What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 402 Flood Offensive
Max realized that the mistake actually occurred after he gave the order to fire:

Being in a state of alert for a long time can easily lead to over-fatigue, just like a person who stays up all night, whose eyes are still open but whose mind is already somewhat numb and out of control.

When the airborne target was spotted in the situation room, Max and the staff on the USS Barry made a judgment purely based on years of accumulated instincts, and unanimously decided to immediately launch missiles to retaliate and wake up the fleet.

The crew members who were carrying out the orders were already highly focused and faithfully carried them out.

Strong adrenaline and dopamine only reach the brain after the command is given, causing the mind to re-examine the previous decision.

They quickly reviewed the previous radar data:
The aircraft formation did not fly straight towards them, but deviated considerably from their direction:
This indicates that the fleet's coordinates have not been leaked, and they are searching for the fleet's direction.

This is a decoy; they're trying to lure radar light in!

However, the first decoy only had four aircraft, and the subsequent harassment was only one or two. In addition, they also believed that elite pilots were precious and should not be wasted too casually, so they directly identified these 15 aircraft as the main attack group.

However, it was too late for regrets. At this moment, the radar of the entire fleet continued to emit signals like a lighthouse in the darkness, which was even more dazzling than the sun!
When the message came through, Fern understood almost immediately, and even the captains of the other warships learned of this possibility at the same time.

Of course, it could also be a false alarm, after all, previous attacks only involved two formations of 15 aircraft, and this one too...

"A massive air situation spanning fifteen kilometers!"

The screams coming from the radar room made Fern feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

……

How long does it take to travel 75 kilometers?
It only takes 180 seconds to fly at full speed of 1500 kilometers per hour.

It takes only 144 seconds to reach the 15-kilometer mark where it was discovered, and only 36 seconds to arrive.

Moreover, the fact that the aircraft were detected at 15 kilometers was not due to the Arleigh Burke's powerful radar, but rather because the formation needed to disperse to facilitate the selection of attack targets and to prevent several aircraft from being shot down in one shot.

Otherwise, it would be a huge waste if so many planes couldn't brake in time and all crashed together.

How large is it if 270 mosquito gnats are scattered?
At this moment, the distance between them increased from less than 3 meters to at least 100 meters. The aircraft formation on the sea surface suddenly formed an extremely large one-way reflective surface with a frontal width of several kilometers, and the resulting reflected waves were extremely dazzling.

While separating from the formation, they also entered the range of the AIM-9B—although the old-fashioned infrared seeker was terrible, it was still easy to find the warship's smokestack in the rain.

The 270 gnats carrying 540 rattlesnakes swarmed out, creating a sky full of bright spots on the radar.

……

For the AN/SPY-1D radar, the screen was instantly filled with countless signals.

The sheer number of them was so overwhelming that people who saw them initially thought it was due to electronic interference.

However, when 540 Sidewinder missiles were launched one after another, targeting a total of 810 targets, even the most powerful Aegis-equipped ship computer on the planet was dumbfounded:

Although theoretically it can detect targets up to 450 kilometers away and lock onto 900 targets, there's a saying that goes, "like a peddler praising his own wares."

Perhaps such performance is indeed achievable, but it is certainly based on some extremely ideal, or even purely numerically calculated theoretical data, and is merely a propaganda trick by the military-industrial complex.

Now, the incoming targets are overwhelming the phased array radar with their sheer numbers, and every warship in the fleet can only hear alarms that are more urgent than breathing.

"Secondary guns, fire!"

Edwin reacted in less than a second and issued the order, and the modernized MK12 twin 127mm naval guns began to fire.

Thanks to the constant fear of air attacks, the USS New Jersey was pre-loaded with proximity anti-aircraft shells. However, unfortunately, the USS New Jersey only had two twin secondary guns on each side, resulting in a very limited density of four guns.

In fact, at the very moment the secondary guns opened fire, a total of 540 Sidewinder missiles engulfed the fleet like a mudslide.

