nucmednet Chapter 134 Operation Arc Light - NO. 1
Chapter 134 Operation Arc Light - NO. 1
The sky was black. After the sun sank below the horizon, no one could see the night sky clearly anymore. Apart from the stars displaying their figures in the distant night sky, there was nothing else worth paying attention to.
But now, with the introduction of the General Magic Anti-Gravity MI-08 helicopter, the night sky is lit not only by stars, but also by navigation lights.
"Alright, gentlemen, we have five minutes to go. Let me reiterate, what we need to destroy are the enemy's logistical facilities in the Savoy area. Our friendly forces have already designated a landing zone for us. You have thirty minutes to destroy the enemy's supply depots, horse garages, and other facilities in Savoy. Anyone else have any questions?"
"Alright! Get your weapons ready!"
Inside the cramped cockpit of the MI-08 helicopter, twelve fully armed soldiers looked at each other. The dim red lights in the helicopter cabin shone on each of them, and the shield-shaped armbands on their combat uniforms indicated their affiliation: the 75th Ranger Regiment of Amerlane, under the Special Operations Command, a genuine Army special forces unit.
This unit reports directly to the Supreme Military Council of Amerlane. As an army special forces unit, they are not responsible for the main battlefield, and from the beginning, the unit was formed as a rapid reaction force.
Moving from one point to another, crossing the main defensive line, and deploying such a unit to the enemy's weakest tactical points when the enemy is completely unprepared, infiltrating and sabotaging key enemy facilities and resupplying them, while providing cover for the encirclement of friendly forces—this is the significance of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Using helicopters to destroy multiple enemy logistics nodes is one of its core tactics. Since the first MI-08 helicopter was developed, this unit has been interested in this convenient and flexible aircraft, which can fly at low altitudes and over the ground, making it perfect for this lightly armed unit.
"One minute!!"
The captain leading the group stood up, and a ranger looked out the window. There were more MI-08 helicopters, and several MA-08 attack helicopters escorting the helicopter group. As the spiritual successors of the Mi-8 helicopter from another world, the MI-08 could naturally be easily converted into an attack helicopter. After installing air-to-air rocket pods and .50 machine guns on both sides of the fuselage, they truly became aerial reapers.
Four bonfires were set up on the ground to mark the drop zone. Conducting such an operation in the early morning sky was not easy. Without night vision devices, thermal imaging, or laser designators, relying on radio detection and altimeters for speed navigation was extremely difficult. In the airborne combat environment, in order to avoid hitting anything, they could only rely on the visible light markers used by friendly forces who had arrived in advance.
The firelight wasn't too abrupt. Savoy is a mountainous area, nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. The city of Savoy was built against the mountainside, making this easily defensible mountainous region the core of the Balkan Empire in this area. It served as a military post and rear assembly point, as well as a defensive line. For thousands of years, it was the front line of the war between the demons and the church, with bunkers, walls, and towers scattered throughout the mountains.
Operation Arc Light—the code name for this operation—was to destroy and occupy Fort Savoy. As preparation for the first large-scale counter-offensive launched in the southwestern theater of Amelan, the 1st Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment served as the vanguard. Their mission was to capture Savoy, a town built on a hillside. A signal flare was fired in the city center, the town square, after which the main force of the entire 75th Ranger Regiment would descend from the air.
"Green light!"
As the helicopter landed, the Rangers slowly jumped out of the cabin. This unit is usually composed of veterans, selected from the best of the best. Every Ranger has undergone the most rigorous training, and their weapons are also the best. Unlike ordinary units that use Carcano rifles as their main weapons, the 75th Ranger Regiment, as the Army's prized possession, has weapons on par with those of special forces units of various armies.
The HCAR heavy anti-assault rifle, or BAR-modified automatic rifle, is based on the BAR Browning automatic rifle with a shortened barrel, a wooden stock replaced by a wooden pistol grip and a steel frame stock, and a steel forend instead of wood, featuring a simple rail for mounting accessories.
Since the HCAR is designed as an automatic rifle, it did not use a heavy barrel. However, the not-so-advanced industry in Amelansi did not make the HCAR much lighter than the BAR. Fortunately, the demon soldiers were generally strong and more than twice as strong as humans, so they could accept this thing.
The most crucial part of a rifle is its magazine. The Amerlane HCAR uses a straight magazine. The reason for using a straight magazine is that, in addition to the HCAR which was temporarily repackaged, Amerlane's highest level of craftsmanship—the FN FAL automatic rifle—was also put into Operation Arc Light. As Amerlane's most advanced automatic rifle, the FAL used in Operation Arc Light was two kilograms heavier than the original version, largely due to forging issues. Amerlane still did not have a forging press capable of producing the FAL.
The Amelansi version of the FAL was manufactured using a small-batch custom-made gun. Even with a steel frame folding stock, the Amelansi version of the FAL was still very heavy. In addition, due to poor materials science, the gun was just like that. It added two kilograms of weight to its practical performance. If it weren't for the fact that people from this world are generally stronger than the demons and orcs from the original world, such a thing would definitely have been rejected.
Sergeant Santos Guevara of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Ranger Regiment jumped off the plane. Nearly ten helicopters brought them this company of one hundred men, which was all the equipment of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He held the heavy FAL in his hand. The thing was incredibly heavy, but surprisingly useful. It was a bit violent under automatic fire, but still controllable. The bipod it was equipped with could be transformed into a reliable firing point at any time.
"Alright, everyone gather here!!"
The company commander was a captain who always had a stern face. This experienced veteran was holding an FAL rifle. Only a very few people in the entire company carried M3 submachine guns and Carcano J+ sniper rifles with scopes. In reality, they just picked out a Carcano rifle in good condition, mounted it with a scope and bipod.
He took advantage of his position to keep a suppressor specifically designed for the FAL, which made his weapon a bit heavier, but at least made the sound of his rifle less loud, although the suppressor was not very effective at silencing 7.62x51 full-power rounds.
Joining them was a mixed squad that directed them to the landing point, comprised of special forces from the Secret Intelligence Service and JTAC (Advance Air Controllers) from the Air Force. This 20-man squad extinguished the fire and joined them.