always come back empty-handed. So…" Goyal immediately threw No. 31 Squadron in front of himself as a shield.
"So you took it upon yourself to cross the border and get into a low-altitude dogfight?"
"Yes, sir. That's how it was. That's what I was thinking at the time."
"You nearly got a three-billion-rupee aircraft10 shot down by flak. And that's before we count your two necks." The Wing Commander picked up a handkerchief and mopped the sweat from his forehead. If he had actually lost a Su-30, the responsibility would fall on him too. The thought alone made him nervous.
"I didn't think of that at the time, but I know it now." Goyal answered. Jafar beside him said nothing.
"All right. Tell me about the enemy."
"Extremely cunning. When we found them, they were exploiting the terrain to fly nap-of-the-earth."
"The first one you knocked down was a Mirage III?"
"No. I believe it was a Mirage V; it looked larger."
"And the one that got away?"
"I'm certain it was a new type of aircraft. It closely resembled the Thunder, the one they got from the Chinese."
"Now that's intelligence worth studying. You're certain you didn't hit it?"
"Sir, I cannot confirm either way. When the radar lost the target, two R-27 missiles were still in pursuit, but I did not see him shot down." Goyal phrased this deliberately; it sounded as though he had scored one and a half kills. He did not want to be on the receiving end of a one-sided bollocking.
"I believe this calls for severe disciplinary action. That will have to wait until the CO returns from Bangalore, where he's attending the Tejas11 commissioning ceremony. The first priority of any military is strict discipline, not combat results. That is especially true in our 13th Wing." Goyal pursed his lips while the Wing Commander spoke with his head down. He was not hiding his contempt particularly well.
The telephone on the desk rang. The Wing Commander picked up the receiver. "Squadron commander, outside line."
"Who is it?"
"A director from the Ministry of Defence. His name's Rujadnahan."12
"The Ministry of Defence?" Mohsin had plainly never heard the name. The Ministry of Defence had never telephoned him before, either.
"No. 24 Squadron, go ahead." Mohsin took the receiver, still mopping the sweat. This April was unbearably hot.
"Oh? The Ministry of Defence?"
"Yes, sir. They're standing right in front of me. I'm currently considering the form of punishment."
"Yes."
"That's correct." Mohsin nodded repeatedly as he answered.
"What? The Defence Minister wants to see them? What is this about?" Mohsin answered, astonished.
Although Goyal could not hear the other end of the line, he stole a glance at his partner, a faintly malicious smile forming on his face. A few seconds earlier, it had begun to dawn on him that matters might be taking a turn for the better.
"The thing is, the second kill cannot be confirmed… I think… it would indeed be very difficult to verify, including the wreckage of the first aircraft, which fell on the western side of the Control Line."
"That's right, sir. The pilot reports that when they disengaged, the two R-27 missiles were still in pursuit… yes… as you say, this type of missile has a very long range… but it is a semi-active type…"
The person on the other end cut the Wing Commander off. The director was plainly not interested in an explanation of missile performance.
"Understood. I'll do as you say."
Wing Commander Mohsin slowly set the receiver down, then sat staring at the little flag on his desk for a while.
"Listen. You two idiots go and press your uniforms."
"Yes, sir."
"Tomorrow morning a Dornier 22813 liaison aircraft is coming to take you to New Delhi."
"Where, sir?"
"To New Delhi. To the Ministry of Defence. You two idiots have struck it lucky. The Defence Minister is going to present you with the Vir Chakra.14 You may even meet the Prime Minister. I find it difficult to understand, but I must say it is, of course, good news for the squadron."
"So we won't be punished, then?" Goyal asked, still pushing his luck.
Wing Commander Mohsin rolled his eyes and waved the two young men out.
To Mohsin's mind, an absurdity of this order could only mean one thing: the restless Ministry of Defence had decided to escalate in earnest. As soon as the possibility occurred to him, the Wing Commander felt the scar on his forehead begin to throb. It brought back memories of years ago, when he had been about Goyal's age, and two F-16s from PAF No. 11 Squadron15 had pursued him over the Kargil sector. He could still remember it vividly: the enemy's radar holding a continuous lock he could not shake, the piercing shriek of the Sirena16 warning system filling the cockpit, and then his desperate pull on the stick, hauling the nose up into a near-suicidal evasive break. The Sidewinder chasing his MiG-2317 could not follow the manoeuvre, but the proximity fuze detonated the warhead ten metres away regardless, and the blast shattered his canopy and left him with the scar on his forehead. To this day the scene still jolted him awake at night.
