“The two friendly surface combatants you see beyond the international boundary are patrol vessels of the Tai Chiang class,” Ye said. “Their speed and stealth let them escape detection and prosecution by submarines. We have only five of its class and cannot build them fast enough.”
“I’m not surprised,” Renard said. “I know the Tai Chiang class quite well.”
Inverted triangles caught Renard’s eye. He pointed at a red one that represented a Chinese submarine.
“If you know where it is, why not prosecute it?” he asked. “Your rules of engagement support such action.”
Ye exchanged words with the seated sailor. The sailor tapped a keyboard and the triangle faded away.
“The Tai Kuang detected the submarine with its blue-green undersea laser, but its torpedo missed. The submarine escaped, and the targeting data is now stale.”
“And what of the blue inverted triangles?” Renard asked. “There are three of them deployed, but that cannot be correct. You don’t have enough submarines for that.”
“Those are unmanned undersea vehicles,” Ye said.
“Unarmed, I hope,” Renard said. “Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but I don’t trust robots in combat.”
“They carry no weapons. They broadcast active sonar pulses and have proven effective at detecting submarines. After we detected one submarine, the Chinese have not sent submarines near our harbor.”
“I thought your anti-submarine minefield would have taken care of that itself.”
“The unmanned vessels patrol beyond the minefield. It is necessary to push them as far as we can.”
A voice rang out over the murmur behind Renard.
“Mister Renard,” Yang said, “we are ready for you.”
Flag and near-flag ranking officers created an opening for Renard and Ye to view the central horizontal monitor. A map showed an egress route from Keelung to distant international water. Triangles and squares represented tankers, surface combatants, helicopters, and a submarine.
Renard recognized Mandarin characters beside the Hai Lang and disliked its placement at the head of the convoy.
“The Chinese have been engaging shipping fifteen nautical miles from the coast,” Yang said. “Once twelve miles out, the tankers will accelerate to seventeen knots and begin forty-five-degree zigzag submarine evasion legs, slowing convoy speed of advance to twelve knots.
“The frigate Kang Ding will protect the port side of the convoy while the patrol craft Tai Ping will protect the starboard. The helicopter from the Kang Ding will patrol the port side, as it is the expected threat vector for submarines. Four F-16 aircraft armed with anti-shipping missiles will take primary responsibility to suppress surface combatant intervention.”
“Preemptive or reactionary suppression?” Renard asked.
“Reactionary,” Yang said. “Better to minimize attention to the convoy. The Chinese cannot enforce the blockade to all shipping. If tomorrow is our day, we may be fortunate enough to pass unnoticed.”
“You risk that a surface combatant’s first detectable sign of hostility is the launch of its anti-ship missiles.”
“The frigate and patrol craft would then engage the incoming missiles with air-to-air missiles,” Yang said.
“A difficult task for crews searching for submarines and possibly shooting retaliatory anti-ship missiles.”
“These are our best crews, Mister Renard. Three months ago, the Tai Ping sank a Romeo as it was preparing to fire on an inbound tanker, and the Kang Ding recently was able to harass a Romeo enough to keep it from completely destroying an inbound Japanese convoy.”
“And the Hai Lang?” Renard asked.
“It will sweep for submarines ahead of the convoy.”
Renard furrowed his brow and contemplated.
“Your opinion, Mister Renard?” Yang asked.
“This is all wrong.”
The officers broke into side conversations. Admiral Yang shouted in Mandarin, and the table fell silent.
“You’ve thrown the Hai Lang into this operation as an afterthought,” Renard said.
“Mister Renard,” Yang said. “The men around this table have planned many successful blockade runs.”
“I see this as an optimal egress escort scenario for a navy that can spare only a stealth patrol craft, a frigate, and helicopters,” Renard said. “I commend you and your staff for outlining a plan that I believe has more than a fifty percent chance of success.”
“Do not mince words,” Yang said. “We do not have the luxury of subtlety. What’s wrong with the scenario?”
“First, I would triple the helicopter coverage. You would stress the Kang Ding’s flight support crew, but if you station helicopters ahead of the convoy, you can average two and half helicopters on station while the third is in transit, refueling, or reloading sonobuoys.”
“That would conflict with the Hai Lang’s search,” Yang said. “We would need to set exclusion zones to prevent the Hai Lang from becoming a target of our own helicopters, and that is a complex matter.”
“But helicopters can use active sonar where my submarine would have to search passively for fear of counter detection,” Renard said. “Active sonar from helicopters can detect submarines of all classes and negate the quieting advantage of a Song or Kilo, should one threaten the convoy.”
“They rarely risk their best submarines against convoys for that very reason.”
“Indeed,” Renard said, “The helicopters’ main purpose, achieved by repositioning frequently, is to force any submarine lying in wait to turn from the convoy’s track. If you’re a submarine commander, a helicopter can be pinging loudly in front of you one minute, and minutes later it can be behind you. A submarine commander is safe only by disengaging.”
“Then what of the Hai Lang?” Yang asked.
Renard lifted the Zippo lighter and lit a Marlboro.
“The Hai Lang should not participate,” Renard said. “At least not directly as you have it here.”
“And why not?” Yang asked.
“I did not come here to be passive and wait,” Renard said. “I came here to hunt submarines for you. I feel confident in your ability to detect and engage Chinese Romeo, Ming, and Han submarines with your surface and air fleet. You’ve had success with them, have you not?”
“Yes,” Yang said. “We’ve detected twelve with possible hostile intent, sunk five, and forced two to surface.”
“That is commendable,” Renard said, “but I must ask if any of your quarry have been a quiet Kilo class submarine?”
Yang lowered his head.
“No,” he said and lifted his gaze. “We have yet to detect a Kilo on patrol. We had questionable contact on a Song, but classification was unconfirmed.”
“My services were engaged to alleviate this submarine threat that is the backbone of the blockade. I believe I can achieve this most effectively by taking the Hai Lang against a Kilo, and nothing less,” Renard said.
“Then you wish a separate operation?” Yang asked.
“Yes, sir,” Renard said. “Separate but related. If you will lend me the use of the patrol craft, the frigate, and the helicopters, I will reduce the Chinese submarine order of battle by at least one Kilo class submarine. As a byproduct of that effort, I shall present you a corridor through which you can send the convoy.”