Under the powerful spotlights, you could even see the dark shadows in that area!

AIM9B响尾蛇的弹头是10公斤破片战斗部，要知道一枚155榴弹炮的装药量也才6到7公斤呢！
In just over ten seconds, the rattlesnake had reached its target.

Although the Phalanx CIWS opened fire with all its might, it could only shoot down a few missiles before it was too late.

Countless bursts of fire erupted from the front of each warship, each shell possessing the power of a 155mm high-explosive round. In less than five seconds, all 540 shells covered the entire fleet.

Max felt the warship beneath him vibrating like an iron box, and the hull was illuminated by countless flashes of light.

The infrared seeker only locked onto the midships of the funnel. Even though the power of a single missile was limited, it could not withstand the continuous attacks. Within seconds, a shocking hole was blasted into the funnel of the Barry. At the same time, the phased array radar behind it was also damaged by continuous vibrations and shock waves.

Air-to-air missiles are far more maneuverable than anti-ship missiles, making it easier to strike warships than to fire at a target, achieving a 100% hit rate.

However, in the logic of infrared seekers, the vast majority of them chose the most conspicuous target—the USS New Jersey.

The battleship's boiler power and chimney heat were brighter than any other warship, while the Enterprise, due to its small island and nuclear power, had only a negligible amount of heat emanating from the auxiliary flue of the diesel generator set.

At least half of the 570 missiles crashed headlong into the USS New Jersey. Even the intense heat of the missiles fired from four Phalanx CIWS was to no avail; all that could be seen were a dozen or so bursts of fire a few hundred meters away.

This also led to an extremely bad thing:

Although the four anti-ship missile launchers between the two funnels of the battleship were reinforced with protection, air-to-air missile attacks came from above.

(The purple circled in blue below)
The swarm of over 200 Rattlesnake missiles unsurprisingly damaged the launch tube casing, compressing the harpoon casing inside. Combined with the violent tremors, the catastrophic explosion that had occurred on the USS Wisconsin was repeated.

The violent explosion immediately caused Edwin to stumble and fall onto the command platform, his peripheral vision only revealing flames spreading from the mid-stern of the ship.

Within just five seconds, all 12 ships (including two supply ships) were attacked, with explosions occurring one after another. Even the USS Enterprise was not spared, as its island superstructure was hit by more than a dozen missiles, resulting in the destruction of part of the aft section of the island superstructure and the direct failure of its antennas.

Before everyone's heads had even started to buzz and they could react, the rattlesnake's explosion had just ended, and 270 gnats followed in quick succession.

The flashes from the 12 explosions provided the gnats with clearer guidance, allowing them to immediately begin allocating targets.

Tang Wen spotted the Enterprise hiding in the very center and immediately dispatched 100 aircraft to swarm over it.

Apart from the secondary guns of the USS New Jersey, the guns of the other frigates and destroyers below were firing regardless of what ammunition they were loaded with, but none of them were Phalanx CIWS.

A Phalanx CIWS with a firing rate of 4500 rounds per minute and a reserve of only 1500 rounds has already been exhausted by the countless Sidewinder missiles fired earlier. Now, it can only watch helplessly as the missiles sway aimlessly under radar control, unsure of which target to lock onto, with its empty ammunition magazine containing nothing.

At that time, the two secondary guns of the USS Wisconsin achieved considerable success at close range, shooting down nearly 10 aircraft in succession due to the exaggerated density of the aircraft formation.

But all efforts are in vain in the face of gnats traveling at Mach 1.2.

A Gnat broke through the fragile defenses and swooped towards the Kearsarge. The remaining 1-ton fuselage collided with the aircraft at supersonic speed, detonating the RDX in its nose.

Having just survived the rattlesnake crisis, Fern was still catching his breath when the shock caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

The moment its head hit the ground, four drones followed the impact and explosion almost simultaneously.

(End of this chapter)