What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 626 The Worst of Teammates: Cockroaches (400 Monthly Tickets in August)

Smith still didn't understand what Bert meant by that, and asked in confusion:
"There are quite a few escort ships in the Zawa, and quite a few Styx and Flying Fish. What's so scary about them? As for the Gekin Maritime Joint Defense Force, it only has a little over a thousand people. With so many warships, the fulfillment rate is less than 20%, which is just barely enough to get them to sail. I really don't understand what kind of deterrent power that has."

"Segino, you have over a dozen escort ships, right? Even if you only send half, you could easily suppress them."

"probably."

Sergio nodded vaguely, his evasive gaze making Smith feel uneasy.

He suddenly remembered the chaotic situation here, and guessed that the Wawa fleet had probably been affected as well, but he still didn't understand.

Bert sighed upon seeing his expression, then said with a wry smile:

“I remember now, I finally remember why I felt something was off after hearing that Tang’s antique warships were heading to the Spratlys—Segino, tell me what percentage of your navy’s actual strength is on paper?”

"It should be about the same."

Sergio tried to remain vague, but under Bert's narrowed gaze, he finally stammered out the truth:

“Okay, there are some gaps, about 90% of them are true... Don’t look at me like that.”

Bert said helplessly, "To be honest, this is no secret. We are the IAA."

Serginho finally seemed deflated, and what he said next opened Smith's eyes:

"About 50% are actually employed; the rest are either ghost employees or have deserted. The more important the position, the more vacant there are. Training can't be organized at all. Missile parts are being resold, and even fuel is basically sold off. The fleet only has numbers and combat power on paper; in reality, nobody thinks about them. A captain might never even set foot on a warship from the time he takes office until he leaves."

These are things I heard from others, but they're probably not exaggerated.

Smith listened in stunned silence, and then Bert continued:

“You have an Eastern Fleet stationed in the Sulu Sea. Tell me how many ships you have.”

"This... wait a moment, I'll make a phone call."

Serginho made a phone call, and soon a short, fat man whose belly was barely covered by the hem of his shirt entered the villa. After introduction, he was introduced as Fehra, the captain of a frigate in the Eastern Fleet.

As for why he's in Jakarta? That's a good question.

Smith and Bert felt a chill run down their spines when they saw him, then listened to Fehra's introduction:
"The Eastern Fleet is very powerful. We have 7 frigates, 4 missile boats, and 2 LSTs. It is very strong."

The smell of alcohol emanating from his breath made all three of them frown. Sergio quickly asked:

"If you were required to deploy within 5 hours, how many warships could you mobilize?"

"Five hours? Hahaha, that's not even enough to untie the anchor. We need at least three days in advance. My sailors are nowhere to be found. It will take at least two days to gather them."

Smith took a deep breath after listening:

"Where are the warships? What's their condition?"

Fehra let out a burp, seemingly sobering up a bit:
"Um... I don't know. Most of them haven't been running for almost a year. The Ahmednia was run once two months ago, but the engine can only run at 14 knots. I don't know if it's been repaired. The Patimura can run but is not loaded with missiles. However, there are two great patrol boats. It's just that the missiles are not maintained and cannot be launched, but their 57mm rapid-fire guns are fine."

Smith counted them and asked incredulously:

"Two frigates with no combat capability, and two patrol boats that can only use cannons, that's all?"

"That's all. But I hope the people in the port will steal the missile batteries and sell them. Otherwise, they'll leak electricity and break down if left out for too long, corroding the circuitry. Hey, American friends, don't be so upset. The Eastern Fleet is the most powerful fleet in the entire Sulawesi and Sulawesi Sea. It's enough for them to deal with some clueless fishing boats, hehe."

As he said this, Fehra, who was lying on the sofa, even managed a proud smile, which made Smith and Bert both feel dizzy, and Sergio almost buried his head under the sofa.

Smith finally understood. Calling them a fleet was an understatement; they probably didn't even have a single intact warship capable of setting sail!

In this situation, the battleships of the naval defense force don't even need to fire; a few cruisers and destroyers could sink these idiots by ramming them.

No, that won't happen, because the naval force might not even be able to capture the deserters to make up enough manpower to start the operation, or they might turn around and run away if they see an aggressive opponent coming from the outset.

This isn't just a teammate who's like a pig; this is a teammate who's like a cockroach.

Bert rubbed his eyes in pain:

"Now you know, the current situation is that the maritime joint defense team is very likely to be able to rush all the way to Bitong County as if it were an empty land and not encounter any substantial interception."

Smith was also nearly driven to madness:

"Didn't the think tank consider this situation?"

"Of course there are, but firstly, they believe that Gaijin's collection will not actually be auctioned off, and secondly, they believe that the Naval Force can be suppressed by modern technology... Tang must also understand these things, so he dares to take the risk."

