What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 403 The Steel Is Burning (3800 Monthly Tickets in May)

Tang Wen also needed the help of airplanes to have a field of vision, so he deliberately left three airplanes scattered around to observe the battle situation.

The damage counter in the upper right corner kept ticking, telling him which warships had been hit.

Of the 540 Sidewinder missiles just launched, 43 were shot down by Phalanx CIWS and anti-aircraft fire due to their dense arrangement, while 497 hit their targets.

The most conspicuous behemoth, the USS New Jersey, took 214 hits in one go, while the other warships received between 10 and 30 hits each.

Even though the air-to-air missiles were not very powerful, their sheer number was enough to destroy the USS New Jersey, which was reduced to almost complete ruins.

While the induced secondary explosion was terrifying, it seemed insignificant compared to the swarms of mosquitoes and gnats coming straight at you.

Even though the gnats' bodies are very fragile, these groups of five aircraft almost always try to avoid crashing into the waterline, with at least two to three aircraft crashing and exploding every second.

With 270 jet engines operating at full power, 270 supersonic fighter jets soared through the air, filling the entire sky with muffled thunder, and even the heavy steel of the warships trembled.

Whenever a gnat approaches the sea surface, the seawater dozens of meters below is compressed into a gentle parabolic shape by the strong airflow.

More than two hundred planes then descended one after another like pirate ships in an amusement park, and the air currents they emitted combined to turn the originally turbulent sea below into a huge calm lake.

The port side of the USS New Jersey was engulfed in flames like firecrackers, with most of the ship covered in explosions.

If the wide and bulky battleships were in such a state, the surrounding auxiliary warships must have fared even worse:

The Barry, which was the first to receive a warning, had its funnel mostly destroyed by 23 Sidewinder missiles. Unlike steam turbines, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which use gas turbines, suffer severe power loss if their funnels are damaged.

Like other warships, the Barry accelerated at full speed to try to evade the group of targets when it spotted them, but there was very little it could do in just a few dozen seconds.

Two squadrons of ten gnawing flies swooped in at an angle into the ship's hull. When the third gnawing flew through the breach, it had already reached the interior of the ship, destroying the piping and electrical systems of the core part of the warship like a dive bomb.

Under extreme temperature and pressure, a raging fire broke out amidships of the USS Barry, illuminating the waterline of the surrounding torrential rain.

The two destroyers, three frigates, and one battleship on the outer perimeter bore the brunt of the damage in the two waves, but the grubs spared the main force of the fleet in a matter of seconds.

If the dozen or so rattlesnakes that the Enterprise encountered at the beginning could be considered a false alarm, then the threat of gnats was very real.

These fearless gnats are like ghosts born in a storm, seemingly impervious to the harsh weather and darkness.

The Enterprise has three Phalanx CIWS and three Sea Sparrow close-in weapon systems. Apart from the Sidewinder missiles that depleted the Phalanx's ammunition, the Sea Sparrow launchers have ample ammunition.

Twenty-four Sea Sparrow missiles from three 8-cell launchers streaked into the night sky. These semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, modified from the Air Force's Sea Sparrow, are highly maneuverable and are designed to intercept one aircraft at a time.

At this moment, the attacking gnats are almost clustered together at close range. The Sea Sparrow, which uses a continuous rod warhead, hardly needs to maneuver. Once it gets close enough to trigger the proximity fuse, it can tear apart a wing and may even hit more aircraft.

In addition to the Enterprise, the Kearsarge also had two Sea Sparrow launchers, and 16 anti-aircraft missiles were launched.

However, this is far from enough to deal with the almost endless fleet of aircraft.

The falling gnats did not affect the full-speed flight of the aircraft at all. The first gnat lowered its altitude and headed straight for the Enterprise's hull, crashing headfirst into the elevator in front of the island superstructure.

The hangar entrance inside the aircraft carrier was wide open, revealing neatly folded and stacked aircraft. To the horrified eyes of the ground crew, the Gnat destroyed all the aircraft in its path in one fell swoop, as well as… the oil drums and ammunition racks piled in the corner.

But what happened first was a violent shockwave and the ejection of aircraft debris. Then, kerosene from the fighter jets in the hangar began to leak, instantly causing a fire along with the damaged fuel tanks.

"Do not……"

The ground crew, who were dizzy from the shockwave, were thinking of getting up to put out the fire when they heard continuous explosions and vibrations from the starboard side.

Of the 270 Gnats, a full 100 locked onto the Enterprise. Even though many were lost in the process of breaking through the air defenses, 68 remained, like a centipede integrated into the steel of this legendary warship.

The starboard side of the ship, which was directly facing the attack, was the hardest hit area. Seven or eight gnats flew directly into the hangar with exaggerated skills, while many more were launched directly onto the deck.

At that moment, Brooke, who had rushed to the deck to take off and have the ground crew tow the E2 away as soon as he heard the alarm, had not yet gotten close to the tethered aircraft when he saw this precious air raid sergeant being blown away by a supersonic gadget, turning into scrap metal and being thrown into the sea with a cloud of smoke from the violent collision.

Each attack by a gnat meant that up to four wingmen would arrive in quick succession within one second, and the original E2 tethered position was immediately occupied by the huge explosions caused by the remaining four wingmen.

The spreading air currents propelled the rain, which hit people like being doused with water. Brooke was swept to the ground, and a piece of shrapnel, whose owner was unknown, tore a large gash in his shoulder.

However, before he could catch his breath, he looked up and saw more dark figures mercilessly crashing down through the rain curtain illuminated by the lights, each one accompanied by a tremor and an explosion beneath his feet.

He was deaf and ran frantically to the left on instinct until he suddenly felt a heat wave behind him, and he was lifted into the air and lost consciousness.

……

It took less than 30 seconds from the discovery of the swarm of gnats to the rattlesnake attack, followed by an even more powerful deadly assault in less than 10 seconds.

The last drone carrying out the attack mission crashed into the stern of the Estosine frigate on the other side, turning into a ball of fire.

50 seconds.

With 497 Sidewinder missiles and 195 aircraft hitting the target, the fleet's air defense system was overwhelmed like a flood.

When Fern woke up from the heat of the flames on his cheek, he found that all he could hear was a ringing in his ears.

He staggered, trying to grab the bulkhead, and saw that the bridge was already engulfed in flames. The crew members who had just been discussing things with him were either lying on the ground or running around shouting.

When the attendant saw him stand up, he rushed over to help him up. His mouth was wide open and he was silently saying something. Realizing that Fern could not hear him, he carried him on his back and staggered towards the infirmary.

Fern, perched on Fern's back, could see the Enterprise by tilting his head, only to find it was a burning steel island with bright flames visible through the elevator hangar entrance.

It's like a fireplace burning brightly in winter.

In his dazed state, Fern could still feel the warmth of the fireplace. Just as he was about to feel it a little longer, he saw the flames inside the "fireplace" begin to roll and expand, surging and rising from the hangar entrance.

Most of an F-18C then flew out and crashed into the nearby USS Kearsarge.

(End of this chapter)