Rebels supporting the self-declared Khatun of Taragai shot down two government planes and a helicopter today, sources on both sides of the conflict confirmed.
Taragai’s new government has launched an offensive against the rebels, but the Khatun’s forces and their Xiomeran allies have been putting up a stiff resistance. This was underscored today by the significant air losses suffered by Taragai’s air force.
An attempted air raid from Ulaankhüü air base in Bor-Öndör against rebel positions in Kharkhorin was the first to run into resistance. Three M-25 fighter jets tried to attack ground positions near the city, but were fired on from a great distance by rebels armed with surface to air missiles. One jet was shot down, and its pilot is believed lost. The other two were forced to retreat from the area.
The second loss of the day occurred when a M-12 transport plane was shot down while trying to deploy troops to an airfield near Khogne. The sixty soldiers aboard, as well as the five crew members of the plane, are also believed to be lost.
The third and final loss of the day occurred in another area near Khogne, when a M-17 helicopter also trying to move troops to the front lines was shot down. The three crew members and 24 troops aboard the helicopter are also believed to have been lost.
The major losses have stalled the government’s offensive, as defense officials seek to counter the rebels’ SAM capabilities before launching further attacks. The rebels are believed to be armed with Xiomeran CC-AAM-45 and CC-AAM-30 missiles. The CC-AAM-45 “Tlamintli” (Shooting Star) is the most advanced SAM in the Xiomeran arsenal, and one of the most advanced in the world. It is a laser-guided system with a 4.35 mile range and speed of up to Mach 4. The CC-AAM-30 “Tlatlatzīni” (Thunder) is an older Xiomeran SAM dating back to 1981, but is still a capable weapons system with a range of 5 miles and just over Mach 2 speed. These weapons “will pose a major challenge to anyone approaching the rebels’ positions by air,” DTNS defense analyst Scout Richardson said.
“Man-Portable Air Defense Systems are extremely difficult to pin down, even in a relatively open landscape like Taragai. They don’t require a fixed location or vehicle. A soldier can hide with them in even a little bit of cover,” Richardson said. He added that the use of SAMs to deny an enemy airspace access is a long-standing Xiomeran tactic “dating back to the Bjeorg conflict” and one they will likely train the rebels in. Richardson noted that Taragai’s air force, which is equipped with aging aircraft of Milintican design dating from the 1950s to the 1970s, “is very ill-equipped to engage in a modern conflict.”
Richardson did note one potential bright spot for the government. “The eventual limiting factor will be resupply. The Xiomerans won’t be able to get more missiles into the country once the existing supply runs out. The question is, how many planes and helicopters can the government afford to have shot down before that happens?”
The Xiomeran government, and its Taragaian allies, seem to be counting on the government losing its nerve. Speaking from the rebels’ capital in Khongkhortai, Imperial General Mācalō warned the Taragaian government that “we will keep using your air force for target practice if you persist.” Mācalō further added that Xiomera “will not walk away from yet another fight”, seeming to allude to Auria and Huenya. “Your only option for peace is to accept that Ebegei will be Khatun over all of Taragai.”
Despite the heavy losses of the day, Taragaian leaders have not been shaken – at least, not yet. Newly elected President Argasun Qorchi called the Taragaian soldiers who died in today’s attacks “heroes and martyrs of the motherland”. He pledged that Taragai “will have revenge for those we have lost. One way or another, we will expel these hateful invaders from another continent and bring their puppets to justice.”
