The Military-industrial Scientific Research System of the Academic Master Chapter 335

Chapter 335 Sea Harrier Takes Off

Later that day, about 50 nautical miles northeast of Nanci Island.

A huge fleet consisting of more than thirty ships is slowly sailing due north.

On the aircraft carrier Excellence in the center of the fleet, Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Alan West is sitting in the Combat Information Center (CIC), his eyes fixed on the circular radar screen in front of him.

 Since about 20 hours ago, two old Chinese warships have loomed near the fleet.

 But this is not a point of particular concern to the Major General.

An inconspicuous signal is displayed at the edge of the screen. It looks like a slow passenger plane or transport aircraft, but from the zigzag route it flies, it is not difficult to judge that it is conducting a sea search. Task.

The Invincible-class aircraft carrier referred to the experience of the Soviet Union when preparing its budget, and deceived the parliamentarians in the name of an "all-deck command cruiser." This decision resulted in the ship paying the price of reduced combat effectiveness in many aspects, but At least it brought a CIC that far exceeded the tonnage standard of this ship.

After the data link system was upgraded in the early 1990s, the commander sitting here can see the targets searched by other ships in the entire fleet.

 This is particularly important for the Royal Navy, which experienced heavy losses in 1982.

 Also upgraded after 1982 was the radar equipment of the Type 42 destroyer.

But even so, West is still a little worried.

 After all, as the captain of the sunk frigate Enthusiasm, he had a close brush with death.

And now the major general in a high position already knows that the Type 42, or the entire Royal Navy fleet's air defense problem, actually only retains dedicated long-range warning radar and fire control radar, but it was later proved that such a configuration saves money. place, but it is difficult to connect during combat.

A common situation is that the long-range warning radar has clearly seen the target, but the fire control radar cannot accurately lock it and can only watch.

 This is not a problem that can be solved simply by upgrading equipment.

But there is good news. The newly added Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset can make up for this problem to a certain extent.

During several small-scale maneuvers along the way, Alan had to admit that he had some past prejudices against this new model and its captain, Dorsem Slater, the son of the current First Sea Lord.

The Su-22 of the Annan Air Force simulated the low-altitude penetration strategy of the Super Etendard many times in an attempt to break through the air defense network, but was successfully intercepted every time, including several simulated anti-ship missile targets.

 This made the major general feel somewhat relieved.

What made him even more troubled was that many people in the country regarded this operation as a royal parade like a century ago, without any sense of the seriousness of a military mission.

 As a result, this fleet, which was quite professional and capable when setting sail, was required to include various unnecessary non-combat ships along the way.

Originally, according to the Rear Admiral's plan, one Fort Victoria and one Fort Rosalie logistics supply ship were enough to sustain the operation. After all, there would be more than a dozen ports to stop along the way, and most of the supplies could be on shore. conduct.

However, now, the fleet has expanded to nearly 40 ships, more than half of which are unplanned transport ships and oil tankers. Most of them do not even have the ability to resupply during travel and can only rely on helicopters to lift and transfer supplies.

Reasons include, but are not limited to, some trust relationships to fill ships in which descendants of the family hold positions, hoping to add to their resumes, and some companies register their almost abandoned small cargo ships as oil carriers to join the fleet to obtain Special royal subsidies for participating in the royal parade.

 That's right, from the very beginning, the Conservative cabinet followed the standards and caliber of the “Royal Parade” in its propaganda.

This operation allowed them to quickly boost their already precarious support rate and delay the suspense over the distribution of parliamentary seats that should have been settled in early May for two months.

As a professional naval commander, West naturally refused to do this at first, but many companies have high-level and even royal connections behind them, which is not something he can manage as a mere major general.

This situation reached its peak five days ago when a royal cruise ship full of tourists joined the group.

 The entire fleet is now more like a tourist group.

“Alan, this target is nearly 300 kilometers away from us, and you have been staring at it for almost 10 minutes.”

　　A man of similar age came up from behind West, patted him on the shoulder and said.

 The former showed a slight expression of disgust on his face, but it was only fleeting.

 Vice Admiral Michael Boise, who is rumored to be the next First Sea Lord to succeed Jock Slater.

This kind of rumor is actually a leak before the appointment, and it is often extremely accurate, so West is not willing to offend such a popular person.

“Sir, before the Zealot and Sheffield were sunk, the fleet was monitored by a P2 patrol aircraft wandering around the edge of the defense zone for such a long time.”

Every detail about Falklands will echo in West's mind in this life.

This answer made Boise frown.

In the process of appointing the new Sea Lord, the biggest obstacle he encountered was that some people pointed out that he had no experience in commanding or even participating in any major maritime missions.

His forced intervention in the middle this time was to silence this critical voice.

 And now someone is mentioning this matter in person, which will undoubtedly make the Lieutenant General feel unhappy.

 So he simply replied:

“If you are really afraid of this target, you might as well take off a formation to verify it. We can't analyze anything even if we just watch here.”

