Commander Matt Walsh watched in horror as the scene of chaos continued to unfold below them while they flew above it all in their E-2D Hawkeye (the newest and most advanced carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft). They were the eyes of the strike group, providing continuous radar coverage of the area for hundreds of miles surrounding the carrier. If a missile launch was detected, the radar images that they sent to the carrier’s CIC would aid the targeting computers’ AI in identifying and destroying the incoming threats.
Commander Walsh knew something was wrong when they suddenly lost access to the GPS navigation satellites. They could fly without them, but the GPS gave them a much more precise picture of their location, and that made their information a lot more accurate. Then, they received a flash message from the Admiral, setting the fleet to Condition One and moving everyone to battle stations. Below them, Walsh saw the ships of the fleet suddenly pick up speed; some of them looked to be taking evasive maneuvers.
One of the radar operators came over the headset. “We have inbound cruise missiles heading towards the fleet!” he warned.
“How many missiles are you tracking?” asked Commander Walsh.
“I’m tracking four — no, it just jumped to a dozen inbound cruise missiles,” responded the radar operator. “Some of them have originated from that Russian-guided missile ship, and at least four appear to have been submarine launched.” The radar operator’s voice had a hint of excitement in it, which might have seemed odd to an outsider, but Commander Walsh understood that he was feeling the adrenaline of doing what he had trained for his entire life.
“If it’s only a dozen missiles, then chances are, the fleet defenses will easily handle them,” thought Walsh. “Our aircraft are already streaming the data to the carrier’s CIC, and the targeting AI is undoubtedly tracking them all.”
A few seconds later, he saw several of the frigates who were screening for the carrier group fire off a series of Standard Missile 2s (SM-2s) at the incoming missiles.
A second radar operator interrupted everyone’s thoughts as he announced, “Sir, I just received a flash message from the carrier; they have multiple inbound torpedoes heading towards them. They are not confident they can evade them. They are doing their best to launch as many aircraft as they can.”
Just then, the CAG (Commander, Air Group) hailed them, “Ghost-One, this is Henhouse. If the carrier goes down, I need you to guide the rest of the airwing to the nearest friendly airbase. Do you understand?” His voice sounded much calmer than Commander Walsh thought humanly possible, considering the situation.
“Yes sir, we’ll make sure everyone gets to safety. Good luck, and see you on the other side,” Walsh replied, signing off for what might be the last time with his Group Commander.
“What in the blazes is going on Sir?!” bellowed one of the frustrated radar operators over the crew communication net.
Walsh looked down at the fleet below them. He saw several of the incoming missiles explode violently on the carrier; a couple more were knocked down by the point defense systems. One of the frigates took a direct hit from one of the cruise missiles. He knew he needed to respond to his radar operator… but he just didn’t know what to say. So, he said the only thing that came to mind.
“It would appear World War III has just started,” Walsh replied. “Listen up, we are professionals. We trained for this, and we have a job to do. I want you guys to keep a close eye out for enemy air activity. Also, what is the status of the enemy fleet?” Commander Walsh asked, wanting to get his crew’s attention focused back on the task at hand.
“Regardless of what happens to the carrier, we still have to provide support to the fleet and the fighters circling above with us,” he thought.
As Commander Walsh and his co-pilot continued to loiter over the strike group, they watched helplessly as the battle below them played out. Their radar operators continued to relay critical targeting data and information to the fleet, but there was little else they could do other than watch.
The cruisers in the battlegroup began to fire off a series of anti-ship missiles at the Russians, ensuring that they had their revenge and got some payback. Off to their right, Matt saw one of the destroyers rise slightly out of the water; then there was an enormous explosion as the ship was nearly ripped in half. “It must have been hit by a torpedo,” he thought silently to himself. “How many men and women just died on that ship?” He tried to push the image out of his mind and focus on flying.
It was hard to concentrate; the other crew members of his command were still down on the carrier. His co-pilot let out a short yelp, and then pointed to the left where the carrier was. Commander Walsh angled the aircraft in the direction of the carrier. He wanted to see the situation for himself. “Sure enough, the carrier has been hit by a torpedo… from the looks of it, multiple torpedoes,” he thought, aghast. He saw plumes of black smoke starting to come from under the flight deck. There were a couple of minor explosions, then a large blast that seemed to have caused significant damage. The ship began to list slightly to the left as it started to take on more water.
Now it was a race against time. “Can the damage parties seal off enough parts of the ship to keep it from sinking? Can they get the fires under control?” Matt wondered.
Then, one of the fighter pilots came over the radio, “Ghost-One, this is Eagle Leader. It does not look like any of us are going to be setting back down on the carrier. Do you have a new landing site for us? Most of us do not have a lot of fuel to hang out for a long time,” he urged.
Commander Walsh asked his radar operators if they had found a suitable site yet. “Eagle Leader, Ghost-One. The closest airport is Istanbul Atatürk Airport. It’s 25 miles away. We’ve sent an emergency message over to them, letting them know that we have 23 combat aircraft needing to make an emergency landing. They weren’t happy, but they have given us clearance to land,” he explained.
Taking control of the situation, Walsh directed, “I want your flight and the others to form up around us as we collectively head towards Atatürk. I want the F-18s to land first, since you guys have the least amount of fuel; the remaining aircraft will follow, and we’ll bring up the rear. Is that understood?”
It was now Commander Walsh’s job to shepherd the remnants of Carrier Air Wing 3 back to safety. Hopefully, the higher-ups would be able to get them back into the fight soon. For now, it looked like their participation in the war had ended, without them even firing a single shot.
No Plan Survives First Contact
As SFC Childers was watching the Russian attack helicopters take off from the field with the drone, they heard numerous sonic booms from high-flying aircraft. His eyes raced across the sky, searching for the source of the noise. He saw what appeared to be some missile tracks in the air… then, after a couple of minutes, he started to see several explosions take place. “Clearly, a battle is taking place in the sky above me, but I have no idea which side is winning,” he observed.