What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 457 Let the Deck Lift
Groton Shipyard

Johnson personally arrived here to show the importance he placed on the launch of the Seawolf.

This "Seawolf" is naturally the original No. 2 ship "Connecticut", now using the name of the original No. 1 ship.

The Seawolf II was originally scheduled to be completed and launched by the end of August to begin sea trials and adjustments to electronic equipment. However, due to the shipyard's expedited efforts, this work was actually completed in early August.

The Seawolf II, which had been undergoing testing for more than half a month, was now docked at the shore, with all the crew members and shipyard engineers standing in two rows listening to Johnson's encouragement.

"...Everyone here knows the truth. The first Seawolf sank due to human-caused mechanical failure, but we have to keep it a secret during this sensitive time. You are the true warriors. The Empire is facing unprecedented challenges, and you, along with the new Seawolf, carry the future."

"Yeah, sir!"

Hearing the crew's spirited response, Johnson was quite satisfied. He was glad that the No. 2 submarine had started construction early; otherwise, if word got out that it had sunk before even entering service, wouldn't it have followed in Shinano's footsteps?
After convincing the crew, Johnson lingered at the shipyard for a short while before Fern came to him with a proposal:
—The new Antarctic task force organization.

Johnson glanced at the headline and then looked up:
"The Empire can no longer afford to lose an aircraft carrier."

Fern: "But we cannot refuse to fight because of this, and not all aircraft carriers are incapable of accepting losses."

Johnson then opened the document and discovered that Fern had kept the entire Missouri squadron intact from the previous operation, and then planned to deploy the USS Independence carrier battle group stationed in Japan.

Once the Second Fleet's base in Antarctica is discovered, a task force will be immediately formed to strike it.

HMS Independence was the fourth ship of the Forrestal-class conventional-powered aircraft carriers. Launched in 1958, it had served for 39 years and was already preparing for decommissioning. Like HMS Clemenceau, its loss was not a particularly significant blow.

In addition to this, he also proposed a plan to form a "cryogenic shipboard wing":
“Jay, actually, it’s not impossible for fighter jets to take off and land in the snow and ice. The Russians have encountered the same difficulties before.”

Johnson immediately remembered:
"Ski jump takeoff?"

"Yes, it's a ski-jump takeoff!"

Two naval battles have proven that losing air superiority is tantamount to suicide. In order to enable the Independence to take off and land in the low temperatures of Antarctica, Fern thought of imitating the Kuznetsov-class by adding a ski-jump deck and using the F-18C as the main fighter jet, so as to achieve take-off without relying on catapults while reducing the load.

The Great Bear was once forced to devise the unorthodox path of ski-jump decks due to the extreme cold of the Arctic.

If even the heavy Su-33 can successfully take off and land on the Kuznetsov, which weighs just over 5 tons, there's no reason why the larger Independence can't launch the Hornet.

"The ski-jump deck is very simple. It only requires a little modification to the bow of the Independence. In fact, to save time, Imperial experts can go to Japan to guide the Japanese shipyard in completing the installation of the ski-jump deck."

McDonnell Douglas also completed an evaluation showing that even without any modifications, the F-18C can take off smoothly with an 11- to 15-degree ski-jump takeoff section at 80% load, although the efficiency will be much lower.

However, the ski-jump deck conversion can be completed in just two months. If the number of sorties is considered insufficient, I suggest reactivating one or two conventionally operated aircraft carriers that have been mothballed. With the same conversion, they should also be able to deploy within four months.

“What you’re talking about requires a very, very large budget, and Congress has been cutting back on staff.”

When questioned by Johnson, Fern simply responded with a smile.

The Imperial Japanese Navy dominated the two oceans for half a century from the late 40s, and it's no exaggeration to say it was unrivaled. But the cost was also extremely high. In the 50s, it simultaneously developed three types of aircraft carriers: the Forrestal, Enterprise, and Kitty Hawk, continuing until 91, with a total of 15 supercarriers in service at the same time!
So after the old rival died suddenly, the parliament put a lot of pressure on them, quickly cutting a large number of conventional aircraft carriers from the establishment, and at the same time cutting a lot of funding.

The Second Fleet poses a significant threat, but... thanks to these threats, the Navy has secured an additional $150 billion in revenue for next year.

The loss of a conventional aircraft carrier is not as painful as the loss of the Enterprise, but the resulting organizational costs will not be lower!
……

McMurdo Station, Antarctica
(The research station is shown in blue in the image below, and the yellow area is the Queen Maud Mountains, where the Antarctic base is located.)

McMurdo Station is located on Ross Island, which is very close to New Ceylon, only about 3,000 kilometers away. In the 1950s, the Empire and New Ceylon built a research station here.

McMurdo Station is the largest of these, with over 200 buildings and three airports, and is known as the first station in Antarctica.

There are about 200 permanent residents here, and it can accommodate more than 1000 people during the hottest season.

Now, two IAA TR-1 reconnaissance aircraft were carefully pulled into the snow-covered runway by snow pikes.

Although it's called an airport, Ross Island only exposes a little bit of permafrost when temperatures rise between November and March of the following year, and the airport can only accommodate a few small planes at most.

The TR-1 is the U2R, a completely redesigned version manufactured in the late 80s. It is equipped with extremely advanced electronic reconnaissance equipment and communication systems, and can adapt to certain cold weather conditions.

(U2, nicknamed "Lady Dragon")
However, it still failed to improve the extremely poor takeoff and landing performance it had from birth. When it was transferred from New Ceylon, both aircraft skidded off the runway and scratched the wingtips, which took half a month to repair.

Now, Rafe is communicating with officials from the Office of Naval Intelligence about the flight plan before takeoff.

"Take off from here, round the Queen Maud Mountains, our target is the southeastern region near the North Pole! Maintain constant contact, and return immediately if any danger is encountered!"

The Queen Maud Mountains literally means a very long mountain range, with its highest point being the Makm Peak at an altitude of 4600 meters. The turbulent air currents that can get you caught in them can easily cause an accident.

"Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for my own life."

Rafe's muffled response was not only because it was windy at the airport, but also because of the thick thermal layer he was wearing, which almost filled his pressurized flight suit.

This was an unprecedented adventure. In the past, even if you were shot down deep into someone else's territory, you at least had a chance to survive. But this was Antarctica. If you fell down, you could only become a penguin hunter at best, and you would die from hypothermia in less than 24 hours.

Storms and low temperatures are formidable enemies, and Rafe is the best pilot they could find, having previously conducted polar expeditions in Alaska.

In the quiet, snowy landscape, as the jet engines melted away the thin layer of snow on the runway, the TR-1 reconnaissance aircraft took off carrying the Navy's hatred, maintaining contact with each other every few minutes.

Bean personally came here to oversee the reconnaissance operation, constantly thinking about the troubles they might encounter along the way.

However, the distance from McMurdo Station to the North Pole is only a little over 1300 kilometers, which is more than enough for the U2's range.

The only possible danger is Hans's fighter jets or missiles, but... Major Rafe's mission is to find possible ground radar stations. The TR-1 has highly sensitive sensing equipment, so even if it is shot down, it can transmit data back via satellite immediately.

(End of this chapter)