What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 459 Something's Really Wrong This Time (7000 Monthly Tickets in May)

Thanks to its diving depth of over 1000 meters, the K278 Kosomoyets has been submerged and cruising near the Bahamas, waiting for the critical moment to deliver a fatal blow with a 200-knot supercavitating torpedo.

When not on missions, the Kosomoyets would wander aimlessly in the Bermuda Triangle, sometimes salvaging shipwrecks and contributing some steel reserves.

200 kilometers from Nassau and nearly 300 kilometers from Florida, K278 was patrolling when it suddenly spotted a submarine overhead. At the same time, the submarine also discovered something 400 meters below the surface!

The first thing both submarines did was identify each other by voiceprint, and then they both got results.

Yuri Kaclovsky, the 10th-class captain of K278, discovered that the other submarine was also a titanium alloy submarine, and the voiceprint indicated that it was a Project 945 Sierra-class submarine.

The Type 945, a fourth-generation nuclear submarine, also uses a titanium alloy double hull and has a maximum diving depth of 600 meters, which is much more advanced than the Los Angeles-class, but slightly weaker than the Seawolf.

When Project 945 entered service, K-278 was also in service at the same time, so they had each other's voiceprint characteristics, and the other party obviously recognized Kosomoyets!
Tang Wen's instructions did not mention how to handle this situation, so Yuri could only frantically call out in the channel while shutting down the sonar and continuing to descend in silence, setting it directly to the limit of 1250 meters.

The Type 945 was also quite bewildered. After verifying its identity, it actually withdrew from its attack posture and began to vigorously knock on the K278 with its sonar.

Obviously, the Type 685 only has one K278, so shouldn't it be lying comfortably on the seabed? Why is it off the coast of Florida?
"Wait a minute, how come a Type 945 is here?"

Tang Wen, who appeared on K278, was also very confused. The Russians are currently preoccupied with their own problems, yet they still have the ability to organize nuclear submarines to travel thousands of miles to cause trouble here?
But voiceprints don't lie. The reflections of the titanium alloy nuclear submarine are completely different from those of the Imperial Los Angeles crew and the Seawolf, so it shouldn't be a mistake.

This kind of thing doesn't seem to exist in the original timeline, right?
Tang Wen's brain went blank for a moment and he couldn't think of what to do, but the Type 945 above his head was sending out even more sonar signals.

"It's a communication request; they're asking for your identity!"

Sonar can also be used for communication, allowing submarines to exchange underwater information, but the speed is very slow and unreliable, and it is easily interfered with and detected.

But now, the 945 clearly can't care about all that anymore. Not only does the voiceprint match, but K278 has now descended to below 1000 meters. Who else but the Type 685 can do that?!

A high-tech submarine that went missing for eight years has reappeared off the coast of Florida; we have to see it for ourselves.

"Commander, should we sink it?"

Yuri's question gave Tang Wen an even bigger headache. Sinking the ship wasn't the problem, but he didn't want to waste this opportunity.

After thinking for a while, he said:
"The sonar is responding... We are Imperial Navy nuclear submarines, demanding they leave immediately or we will sink them!"

"Yes!"

This message was modulated and sent, but the 945 receiver above immediately sent a reply:
【go home】

The very brief statement clearly indicates that this is the "sunken" Type 685 submarine, and that the Type 945 submarine activated its active sonar as a warning.

The complete meaning should be:

Go back to Mao's house, or we will be sunk.

"Sink them."

Seeing that there was no way to resolve the situation peacefully, Tang Wen could only choose to rack up some battle achievements, hoping to add another nuclear submarine to his fleet.

Yuri was constantly preparing for battle, and just as he was about to launch a torpedo, he heard sonar fluctuations overhead again.

"It's sonar, Imperial Navy aircraft!"

Yuri immediately confirmed the source, and Tang Wen, without the slightest hesitation, immediately gave the order:

"Activate the active sonar to maximum power, then open the sea valve!"

