The American carrier, he thought. We are just outside the range of our YJ-100’s, but they can strike us with impunity. We never saw the F-35’s that delivered those bombs, and they drained the life from our SAM defense in a matter of minutes. We were lucky to take only one hit in that attack, and I must commend the brave sailors on Haian, who fought so hard to defend their comrades. That ship will probably be lost, and I must make every effort to rescue those crewmen.
My impulse is to turn on them and close the range, but I must be cautious here. We are strong when gathered as one, but weak when one of our task groups is isolated, as I was just now. Yet it will be some hours before the Americans can rearm their planes for another big strike, and in that time, I can work to concentrate the fleet.
In the meantime, our SSGN Submarine Jin Hua is in position to make a surprise attack on the British. Those are the only ships we still have a reliable fix on until Yaogan-13 orbits this way again.
That sub, like the US Ohio, was a modified boomer carrying 32 YJ-18 Sizzlers. It fired two salvos, thinking to steal away the life of Ark Royal and her escorting frigate, Diego Garcia. The British ships were due east of the sub, and about 100 miles away, but when the missiles fired, unseen ships to the south suddenly intervened—with Standard Missile-6.
The best naval based SAM in the world, those missiles were able to cover the British with little difficulty, catching the Sizzlers half way through their flight path, while they were still low and slow. It sent Jin Hua deep, her Captain hastening to get away from the scene as fast as possible, because he knew helicopters would soon be out in the hunt.
Cruisers Gettysburg and Vicksburg were already sending up a pair of Seahawks, and they were hastening northwest toward the last reported position of the missile boat. It would not take them long to find it, as it was nowhere near as stealthy as a Western sub. Two Barracuda Torpedoes later, Jin Hua was gone….
Frustrated, Admiral Sun Wei now contemplated what he might do. The Nanchang SAG was retiring, and with it went 100 strike missiles, including 80 YJ-18’s. The lone Type 055 destroyer had 20 YJ-100’s, but the nearest target was at the very edge of its range capability, 425 miles away. He had no choice but to send that group to the closest port, which was Aden.
His Flag Group of three ships had Longshen, the Dragon God, Yingshen, the Eagle God, and Type 052D destroyer Naning. Between them they had another 112 strike missiles, for the Eagle and Dragon had been configured with heavy strike loadouts. That was more offensive power than any other group in the fleet, but should he use it now? He had just seen what had happened to Jin Hua. Would the Americans be able to still cover the only reliable target he had?
Do not be hasty, he told himself. We have seen what they can do, a combination of cruise missiles and air strikes. While our losses were minimal, seven other ships were forced to retire and replenish. But that was only a quarter of our strength, and they cannot make such an attack again for another five or six hours. Nor can they do so against the totality of our fleet. So I will wait for the convergence of our other task forces. The Americans are recovering and rearming. There is time. At dawn we will be in a much better position, and when we strike, the Eagle and Dragon will lead the way.
Part X
Eagle and Dragon
“Every bird of prey looks over its shoulder before it goes in for the kill, even a hawk. Even they know to watch their backs – every single one but an eagle. It’s fearless.”
Chapter 28
There are always two sides to every question, and when it came to analyzing the present situation, Admiral John David Randall, Chief of Indian Ocean Operations, was meeting with Admiral Thomas Shannon, Military Sealift Command, to sort things through.
Shannon’s large convoy with the 1st USMD division had reached Diego Garcia, and the warships were replenishing. It was another 2000 miles to Oman, and the Admiral wanted to know where they were headed.
“Well, that division was originally slated for Japan,” said Shannon, “until they saw the buildup on the Kuwaiti border. So we moved it from Iwo Jima to Darwin to meet up with the heavy lift convoy there. Now there’s two possibilities. The largest port in Oman, and one of the most efficient, is Salaha. It’s a world class terminal transshipment point, with good berthing for our large ships, and S.O.A.G. company runs it like a clock. Thumrait airfield is just north for good air cover, but the one disadvantage is that the Saudi Empty Quarter is due north, and there’s no direct route into the Kingdom. It’s 650 miles from there to the U.A.E..”
“What about Muscat?”
“Also a good choice, with adequate size, deep water berthing, and cargo handling equipment. It’s covered by Muscat/Seeb Air Base, and is only 200 miles from the U.A.E.. The one drawback is that it’s right on the Gulf of Oman, which puts it within range of four or five airfields in Pakistan and Iran. Salaha would be safer. As Sultan Harbor at Muscat would be closer to the Saudis, but suppose they hit the place with DF-21’s right in the middle of that unloading operation? For my money, I would go with Salaha. It’s almost 600 miles to their big base at Al Anad near Aden. The two smaller airfields they operate in Yemen can be neutralized with another Tomahawk strike.”
“Alright, I’ll go with your recommendation and we’ll plan our sea control operation to be aiming for that port. How soon will you be ready to move?”
“Admiral, that’s up to you. We’ll be ready when you are.”
Admiral Randall nodded. “We’ve made the introductions, and they know we’re on the beat now. The curtain will be rising for act two of this thing around sunrise, tomorrow. We’re going to see what they do tonight after the skirmish today, and then make a final decision. I’ll keep you informed. What I can tell you now is that Independence moved into the Strait of Malacca today. They stopped at Singapore to fuel up the destroyers, and that position leaves them in a position to cover that port. The Chinese South China Sea Fleet retired to Veng Tau in Vietnam, but that isn’t saying they plan on staying there. Independence will continue up the Strait, because if the Chinese do move south again, they can strike them right across the Malay Peninsula. Sometime tomorrow, we may get a decision on whether Independence will enter the Indian Ocean, so this will bear on our operational planning.”
“I understand,” said Admiral Shannon.
After the meeting, Admiral Randall looked over the current situation map. The British had the early morning watch for December 1st and they put up three F-35’s in a flight coded Whalesign. As he looked over the screen, something seemed odd. Apparently the British had persistent radar signatures about 180 miles due north of their position, where none had been tracked earlier that day. It was too close for comfort. Word went out to that CAP flight to have a closer look.