What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 386 This is a conspiracy
South Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Suriname.

The main fleet of the task force, which had been sitting comfortably, now appeared to be on high alert and deployed into a standard battle formation.

Several Arleigh Burke and Ticonderoga ships occupied the outer perimeter, firmly protecting the Enterprise in the very center.

Meanwhile, the latter was also working at full speed, with two squadrons of F-14s being towed onto the deck and soaring into the sky as steam was released.

Fern's flagship, the USS Kearsarge amphibious assault ship, is engaged in tense communication with Captain Calvin of the USS Enterprise.

Just an hour earlier, the helicopters aboard the USS Morrison were conducting a routine anti-submarine patrol when they suddenly detected a high-speed, high-altitude target approaching from more than 20 kilometers away, with a speed very close to the speed of sound.

The helicopter immediately sounded the alarm and descended. The radars of the USS Morrison frigate and the USS Mitchell destroyer reacted very quickly and also noticed the target almost simultaneously.

At the time, the unknown target was at an altitude of about 4000 meters. Its course, radar signature and speed were clearly not those of any passenger plane. Although it was not heading straight for the carrier group, its course was very close.

The Morrison immediately identified itself and made an inquiry. However, upon hearing the inquiry, the other side suddenly changed direction, lowered its altitude, and rushed towards the main fleet, quickly accelerating to Mach 1.3.

After consulting with Fern, the Morrison's continuous fire control radar lock-on warnings were ignored. When it was 23 kilometers away from the formation, it launched two Standard Missile-1s to intercept and shot down one of them.

Before the startled formation could even confirm what it had shot down, less than five minutes later, the advanced Arleigh Burke-class radar detected multiple ultra-low-altitude, high-speed targets suddenly appearing on the sea surface, attempting to approach the formation at low altitude, with a distance of less than 40 kilometers!

Moreover, the intermittent signal indicates that the aircraft was flying at a sea-skimming altitude of 50 meters to avoid the powerful scanning of the AN/SPY1 radar, reminiscent of the Battle of the Falklands.
The Super Étendard Type 42 penetration missile is still a classic international case, but ultra-low-altitude penetration also has its limitations:

The essence of low-altitude penetration is to use the curvature of the earth to lower one's altitude to 10 to 50 meters close to the sea/land, making it difficult or even impossible for radar to detect within 50 kilometers.

Fortunately, Calvin was very careful to maintain the E2's sortie rate, directly looking down from the air and guiding the Morrison to launch four Standard Missile 1s and the Mitchell to launch two Standard Missile 2s, sending those three little guys that appeared out of nowhere to the bottom of the sea.

This alarmed the entire fleet. Although the Enterprise was on a mission to Antarctica, it was still deployed at full strength, with a steady stream of helicopters and fighter jets being pushed to takeoff positions and sent out to search for any other audacious individuals.

……

[Flagship Story Mission: Hold back the Antarctic Task Force's main fleet and eliminate as many enemies as possible]

[Task Difficulty: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆]

[Enemy ships: Battleship x1 (??), Aircraft carrier x1 (??), Cruiser x2 (??), Destroyer x2 (??), Frigate x3 (??), Unknown warship x1 (??)]

[Our warship: U-69 (Tier VII, buffed) x1]

[Summary: The enemy is seeking a decisive battle with our main force; weaken them as much as possible before that happens.]

[Requirement: Cause as much damage as possible within 144 hours]

[Mission Rewards: 10 Super Supply Crates, 500 million Silver, 5000 Gold, American-class ☆ Super Cruiser: Annapolis]

As the voice in his head sounded, Tang Wen knew that the U-boat had spotted its target.

The first batch of 10 submarines underwent catapult conversions, primarily to verify whether they met the requirements. After the conversions were completed, they were released back into the sea from the South Pacific and sailed a tremendous distance, crossing the Drake Passage from the vast South Pacific before heading south to find the task force.

Despite the large size of the task force, it is very troublesome to track and is often easy to lose track of.

Regardless of the type of U-boat, they are either too slow to keep up with the task force, or too fast and noisy, which would attract strangulation. So most of the time, they rely on an exaggerated number of them to hold fixed positions and then share information in real time.

However, with the Bremerton and Kosomoyets now available, Tang Wen sent them out, and with careful attention, they could keep tracking the enemy.

But before they could pinpoint their targets, U-69s could only launch planes aimlessly, hoping for the best, until they were finally spotted. Upon discovering the Enterprise formation, Donald's first action was to order the Kosomoyets, which was planning to track them, to immediately move away to avoid engaging in combat and reducing mission gains.

This time it's a ten-star boost, even higher than the last major battle.

Now that the location has been found, the remaining task is to hand it over to the enhanced U69 for harassment.

A complete carrier strike group has a formidable air defense capability; even in a sudden encounter, a single E-2 can effectively suppress the entire airspace.

Add to that a flock of big cats taking off, and they practically rule the entire sky.

Fortunately, the U69 has pilots who are fearless and don't eat or drink, so there are at least six nights when they can launch continuous ultra-low-altitude sea-skimming breakthroughs, and there will always be an opportunity.

More than 300 kilometers away from the Enterprise formation, a U-boat with a long sliding rail on its back sensed that four aircraft had been shot down and silently submerged again.

The main fleet must be on high alert with all radars turned on, while U69 only needs to wait until nightfall, when that will be its home turf.

……

"The main fleet has been attacked by air? Air attack?"

The international situation is tense and turbulent, and Rams is extremely busy, especially with today's big news: the world's largest warship was launched on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Although he also understands military affairs, he doesn't know how to view it for the time being, and is mobilizing manpower from all sides to search for intelligence and make judgments.

Then news came that the Antarctic task force's main fleet had been attacked by air.

"I think you've already received the message."

Kazimirz hurriedly found him and started talking about this matter.

"Damn, how is this possible!"

Even though all four planes had been shot down, Rams showed no sign of joy; on the contrary, he was furious.
"Shit, the IAA is a pile of shit! Given the main fleet's location, the only way to take off is from Lamei, from what they call their backyard! Is this the territory they've been cultivating for decades?"

Kazimirz's expression was also quite unpleasant, and he said in a low voice:

“I suspect that KBG may be involved.”

Rams, who was furious, froze and looked at him strangely.

The latter quickly waved his hand:
"I know you all think I'm always thinking about dealing with the Russians, but if you think about it carefully, the existence of the Second Fleet could not possibly be solely due to its own efforts; it must have received funding from some superpower."

"Without Russian support, how could anyone secretly deploy fighter jets right under our noses?"

Rams: "..."

Kazimirz continues:
"Although it may sound unlikely, we know that nothing is impossible. Perhaps the Second Fleet itself was an important backup plan, but it was just too sudden to be used."

Now that they're unwilling to perish, they've come out to play tricks and deceive people.

(End of this chapter)