part0050

The last hours of December 2nd were slipping away as the Chinese fleet moved south towards Ranai on Riau. That airfield was still not in any shape to receive aircraft, but repairs were ongoing. A KJ-200 out of Tan Son Nhat airbase was loitering over the fleet, its radar eyes extending out 240 miles to the south.

Three task forces made up the fleet. First came the SAG Saigon, a mixed group of four Vietnamese destroyers and five older Chinese frigates. Forty miles to the north, Admiral Wu Jinlong now set his flag on China’s last real fleet carrier, Taifeng , and he was escorted by a strong surface group.

A new ship was about to make its debut in the war, the next evolution of the Type 055, designated the Type 057A guided missile cruiser. It was built on a modified Type 055 hull and superstructure, but instead of having only two 64 cell VLS bays forward, a third bay, with 32 cells was mounted on the island above the helicopter hangars. It was entirely dedicated to SSM ordnance, carrying 32 YJ-18’s. The main VLS bays were then primarily loaded for air defense with 96 HQ-9’s between them, with room left over for 8 Yu-7 ASROC missile torpedoes, 16 long range YJ-100’s and another eight YJ-18’s. A medium range SAM system, the HQ-16A, was also added in a separate small bay forward, with 16 missiles, and the ship had two laser turrets augmenting its three 30mm Gatling guns. It was the first of its kind, and a dangerous harbinger of things to come in the Chinese Navy, christened as CG Zanshi , the Warrior .

Two other Type 055’s escorted the carrier, Fengshen , the Wind God , and Daishen , the Lightning God , appropriately named ships to accompany a carrier named Taifeng . Both were strongly weighted for air defense, with each carrying 100 HQ-9’s. A single Type 052D destroyer was positioned for close escort, and there were four new Type 054B frigates, the latest evolution of that design.

On these newer ships, the Chinese had removed the traditional triple mount 324mm torpedoes. Experience had shown that they would almost never be used in actual combat, as they required the firing ship to be right on top of the enemy sub. In fact, they often became a liability when the ship was hit, easily damaged or even exploding when hit by shrapnel or any SSM ordnance. Instead, they were replaced by the YU-7 ASROC, which could fire from a VLS bay at an undersea target up to 30 miles away. On these new frigates, the two older Quad YJ-83 SSM mounts were also replaced by three triple YJ-12 mounts. The older missile could only range out 100 miles, and the newer one could reach 215 miles.

So the Chinese were evolving their navy to increase SSM range and air defense across the board. The appearance of Zanshi , the new Warrior class ship, was sobering. While not as powerful as either New Jersey or Kirov , it showed Chinese ambitions and interest in heavy surface combatants. At that time, no one knew that ship had sailed from Shanghai. It was actually thought to be a third Type 055 escorting the carrier, and no one knew how many more were in the shipyards.

It is clear that Beijing does not want this carrier harmed, thought Wu Jinlong. That said, I must be aggressive here, as Zhang Bao exhorted. Pass like thunder and lightning. Move like the wind. And there they are, a pair of Type 055’s, cruising off my bow named after lightning and wind. My enemy is strong, but we are stronger, and yes, we must prevail.

TF Saigon would be called upon to deliver the first blows of this campaign. The Vietnamese destroyers were French built, and carried the Naval SCALP cruise missile, a land attack weapon with a 550 mile range. DDG Da Nang was selected to fire its 16 missiles at Changi Airfield, and see if they could put more damage there to impede enemy operations. Basically a Storm Shadow, the missiles were very stealthy, and not seen by a pair of F-22’s on CAP until they were almost right below them.

That would send out the AMRAAM’s after those cruise missiles, and also sound the alarm at Changi and Singapore harbors. There were two strike packages on the field, loaded with ordnance, and they were ordered up at once to save the planes from damage, along with two more Raptors.

