As much as he was elated at the exploits of his submarines, Wu Jinlong was disturbed. The attack on Miri could only mean one thing—Tomahawks, which meant the Americans were coming. At this point, he did not know where they were. Satellites had not provided any intelligence, but the direction of the attack, coming from the east, led him to believe they were moving his way from the Pacific.
They were reported to have two carriers at Guam, he thought. How many are headed in this direction? I need better intelligence. As for the British, they are beaten. There was never any doubt as to that outcome, but these missile that just struck us have done serious harm. What were they? Who fired them? Again, our intelligence leaves much to be desired. Could these have been fired by the Royal Navy ships? Impossible, neither they, nor the Americans, have a missile that can move at such speeds, which leads me to suspect….
Yes, those were certainly not Tomahawks. They were almost twice as fast at sea level as the American LRASM-B, but now I must remember the fate of our carrier Haifeng, pummeled by terrible high speed missile fire… from the Siberian ships. The battlecruiser that fought in the Beihai Sea also used such missiles, so I think I have answered my own question here. There can be no doubt that the Siberian Navy is responsible for this attack, but where are they operating? Are they with the Americans? We must redouble our efforts at reconnaissance.
The Admiral looked at his watch seeing the time had just drifted past 07:00 Zulu, which meant the Singapore missile strike was now launching as planned from southern Hainan Island back home. Time to take the iron rod and stir the coals….
The British fleet had made a speedy withdrawal, without having even fired much of a shot. Its fighters had dueled with the Chinese, and effectively fixed their position, but they could do little else. The enemy submarine screen had proved fatal to Admiral Pearson’s designs, a withering blow equivalent to that delivered by HMS Anson north of Madagascar. As the last four ships of Admiral Pearson’s fleet entered the Singapore strait, the crews could hear the distant moan of air raid sirens coming from the island. Launching just a few minutes earlier, the DF-21C’s were now descending from the upper atmosphere at over 6000 knots.
Then they saw bright flashes and tall columns of smoke rising from the island, as if the earth itself had cracked open, venting noxious sulfur into the sky like a volcanic rift. Naval docks 3 and 4 were completely destroyed, and with them went HMS Ocean, which was berthed there when the lances fell on the harbor. Docks 6 and 7 were also damaged, and one of the piers collapsed in a flaming wreck into the water, the steamy smoke hissing up as it fell. Three buildings near the quays were on fire, as firefighters rushed to the scene.
On the other end of the island, Tengah airfield was hosting the heart of the Singapore air force ready fighter squadrons, and it was also attacked. The planes took heavy damage, with seven Typhoons, six F-16’s, four Eagles, and a Poseidon ASW plane destroyed, along with three Wildcat Helos. The control tower at the field was completely wrecked, and fires were burning out on a part of the runway.
As Admiral Pearson stared at the rising black smoke, he realized what a disaster he now had on his hands. There was no way he could take his last four ships into that inferno. What if more missiles were on the way at that very moment?
“Helm,” he said stalwartly. “Steady on 270. Take us through to the Strait of Malacca.”
“Aye sir, steady on 270.”
As Admiral Pearson gave that order, his opposite number was contemplating the next phase of his plan. For all its virtues in standoff naval warfare, the Chinese military had some real shortcomings when it came to ordnance that could attack land targets. Most every cruise missile in the VLS bays was designed to attack enemy ships, but not land targets, unlike the dual use Multi-Mission Tomahawks of the US Navy. So if Wu Jinlong wanted to use his ships to put more harm on those bases, he would have to sail into deck gun range.
As for air delivered ordnance, he had very few standoff weapons at his disposal. His J-31’s had the best weapon, the LS-6-500 pound extended range bomb, which could be released 30 miles out. The J-10 could use the standard range version of that same bomb, but it could only be released 12 miles out. Everything else required the planes to get within four miles or less of their intended target.
But first things first, thought the Admiral. I must defeat what remains of their air power. Once that is done, and we control the airspace, then I might contemplate rearming my J-31’s for a strike mission. A pity we were only allocated those 16 DF-21’s. Yet as I pursue this, the Americans, and the Siberians remain to be seen or engaged. Yet I must only assume that they know my present position, and that they are heading my way.
“Admiral sir!” A lieutenant of the watch interrupted the Admiral’s muse.
“What is it?”
“Enemy fighters have just launched cruise missiles. We believe the target is Ranai Airfield on Riau.”
“Where are the J-31’s?”
“They engaged, sir, but they were too late to stop the launch.”
“Nonsense!” The Admiral was angry. “Order the fighters to move forward. They must stop the enemy planes before they can launch. Then warn Ranai. Tell them to scramble any ready fighter at once. I will not have those planes destroyed on the ground before I have a chance to even use them.”
A flight of British Typhoons had launched twelve Storm Shadows, but as the Chinese had two frigates posted just southwest of the island, they engaged and killed seven. The remaining five all struck the airfield, and scored two plane kills, an ASW plane and a much more valuable KJ-200 which had been preparing to take up the next watch in another hour. Most of the fighters scrambled, and escaped harm, which was now sending a massive fighter sweep southwest towards Singapore. The Admiral would soon get the satisfaction of learning his planes had shot down a Gulfstream AEW plane from Singapore in reprisal.
Shortly after 16:30, these squadrons of enemy fighters were spotted on radar Changji and Tengah. Given their determined course towards the island, it looked like a strike operation, and so the order was given to scramble fighters and get after them. Tengah had a pair of Falcons and twenty F-15 Eagles ready, and they began roaring off the field. Even as they climbed, they ran into a storm of PL-15’s.
The enemy fighters had seen them taking off on radar and unleashed their arrows. The carnage was terrible, on both sides. The Eagles would soar into the thick of it, swooping, turning, diving to evade the PL-15’s. But enough survived to fire their AMRAAM’s, and they ended up destroying the entire squadron of J-10’s. Unfortunately, they would suffer heavy losses in a crossfire of missiles fired by unseen J-20s, which were scissoring in from the north and south. With the aerial duel raging for 45 minutes, none of the 20 Eagles would return. The Chinese would lose those 12 J-10’s and four J-20’s. The six remaining J-20’s that had scrambled then made an interesting discovery.
They had been thinking to return to base, but orders came to stay on station, and act as an AEW picket. Switching their radars on, they soon detected two ships in the Karimata Strait, cruising about 75 miles southwest of Borneo, and heading north. They had found the Siberians….
Karpov had continued his advance north until he got Kursk in range, though his contacts were very uncertain. It wasn’t until the air force of Singapore put up another G550 Gulfstream AEW plane that they firmed up. Kazan also reported it was missile ready, and so Karpov decided to attack. There was no use waiting for the Americans.