Chapter 56

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The fire truck and ground crew vehicles were parked at the edge of the runway, with the airport personnel on high alert.

In the sky, a black dot appeared, and an aircraft came into their view, making a loud rumbling sound as it made a three-turn to align with the runway.

Khrisovich operated the aircraft with ease, and seeing the grand reception below, he couldn't help but chuckle. It was just a few holes; nothing serious, no need for such a grand welcome.

He pushed the control column forward, reduced the throttle, and the two main landing gears touched the ground, making a hissing sound. Then, the nose wheel also came down, and the T-8 aircraft continued to slide for a few hundred meters before coming to a stop.

Khrisovich opened the cockpit canopy and looked at the rushing ground crew, saying, "Two machine guns fired, and a few bullets hit the plane."

A few? One of the ground crew looked at the plane, the wings, the rear fuselage, and the tail, which had dozens of holes of various sizes. The bullets embedded in the front windshield were particularly terrifying. If the bullets had been more powerful, the pilot might have been killed.

How daring! The ground crew couldn't help but admire him.

"Good work. Patch up these holes. Today's mission wasn't completed, so I'll continue tomorrow." Khrisovich said, descending the ladder, and he couldn't help but sigh at the sight of his plane, which had taken so many bullets!

Holding his flight cap, Khrisovich didn't leave the tarmac. He saw a plume of black smoke in the distance, indicating that his wingman was returning.

What's going on? Khrisovich immediately noticed something was wrong with the wingman's aircraft. The black smoke was coming from the other engine, and the plane was very difficult to control, swaying unsteadily.

Was the engine hit? The engine area was also armored, and machine gun bullets couldn't penetrate it. It must have been an anti-aircraft gun or a missile!

Belyaev felt drenched in sweat, beads of sweat continuously forming on his forehead. The aircraft had lost one engine, causing constant yaw, and he had to keep pressing the control stick to maintain a normal course. The radio was also malfunctioning, likely due to debris from the engine explosion hitting the antenna on the vertical stabilizer. Now, he could only rely on his own efforts.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his gloved hand and stared intently at the runway below.

"Lower the landing gear, lower the landing gear!" Khrisovich shouted on the runway, making hand gestures to indicate the same.

Belyaev saw Khrisovich and understood his actions. He had already pressed the landing gear switch, and his eyes returned to the instrument panel, which was lit up with numerous red lights. Despite his high level of tension, he immediately noticed the landing gear malfunction indicator.

The landing gear didn't deploy! It must be a hydraulic system failure. He gritted his teeth, revved the engine to full power, and opened the speed brakes.

The T-8 aircraft first accelerated sharply, then decelerated, causing the fuselage to shake violently. With a loud noise, the wheels were forced down.

Belyaev struggled to control the aircraft. The moment the main wheels touched the ground, the plane veered sharply to the left, and the left wing hit the ground, sparking continuously.

With only the right engine remaining and the main landing gears not touching the ground simultaneously, the right side hit first and was thrown up, causing the plane to flip to the left.

Belyaev let out a desperate cry, having lost control of the aircraft. Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times for any aircraft.

The rescue vehicles at the end of the runway rushed towards the out-of-control T-8. When the T-8 stopped sliding, the fire truck began spraying water to prevent an explosion. Then, several ground crew members pulled the unconscious Belyaev from the cockpit.

Seeing the engine at the tail of the plane, which had been blown open, Khrisovich was also secretly shocked. What happened? What weapon did Belyaev encounter?

At the air base headquarters.

"Captain Khrisovich, Lieutenant Belyaev, please describe what happened in detail," Ilyich asked, frowning.

Belyaev had already woken up, uninjured but terrified, still trembling. Khrisovich looked at his poor companion, thinking he might be sent back to the Soviet Union. He wasn't suited for combat.

"Two machine gun positions, 12.7 mm machine guns, were destroyed by me. There's a guerrilla group active in the third mountainous area," Khrisovich said.

"Lieutenant Belyaev, what about you?" Ilyich asked.

"I, I don't know. Captain Khrisovich's plane was hit and had to return. I flew alone to the village. As I passed through the valley, there was a loud explosion, and the engine was hit," Belyaev said.

