What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 460 Shrimp-Style Attack (7200 votes in May)
Sending communications from nuclear submarines at sea is a very risky business, and the most common method currently used is longwave radio.

For ground-based communication to reach submarines, a tall long-wave antenna station needs to be built, along with satellite relay, making the total cost of such communication several million dollars.

In this way, only a few dozen kilobytes of data are transmitted at a time, and instructions and plans need to be agreed upon in advance.

In order for a submarine to notify its homeland, before global satellite communication coverage was available, it had to surface and extend a long communication antenna from its stern, with a total length of nearly 2 kilometers, in order to send out long-wave communication signals.

The probability that the Nizhny Novgorod would go to such great lengths just to fool headquarters is almost nil.

But the Kosomoyets sank so many years ago, and they even sent a submarine to salvage the wreckage two years ago. How could it possibly be found safe and sound off the coast of Florida?

Furthermore, they even claimed to belong to the Imperial Navy?

Joseph: "The Nizhny Novgorod requests an immediate return to port so that the sonar and underwater communication data from that time can be handed over to experts for evaluation."

"approve!"

Yeprini was genuinely surprised, and at this point, the Novgorod's training mission was considered over.

"By the way, I need to check the previous underwater vehicle wreckage research report. There shouldn't be any possibility of repair!"

He couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if this were true. Could it be that the Kosomoyets had defected for years without being discovered?
……

"The Russians won't admit it even when caught red-handed!"

Although a reconciliation has been reached by phone, the Imperial Navy's mission is not yet over.

Yeprini's use of sonar decoys as a pretext was not without reason. It was an escape tactic used by submarines, where they would launch objects that could mimic the submarine's sonar system to mislead the enemy and then sneak away.

However, analysis by the P3C, which discovered the two submarines, ruled out this possibility:
If Nizhny Novgorod was target number 1 and the unknown nuclear submarine was target number 2, target number 2 had activated its active sonar, and the power it emitted could not possibly be the same as that of a decoy.

Target No. 1 did indeed throw out bait during his escape, but the characteristics of the bait were completely different.

Two P-3Cs, two frigates, and one destroyer surrounded the entire sea area. The crucial information was sent back to the mainland for secondary confirmation, which yielded an unbelievable result.

"It's Mike! How could it be Mike!"

One of the officers glanced at the echo and his eyes widened immediately.

He had served on a submarine several years ago and had encountered K278 (Western codename "Mike") once, and was deeply impressed by its amazing antimagnetic properties and exaggerated diving depth.

"Mike? Model 685?"

Johnson, who was overseeing the battle from the side, looked over with a questioning gaze, his eyes full of doubt.

"There's no mistake, damn it, that P3C must be newly manufactured. The voiceprint database doesn't have the 'microphone' feature, so it can't be recognized. We can just compare it with the old data!"

This was truly an astonishing discovery, and Johnson immediately ordered:
"Do as he says, compare it with a more comprehensive database!"

Half an hour later, a still-warm piece of paper was handed to them.

The officer who had just recognized K278 stepped forward, took a look, and nodded firmly:
“It’s him. I’m absolutely certain. If you’re still not sure, you can compare him with other people. There are many people like me.”

"But the Type 685 has already crashed."

Johnson muttered to himself, when Fern suddenly said:

"Could it be a second one? It could be secretly commissioned, or it could have been almost completed but never launched, and was only finished after being dismantled?"

"But right now the Russians are busy dismantling nuclear submarines. Won't those greedy guys dismantle them for money?"

In the aftermath of the collapse, in order to dismantle the powerful underwater force that terrified even the Empire, the Empire made a pact with Great Russia:

For every nuclear submarine dismantled, a certain amount of aid is provided, paid in cash.

From 92 to the present, about 10 to 15 nuclear submarines have been dismantled every year, many of which are brand new and only a few years old! Now everyone in Russia is on edge, so how could someone be keeping a nuclear submarine a secret?

Fern: "That's not necessarily true. Yeprini is an example. His predecessor, Petrovich, was one of those greedy guys you mentioned. But Yeprini not only negotiated a huge arms deal with India, but also organized submarines to patrol close to us... He was an extremely rare conservative."

Moreover, they only dismantled the more conventional Charlie-class destroyers; the newer ones still maintained their combat capability.

"Then find it! The Type 685 is too much of a threat; Yeprini is provoking us!"

The Type 685 and Type 945 entered service around the same time. Although the number is smaller, the Type 685 was an experiment that the Alliance was willing to do at any cost, cramming a lot of expensive and advanced equipment into it.

Whether it's the process or the equipment, the 685 model only cares about being advanced and not about the price. Subsequent mass-produced models have to make some trade-offs for cost, so the performance is really not weak.

Only by diving to a depth of 1250 meters could they escape the pursuit and get away safely.

But looking back, wasn't turning on the sonar on purpose tantamount to a provocation?

Johnson grew increasingly angry and simply gave another order:
"Contact the IAA. Yeprini poses too great a threat to us, and this is not conducive to friendly relations between the two sides."

……

South Pacific base
The Kosomoyets has been respawned in the port.

In order to escape smoothly, the submarine opened the sea valve to achieve an "emergency dive," and disappeared after spending some silver coins.

Even if the Imperial Navy conducts a thorough search, it will be impossible to find it again.

Tang Wen mentally assessed the message he was about to convey:

First, the acoustic signature of K278 must have been fully received by the Type 945 submarine, which would confirm its model. The Imperial Navy, based on the activation of its active sonar, also had a chance of confirming the existence of a second submarine.

If nothing unexpected happens, what follows will be another much-anticipated showdown between the eagle and the bear.

perfect.

But before he could calm down and think things through, an urgent communication from Antarctica entered his mind:
A BV141 aircraft spotted an unidentified flying object.

……

East Antarctica, Edward VII Land

"Shit, what the hell is that?!"

While ranting on the radio, Rafe pushed the throttle all the way to the limit and flew desperately toward McMurdo Station.

Right now, he is flying his TR-1 at an altitude of 24000 meters, with a terrifying two-headed monster behind him.

The TR-1 is a scaled-down, optimized version of the U-2. Although it can fly up to 28000 meters, its effective reconnaissance altitude is generally only around 1.2 meters.

In order to detect possible camouflage in Antarctica, Rafe usually flies at an altitude of 4000 to 8000 meters, and sometimes even descends to 3000 meters.

This was his second flight. It was supposed to be another TR-1, but the other pilot was not as skilled as him and veered off the runway during takeoff, requiring time for repairs.

Lockheed has already manufactured snow sleds to replace the landing gear, but until they arrive, they can only rely on Rafe to maintain reconnaissance.

Unexpectedly, during his reconnaissance mission in East Antarctica, a strange-looking plane with two heads suddenly appeared and rushed towards him, firing its machine guns.

Fortunately, the opponent's service ceiling seemed to be only 10,000 meters, so apart from causing some minor damage, it was not shot down.

Although he didn't recognize what kind of plane it was, he clearly remembered seeing the Iron Cross on the wings!
Now the two-headed monster kept following him, first diving to charge up and then suddenly pulling up, briefly reaching 1.2 meters like a leaping lobster before falling back down, repeatedly trying to fire.

Fortunately, the opponent didn't seem to be very fast, but Rafe didn't want to gamble on Hans' reinforcements!
He knew he had discovered the wreckage of a supersonic aircraft, and if it was armed with two active radar missiles, he would be in for a polar survival challenge!

Damn Johnson, why didn't he send an SR-71?!
(End of this chapter)