Off the eastern shore of Honshu, Captain CJ Berger leaned forward in his chair on the Bridge of USS Ronald Reagan. His eyes scanned the video screens mounted below the Bridge windows as he listened to Reagan’s strike controllers over the speaker by his chair. So far, things had been quiet in the air, and everything was proceeding smoothly ashore. The Marine Expeditionary Forces were incredibly efficient, rapidly off-loading their troops and equipment. All ground combat troops were ashore and their Harrier jets and Viper and Venom attack helicopters had been striking targets inland all morning. Within twenty-four hours, their remaining equipment would be off-loaded. In the meantime, it was the task force’s job to protect the vulnerable amphibious ships. That responsibility fell largely on Reagan.
The Atlantic Fleet submarines had cleared a safe path to Honshu’s shores, then expanded outward, preventing China’s Navy from approaching close enough to become a threat. The PLA Air Force, however, was another matter. They fielded over one thousand fourth-generation fighters, while the Reagan Task Force, augmented by the Marine Joint Strike Fighters, mustered only ninety-six fighter aircraft, of which only half were on station. Three of Reagan’s fighter squadrons, along with one of the Marine squadrons, were flying CAP—Combat Air Patrol—with one squadron on its way out to relieve and another squadron on its way back for replacement pilots and refueling. On the Flight Deck, the sixth squadron of Reagan’s fighters were performing hot-pump crew switch—refueling with their jet engines still running, turning off an engine on one side of the aircraft long enough for the pilots to swap out.
Against potential Chinese air attack, the Reagan Task Force employed a layered defense. The aircraft were on the perimeter, with Reagan’s escorts—only two cruisers and four destroyers—forming an inner ring, with Reagan and the amphibious ships in the center. The maximum range of Chinese air-to-surface missiles was debatable, but Intel’s current estimate was that the range of the most capable missile variants was 150 miles. As a result, Reagan had established its Combat Air Patrol at 250 miles to allow time for their fighters to engage and destroy any inbound Chinese aircraft before they could launch their air-to-surface missiles.
Any Leakers—hostile aircraft that made it through Reagan’s Combat Air Patrol—would be shot down by Standard SM-2 and extended-range SM-6 missiles launched by the task force’s cruisers and destroyers. Any missiles launched by the Chinese jets would also be engaged with Standard missiles. And finally, if Chinese missiles made it past the SM-2s and SM-6s, Reagan and the other ships would employ their close-in Ship Self-Defense Systems, which on Reagan consisted of the ESSM and RAM missiles and the CIWS Gatling guns.
Berger preferred to have his Combat Air Patrol farther out, but the Air Warfare Commander aboard the Aegis cruiser USS Chosin had made the decision to pull them closer in. Their aircraft were already stretched thin at 250 miles. Thankfully, half of the task force’s fighters were the new Joint Strike Fighters. They were extremely capable aircraft—on paper. None had been tested in combat. But that might soon change.
Berger’s attention shifted from the video screens on the bulkhead to the speaker by his chair. The strike controllers were directing the squadron of Joint Strike Fighters returning to Reagan to turn around and head back out.
* * *
In Reagan’s Combat Direction Center, Captain Debbie Kent watched airborne contacts populate her display. Their E-2C Hawkeyes, flying high above the task force, were transmitting tracks to the cruisers, destroyers, and carrier. Kent looked up from her console, examining one of the two eight-by-ten-foot displays on the Video Wall. It was littered with several hundred contacts streaming toward the Reagan Task Force from three directions—over Honshu and around the northern and southern ends of the island.
Kent waited as the E-2C Hawkeyes above queried the incoming aircraft using the IFF—Identification Friend or Foe—system. If they were friendly aircraft, the transponders aboard would transmit the correct response to the Hawkeyes’ challenge.
The inbound icons began changing color, switching from yellow to red.
The aircraft were Hostile.
A few seconds later, the Air Warfare Commander’s voice emanated from the speaker next to Kent. “Alpha Papa, this is Alpha Whiskey. Divide your CAP into three segments and engage incoming Hostiles. You are Weapons Free.”
Kent acknowledged the order, then relayed it to the Tactical Action Officer, who directed the strike controllers to begin vectoring their fighters toward the three streams of incoming aircraft. There were too many contacts for the strike controllers to individually assign to their aircraft, so targeting would be handed over to the pilots. This was going to turn into a free-for-all. She dropped her eyes to her Cooperative Engagement Capability display, reading the summary. There were over four hundred inbound aircraft: 4-to-1 odds.
This was not going to turn out well.