Falardeau waited for the Sensor Operator to report breakup noises, verifying the submarine was headed to the bottom, although that likely wasn’t the case. Most Russian submarines, unlike American ones, were double-hulled, with the outer hull several meters from the inner pressure hull. Lightweight torpedoes had a difficult time punching through both hulls, and while one hit would likely result in a mission kill, one could never be certain.
The other MH-60R dropped a MK 54 into the water while Falardeau’s Tactical Mission Officer readied another one from their helicopter. Both torpedoes slipped into the water and two more explosions followed. After the third explosion, Falardeau’s Sensor Operator reported breakup noises. They’d punctured the pressure hull in at least two compartments, and the submarine was descending past Crush Depth.
76
USS HARRY S. TRUMAN
Captain Brent Sites viewed the icons on the Video Wall with concern. The air and surface battles continued, with each wave of American fighters inflicting and receiving damage. The Russian air defense systems were robust, and although every Russian surface combatant had been damaged by now, almost half were still operational, including Kuznetsov and Pyotr Velikiy.
In the process, however, the American carrier air wings had been reduced to half strength. This wasn’t without consolation, as the Russian combat air patrol was almost nonexistent now, either having been shot down or vacating the area after running out of weapons. The few Russian fighters protecting their surface combatants were from Kuznetsov, and there were fewer than two dozen of those remaining.
While the Russian surface ships and aircraft had taken a pounding, not a single American surface ship had been damaged. Above the ocean’s surface, the Americans were taking the fight to the Russians, and doing a good job of it. However, red submarine icons were starting to appear in the Bravo tier; they’d breached the Alpha ASW barrier in seven areas. So far, the MH-60Rs were performing admirably, and no Russian submarine had approached close enough to attack the American task force. Things were proceeding about as well as could be expected.
77
ARABIAN SEA
Major Vadim Aleyev kept his Sukhoi Su-35S close to the water, just above the ocean waves. Accompanying him in the darkness were seventeen other tactical fighters of various designs, each outfitted with air-to-air missiles. The eighteen aircraft were all that remained of the three hundred fighters at Iranian air bases, making it aloft as the runways and hangars were destroyed. Although originally assigned to relieve aircraft in Russia’s combat air patrol, they had a new mission. As the Russian fighters streaked toward their targets, Aleyev looked forward to revenge.
They could have gone after the American aircraft carriers. But the Americans had a solid screen of destroyers and cruisers designed to shoot down incoming aircraft, plus the task force had retained thirty F/A-18s for combat air patrol above their carriers. Few, if any, of Aleyev’s fighters would make it close enough to attack the carriers. Besides, Aleyev and the other Russian fighters were armed with air-to-air missiles, with no opportunity to change them out for air-to-surface ones. However, for their assigned targets, air-to-air missiles would suffice.
Aleyev looked down as the targets appeared on his radar display. The Americans realized the real threat to their task force lurked beneath the ocean surface, and had established a three-layer Anti-Submarine Warfare defense: submarines, ASW helicopters, and surface combatants. To inflict major damage, Russian guided missile submarines had to penetrate only the first two layers. Aleyev and his fellow fighters couldn’t do much regarding the American submarines, but they could address the next tier.
As Aleyev’s Su-35S closed on the targets, his early warning receiver alarmed. He’d been spotted by American radars. Aleyev was beyond the range of the American surface ship air defense missiles, but a quick check of his display told him the combat air patrol above the carrier task force was racing toward him and the other inbound Russian aircraft. It wouldn’t be long before the American fighters were within range, launching their missiles. However, the missiles would arrive too late.
Aleyev targeted the first twelve MH-60Rs, assigning one missile to each helicopter. Although the MH-60Rs had advanced self-defense systems, they were sitting ducks compared to tactical fixed-wing aircraft. They wouldn’t fool many of Aleyev’s missiles. Aleyev fired a volley, releasing all twelve missiles, then banked to the right and headed toward shore, staying close to the ocean in an attempt to evade the incoming American fighters. If he made it back to the coast, he wouldn’t be able to refuel and rearm, but at least he could land and fight another day.
As his fighter streaked toward the Iranian shoreline, Aleyev watched the MH-60Rs disappear from his radar.
78
ARABIAN SEA
Captain Sites watched in dismay as the blue icons representing the MH-60Rs vanished from his display. The attack was sudden, with the approaching Russian jets lost in the sea clutter as they kept close to the ocean waves. As the Russian fighters turned outbound, chased by eighteen F/A-18s, Sites listened to the speaker as the ASW Commander dealt with the carnage. Almost every airborne MH-60R had been shot down, with only a half-dozen lucky survivors having successfully jammed the incoming missiles. The only other MH-60Rs available were those refueling or rearming aboard the aircraft carriers and destroyers; not enough to cover each sector in the Bravo tier.
With his crew at Combat Stations, Captain First Rank Dmitri Pavlov stood in the Central Command Post of his guided missile submarine, surveying his men at their watch stations. Their orders and reports remained calm and professional, although they’d been unable to suppress the surge of pride and excitement when they sent the American fast attack submarine opposing them to the bottom less than thirty minutes ago.
As Pavlov’s submarine crept into the next tier of America’s ASW barrier, they’d been detected again, this time by ASW aircraft. Hydroacoustic reported rotary wing contacts headed their way — the helicopter rotor wash on the ocean surface was detectable as they approached. But then, suddenly, the contacts disappeared, accompanied by nearby splashes. Pavlov smiled. Vilyuchinsk was safe, at least for the time being.
Vilyuchinsk was at one hundred meters, proceeding at ten knots toward the third tier of the American task force’s ASW screen. Unlike Russian attack submarines, Vilyuchinsk didn’t need to penetrate the screen; his weapons had a far greater range than torpedoes. However, he’d need to get close enough to the American surface combatants to eliminate their ability to react, which would place his submarine dangerously close. Additionally, he wouldn’t have the advantage of surprise he’d had several weeks ago, when he’d attacked the Roosevelt carrier strike group and damaged its aircraft carrier.
Pavlov had returned to port following the successful mission, for which ship and individual awards would be forthcoming. In the meantime, Vilyuchinsk had reloaded all twenty-four silos with replacement P-700 Granit missiles and was back at sea, ready to add to its recent glory. After checking the two fire control consoles, displaying the positions of the American ships they were approaching, Pavlov decided they were close enough.