Stephen Makk
Ninety Degrees North
From the author
A warming Arctic; a dispute between the west and Russia.
USA, Canada and Russia, along with China, struggle for supremacy in the high Northern Arctic. The coming Arctic conflict will require a reshaping of military infrastructure and bases. Vessels and airpower will need to adapt.
It is all driven by hydrocarbons, minerals and trade. Trade will play a big part; whoever controls the shipping routes and the seas around them is in a position of real power.
According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic holds oil and gas reserves roughly equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, around 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas.
Russia also launched the Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power station with two 35MW plants, to meet its increasing electricity needs in its bid to develop oil resources in remote Arctic regions.
Three new nuclear ice breakers are being launched; the three will keep navigation open all year round, capable of breaking through ice up to three meters thick to make way for convoys of ships.
Out east, skulking around the periphery, is China. Always listening, always looking. Now and again the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and Air Force would mount a probe into the Arctic. The multiple ships and aircraft would withdraw shortly after deploying. The USA and the Russians puzzled over what the Chinese goals were.
In Ninety Degrees North, the Arctic crisis has come down to Russia against the west. As usual in my books, I do incorporate something of the real world in there. The geopolitical issues are real.
All devices used on the USS Stonewall Jackson are in service or being prototyped right now. An exception is Nils Sondergaard’s Eye of Ra. There are papers published in science journals and patents registered that allude to progress along these lines.
You can be sure that the NSA, GCHQ, Russian SVR and Chinese MSS Gothic Panda are all active in the area.
The probability is that something of this ilk will one day become a possibility. This book is about what could happen. The high Arctic is a place not much frequented. It’s tough to see how Moscow, Washington, Ottawa and Beijing will play this one out. If Beijing is involved, can Tokyo and Seoul stay away?
Stephen Makk.
Further reading:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/05/arctic-military-rivalry-cold-war
https://medium.com/international-affairs-blog/what-are-russias-aims-in-the-arctic-63a53456917
https://www.voanews.com/a/as-russia-touts-expanded-arctic-sea-routes-us-observers-see-veiled-threat/4875843.html
Epigraph
“The business of a soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, and live in camps. But to find the enemy, and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time… but such a war would of necessity, be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of prosperity and life in the end. To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory, is the secret of successful war.”
1
She slipped deeper into the cool depths, levelling out at 300 feet and cruised north at a sedate 8 knots. USS Stonewall Jackson was on the hunt; her opponent was quiet, her crew well trained, and the USN boat trailed a stealthy shark.
She wasn’t the only one on the prowl; the foe sought out her American opponent.
Locked in a blind struggle, the two crews hunted each other in the stygian depths.
Lieutenant Commander Nikki Kaminski looked up from her chart. “Sir, I think his likely approach to target will be on the north side of the Rutherford seamounts.”
She was the boat’s recently promoted Executive Officer or XO. She had been Navigation Officer and still liked to keep an eye on their location.
“Go on, Nikki, why?” replied Nathan.
“It’s the sensible way from his last location and it lets him seek cover in the canyons to his south.”
Commander Nathan Blake nodded. “Yeah, it’s a strong possibility. Benson, I take it you still have the contact?”
“No sir, I think the seamounts are shielding him.” Benson stared at the sonar screen and listened for any traces of their opponent. His sonar screen looked like an abstract painting covered in running, dripping oil. It meant something to Benson, but Nathan just shook his head.
“Planesman come to 345 degrees. We’ll get in among the mounts. Down bubble ten, make your depth 600 feet. Speed ten knots.”
“Down ten, 345 at 600 10 knots, aye sir.”
USS Stonewall Jackson angled down by the bow and slid further into the deeps.
She was a diesel-electric boat, an American/Japanese vessel based on the Soryu class. Traditionally, diesel-electric boats, like the boats from WWII, had used diesel engines on the surface for propulsion and to charge battery banks for use underwater. This limited the boat’s range and time underwater. A solution developed in the sixties was the Air Independent Propulsion drive, often using the Stirling Engine, which greatly increased time underwater. The Soryu’s designers had opted for newly developed Lithium-Ion Batteries, further increasing time and providing for more stealth. She was a quiet, lethal predator.
“Weaps, what’s our war shot status?”
“Sir, tubes two to four Mk48. Tube one is being loaded with a Mk48 right now. Tubes five and six Harpoon.”
“Remove a Harpoon and get Deputy Dawg in there.”
“Aye sir.”
Deputy Dawg was a Pointer, a torpedo tube launched retrievable self-propelled underwater drone. It was wire guided or free swimming. Named after the hunting dog, it could act as a passive or active sonar detector. A Pointer can appear to an enemy as a submarine and can deploy countermeasures or simulate a torpedo launch. It’s unarmed, but a great remote sensor or tool to spread confusion among any opponents. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and the wizards of underwater deception, L-3 Chesapeake Sciences Corp. The boat had four of them, all named after cartoon dogs. The rest were named Scooby, Ren and Stimpy.
“Sir, we have a seamount ahead; suggest we come left, there’s a deep channel there,” said Nikki.
“Ok, Planesman come 30 degrees to port.”
The boat turned to port and tilted to the left.
“That’s it, sir, we’re over the channel in the clear now.”
“Thanks, Nikki. Resume course to the north Planesman.”
“North, aye sir. Maintain depth and speed.”
Nathan looked to his highly skilled sonar operator, whose nickname was the Virginia Visionary. “Benson, keep those big sonar ears tuned in. He’s a quiet one, call for a coast if needed.”
The boat would sometimes coast with its engine off to listen for the enemy. The boat sailed slowly north along the channel at 600 feet and, after two miles or so, Benson looked up.
“Sir, can we have a coast? I may have something.”
“All ahead stop.”
“All ahead stop, aye sir,” replied the Planesman.
USS Stonewall Jackson slowed and became silent. Benson listened to the sea; he was at home now. He knew the sounds of biologics: marine creatures such as whales. He’d learned the tricky art of listening for shoals of squid.
“Sir, I think we have something. Bearing 40 degrees, heading south at eight knots. Range is tough, but I’d say six or eight miles. He’s not a nuke.”
Nikki looked over at Nathan. “Sir, he’s going to disappear down the next channel to us. He’s at 700 feet, well below the ridgeline peaks.”