What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 404 Three Strategies for Preservation
The last three Gnats hovered in the low to medium altitude, and Tang Wen could clearly see 12 burning islands of varying sizes.

【The enemy battleship is sinking! 】

The USS Morrison frigate had just suffered a large hole in its bow a few days ago. This time, it was attacked by 15 gnawing flies, 13 of which were successful, with most of the attacks reaching the waterline.

Although the lighter frigate was designed to face the enemy with its bow facing forward, four aircraft crashed into the forward deck in succession, destroying the MK13 rotary missile launcher and causing the ammunition magazine below to explode.

The entire bow was instantly torn apart and broke off in the subsequent attack, leaving only a small part stuck together, revealing a shocking cross-section that was slowly taking on water.

Furthermore, its middle and rear sections were almost completely destroyed. Although it had not yet sunk, it had been determined to be completely incapacitated and tantamount to being sunk.

However, the other warships were not much better off:

At 1:03, five minutes after the attack ended.

The rain was still falling, but it did nothing to extinguish the heat of the metal.

The midsection fire on the Barry eventually ignited the leaking oil pipelines and spread to the oil tanks, and the fire could no longer be stopped.

The high temperature also caused the surrounding steel to soften and twist, and the entire warship has bent inward at an angle to one side.

"All personnel... abandon ship."

Max, his body tattered and his face covered in blood, stood on the bridge watching the crew fighting the fire with their lives on the line, and gave his final order.

He made an excuse to destroy classified documents, but a minute later a muffled thud came from the captain's cabin.

The vice-captain attempted to open the hatch but found it locked from the inside, and ultimately had no choice but to continue ordering an evacuation.

"boom!"

A loud bang drew everyone's attention. When they turned around, they saw a reddish, spherical cloud, tens of meters high, erupting from the darkness before quickly fading into darkness.

Although they were far apart, they all knew that was the direction of the Enterprise.

The move of sneaking into the hangar is really hard to defend against. The aircraft carrier is filled with nearly 40 aircraft and various reserves of supplies, fuel and ammunition.

Even with the ground crew giving their all, they were powerless against the raging flames in the confined space.

From the moment the first destroyed plane exploded, the chain reaction was destined to continue.

After the first explosion, there were seven or eight more explosions, each of which briefly illuminated the night sky... In fact, the night sky had already been lit up by the firelight.

As the crew of the USS Barry tearfully bid farewell to Max and jumped to the abandoned ship, a small boat miraculously came to their aid.

It's the USS New Jersey.

This giant ship withstood more than 200 Rattlesnake missiles and 30 aircraft. At one point, the entire hull was engulfed in flames, making people think it had been destroyed.

However, unlike modern destroyers and frigates, a mere 150 kilograms of RDX could not cause any significant damage to the main hull; the explosion and fire only charred the exterior beyond recognition.

The crew of the USS New Jersey were all survivors of the Battle of Antigua. Although the attacks were so intense they were almost suffocating, the damage was actually not that bad.

In particular, the crew inside the ship suffered almost no casualties due to the heavy hull, and the people in the command tower were only shaken for a while.

More than one Gnat attempted to attack the area, but its approximately 450mm armor acted as a wall of sighs, perfectly blocking all damage.

Meanwhile, the crew of over a thousand people organized a highly efficient repair operation, not only bringing the fire under control in time, but Edwin also organized them to rescue other warships.

Compared to the listless sailors on the USS Barry, the crew from the J-class ships were surprisingly calm, and even after a few glances, they thought the Barry could still be repaired.

Of course, this was the only piece of good news amidst the devastation. The first thing the USS New Jersey did after recovering was to call upon other warships to attempt to organize a defense against a second wave of attacks.

The radio station gradually began to receive responses:
"USS Barry: Captain Max has been killed in action. Due to the intense fire, we are abandoning ship and will be withdrawn from combat operations."

"USS Mitchell: Our ship has lost power and is undergoing repairs. Three radars are still operational, and we can remain on alert."

