At around 6 p.m. on the 10th, Mu Haoyang received the latest battle report from the East Indian Ocean Fleet Command.

At about 6:40 local time, twenty minutes before Mu Haoyang received the battle report, Indian fighter jets bombed Haoyang Port and Yuelong Air Force Base again. During the battle, the air defense forces shot down three Indian fighters and confirmed that they were carrier-based fighters of the Indian Navy.

Apparently, the Indian fleet is still sailing eastward and is clearing obstacles to the decisive battle with the task force.

The bombing was very fierce, and the losses at Haoyang Port and Yuelong Air Force Base were very heavy, and even the nearby Marine Corps camps were bombed. According to the report of the East Indian Ocean Fleet Command, Indian fighter jets were divided into three batches and entered from the southwest, with a total of about 200 aircraft.

Judging from the few bombs that did not explode, it can also be confirmed that they are Indian carrier-based aviation forces.

The news has been very clear, and the Indian fleet must be near the Andaman-Nicobar Islands.

"From the bombing of Galle Port, according to different navigation speeds, it can be roughly judged that the distance between the Indian fleet and the Southern Andaman Islands is between 500 and 1,200 kilometers. The specific location should be southwest of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands, about 3,000 kilometers away from us." Zhang Yuting circled a sea area on the chart with a yellow pencil and said, "It is exactly consistent with our previous judgment. The Indian fleet is coming. As early as tomorrow morning and as late as tomorrow evening, our reconnaissance planes will discover the Indian fleet."

Mu Haoyang did not speak, but stared at the chart intently.

"I think the possibility of encountering at night is relatively high. After all, the Indian fleet also knows when we have passed the Sunda Strait, so we will try our best to avoid fighting with us during the day." Zhang Yuting put down his pencil and said, "If I were the commander of the Indian fleet, I would slow down at this time and strive to encounter us in the evening, because the combat efficiency will not be much higher when launching an attack at night. To put it bluntly, the commander of the Indian fleet believes that we will not send fighter jets to attack the fleet two thousand kilometers away at night, but will lock the attack time in the early morning. Therefore, the Indian fleet will have one night to shorten the distance with us and strive to launch an attack at the same time in the early morning."

Mu Haoyang smiled, but still didn't speak.

"Although it is difficult to attack at night, but..."

"Old Zhang, you have a prerequisite for your judgment."

"What?"

"That is, the commander of the Indian fleet is determined to die with us, and he is not very sure."

Zhang Yuting was stunned and didn't react at all.

"In terms of the combat capabilities of both sides' carrier-based aviation forces, even if they launch an attack with us at the same time, the Indian fleet's chances of victory are not very good, and it can even be said to be a death sentence. Don't forget that we have enough j-32 and j-32b, and the performance of j-25p is not worse than that of f-35m, so we are confident that we will withstand the attack of Indian carrier-based aviation forces when attacking the Indian fleet. On the contrary, the Indian fleet is not so sure. If we launch an attack with all our strength, we will not be able to withstand our attacks, and if we defend with all our strength, we will not be able to pose a threat to us." Mu Haoyang glanced at Zhang Yuting and said, "If I were the commander of the Indian fleet, I would try my best to attack the task force, instead of using all the capital of the Indian Navy to engage in an unsure decisive battle."

"this……"

"It is undeniable that as long as we are hit hard, the Indian fleet will achieve a tactical victory, but whether it can achieve a strategic victory depends on another condition."

“What conditions?”

"Will the United States participate in the war because of this?"

Zhang Yuting frowned and waited for Mu Haoyang to continue talking.

"If the United States participates in the war, India will achieve strategic victory, because the powerful US Navy can not only restrain our Pacific Fleet, but also force us to give up South Asia and first withstand the US offensive in the Western Pacific. If the United States does not participate in the war, the result of both losses will be a strategic failure for the Indian Navy, because the Indian Navy cannot obtain five aircraft carriers again, and we can use four aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet to regain sea control and implement a strategic blockade on India."

"If we get hit hard, the possibility of the United States joining the war will not be much smaller."

"That's right, but who can guarantee it?" Mu Haoyang smiled and said, "The US authorities have not yet expressed their opinions on what happened at noon. It has shown that the United States is very hesitant about whether to participate in the war, which will inevitably affect India's determination to war."

"It will also have an impact on the combat operations of the Indian fleet."

Mu Haoyang nodded and said, "In this way, the Indian fleet will be more conservative when choosing tactics, rather than fighting with us to the death."

"this……"

Mu Haoyang did not continue this topic, but pointed to the chart and said, "Is this our warship?"