"What weapon was it?" Khrisovich asked. What powerful weapon could the Afghan guerrillas have?

"I don't know," Belyaev said, his head down, his voice trembling.

You don't know? Khrisovich felt angry: "Did the radar warning receiver sound? Did you see anything? You must be vigilant when flying at low altitudes. Don't you know that?"

If it were a surface-to-air missile, the warning receiver would have sounded an alarm. If the Afghan guerrillas had surface-to-air missiles, this war would be much harder to fight.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Belyaev covered his head, squeezing his temples: "I was flying a bit low, it might have been an RPG."

An RPG? Khrisovich was even more angry: "Belyaev, are you saying you were hit by an RPG from the Afghan guerrillas? If not for the plane's strong resistance, you would have been killed by a single RPG in the mountains?"

Khrisovich almost couldn't accept this. The T-8, a powerful low-altitude killer, had withstood a direct hit from an RPG, which was as ridiculous as an ant trying to trip an elephant.

But it seemed to be the only explanation. What else could the Afghan guerrillas have besides RPGs?

"Moscow has decided to enter the T-8 into low-rate production, with the first batch of ten aircraft to be supplied to the Afghan front. This battle at least proved the T-8's strong combat survivability," Ilyich said. "Belyaev, you should take a leave."

Not everyone is born a warrior, even in a warrior nation. Belyaev's performance was unsuitable for continued combat. Seeing Belyaev still trembling, Ilyich continued: "Tomorrow, an Il-76 transport plane will land here, bringing a company of soldiers. You can return with that plane."

The Soviet army's supplies were mainly transported by road, often ambushed by Afghan guerrillas, causing significant losses. Personnel were mainly transported by air.

In the past, they were transported to Kabul, but now, with the runway at this base repaired, it could accommodate the T-8 and the excellent front-line transport aircraft, the Il-76.

A company? Khrisovich couldn't help but be curious. Currently, only personnel were being moved, with the injured being sent back to the Soviet Union and new personnel entering Afghanistan, but there had been no precedent for an entire company to be moved.

"Which unit is being transferred?" Khrisovich couldn't help but ask, already violating confidentiality rules.

"Unit A," Ilyich said. "They are very skilled against the Afghan guerrillas, those damned guerrillas."

Unit A was a special unit of the Soviet Union, under the KGB. After the Soviet Union's dissolution, it was renamed the Alpha Special Forces, becoming famous.

Now, only a few people knew about Unit A's existence.

Ilyich looked out the window at the distant mountains, which had caused the Soviet Union so much trouble. The major cities in Afghanistan were already under Soviet control, but when would the numerous guerrillas be completely eradicated?

Unit A was being transferred because of one person, Muhammad. This man knew many secrets of Moscow, which the KGB leadership valued highly. The Western-81 military exercise was originally planned to directly control Poland, but it was canceled due to a leak. How many more secrets did this Muhammad know?

What the Soviets didn't expect was that the Muhammad they valued so much was now in the bombed mountains, looking at something and laughing uncontrollably.

Watching the plane fly away, Muhammad shouted loudly, "Durrani, Durrani!"

Durrani, who had been at the machine gun position, was probably already dead.

At that moment, Durrani, covered in soot, ran over, lively: "Report, Instructor, I just emptied a magazine and hit the Soviet plane, but I couldn't bring it down."

Durrani was puzzled. The machine gun had hit, but the plane seemed unharmed, like a flying tank!

"Mr. Muhammad, you are so brave!" Lylith also ran to Muhammad's side, hugging him from behind: "Your bravery has won my heart, Muhammad, I love you."

The other guerrillas were stunned by Lylith's bold expression of love.

Muhammad didn't know what to do. Refusing her would make Lylith very embarrassed, and besides, he didn't particularly dislike this girl.

While he was hesitating, Herman ran over quickly: "Instructor, the American friends have sent new weapons!"

"Let's go and see." Muhammad gently pushed Lylith away and said, "Lylith, it's dangerous here. After you complete your mission, you should go back."

Lylith pouted, watching Muhammad's departing back, stomped her foot, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Muhammad, I want to be your woman!"

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