"Wattsworth: Minor damage, combat-ready!"

"Estosein: Rudder malfunction, fire at the stern, expected to be extinguished within one hour!"

"..."

Apart from the sunken USS Morrison and the still potentially explosive USS Enterprise, which did not respond, all other warships reported their conditions:
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The two Ticonderoga-class destroyers, being in the inner ring, were rendered combat ineffective only by damage to two phased-array radars on the USS Valley Forge and a missile launch malfunction. The other destroyer, the USS Vincennes, was not seriously injured and remained operational.
Two gas turbine exhaust ducts on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mitchell were damaged, resulting in limited power, but the radar is still operational, giving it 60% combat capability.
Of the three Perry-class destroyers, the Morrison was unresponsive, while the Wattsworth and Estosine were severely damaged but still barely operational.
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The two supply ships were not targeted because they were not important targets. They sustained minor damage, but manpower is being organized to salvage the Enterprise.
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Finally, there was the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, which was being targeted by the aircraft carrier because it was near the carrier. The ship was in a state of disarray, and the outer island appeared to be on fire and evacuation was underway.

Most importantly, General Fern was injured and unconscious and needed medical treatment. They were being transferred to the USS New Jersey in the only surviving helicopter.

The Enterprise was in the worst situation, as simultaneous attacks from both inside and outside disrupted the ship's command system, putting it in a critical position.

With Fern unconscious and Calvin out of contact, Edwin took over temporary command and decisively issued the following orders:
Four air defense ships that still had combat capability were to provide cover, while the remaining warships would fight with all their might to save the Enterprise!
Even though the latter could continue to explode and suffer terrible reactor leaks, small boats continued to converge on it.

While rescuing its crew, the supporting crew members even boarded the ship from the opposite direction, gritting their teeth as they tried to enter the cabins to close the fire doors to prevent a nuclear leak.

The USS Estorhind, despite a rudder malfunction, discovered that the stuck deflection angle was just right for it to reverse and approach the USS Enterprise. It then reversed to attempt to spray water to extinguish the fire on the aircraft carrier.

The rain in the darkness had begun to subside, and the wet crew members felt their sticky bodies, while the flames they saw through the remaining raindrops were so blurry and indistinct.

The coldness of the seawater, the burning despair, the loneliness of the night, and the hollow sense of loss filled this powerful fleet that had sailed south with great momentum just over a month ago.

Edwin looked at the decisive crew members and knew very well that it was just a different kind of numbness.

The left-hand secondary gun group and midships missile launchers of the USS New Jersey were all destroyed, and the smokestack was broken and damaged.

Fortunately, the steam turbine had few requirements for the flue, and the hull was undamaged. The fire had been brought under control to the point where it could be extinguished by rain.

The helicopter carrying Fern landed at the stern of the USS New Jersey, but he had already woken up by then.

"What's the time now?"

"How many warships sank?"

"Is it still possible to organize air defense?"

"Can it maintain a maneuverability of 25 knots?"

"How about Enterprise?"

Having regained some of his hearing, Fern, now lucid, was firing off a barrage of questions at the top of his lungs.

He refused a physical examination, and the collapse caused by the heavy losses was immediately suppressed by the coldness of the machine, just like a ruthless machine that still faithfully performed its command duties.

After learning that the rain had subsided, he issued three orders:

"First, USS Mitchell, USS Vincennes, USS Valley Forge, USS Wattsworth, and USS Kearsarge, immediately break away and proceed at full speed to the northeast to preserve the warships. Supply ships, proceed to the southeast!"

The Enterprise, New Jersey, and Estosine remained on board to retrieve personnel who had fallen into the water and to rescue ships that were unable to move.
Second, send a telegram to the mainland and Marcel, immediately activating the highest level of combat readiness to defend against the second wave of attacks;

Third, immediately send orders to the nuclear submarines to conduct full-scale anti-submarine warfare!

(End of this chapter)