Zhang Yuting glanced and found Mu Haoyang pointing at an icon representing Chinese warships. "The fast combat support ship of the East Indian Ocean Fleet set out from Haoyang Port on February 7, and plans to provide aviation fuel for the fleet. After the war broke out, the East Indian Fleet Command ordered it to turn south to avoid being attacked by the Indian Air Force."

"I'm still heading south now?"

Zhang Yuting nodded and said, "If you sail at full speed, you will turn to sail east early tomorrow morning and then return to the South China Sea from the Sunda Strait."

Mu Haoyang nodded thoughtfully, picked up the ruler and measured the distance.

"It's about 3,500 kilometers away from us." Zhang Yuting said the result directly. Navy generals like him who were promoted from staff positions have the ability to read charts that are not comparable to those of generals like Mu Haoyang.

"It's just within the flight distance of the carrier-based transport aircraft."

"You want to send someone over?"

"It's not to send someone over, but to pass an order." Mu Haoyang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You go and arrange a few carrier-based transport aircraft to make sure one can fly over and return to the fleet."

"In this case, at least four transport aircraft are required to perform three partner aerial refueling."

Mu Haoyang nodded and said, "The order is to turn back to Haoyang Port immediately and send a combat command with a long-wave radio."

"What order?"

“Provide fuel supply to the task force.”

"this……"

"Go and arrange it first."

Zhang Yuting didn't ask much, called the combat staff and quickly gave instructions.

"You must be asking, why do I make such an arrangement?"

Zhang Yuting smiled, of course he wanted to know why.

"In the past two days, I have been thinking about a question, why can the Indian Air Force launch a precise surprise attack on our two Indian Ocean fleets?" Mu Haoyang leaned on the chart table and took out a cigarette. "Obviously, the intelligence support provided by the United States is very critical, but the problem is that the two Indian Ocean fleets kept radio silent while performing training missions and only used directional communication equipment. More importantly, before being attacked, the two fleets had left the training waters and were sailing southeastward, preparing to meet with the fast combat support ships. In other words, even if the US submarine discovered our fleet, it was impossible to accurately determine its whereabouts, and it was even more impossible to follow them. In this way, the Indian Air Force must have grasped the whereabouts of the fleet in other ways."

"You mean..."

"It is obvious that the intelligence agencies in India or the United States discovered our fast combat support ship, and intercepted the telegrams sent by the combat support ship, and obtained key information from it. Although it is impossible to know whether our password has been cracked by the enemy's intelligence agencies, according to the Military Intelligence Agency, the passwords we used cannot be cracked at all, but what happened before has proved that there is a problem with our passwords and that the enemy can obtain some crucial information from our radio communications."

Zhang Yuting nodded thoughtfully, expressing his agreement with Mu Haoyang's judgment.

"If similar information is intercepted again, how do you think the commander of the Indian fleet would feel?"

"this……"

Mu Haoyang smiled and said, "I can't guarantee anything else, but one thing is clear, that is, launching an attack when we use our fuel supply is the key to the Indian fleet's complete victory. As long as the commander of the Indian fleet is not too conservative, but hopes to win a decisive victory, the Indian fleet will not miss this opportunity, but will try every means to seize this opportunity."

"In other words, the Indian fleet will not hide, but will come to fight us in a decisive battle?"

Mu Haoyang nodded and said, "What we need is to let the Indian fleet come and fight with the decisive battle. As long as the distance is close enough, everything else will be easy to say."

"Then, we have to reschedule the reconnaissance plan."

"There is no need to be so anxious. If my judgment is correct, I will not encounter the Indian fleet until the morning after tomorrow."

"The morning after tomorrow?"

Mu Haoyang smiled and said, "Do you think the Indian fleet bombed South Andaman Island this evening just to eliminate worries?"

"this……"

"With knowing that we have entered the Indian Ocean, the Indian fleet bombing South Andaman Island is equivalent to actively exposing its whereabouts, allowing us to roughly determine its active area and arrange reconnaissance aircraft in a targeted manner. Even if we have not reached the combat waters, we can still use anti-submarine patrol aircraft or even strategic bombers to perform reconnaissance missions. As long as we are exposed, the Indian fleet will be doomed."

"you mean……"

"Obviously, the Indian fleet is not within the sea area you judge, but is further away from Southern Andaman Island. Maybe some time this morning, and at the latest this afternoon." Mu Haoyang marked a route on the chart, "Only by moving south in time can we avoid our edge. Moreover, by bombing Southern Andaman Island, we will find the decisive battle of the Indian fleet based on wrong judgments, and we will enter the sea area expected by the Indian fleet. To put it bluntly, if we are first found by the Indian fleet, the Indian fleet's chances of winning will be greatly improved."

Zhang Yuting was secretly shocked, and had to admire Mu Haoyang's judgment.
Chapter completed!