 West turned his head slightly and glanced at Boise behind him with his peripheral vision, but did not give any direct response.

  The latter joined the fleet with the royal cruise ship.

 In fact, Michael Boise is closer to a political officer than a naval admiral.

The most unbearable thing for West is that the lieutenant general himself has no such consciousness.

Since joining the fleet, the latter has taken a helicopter to the aircraft carrier Excellence to stay for a few hours almost every day. Theoretically, as the fleet commander, West should have the highest command authority.

 But when a person with a higher military rank, a knighthood, and a high probability of becoming the next Sea Lord stands in the CIC, it is difficult for him not to be disturbed.

 The same is true for other people in CIC.

For example, sitting opposite the Rear Admiral, Colonel Lejar Dennis, the captain of the aircraft carrier Excellence, who had been silent just now, suddenly said:

“General West, before setting sail, I specifically read the detailed information on the Chinese navy and air force provided by the intelligence department.”

"The Su-27 aircraft with the longest range of the Chinese military currently has a very low readiness rate and can only be stationed at an inland airport. The remaining aircraft do not pose any threat to us in terms of range or performance, so they can only dispatch one aircraft at most. It's just a patrol aircraft with no attack capabilities, so even if a group of Sea Harriers are sent out, it shouldn't matter.”

“Even if we send them out, what's the use?”

 West shook his head, "The target position is almost at the edge of the Sea Harrier's combat radius. Even if we take off, the aircraft only needs to retreat slightly to avoid direct contact with our aircraft."

 Such an argument is naturally untenable.

The purpose of the eviction mission is to drive away the opponent's aircraft. As long as the target retreats, the goal is achieved.

 Actually, this is just a temporary rhetoric used by West to deceive Boise.

The real reason is that there were originally 14 Sea Harrier FA.2 fighter jets on board the Excellence, but 4 aircraft are currently undergoing maintenance due to recent continuous exercises, and the other two have just taken off and are planning to conduct a sea battle with the Su-22 of the Annan Air Force. During the attack drill, there were only 8 usable aircraft in hand.

Considering that the two Sea Harriers carrying out sea attack missions would soon return, West was unwilling to send out additional aircraft at this time.

Since there is no angled deck, the Sea Harrier can only take off vertically when an aircraft is preparing on the deck.

That blank time is almost negligible.

Another coincidence when HMS Enthusiasm and HMS Sheffield were sunk was that a group of Sea Harriers on a bombing mission just happened to return from their missions, resulting in the fleet being unable to obtain effective cover for a long period of time.

The incoming aircraft were actually detected by radar in the final stage, but except for the rifles in the hands of the sailors, the entire fleet could not find any weapons capable of performing air defense tasks.

However, West's excuse was able to deceive Boise, but he could not convince Dennis next to him.

The latter hesitated, but finally decided to support Boise, who had a higher military rank.

And the reason West just gave is indeed comparable to lying to a fool.

"We don't need direct contact. According to the situation sheet, the only one in China that can perform this kind of mission is a patrol aircraft improved on the basis of the An-12, and the radar it uses is exported by our country. In fact, It's the same model used by our ship's early warning helicopter.”

 “Is there such a thing?”

 Boise was immediately attracted by the news.

"so what?"

“So the Sea Harrier can carry an interference pod. Although it is an old model that was put into service many years ago, it can only inject interference to the front in a fixed way, but at least it is very effective for our own radar.”

 West realized it might be hard to say no anymore.

However, he still made a last-ditch effort:

“Perhaps you are right, Colonel, but after all, that is what you saw before we set sail. It may be different now, and the efficiency of our intelligence department is also..."

However, this time he was interrupted directly by Boise:

“Major General, even though you have sailed around half of the region, it has only been five months. Do you think the situation in China will change drastically in such a short period of time?”

"this…"

West could not answer.

 Because according to common sense, 5 months is really not enough time.

“As for the efficiency of our country's intelligence services…”

Lieutenant General quickly stepped forward and sat opposite West in a very oppressive posture:

 “They are not the Soviet Union.”

At this point, West really has nothing more to say.

 Because to say the least, they are not in a state of war, and they have not entered any country's territorial waters yet.

 Although everyone knows that this is a provocation, it does not violate any international conventions.

Even the major general himself cannot imagine what other response China can do other than sending warships to follow around.

In fact, those two old ships had no deterrent effect on the fleet at all. Many people on the cruise ship even used them as backgrounds to take photos. The nuclear submarine that had been hiding under the sea also simulated many torpedo attacks.

If he continues to insist on his own opinion, he will only look like a persecution delusional person.

“Okay, let the two Sea Harriers go over to take a look at the situation and try to force the target away.”

West sighed and decided to compromise.

However, after thinking about it for a while, he added another sentence:

“Take off another Sea King MK2 early warning helicopter, just in case.”

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 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end