At half past seven, Mu Haoyang asked Zhang Yuting to dispatch the second batch of reconnaissance aircraft.

This time, the j-32 was used, and each fighter carried two interceptor missiles and two fighting missiles. The same number of j-32bs were also arranged to refuel the reconnaissance aircraft in the air to ensure that the reconnaissance aircraft could penetrate at full speed when intercepted and not get entangled with enemy aircraft. However, each aircraft carrier only dispatched four j-32s, and all were sent to the places where the first batch of reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted.

All these reconnaissance aircraft are in formation, that is, each four are forming a reconnaissance team.

In this way, even if it is intercepted by Indian Air Force fighter jets, it can ensure that at least one of them can penetrate and complete the reconnaissance mission arranged by Mu Haoyang.

After the reconnaissance plane took off, Mu Haoyang ordered preparations before the attack.

The main purpose is to check the key equipment on the plane and replenish fuel. At that time, Mu Haoyang did not order the loading of ammunition. If the second round of reconnaissance failed, the third round of reconnaissance had to be arranged, so there was no need to rush to hang ammunition for the fighter plane, and it would not take much time to load the ammunition.

At this time, Simba had already issued a turn order.

The battlefield situation is already very obvious. The task force must be somewhere south. Mu Haoyang judged that the Indian fleet is in the northern waters of the Maldives Islands, so he focused on searching for this direction. After the reconnaissance aircraft is intercepted, the task force will definitely dispatch more reconnaissance aircraft. As long as the Indian fleet is found, the task force will launch an attack. Simba is not afraid to fight with the task force, but he has a lot of chance of winning under the cover of the air force, but he hopes to attack the task force more than to lose both sides.

To this end, he ordered the Indian fleet to turn north to evade and leave the Maldives Islands as fast as possible.

In his opinion, as long as the task force's reconnaissance aircraft did not discover the Indian fleet, Mu Haoyang would believe that the Indian fleet was sailing west, that is, it was heading north of Digo Garcia. In this way, the task force would not stop but would continue to sail west.

In other words, Simba still has the opportunity to attack the task force on the fifteenth.

Of course, the key is that we must avoid the reconnaissance aircraft sent by the task force.

Fortunately, the Indian fleet happened to be in the northern waters of the Maldives, very close to the Jiude Strait. It only takes two hours to sail north to leave the Maldives Islands.

At that time, Simba was very sure of avoiding the task force's reconnaissance aircraft.

The reason is: if the task force wants to avoid the Indian Navy's anti-submarine patrol aircraft, it will not be too close to the Maldives Islands, but will maintain a certain distance. The distance from the Indian fleet must be more than 1,500 kilometers. Therefore, as long as the Indian fleet avoids north in time, it is very likely to avoid the task force's reconnaissance aircraft.

According to Simba's idea, as long as it persists until dark, the Indian fleet will move south at full speed to shorten the distance from the task force so as to launch an attack in the early morning of the fifteenth. At that time, the Indian Navy can also organize anti-submarine patrol aircraft to assist in the attack on the task force.

In fact, this was indeed the case at that time.

The task force is about 800 kilometers away from Gan Island, the southernmost end of the Maldives Islands, and about 2100 kilometers away from the Ihawandifulu Atoll, the northernmost end of the Maldives Islands. The Indian fleet is not far south of the atoll, so the straight-line distance from the Indian fleet is more than 200 kilometers. In other words, even if the Indian fleet does not move northward, the reconnaissance aircraft sent by Mu Haoyang can only be discovered by starting a fire-controlled radar for sea searches. If the Indian fleet turns north, the reconnaissance aircraft are threatened by air defense fighters and cannot fly at high altitudes. Even if the fire-controlled radar is activated, the Indian fleet may not be able to be discovered and there will be no gains.

In the second round of reconnaissance, all sixteen reconnaissance aircraft sent by Mu Haoyang were intercepted.

Although the j-32 won a great victory in the air battle and shot down nine Indian fighters without any losses, it also consumed a lot of fuel in the air battle, and high-speed penetration was extremely fuel-intensive, so these reconnaissance aircraft immediately turned back after reaching the maximum reconnaissance radius of 2,000 kilometers. Of course, the pilots also had some concerns. After all, they did not receive support from early warning aircraft, and they might encounter Indian fighters when they returned. If they exchange fire with Indian fighters again, even if they could win, there would not be enough fuel and refueling opportunities.

As a result, these reconnaissance planes failed to detect the Indian fleet.

Before ten o'clock, when the reconnaissance plane had passed the time required to reach the maximum reconnaissance radius and had not sent back the reconnaissance report, Zhang Yuting sent the third batch of reconnaissance planes.

This time, the one who was dispatched was j-32b.

Although it is a multi-purpose fighter, the j-32b's air combat capability is not bad, at least not worse than the f-35i, so each reconnaissance aircraft carries four air-to-air missiles.

In this way, without the support of a tanker and high-speed penetration at the end, the maximum reconnaissance radius of these reconnaissance aircraft will not exceed 1,700 kilometers.

