What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 558 Easily

Prism Building
When the huge satellite cloud image was pasted on the wall, Rams gasped as he looked at the dense array of tiny black dots, goosebumps rising all over his body:

Unlike the Battle of Lamei last year, Europe was already a key area of ​​surveillance for the Empire, making it easier to mobilize satellites. In addition, there were no clear satellite images of storms in the morning.

The sheer number of ships, almost like a case of trypophobia, almost immediately triggered the explosion at the Prism Building. Although a rough assessment determined that a small portion of them were civilian ships such as transport vessels, the number of the remaining warships was also terrifying. In particular, it was confirmed that there were at least 30 warships with a displacement of over 2 tons, and even an aircraft carrier was found!
Last year, the Bismarck was able to launch more than fifty Ar.196s, so the equally small Gnat would certainly be no problem either. Therefore, it is not easy to determine how many aircraft their aircraft carriers can launch.

The President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff's intentions are very clear:
We must send troops; we must eliminate the threat.

But at this time, all the warships in Europe combined were only a fraction of the destroyers, which couldn't keep up at all. There were plenty of planes, but... damn Hans.

Even though Cole repeatedly assured that he knew nothing about it and absolutely regarded the Lost Empire as an enemy, the troops stationed in Hans did not dare to be transferred to Britain.

Even if what Cole said is true, what if the Third Fleet manages to break through the Yingjili Strait with some kind of advanced technology, and the Hans on the mainland change their minds and want to defect?
Moreover, besides Hans, Italy cannot be ignored, although its priority is slightly lower.

This excludes one of Europe's top military forces, and even requires a significant amount of resources to defend against them!

怀恩和约翰逊已经确认帝国空军24小时内最多能向带英本土调集62架F15、12架16、4架EF111-A、8架KC135、2架E3B总共88架飞机。

其余盟友一起能出动12架幻影2000和30架幻影F1、18架EF18、40架F16、10架F5一起共110架战机。

This is certainly not the limit, but it is already the number that can be rushed to the front lines and participate in the battle in a short period of time, since allies also need to have their own defense capabilities.

In fact, Russia was also very eager to participate in the war, saying that as long as money was paid or aid and loans were increased, it would immediately send the main force of its Aerospace Force and the Kuznetsov to fight the Third Fleet to the death. However, the Empire and the members of the Pact collectively rejected this, saying that they could handle such a small matter themselves.

After all, we finally managed to take down the polar bear, so why would we give it a blood transfusion?

Therefore, with the addition of its own aircraft, the UK can muster 242 combat aircraft, and with carrier-based and auxiliary aircraft, the total can reach more than 300.

This number is considerable, yet Wayne still shook his head:
"It's not enough, it's not nearly enough... Damn it, we're sorely lacking in dedicated attack aircraft!"

Rams knew what he meant. If Italy and Hans joined the battle, they would immediately have a full 130 Tornado attack aircraft, a considerable anti-ship force. Two sorties would definitely cripple the Third Fleet. Unfortunately…

"Make them give way to the gale-force winds so that other allied pilots can fly!"

Johnson made the suggestion, but it was immediately opposed by others:

"Suddenly switching to other aircraft types would be sending the lads to their deaths, and it could have unpredictable consequences—how many ships can the Sixth Fleet send?"

“船倒是不少，足足有3艘提康德罗加巡洋舰、2艘阿利伯克和4艘斯普鲁恩斯驱逐舰和6艘护卫舰，但第六舰队的战舰都在地中海，30到40个小时是最低要求！”

"What about the nuclear submarine?"

"There is only one Los Angeles-class destroyer in the north, which can only be used as an auxiliary vessel."

Although Johnson expressed anger, there was a hint of relief in his voice. He knew that the Navy was not the main player in this war, and he could already foresee the terrible losses that would follow.

While everyone was still arguing with their own hidden agendas, Kazimirz walked in and interrupted them: "Gentlemen, four aircraft at Grindavik have been confirmed to have been shot down. War is inevitable. Lakensis Air Base and Milden Hall Air Base are ready. When will we launch the first attack?"

Wayne had no choice but to respond proactively:

"We cannot yet confirm the enemy's true strength. The F-15 fleet should be reserved as the main force for strikes in critical moments. The Royal Air Force should be allowed to test the enemy's firepower first."

Kazimirz: "Then..."

"Urgent! The Royal Ark is under saturation attack! Commodore Felger has sent a farewell telegram!!"

The information-packed shouts entered the room even before the servants, immediately silencing everyone present:
It's only just past midnight, and their information is that the Third Fleet has just departed from Greenland, and Allied aircraft are still assembling. The two sides shouldn't have a direct air battle until at least dusk.

Wasn't the Royal Ark off the coast of Elland? How did it suddenly sink?

……

With a ferocious expression, Tang Wen tore a piece of meat off the turkey leg, then opened the hatch and threw it forcefully into the sea.

He originally wanted to try it out, but this thing was so tough that he wondered if he was gnawing on wood.

Feeling the 43-knot sea breeze blowing against him from the Scharnhorst, Tang Wen's view was over a thousand kilometers away, and he complained:

"Too slow, too slow!"

As a long-planned operation, before its commencement, numerous U-boats were deployed among the reefs near the British coast, using passive sonar as a static surveillance source, especially near various naval ports. These U-boats would frequently appear in the South China Sea, searching for movements there in real time, only to be greatly disappointed:
Although the Old Money has not yet degenerated to the point of being militarily inept, it has been given so much time yet it has not been able to organize a single decent probing attack, making it worlds apart from the Empire.

Apart from reconnaissance planes that occasionally flash by within hundreds of kilometers of the U-boat (not daring to approach for fear of mosquitoes), it was as if it were in an uninhabited area!

Tang Wen, who had spent countless sleepless nights preparing, couldn't stand it any longer and decided to launch a "probing attack" as soon as the Royal Ark arrived in North Ireland.

With numerous warships escorting it and air cover from its proximity to a land-based naval port, HMS Ark Royal must be quite formidable in combat.

Then the classic stunt of the gnats began: 40 U-boats launched 80 gnats in succession, once again employing the tactic of ultra-low-altitude dense formation flight, flying smoothly all the way to 300 kilometers north of Engelan before being spotted by a "hunter" that had just taken off.

(The "Mystery Hunter" anti-submarine aircraft)

The swarm of gnats, which had intended to intimidate the enemy, stopped disguising itself and resumed its "normal" ultra-low-altitude flight at 100 meters, completely dispersing and appearing as a densely packed swarm on the radar.

At this point, they were only about 400 kilometers away from the Royal Ark, just enough for 20 minutes of full-speed flight using the remaining fuel.

And then... no more.

This time, the Gnats are still mainly unmanned versions, but they have been upgraded with the new AIM-9L missiles obtained from McDonnell Douglas. These short-range missiles are now at a near-mainstream level and are no longer lagging behind in terms of generation.

After sacrificing three Gnats to take down two valiant Harrier GR7s, the Gnats easily broke through HMS Ark Royal's air defense network!
(End of this chapter)