Chapter 16

The act of "shooting down planes," in later generations, is a move rich with imagination, a favorite of countless otaku men. Now, when Muhammad mentioned shooting down planes, Khwaja's eyes immediately lit up. Last time, when they shot at the tank, Khwaja thought he was bold enough. None of the surrounding guerrilla groups dared to actively seek out the Soviet tank units; only he did! Who knew that this Pakistani instructor was even bolder, directly stating the purpose this time: to shoot down planes! What planes? Of course, it was the Mi-24 Hind that had just followed them, firing several bursts of bullets, knocking down a large tree, and almost crushing their truck. Now, to bring down that flying menace, Khwaja felt a surge of excitement. For the guerrillas, the threat posed by the Hind was far greater than that of a tank. Tanks were formidable, but guerrillas could escape by hiding in small paths. However, helicopters flew in the sky, much faster than the guerrillas' legs, so if discovered, the chances of a heroic death were high. Khwaja had thought about shooting down helicopters before but couldn't come up with a good plan. However, Muhammad was a man who constantly created miracles. If he said he would shoot down a plane, he would definitely succeed! Thinking of this, Khwaja gripped the AK-74 rifle he had just received and followed along. Muhammad ran along the same path they had taken, quickly reaching the edge of the forest. The rumbling sound in the distance was getting closer. Muhammad looked back; this time, there were twenty-four guerrillas who went with him to attack the outpost, one of whom had been killed, leaving twenty-three. Now, they had three captured 12.7mm M1938 DshKM heavy machine guns, one PPK light machine gun, which required seven people to operate. The remaining sixteen people each held an AKM or AK-74 assault rifle, set to full-auto mode. This firepower was enough to destroy a helicopter. Since they were at the edge of the forest with sparse trees, they could clearly see the sky above. "We will form three rows, with a five-meter interval. Each row will have one heavy machine gun and five assault rifles, with a five-meter interval between each person," Muhammad said. "The extra people and the light machine gun will be in the last row." After hearing Muhammad's plan, they understood his tactic: using multiple people to form a wall of fire, covering the helicopter with a rain of metal! In fact, this tactic was not Muhammad's invention but was developed by the Afghan guerrillas themselves. In later movies, it was common to see scenes of RPG rocket launchers being used to shoot down enemy helicopters, such as in "Black Hawk Down," which was very classic. Unfortunately, these were Hollywood blockbusters. In reality, using RPGs to shoot down helicopters was as likely as using a cannon to shoot a mosquito. The accuracy of RPGs was low, and they could only succeed in hitting a tank at close range. Shooting down a fast-moving helicopter was almost impossible. The most suitable weapon for shooting down helicopters was the American Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile, a formidable tool against helicopters. Unfortunately, the U.S. had not yet planned to supply these weapons to the guerrillas. Therefore, they had almost no suitable weapons for shooting down helicopters. In this situation, the guerrillas adapted to their environment and invented this method of using a human metal storm to shoot down helicopters. Using dozens of people, they formed a square formation, waiting for the helicopter to fly over, then firing simultaneously, using a barrage of bullets to attack the helicopter. Although the Mi-24 Hind, a specialized attack helicopter, had armor on critical areas like the belly, cockpit, and engine, hitting certain specific areas could still bring it down. Especially, while the AK-74 and AKM could not penetrate the Hind's armor, the 12.7mm heavy machine guns could cause significant damage. Muhammad was very confident about this. His truck had disappeared into the forest, and the tire tracks on the road were still visible. The helicopter would definitely fly low, then over the forest, searching for targets. Therefore, ambushing here was the best choice! Of course, if the Hind discovered them, the consequences would be severe. The Hind's rockets would undoubtedly rain down, and with each explosion, they would all be finished. In fact, Muhammad knew he had no choice. If they didn't shoot down the helicopter, they couldn't escape, even if they abandoned the truck. Once they left the forest, they would be mercilessly eliminated by the helicopter. Even if they tried to escape at night, the Soviet ground forces would arrive, and no one would be able to escape. Muhammad clenched his teeth; the rumbling sound was getting closer. "No target found, target disappeared," the weapons operator said amidst the roar of the powerful