After leaving Pluto, the fleet officially entered the depths of the Kuiper Belt.
This is an asteroid belt located outside Neptune. It is composed of a large amount of debris and is mainly composed of ice. According to statistics from the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Kuiper Belt has about 100,000 small celestial bodies with a diameter greater than 50 kilometers, but the total mass is only the Holy Titan. One percent of La, some astronomers classify Pluto as part of the Kuiper Belt, but this statement has been refuted by some historians. Their theory is that according to ancient records, how can Pluto be classified as a planet? What about the planetary belt?
Of course, in the 41st millennium, this debate still continues, but Pluto is already considered to belong to the outermost part of the Kuiper Belt.
In the Kuiper Belt, there are three other dwarf planets, namely Haumea, Makemake, Eris and Creation. Eris is actually part of the discrete disk, but because the discrete disk itself is not related to the Kuiper The belts overlap so much that the Adeptus Mechanicus and most astronomical historians classify it as part of the Kuiper Belt as well.
During the Great Expedition, the Kuiper Belt was a key link in the empire's solar system defense. Pluto could be regarded as the fortress of this defensive belt, but that did not mean that other areas were undefended.
Due to the special structure of this region and the small mass of dwarf planets, the Empire built the largest aviation bases on the four dwarf planets of Haumea, Makemake, Chuang and Eris, and deployed Tens of thousands of fighters and bombers of all types.
After the defeat of the Pluto battle, when the Imperial forces retreated to the star field around Neptune, the Kuiper Belt became the key to slowing down the advance of the enemy fleet. Due to the large amount of celestial debris distributed here, coupled with the void mines deployed by the Empire in advance, a dense minefield was formed. , it is difficult for large warships to move and attack, so the battles that break out in the Kuiper Belt are mainly based on small ships and air fleets.
According to records, there were at least three brutal air battles in the Kuiper Belt in which both sides invested tens of thousands of fighter planes, and countless epic stories and ace pilots were born.
The most famous of these is the story of the Hedgehog Air Force.
This is an aviation brigade stationed at the Chuangshen Star Aviation Base. There are 42 fighter planes at the time of deployment. They are all composed of young pilots who have just graduated from the Jupiter Flight Academy. They are even called not powerful at all. Nickname - because most of the members of this flying brigade are of the "prick-headed" kind in the academy, so they are gathered together and thrown into the battlefield.
At that time, after the main force of the rebel fleet had crossed the Pluto defense line and easily defeated the defenders around Neptune, the Kuiper Belt air fleet was already facing a shortage of resources and depleted troops. It could only rely on desperate assaults by small ships, also known as It is an adventurous transportation method called the Rat Express, which replenishes limited fighters, pilots, and fuel and ammunition to the defenders in the Kuiper Belt.
It was against this background that the "Hedgehog" Air Force was deployed to this hellish battlefield. (Come on, the Air Force was the most courageous leader of the British in World War II, and it was also the first country to establish an independent air force. As a result, HNA’s role in HH was almost non-existent. I really forgot my roots.)
Creation is the dwarf planet closest to Pluto in the Kuiper Belt, so it is also the "thorn" that the Horus Rebels are most eager to remove. After occupying Pluto, a huge aircraft carrier and escort formation went straight to Creation. God star.
At that time, approximately 8,000 fighter jets of various types were deployed on Chuangshen. At the same time, its satellite Chuangwei had already been transformed into a permanent fortress, and ultra-high-power weapons were deployed.
The fighting was very fierce. In the first three days of confrontation alone, both sides lost more than 2,000 fighter planes.
Later, in order to eliminate the threat of Chuangshen to Pluto, the rebels devoted more power to attack Chuangshen. Although the defenders resisted tenaciously and barely repelled the new attack, Chuangshen was completely destroyed, and some fragments even fell to the planet. superior.
At this time, the number of fighter aircraft available on Chuangshen Star had dropped to less than 4,000. The deployed "Hedgehog" Air Force did not have much time to prepare for war, and entered the battle less than 12 hours after stationing at the aviation base.
In just the first battle, they will face the most cruel situation. The enemy is attacking with all their strength this time and is bound to eat up the Chuangshen Star in one go. Not only does its number of fighter planes reach 6,000, but there are also many ace aviation teams among them. They are all super elites who have experienced tens of thousands of combat hours. They are the best and most skilled ace pilots in the Great Crusade.
Not only that, but for the first time, demon engines made of demons, flesh, and metal appeared in the enemy's air fleet. They may not be as perfect as the Hell Blades of later generations, but they are still formidable opponents.
The "Hedgehog" Air Force only has 32 old-fashioned Thunderbolt heavy-duty fighters and 10 Fury interceptors, and they are all novices who have just graduated from aviation school. They are rookie pilots. In the eyes of most veteran pilots, as long as they can ensure their safe flight. Not bad.
When they lag behind their opponents in terms of weapons and experience, the only thing they can do is not be afraid of sacrifice and have the courage to fight to the end.
But in fact, the nightmare has just begun. The rebels changed their past tactics. When the Imperial aviation forces received the radar signal and began to enter the flight deck to wait for liftoff, the Horus rebels suddenly sent several modified ships to forcefully pass through. The minefield rushed towards the Chuangshen Planet desperately, facing the planet's intensive defensive firepower, and crashed into several major aviation bases.
The suicide impact had catastrophic consequences. The thick ice cap evaporated instantly, a lot of ammunition and fuel were ignited, and more than a thousand fighter jets and countless pilots and ground crews were killed.
However, to the surprise of the rebels, the brutal losses not only did not disintegrate the defenders, but instead inspired them to have a stronger fighting spirit.
When the overwhelming battleships rushed through the dense star debris, the remaining fighter planes of Chuangshen Star took off fearlessly and faced them.
Although the defenders were brave enough, their numerical disadvantage still made it difficult for them to withstand. In the end, when the battle ended, more than a thousand fighters were destroyed. At the same time, the "Hedgehog" Air Force also lost 12 Thunder heavy fighters in the battle. and 5 Furious interceptors, losing more than one-third of their strength, and they only had 3 victories.
After the defenders lost a large number of fighter planes and manpower, the rebel commanders judged that the defenders were unable to resist, so they began bombing missions and prepared to deploy land troops.
But later this proved to be a fatal mistake. Although the defenders suffered heavy losses, their determination did not waver at all. They also set up an ambush and did not take off when the enemy bombers entered the interception zone, which caused the attackers to relax their vigilance. , but in fact all the fighter planes have taken off from the back of the planet.
Soon, the attackers were horrified to find that a large number of fighter planes appeared on the side of the bomber formation, and because all the fighter planes went to cover the bombers, the small transport ships and transport aircraft transporting ground troops were left unprotected.
It's purely a personal compilation, don't mention it as a popular science
