A crosswind blew, and the Cobra swayed in the sky. At that moment, the bullet that had been aimed missed its mark.
He wanted to hit the lower part of the rotor; although that area was the most vulnerable, the target's projected area was also the smallest. A tiny disturbance caused the Cobra to sway, and as a result, three bullets missed the target.
The Steel-core bullet in front grazed the edge of the reduction gear and flew past, while the two Tracer armor-piercing incendiary rounds behind didn't touch the Cobra at all.
What was that sound? Although the roar of the helicopter was deafening, the two pilots also sensed danger.
The Cobra's nose turned slightly. In the afterglow of the sunset, they spotted the three standing soldiers holding rifles and aiming at them.
Was the previous Cobra taken down like this? The two inside the Cobra found it somewhat unbelievable. They were the eagles of the sky, the masters of the infantry's airspace; how could they be taken down by a mere few rifles?
The Iraqi infantry were certainly imaginative.
Since the target had been discovered, they absolutely couldn't let it go. The pilot stepped on the rudder and pushed the control stick. The Cobra circled in the air and flew toward the target.
The pilot wasn't stupid, nor was he arrogant. The fact that the previous Cobra had been shot down meant the enemy before them couldn't be underestimated. However, regardless, being discovered meant destruction!
The Cobra performed S-maneuvers in the air as it flew toward them.
"You guys aim for the engine air intake, I'll hit the glass," Qusay quickly assigned the tasks.
No one's luck could stay good forever. The previous attack had been disrupted by a gust of wind, and now their group had been discovered by the Cobra.
Want to run? That was impossible. The only chance was to take them down before they flew over!
Qusay's magazine was loaded with Steel-core bullets, while the other two had Tracer armor-piercing incendiary rounds. Thus, he immediately assigned targets according to the plan they had just made. Using incendiary rounds to attack the engine air intake was most effective; as long as one hit, the engine would be scrapped.
His own Steel-core bullets were most effective against the bulletproof glass because, compared to the air intake, the glass had a larger surface area.
Within the crosshairs, the helicopter was already swaying in the air, changing its flight direction from time to time, making it more difficult to aim.
On the battlefield, never repeat the same movement more than twice! This was what the instructors, who had participated in combat several times, said when Qusay was in training.
For example, when moving forward, one shouldn't walk in a straight line but in a curved path. However, one shouldn't move left and right in a regular pattern either; otherwise, the enemy sniper would calculate the bullet's travel time in advance and predict your trajectory. When the time came, the bullet and the person would meet at the same time and place, and the outcome would be death.
Now, although the helicopter in the sky was constantly changing its flight posture, the pilot above didn't realize that his S-shaped path was too regular!
The snipers beside him fired two shots, but neither hit.
It seemed that training for snipers definitely needed to be carried out. There was too much knowledge for a sniper to learn.
Qusay wasn't in a hurry to fire. He observed the opponent's flight through the scope, while the barrel moved accordingly, calculating in his mind.
It looked like slow motion, but Qusay was actually moving very fast. About two seconds later, Qusay suddenly turned the barrel, and the helicopter left the scope's field of vision. He fired a shot into the empty sky because he knew that in the next moment, the Cobra would fly there.
"Prepare the autocannon, take them out," the pilot said to the weapon operator.
Those three somewhat foolish snipers on the ground seemed to be out of their minds, firing at the sky. So what if they had sniper rifles? Hitting a helicopter performing maneuvers in the sky was like hitting a mosquito with a dart. If the mosquito even lost a hair, one would have to lament how unlucky it was.
Get a little closer, and use the autocannon to turn them all into dust!
He pushed the control stick to the right, and the helicopter turned right again. This is called a Serpentine maneuver, understand? Iraqi soldier.
Suddenly, his pupils dilated. The glass in front of him suddenly cracked into countless tiny fissures, and then it turned blood red.
A sharp pain shot through his chest. Looking down, a large hole had appeared, and blood was gushing out.
How was this possible? He was a chosen one, a pilot, yet he had actually been shot by a common soldier with a rifle?
With his final effort, his feet left the rudder, and his body leaned back, falling onto the seat.
Avenge me!
The Cobra has a tandem two-seat configuration. The front seat is lower with a wide field of vision, where the weapon operator is located, allowing for better observation. The rear seat is higher and houses the pilot.
Although the front seat is for the weapon operator, his cockpit still has a full set of flight equipment, including a control stick and rudder, which are linked to the rear. In an emergency, the weapon operator in the front cockpit can also fly the helicopter.
Of course, this requires a prerequisite: that the person in the back doesn't obstruct the controls in the front. If he were to slump over the control stick and pin it down, the person in the front cockpit wouldn't be able to move it at all, resulting in a crash.
In his final moments, the pilot handed the aircraft over to his comrade in the front cockpit.
Hearing the movement behind him, the weapon operator in the front cockpit turned his head and saw the cockpit covered in blood. His old partner of several years had been killed by a sniper rifle just like that. He was enraged.
Taking over control of the helicopter, he slammed the control stick down and then opened fire!
Having successfully hit the enemy pilot just now, Qusay saw the helicopter appear in his scope, and then the cockpit turned red, knowing he had completed his mission.
In the next moment, he expected to see the helicopter tumble down, crash into the ground, and turn into a fireball.
To his surprise, the helicopter was still flying perfectly fine, and the six-barreled autocannon below had already aimed over, about to fire.
Oh no, a calculation error. The remaining guy can also fly the plane!
Just then, Qusay was suddenly pulled down by two soldiers, hiding behind a burning tank.
"What are you doing? Marwan? Wahrih?" Qusay shouted in anger.
The two didn't explain. They pinned Qusay to the ground, and then all the other team members stood up. All the "Tabuk" 7.62mm assault rifles fired at the Cobra together!
Qusay knew that his soldiers were trying to leave the hope of survival to him, while they resolutely chose to sacrifice themselves. This method of shooting had an even smaller probability of hitting the enemy helicopter. In the next moment, the opponent's autocannon would frantically pour out 20mm shells; just one hit would blow a person to pieces.
The weapon operator pressed the fire button, but surprisingly, the autocannon didn't sound.
He looked down and saw a red light on the instrument panel. Only then did he remember that in his previous outburst, he had used up all the shells.
Seeing the sudden increase in firepower from the ground, he abruptly pulled up the nose of the helicopter.
The underside of the helicopter's belly had thick armor, which was completely unafraid of fire from ordinary rifles. He only needed to circle back and prepare to fire an anti-tank missile to turn them all into ashes!
They thought the enemy was about to fire shells, but the autocannon below didn't sound; instead, the helicopter pulled up and flew away. The soldiers stopped firing. A magazine only held thirty rounds, and the continuous fire just now had emptied them.
Qusay had already finished preparing the reload.
Regardless, this was an opportunity. Qusay leaped up once more.
This time, the Cobra had just finished its turn, its tail facing them directly. Moreover, with the weapon operator doing the work of two people, he didn't have the energy to perform maneuvers.
Qusay aimed at the opponent's tail and fired again.
This time, it was a Tracer incendiary round.
The sky was already getting dark. A flash of light streaked past, and then the opponent's tail rotor began to emit thick smoke.
Qusay's bullet happened to hit the Cobra's tail hydraulic control mechanism, piercing the hydraulic oil line, which immediately caught fire.
The Cobra, now like a headless fly with its tail rotor damaged, immediately began to spin. It crashed to the ground and, with a boom, turned into a sea of fire.
The second Cobra was finally shot down as well!