The AMRAAM’s had little luck in their hunt, with five of six failing to find targets. Word was flashed to Changi, and radars on the SAM defense sites switched on. Singapore had bought the French Mamba, which was basically a land based TEL mounted Aster-30 missile system ranging out 60 miles for long range defense. The inner circle was an older RBS-97 I-Hawk system, ranging about 20 miles. Six Avenger-II’s carrying LRASM and six more British Typhoons with Storm Shadow roared aloft, heading north up the Malay coast with their Raptor escort.

Minutes later, both the E-3 Sentry and the flight of Avenger II’s got the next whiff of those incoming Vampires, just eleven miles from the orbiting AEW plane, down at 300 feet elevation. That was a latecomer, first of the missiles were already making their attack on the airfield. One was engaged and hit by the short range Israeli built SPYDER battery they had overflown. Four got through and raged into the open tarmac space with thundering explosions. Four more followed them. The missiles mostly tore up concrete, but one of the last found a Poseidon slated for ASW patrol and blew it apart. Neither the I-Hawks nor the Mambas got off a single shot. Being positioned in the center of the island, they could just not illuminate the Vampires to get a good lock. It was therefore decided to move them close to the airfield on the eastern end of the island.

The E-3 had pegged the position of Shandong , which the US now called the “Gator,” after the smaller Marine carriers that supported their fleet. That flight of six planes could send 24 missiles out, and they had the range now….

Aboard Kirov , Nikolin had been listening closely to the radio traffic between the E-3 Sentry and those aircraft. He was able to determine that a strike order was sent, and informed Karpov at 07:00.

“Gator…. Alligator…” Karpov’s eyes narrowed. “That’s what the Americans call their light amphibious assault carriers. It must mean they have found Shandong , the only light carrier the Chinese could have operational out there now. Samsonov, standby for missile combat.”

Karpov rushed to the tactical screen, zooming in on the targeted formation. There it was, Shandong , surrounded by a cluster of eight escorts. Now his screen finally updated from the network, and he could see the intended flight paths of the SSM’s.

“They are LRASM’s” he said, “The air launched version, which is a sea skimmer at 600 knots. Good, that gives us time to warm up the Zircons. Samsonov, give me eight, in two sets of four. I want you to send them up here, northwest and behind that carrier. Make your attack vector 115 degrees.”

It was the same strategy he had used to hit this carrier earlier, but the ship had been struck in non-vital areas, and the damage repaired in a single long day in port. Now Karpov was gunning for Shandong again.

The Chinese CAP of J-31’s would detect the missiles, storming out at over 4000 knots, altitude unknown. They raced over the fighters, which were powerless to stop them, and passed the Chinese formation, about 50 miles to the west. They might have thought they were ballistic missiles because of their profile, heading north towards Vietnam. Then the missiles made their first of three planned turns, coming to about 65 degrees, now at just over 3000 knots. When they made the second turn, coming to 115 degrees on the assigned attack vector, the ships began to fire the only missiles that might catch them, the HQ-9B. That turn had slowed the Zircons to 2600 knots, still faster than any other SSM on earth.

DDG Xining was trailing about 3 miles behind the carrier, and was first to fire two SAM’s. DDG Jinlong , the Golden Dragon , had also put two missiles out. The first pair both missed their blazing fast targets. Those fired by Jinlong wheeled and were able to get one Zircon. Then the Type 052D class DDG’s Xining and Xiamen poured out more fire, putting six missiles in the air to get after the last three Vampires. The Zircons made their final turn, two more found and killed, but the last was inside five miles and coming at just over 2000 knots. It could close to the target in ten seconds. Both HQ9’s missed it, the guns fired and failed, chaff rockets bloomed around the carrier, but could not fool that demon, then the jammers screamed out in vain, and Karpov had his first hit.

It was a glancing blow, and in fact, one of the frigates actually clipped the missile with its gunfire just as it was about to strike the carrier, but it forged on through, achieving a partial penetration of the hull, and exploding with angry red fire, very low on the waterline. White smoke and steam was hissing as the seawater extinguished the flames, but the threat would not come from fire, but from water. There was soon serious flooding reported forward, beneath the ski lift bow of the carrier.