turboshaft engine. He had the best view and the best eyesight, and he was the one who first spotted the truck. However, after the truck fired, the pilot made a mistake, pulling up, increasing the throttle, and banking the helicopter. After pulling up, the pilot ordered, "Prepare the rockets." The UV-32-57 rocket launchers on both wings carried 32 57mm rockets, enough to turn the truck into scrap. "Already prepared, just about to fire," the pilot said, but the weapons operator's voice came through, clearly dissatisfied. In fact, he had been ready to fire while tracking the truck, but just as he was about to press the trigger, the helicopter made a high-G maneuver. Fortunately, he didn't press it, or the rockets would have been fired into the sky. Hearing the weapons operator's words, the pilot realized his mistake and repeated the maneuver, turning the Hind back into the attack course. However, the truck that had just been there had vanished. How could a truck disappear in such a short time? The pilot first climbed higher and surveyed the area from above, suspecting the small forest. However, from a high altitude, it was hard to see clearly, so he had to lower the helicopter, flying so low that the weapons operator could almost see the tire tracks on the ground. Sure enough, it had entered the small forest! "We'll use the rockets to cover the small forest," the weapons operator said through gritted teeth. Below was a dense forest, not a grassy area. If people were hiding in the grass, the helicopter could lower its altitude and use the rotor wash to blow the grass aside and find them. But in the forest, it was much harder to search. If it were ten years later, with advanced technology, they could use infrared devices to detect the truck from a high altitude, as the truck's engine would be hot after a long run. Then, they could use infrared-guided weapons to deal with it calmly. But now, they only had their eyes. Searching this way was too troublesome; it would be better to just bomb the forest! The rockets on both sides were enough to complete the task. "No, let's fly over and search first," the pilot said. In the two-man crew, the pilot's rank was slightly higher than the weapons operator, so the weapons operator, though dissatisfied, didn't say much. The pilot had his own considerations. They were eliminating guerrillas, but completely destroying a small forest seemed too reckless and would likely draw criticism from their commander. They could search the area first, and if they couldn't find the target, they could bomb the forest later. After all, they were ready to destroy the truck and the guerrillas at any time. He didn't know that his carelessness would lead to their downfall. The weapons operator was on high alert, his eyes scanning the forest through the leaves. The truck, even if it entered the forest, wouldn't have gone far and should be nearby, so he would find it soon. "Buzz, buzz, buzz." Like a giant fly, the Hind roared overhead. "Pay attention, aim ahead of the helicopter, and follow my command," Muhammad said, still unsure. He stood behind the last DshKM machine gun, which was mounted at its highest position, allowing him to aim at the sky while sitting on the ground. It was the final moment, and Muhammad's heart was calm. The arrogant Hind finally flew over, its rotors stirring the air, creating a loud whirring sound. The two turboshaft engines hummed, and the rocket launchers on both sides were ready to fire. In a narrow encounter, the brave would win. Success or failure, life or death, it all came down to this! "Fire!" Muhammad shouted, pulling the trigger of the 12.7mm machine gun, which began to vibrate rhythmically, bullets being fed into the chamber one after another, and the muzzle spitting out flames continuously, as if the bullets were being fired without cost. Hearing Muhammad's command and the sound of the machine gun, the others didn't hesitate, firing their revenge bullets at the massive helicopter. The heavy machine guns spat out flames, the ammunition belts rattling. Besides the three heavy machine guns, including the PPK light machine gun and the AKM and AK-74 rifles, all the guerrillas stood and fired. Khwaja fired the most aggressively, finally understanding why Muhammad didn't let him use his favorite sniper rifle. A sniper rifle wasn't suitable for shooting down helicopters. Now, his AK-74, set to full-auto mode, was firing wildly at the helicopter. The sixteen assault rifles were sixteen streams of metal, and the four machine guns were powerful streams of metal. These streams converged into a powerful metal storm, delivering their most devastating blow to the helicopter. The helicopter, which had been dominating the sky, was no match for this wall of fire. Fire, fire, fire! PS: Thank you to the friend who donated! Thank you to everyone for your support! I'm asking for recommendations, collections, and all kinds of support!