……

Although the wolf packs of U-boats have gradually subsided, the Empire still maintains regular anti-submarine patrols.

Due to the dangerous waters off Florida, four anti-submarine aircraft were transferred to the National Guard for routine patrols. The frequent sonar communications between the two nuclear submarines were quite noisy. Just over 60 kilometers away, a P-3C detected the anomaly. After confirming that there were no submarine training exercises in the surrounding waters, it approached and dropped a string of sonar buoys.

The moment the signal was transmitted back, they detected two suspected unidentified signals underwater, and one of them suddenly activated its sonar, making both targets extremely conspicuous.

There was no doubt now. The P3C immediately called the Navy and continued to deploy sonar, forming a detection array that stretched for tens of kilometers to prevent the enemy from escaping.

Surprisingly, one of the target signals began to weaken rapidly and soon disappeared, while the remaining target continued to struggle stubbornly.

However, as subsequent aircraft arrived, the submarine was unfortunately surrounded, and two escort ships also rapidly approached.

After two hours of maneuvering, a Type 945 surfaced, indicating that it was safe to pass.

……

An hour after the incident, Johnson spoke by phone with General Yeppliny, who explained it as normal training.

Johnson warned that the world's oceans are now facing a U-boat crisis, and that the Type 945 was lucky this time, otherwise it would have been sunk as an enemy.

Besides the two of them, the leaders above have also been communicating with each other.

It's not uncommon for nuclear submarines to visit each other's submarines; most of the time, each submarine relies on its own capabilities and bears the consequences.

The Navy uses this method for training, and if it's discovered, there are generally two scenarios:

One option is for their own forces to cover the area and use aircraft or other surface ships to relieve the submarine.

Another scenario is being isolated and helpless, like today. As long as the nuclear submarine surfaces voluntarily to indicate that it is harmless, it can escape, although it would be rather embarrassing.

This incident is somewhat different, as the Type 945 is an old enemy of the Imperial Navy.

Five years ago, the Imperial Navy's second Los Angeles-class submarine, Baton Rouge, sailed straight into the vicinity of the Mauritanian submarine port of Severomorsk, attempting to stake out and track it, but was discovered by the second Type 945 submarine, Kostroma.

Furthermore, the latter was extremely angry at the time, and the captain ordered the submarine to ram directly into it. In the end, the conning tower of the Costroma was damaged and repaired, while the pressure hull of the Baton Rouge ruptured and flooded, forcing it to slink back to shore.

The Imperial Navy initially denied the matter, but the Baton Rouge was "normally decommissioned" the following year.

This time, we blocked one of the Type 945 tanks. Although we don't know which one it was, it's like we've gotten our revenge!

However, Johnson still tortured Yepliny over the phone:

"General, there's no need to deny it now, is there? You clearly have two submarines, and the other one is still stubbornly resisting. If you don't surface, you risk being mistaken for the enemy!"

"Secondly, we only have one nuclear submarine. You didn't mistake the decoy sonar for a submarine, did you?"

Johnson dismissed it as mere stubbornness from the Russians and coldly replied:
"Then let's continue the game."

"Whatever you prefer."

Yeprini felt bewildered. The ship that had launched this time was the No. 4 Nizhny Novgorod, a Project 945 vessel. It had only been launched a few years ago and, after discovering a large number of U-boats around the Imperial Seas, it was preparing to scout the situation under the guise of training. Unfortunately, it was discovered.

He wasn't too angry; rather, he felt mostly helpless. Due to the shortage of funds, the crew's training had indeed suffered, and being discovered was simply a matter of bad luck.

But right after I hung up the phone, an urgent telegram came back:

"Report! The Nizhny Novgorod has sent a secret message using its towed antenna, indicating that it has spotted the Kosomoyets!"

"Kosomoyets? Joseph, what are you talking about? Is your brain a frozen fish? Kosomoyets has turned into coral by now."

"General, something might really be wrong this time!"

(End of this chapter)