1. XVI Corps (第16集团军): The original Chinese uses 第16集团军, literally "16th Army Group." This corresponds to the Indian Army's XVI Corps, a strike corps headquartered at Nagrota near Jammu, tasked with offensive operations in the western theatre. It is one of the Indian Army's three designated strike corps. ↩
2. Lin Huaisheng (林淮生): A PLA Army lieutenant colonel serving as a staff officer. His name is composed of common Chinese given-name elements: 淮 (Huai, as in the Huai River) and 生 (sheng, "life" or "born"). His presence near the LoC as part of a military observation delegation is consistent with the Sino-Pakistani defence relationship described throughout the novel. ↩
3. Air Headquarters (空军参谋部): The Chinese 空军参谋部 literally means "Air Force Staff Department." In the PAF, the equivalent body is Air Headquarters (AHQ), Islamabad. Sami's criticism that AHQ treats the JF-17 as a ground-attack aircraft reflects a real doctrinal tension in the programme's early years: the PAF conceived the JF-17 as a BVR-capable air superiority fighter to replace the Mirage III/V and F-7, but budgetary constraints and modest payload led some planners to view it primarily as a strike platform. ↩
4. The Falcons' F-16s (猎鹰中队的F-16): See C1N10. Under the terms of the F-16 sale, the United States retained end-use monitoring rights, including the ability to inspect the aircraft and their employment. This gave Washington visibility into PAF deployments that did not apply to Chinese-origin equipment. ↩
5. J-6 and Q-5 (歼6, 强5): The Shenyang J-6 (Chinese-built MiG-19) and Nanchang Q-5 Fantan, both PLA Air Force mainstays through the 1990s and 2000s. That Lin Huaisheng uses these as his mental benchmark for aircraft size suggests a ground officer whose familiarity with air assets is limited to the older types still prevalent at Chinese bases. ↩
6. J-10 (歼10): The Chengdu J-10, a single-engine delta-canard multirole fighter developed for the PLA Air Force. Pakistan expressed interest in acquiring the type (under the designation FC-20) as a higher-end complement to the JF-17, though the deal never materialised. Its greater payload would address many of the JF-17 Block I's limitations as a strike aircraft. ↩
7. Chengdu, Zhuhai, and Shenyang (成都、珠海、沈阳): Chengdu is home to the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, co-developer of the JF-17. Zhuhai hosts the biennial Airshow China. Shenyang is the seat of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. That a PAF group captain visits all three annually indicates deep institutional ties between the two air forces. ↩
8. BJP's new Prime Minister (印度人民党的这位新总理): The Bharatiya Janata Party. The novel imagines a BJP prime minister in power during the post-Mumbai-massacre escalation (see C1N8), one whom Lin Huaisheng judges the UN incapable of restraining. ↩
9. Major Song Ning (宋宁少校): A PLA Air Force major visiting PAF Base Kamra (33rd Wing; see C1N12) with two J-10 fighters for what was originally an annual exchange exercise before the escalation interrupted it. ↩
10. Three billion rupees (30亿卢比): The approximate unit cost of a Su-30MKI at the time of the novel's setting. Broadly consistent with the reported per-unit cost of Indian-assembled Su-30MKIs produced by HAL under licence, which ranged from approximately US$55–65 million depending on production batch and exchange rate. ↩
11. Tejas (光辉): The HAL Tejas (Sanskrit: "Radiance"), India's indigenous light combat aircraft. The Chinese 光辉 is a direct translation. The CO's absence at a Tejas commissioning ceremony in Bangalore, home of HAL and the Aeronautical Development Agency, places the novel's timeline close to the type's initial squadron induction. ↩
12. Rujadnahan (卢贾德纳罕): The Chinese phonetic rendering is Lǔjiādénàhǎn. As with other names in the novel, this is a transliteration that does not map precisely to any single common Indian name. Likely intended as something along the lines of "Rujadhanan"; the exact original is irrecoverable from the Chinese phonetics alone. ↩
13. Dornier 228 (多尼尔228): The HAL-Dornier 228, a twin-turboprop light transport manufactured under licence by HAL in Kanpur. The IAF operates the type in the communications and liaison role. ↩
14. Vir Chakra (勇士轮形勋章): The Chinese literally translates as "Brave Warrior Wheel-Shaped Medal." The Vir Chakra (Sanskrit: "Wheel of the Brave") is India's third-highest wartime gallantry decoration, after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra. Established in 1950, it is awarded for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy. The chapter title, 勇士 ("The Brave"), references the decoration's name. ↩
15. No. 11 Squadron (第11中队): PAF No. 11 Squadron "Arrows," the first PAF unit to operate the F-16, receiving Block 15 aircraft in 1983 at Sargodha. In the 1999 Kargil War, the squadron flew combat air patrols along the Pakistani side of the LoC, consistent with Mohsin's memory of being chased by their F-16s. ↩
16. Sirena (塞琳娜): The SPO-10 Sirena-3M, a Soviet-era radar warning receiver fitted to the MiG-23 family. The system provided basic threat-warning capability with an audio warning tone. The Chinese rendering 塞琳娜 (Sàilínnà) is a phonetic approximation. ↩
17. MiG-23 (米格23): The IAF operated approximately 30 MiG-23MF interceptors and 40 MiG-23BN ground-attack variants, inducted between 1980 and 1985. The type struggled against the F-16 due to its inferior radar and limited missile options. Mohsin's backstory as a former MiG-23 pilot who survived an F-16 engagement explains both his habitual caution as a commander and his anxiety at the prospect of losing aircraft under his watch. The IAF phased out the MiG-23 by 2007. ↩