Operation Two Pairs
- "This mission is crazy. All our commander thinks about is looking good for the General Staff Office."
- ― Spare Squadron pilot[1]
Operation Two Pairs was the Osean codename for a pivotal escort mission during the Lighthouse War.
Prelude
On July 12, 2019, two Osean Air Defense Force squadrons—Cyclops and Strider—were conducting reconnaissance over the Stonehenge ruins, assessing the viability of the remaining railgun as a weapon against the seemingly-invincible Arsenal Birds, which had fallen into Erusean hands several months prior. For unknown reasons, the two recon squadrons were forced to abandon their previous route back to New Arrows Air Base and were directed to take a new route that led through Yinshi Valley, a rocky karst area that was home to Erusean radar and anti-aircraft sites.[1]
Battle
In order to protect the two squadrons, the OADF deployed the penal unit Spare Squadron, chosen due to the unfavorable flying conditions in the valley. During the opening stages of the operation, Spare Squadron successfully destroyed the radar and anti-air sites in the valley to cover their allies' imminent arrival. When Strider and Cyclops arrived, they were being pursued by MQ-99 UAVs, launched in response to the two Osean squadrons tripping Erusea's auto-intercept network. Due to being low on ammunition, the two squadrons were forced to split up and await rescue from Spare Squadron. Due to the timely interference of Trigger, all UAVs were shot down, allowing Strider and Cyclops to begin withdrawing from the airspace.[1]
As they withdrew, however, the EASA's Sol Squadron entered the airspace. Their leader, Mihaly A. Shilage, quickly pounced upon the Spare Squadron pilot Champ. Despite AWACS Bandog's orders to disengage, Champ proceeded to engage Mihaly in a brief dogfight. Despite his opponent's bravado, Mihaly easily outmaneuvered Champ and shot him down before quickly shooting down two more Osean aircraft, including a recon aircraft. Desperate to keep the recon squadrons' pilots alive, Bandog ordered Trigger and Tabloid to engage Mihaly and Sol in order to buy more time for the other allied aircraft to escape. During the dogfight, clouds began moving in, forcing Sol Squadron to withdraw from the airspace.[1]
Aftermath
Following the operation, Bandog guided Cyclops and Strider Squadrons to the 444th Air Base instead of back to New Arrows. In the end, however, only three members of the two recon squadrons—Wiseman, Húxiān, and Jaeger—made it all the way to the base in Zapland. Due to this, Spare Squadron's commanding officer, Colonel D. McKinsey, ordered the pilots of Spare to be thrown into solitary, proclaiming that they had "failed as escorts."[1]
