Ship No. 53 almost sprinted to the front of the route of the USS Malaise aircraft carrier strike group, when the sunset was half-hidden into the horizon.
Why does the discomfort sign appear here?
It turned out that after the ship was at a disadvantage in the confrontation in the West Pacific last time, it took the exhausted and mentally exhausted crew to the port of Yokohama for a month of rest, and then headed south again through the South China Sea to the Mediterranean.
It is planned to complete the remaining three months of deployment there, and then return to its home port of Norfolk Naval Base after completing the entire nine-month deployment.
However, an order transferred the USS Discomfort, which was leisurely cruising in the Mediterranean, to the war-filled Red Sea, where tensions were high and the threats of suicide drones and shore-based supersonic anti-ship missiles were always present. The USS Discomfort aircraft carrier strike group was in such a situation
I struggled in a tense environment for more than a month.
At this time, another order came, requiring them to immediately go to the northern Indian Ocean to perform a surveillance mission. Finally, thousands of sailors of the USS Malaise aircraft carrier strike group were rescued from the edge of psychological defense collapse.
You know, since the ship has been deployed overseas, it has been in a state of high tension for most of the time.
Sweeney's team is still in charge of commanding the USS Malaise aircraft carrier strike group, and the captain of the USS Malaise is also Captain Blade. However, this time, they have organized two Burke-class destroyers and one Ticonderoga-class cruiser.
, and a comprehensive supply ship.
On paper, the overall strength is higher than the previous formation. However, considering that the Ticonderoga class is the rusty "Villa Bay" that has been in service for 28 years.
No., the actual combat effectiveness may not be as good as the previous formation.
Li Hai has already studied his opponent's situation in the past six months.
The USS Illness, which belongs to the Atlantic Fleet, has been frequently mobilized in the Western Pacific and the Middle East, which highlights the difficulty of the US Navy's active warships in maintaining their maritime hegemony. Not to mention the ten aircraft carriers, most of which were built in the 1990s.
Many of the Burke-class and Ticonderoga-class ships in service should have been retired long ago, but due to lack of successors, some have been extended their service time after so-called modifications and upgrades, and some that are really unusable can only be retired.
In the process, they also have to endure the harm caused by unknown pneumonia.
It is best to describe the USS Discomfort aircraft carrier strike group as exhausted.
The current USS Misfit aircraft carrier strike group has just been extracted from the mud of the Red Sea. It is performing surveillance and monitoring tasks that are easier than anyone knows, and its vigilance is very low.
Taking advantage of the opponent's situation, the No. 53 ship, after obtaining satellite reconnaissance information, risked the risk of destroying the gas turbine and approached the USS Misfit aircraft carrier strike group head-on at high speed.
The task given to Li Hai by his superiors was to hold back the Unsuitable aircraft carrier strike group to gain time for the successful completion of joint anti-terrorism drills. Naturally, it would be better to keep the Unsuitable aircraft carrier strike group at a longer distance.
If there is an aircraft carrier strike group with ulterior motives harassing the border, the joint anti-terrorism drills between the two countries will definitely be affected. Moreover, China needs to prove its ability to keep the maritime armed forces of major powers outside the region out of the region. Otherwise, it will bring
The impact will be cascading.
If this is a battle, and the joint anti-terrorism goal of the two countries is regarded as an ally of the USS Malaise aircraft carrier strike group, then the No. 53 ship is responsible for blocking enemy reinforcements!
Sweeney is a very experienced aircraft carrier strike group commander. Before the restructuring, he commanded a much larger aircraft carrier strike group. It was a maritime formation composed of more than a dozen main ships. It was capable of taking on the world alone.
The strength of any country's navy except the Chinese navy.
After the restructuring, the aircraft carrier battle group was reduced to an aircraft carrier strike group, consisting of one aircraft carrier plus two or three escorting destroyers or cruisers. In Sweeney's view, commanding an aircraft carrier group of this size is really easy.
However, time has passed and today's combat methods have changed a lot.
First, they were teased by an old-fashioned frigate numbered 53 on the West Pacific side. The strike group with a majestic 100,000-ton aircraft carrier as the core was thrown a rat weapon. They had to turn around and flee in panic, and even ran to Yokohama Port to temporarily avoid the limelight.
After only a few days in the Mediterranean, I was transferred to the Red Sea and saw what contemporary warfare is. Cheap suicide drones were flying in overwhelmingly, consuming their expensive Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles. In order to deal with those
For subsonic anti-ship missiles produced in the 1960s, they had to use standard anti-aircraft missiles or take-off fighter aircraft.
Even so, it was still impossible to ensure the safety of passing NATO merchant ships, and a bulk carrier of tens of thousands of tons was even sunk.
Sweeney, an aircraft carrier strike group commander who participated in the Cold War confrontation, deeply feels that the current weapons and equipment, combat methods and thinking of the US military are seriously out of touch with the current combat ecology.
This frustrated him.
At this time, he just wants to complete the surveillance mission, enter the Western Pacific directly from the South China Sea, and return to his home port across the entire Pacific for a six-month rest and recuperation to welcome 2022. By that time, will he still stay in the military?
He needs to reconsider his military service.
Captain Brad came over and said, "Enter the Bay of Bengal in twenty-seven hours. Johnny, are there any new instructions?"