Fedorov could see how Karpov clenched his fist, and noted the light of battle in his eyes. He was his old self again, the shroud of sorrow thrown off. Now he looked to the tactical board, watching the first of the LRASM’s begin to make their approach.

The Chinese had found they could still launch fighters, and now the engines of their J-31’s were revving up to take off, the planes leaping off the end of that ski jump bow, and streaking off to the west. More enemy missiles, down on the water, had been seen by the Falcon CAP patrol off that carrier, and it was already engaging them.

Shandong was slowing, the real extent of the damage forward now being reported to the Captain Zheng. The 30mm gun that had been fired by a nearby frigate had clipped the missile, tilting it downward so it hit very low on the water, and at a glancing angle. That had ripped the hull open like a fiery dagger, and the carrier was in serious trouble of foundering, the pumps unable to control the incoming rush of the sea. Crews were desperately sealing off watertight doors, but the flooding spanned many compartments, and the ship was already down at the bow.

As if realizing their peril, J-31’s were still bravely trying to take off to gain the safety of the open sky, rather than facing an ignominious end in the sea. They leapt off the ship, one by one, like dark birds from a tree limb. As the first trains of LRASM’s began to vector in, FFG Jingzhou fired off her HQ-16 SAM’s in defense. The American missiles were stealthy, and only ships at certain angles to their advance seemed to be able to get any radar illumination on them.

“Aye sir! Missiles away!” the excitement of the moment was catching. Fedorov came over to watch on the radars with Rodenko, and Nikolin was leaning to try and get a peek. Only Tasarov sat, unmoved beneath his headset, his mind and thoughts in another world, deep beneath the sea.

Brave Jingzhou was able to take down one train of four Vampires, which had even befuddled DDG Chilong , the Red Dragon . From that ship’s angle, they could just not resolve a firing solution on the American missiles. Now the J-31’s began to swoop lower, like the falcon hawks they were named after. They were adding their PL-15’s to the defense, and getting hits from above.

In the heat of that action, four lances came in from the west at a terrible speed, and DDG Xining was the only ship that had a firing solution. It sent eight HQ-9’s out after them. They killed three of the four, the last forging on through after Shandong . It was guns and jammers that saved the carrier from a second hit, but three more LRASM’s had weathered the gauntlet of fire, and now they were bearing down on the target.

Even at a range of just eight miles, the destroyers Xiamen could not get a target lock. Frigate Wenzhou , was equally frustrated, but two others, Weifang and Wuzhi, were inside three miles from the carrier, and had a better angle for their HQ-16’s, but they were not getting hits. Then Shandong fired its secret weapon.

The Chinese had installed them on all their high value ships, lasers, and a light sword flashed at the missiles, getting a hit on the leading Vampire. The turrets hummed and fired again, knocking down the second missile. Weifang fired two more missiles, but they would not get the last before the lasers found it and knocked it down. Those turrets had saved the carrier from what looked like certain destruction, a light speed close in defense weapon that had weighed heavily in the balance. The SAM missiles seemed like slow dogs by comparison.

“I think it took them completely by surprise. The LRASM’s were slower, and the lasers had to come on line, apparently just in time to get those last three American missiles. But look how close they came. Even the J-31’s were unable to get at many of them. Tomahawks would have never gotten through that defense. There were ten escorts around that carrier! Look, it’s turning to head north. I think we mission killed the damn thing with that first hit.”

“Amazing,” said Fedorov. “This indicates that 32 missiles were fired in this engagement, and only our Zircon got through in that first salvo, but you may be right. The carrier is turning.”

“They’ll be angry,” said Karpov. “Expect a counterattack, and soon. I’d fire again, but look how they are surrounding the carrier with all these frigates. They are literally forming a wall of steel around that ship.”