At that time, the aviation combat staff arranged reconnaissance tasks very flexibly, that is, the reconnaissance radius must reach 2,000 kilometers without being intercepted. Only after being intercepted can the reconnaissance radius be shortened to 1,700 kilometers, or the pilot decides it at his own discretion, based on the actual situation.

However, this batch of reconnaissance aircraft must complete the reconnaissance mission after twelve o'clock at the earliest.

After the third batch of reconnaissance aircraft took off, the first batch of reconnaissance aircraft returned one after another.

The losses were not large. In the first few rounds of battles, only one J-32b was shot down and one was injured. In the end, he had to give up his landing and make a forced landing near the aircraft carrier.

At this time, the atmosphere in the fleet was very tense, and the officers and soldiers were also a little irritable and uneasy.

Everyone knows that the Indian fleet is somewhere north, but without accurate tactical information, it is impossible to launch an attack, so they can only stare at me.

But Mu Haoyang was very calm and seemed not anxious at all.

Zhang Yuting was used to it. In the naval battles against Japan, Mu Haoyang was very calm, and even when he suddenly encountered the Japanese fleet, he was not panicked. However, in the eyes of other staff members, especially those who served after 2035, this was not called calmness, but more like a lordless person, or he did not understand the situation of the war enough to make accurate judgments in time.

In fact, Mu Haoyang has made an accurate judgment.

Before lunch, he called Zhang Yuting to the commander's office.

"After twelve o'clock, let the fleet reduce its speed to twenty knots, arrange two more reconnaissances in the afternoon, and then let the pilot relax and prepare for night battles."

"The night battle?"

Mu Haoyang nodded and said, "I have enough reason to believe that I will fight the Indian fleet tonight."

Zhang Yuting frowned, as if he didn't understand Mu Haoyang's meaning, because until now, they still don't know the exact location of the Indian fleet. Obviously, even if two rounds of reconnaissance are conducted in the afternoon, it is not necessary to find the Indian fleet. How can they fight the Indian fleet in the decisive battle with the Indian fleet?

"Old Zhang, we have to change our position and consider the problem."

"How to change?"

"From Simba's standpoint, consider where the Indian fleet will go." Mu Haoyang lit a cigarette and said, "Now, we can at least be sure that the Indian fleet is somewhere north of the Maldives Islands. It may have left, but it will not be too far from the Maldives Islands. Maybe it is in the Kowloon Strait or the Octave Strait. More importantly, so far, he doesn't know where we are."

Zhang Yuting nodded, indicating that he understood Mu Haoyang's meaning.

"Maybe, the Indian Navy will dispatch anti-submarine patrol aircraft to find us, but we can also expand the air defense circle and prevent the anti-submarine patrol aircraft from approaching us. More importantly, Simba will make an extremely important judgment, thereby limiting the activities of the anti-submarine patrol aircraft."

"What's the judgment?"

"What should we do next if we don't find the Indian fleet?"

“Go to Digo Garcia.”

"That's right. It can be said that this is our only choice and the right choice made under normal circumstances, and Simba will definitely be able to think of it."

"You mean..."

"Obviously, as long as we go to Digo Garcia, the Indian fleet will have a chance to attack us."

"How to attack?"

Mu Haoyang smiled and said, "What is the purpose of our trip to Digo Garcia?"

"Of course it's intercepting the U.S. fleet."

"So, where would you let the Indian fleet go if you were Simba?"

"this……"

"Is it the north of Digo Garcia?"

Zhang Yuting was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"That is to say, after we arrive near Digo Garcia, we will focus on searching for the northern waters, striving to kill the Indian fleet before the US fleet sets off, and let the United States give up the attempt to transport arms to India. Because we do not have a few anti-submarine patrol aircraft deployed in Pakistan, we can only rely on the fleet's own reconnaissance power, and it is impossible to cover everything." Mu Haoyang paused for a moment and said, "If the Indian fleet appeared in the southern waters of the Maldives Islands, that is, to the east of us, what would happen?"

"This..." Zhang Yuting immediately frowned.

"It is obvious that we cannot find the Indian fleet north of Digo Garcia, but will be hit suddenly sometime tomorrow morning."

"You mean, will the Indian fleet go south tonight?"

Mu Haoyang nodded and said, "According to the speed of thirty knots, if the Indian fleet wants to shorten the distance to within 1,500 kilometers before dawn, then it must turn south before this evening and enter the Mailedou Islands when it is dark, so that it can sail south for more than 500 kilometers in the next ten hours and dispatch reconnaissance planes to find us tomorrow morning."

"So, should we wait here?"

Mu Haoyang smiled and said, "It's not just waiting for the rabbit, but counter-ambushing, taking advantage of the great opportunity of the Indian fleet moving south at full speed tonight to give a head-on blow."

"Then, we have to be prepared."

"Of course, you have to prepare, and you have to prepare for the Indian fleet commander."
Chapter completed!