Sweeney shook his head, "Keep sailing at a speed of twenty-five knots and resupply in ten hours."
"Understood." Brad looked at Sweeney, "You don't seem to be in good spirits. Do you have any symptoms?"
There are still patients with unknown pneumonia on the formation, but the number is far less than a few months ago. In fact, even Sweeney's command team has replaced more than three-thirds of its personnel, and they have been transferred from China to Yokohama to replace them.
Persons infected with unknown pneumonia.
"I'm fine," Sweeney said.
Brad said in a deep voice, "The Ford has completely lost its combat effectiveness. More than 3,000 of them have been infected with unknown pneumonia. The evaluation department believes that the Ford will not be able to perform combat duty for at least six months. It must stay
In the port."
Sweeney looked at Brad, "Are you worried that our deployment time will be extended?"
Brad was silent.
When there are not enough aircraft carriers, it is inevitable to extend the deployment time of aircraft carriers that still have combat effectiveness at sea.
"No, unless Washington does not consider the risk of mutiny among soldiers." Sweeney said firmly, "The Malamute's sea deployment time has reached its limit."
Even though an aircraft carrier has been continuously deployed at sea for more than a year before, this was before the unknown pneumonia. The aircraft carrier was in very good condition and the morale of the soldiers was also very good.
"I hope, no matter what, I can have a good rest for a few days," Brad said.
Sweeney shook his head slightly and said, "Do you think the Chinese will make it easy for us? They will definitely take action."
"The warning radar found nothing." Brad said, "Of course, the current position is still far away from the Bay of Bengal..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a staff officer strode over, looked at the two officers, and said, "Sir, you'd better come and take a look at this."
Sweeney immediately got up and headed to the TFCC Tactical Flagship Command Center with Brad.
"Sir, this is a high-speed maritime target with a speed of up to 37 knots. It is approaching us at high speed and is 80 kilometers away. According to the radar reflection signal analysis, it is suspected to be a high-speed yacht." the combat staff reported.
"With a speed of thirty-seven knots, could it be a yacht?" Brad frowned.
The radar reflected signal indicated that it should be a large yacht with a displacement of 1,000 tons. The maximum speed of such a yacht with ocean navigation capabilities generally does not exceed thirty knots.
In other words, Brad feels that the current target may not be a yacht.
"Have Villa Bay scanned with a phased array radar?" Brad suggested.
Sweeney nodded, "Order Vera Bay to move forward and use Aegis to scan."
Using warning radar to conduct warning scans of the air and the sea can save the life of the Aegis system and save electricity on the ship. Under normal circumstances, there is no need to turn on the phased array radar for scanning.
The original target of a high-speed aircraft carrier strike group must be confirmed to be a threat. At a distance of 80 kilometers, the target speed is as high as 37 knots, and it can break into the core defense circle of the aircraft carrier strike group in an hour.
The cruiser "Villa Bay" accelerated forward and turned on the Aegis system at the same time. This process took about ten minutes. The Aegis system equipped on the ship is an early version and has been used for many years. The maintenance in recent years has been average.
, the Master Lu cleaning software was not installed, resulting in a longer start-up preparation time.
By the time the Aegis system on the cruiser "Villa Bay" started scanning, thirteen minutes had passed. This was a reaction time that was unacceptable to Sweeney, but he knew that these few items included in the malaise aircraft carrier strike group
The condition of the ship is not very good, so we can only accept it if we cannot accept it.
Within a few minutes, a report came from the cruiser "Vila Bay" - it was a warship! It was a frigate armed to the teeth!
An unknown frigate with a speed of up to 37 knots!
This news instantly cheered up Sweeney, who was not in a good state of mind. He almost reached the level of diagnosis. He asked loudly, "Is there any frigate that can run 37 knots? Are you kidding me? Find out what model it is right away.
The frigate! Whose frigate!”
The intelligence analysis department immediately took action.
With more radar signal reflection characteristics, it is easy for combat staff to find the corresponding ship model from the information database.
In less than a minute, an analysis report was presented to Sweeney.
He looked at the familiar outline of the frigate in front of him, his whole body trembling slightly, and he gritted his teeth and said, "I would rather believe this is an illusion."
What appeared in front was actually the No. 53 frigate that had caused psychological shadow to the tens of millions of crew members of the Discomfort, that old frigate!
The low trunk line, the messy bridge layout, the pointed bow, who else could it be if it wasn't him?
How come he can run thirty-seven knots after not seeing each other for several months? Why is it that when detected by a warning radar, the radar reflected signal is only equivalent to that of a thousand-ton yacht?
In the end what happened?
The people in the TFCC Tactical Flagship Command Center were trembling slightly. Some of them had not experienced the confrontation between the Western Pacific and the No. 53 ship, but they had seen with their own eyes the tragic situation of their colleagues who were on the verge of mental collapse. There were several
A sailor who served on the HMS Discomfort, after landing in Yokohama Port, vented his frustration by raping local women!
There were even shootings.
Sweeney knows very well how much combat effectiveness the USS Malawi aircraft carrier strike group now has, as its previous performance in the Red Sea is proof.
The reputation of the No. 53 ship has become a nightmare for the crew of the USS Malaise. ()