In fact, the IAA also has entirely accurate information, but many people in think tanks have overlooked it.

The world is a makeshift operation. The IAA is constantly acquiring massive amounts of intelligence from around the globe, but the most brain-intensive task is to filter and analyze the valuable information. Think tanks usually focus on high-level affairs, so they don't have time to pay attention to these trivial corners.

The team responsible for packet sniffing consisted of only a few low-level employees who were temporarily assigned to sniff packets. Everyone was only focused on the big picture, and basic information such as common sense was ignored.

Although Tang Wen's civilian fleet was incredibly bad, it was still much better than the enemy's... At least the destroyers of the joint maritime defense force were always active in the Spratly Islands, which proved that the maintenance work was very good, leaving the opponent far behind.

Smith still held onto a last glimmer of hope:
"Even if they come in, nothing will happen, right?"

Sergio, seemingly grasping at a straw, looked over, and Bert, seeing this, continued to sigh:
"Of course, Tang wouldn't allow anything to happen, and would even strictly prohibit any provocations. But if a company can send out such a force just because its employees are threatened and successfully achieve its goal, then what kind of status does Zhuawa hold?"

Sergio and Smith's expressions froze immediately. Didn't this just show how incredibly weak and pathetic Dwight was?
Bert continued:

"From now on, the maritime joint defense force's deterrent power in the surrounding area will reach its peak. After all, even Zawa is considered one of the better ones in the area. The weight of Gekin Company's words here is no less than it was back then..."

Seeing that Sergio was still talking before Bert had said it, but the other two had obviously understood, their expressions turned extremely ugly.

"What should we do now?"

"This is beyond our control, but if we had to say... would the Air Force be better off?"

……

At 22 PM on the 4th, Su Luhai

"Pay attention to wind direction corrections and carefully observe the colors of the descent assistance lights!"

"Captain, I saw it clearly!"

"If you can't see clearly, go around!" "I can see clearly now, I can land, there's a 150 yuan subsidy for each landing!"

Amidst tense dialogue, an SBD, braving a strong crosswind, completed a thrilling carrier landing at night.

Nie Qiang breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time decided that he should still avoid having students fly at night in the future.

Although Chen Quanrong requested 24-hour aerial reconnaissance, seaplanes were actually used instead at night. Although the carrier air squadron on the Yorktown had been trained, this was a subject that even regular navies considered extremely difficult, so it was best not to take the risk.

The trainees in the first squad were full of enthusiasm and eager to get there as soon as they set off, but once they actually entered Su Lu Hai, they couldn't help but worry, fearing that they might encounter danger at any time.

Putting everything else aside, this was an ocean voyage without any supply ships, without any surrounding bases, and without even any hydrographic conditions.

Tang Wen and the other system captains were naturally not worried, as every warship was under the system's control. However, the sailors were all on high alert, fearing that something might go wrong.

Fortunately, the journey was incredibly smooth, without even the slightest obstacle. The destroyer at the front even sped along at 44 knots for 7 hours and was about to cross the Sulawesi Sea into the Sulawesi Sea without seeing any other ships, as if it had entered a no-man's land.

(The real reason is that the radar stations in the area are basically abandoned, and patrol boats that encounter them would not be foolish enough to face a high-speed fleet.)
Nie Qiang also flew the SBD once, but he didn't dare to get too close to the land, so he didn't encounter anything.

This made them feel like they punched cotton. They were practically ready to have a farewell drink before they set off, but... this is it?
Where are you, Lec?
On the pitch-black sea, the deck of the HMS Yorktown was brightly lit, and the escorting destroyers a little further away also had their lights on, but because of their small size, they were rocking violently.

The Yorktown has a displacement of over 3 tons, and its hull sways very little when traveling at high speed. When the unfamiliar, damp, and fishy sea breeze blows on his face, Nie Qiang feels a strange sense of excitement.

Think about it carefully, does the domestic navy have any experience like this?
Just as Nie Qiang was lost in thought, the alarm blared on the HMS Yorktown, and Allison's voice came over the loudspeaker:

"New Wind seaplane reports: Two unfamiliar aircraft are approaching the fleet at a direction of 140 and a distance of 160 kilometers. I order four A4s to be dispatched to investigate!"

160 kilometers isn't far, but fortunately, the carrier-based aircraft were always in their deployment positions. The four A4s, which had already been maintained, had been loaded onto trailers by ground crew and were ready to be towed away. Nie Qiang immediately went into the bridge and saw Lei Zhan and Liu Kan putting on their flight suits in the dressing room. Upon seeing this, the latter said:
"Just the three of us, and let's call Kobayashi along too, we're going to make a nighttime landing later!"

The group quickly changed their gear and ran to the deck, only to find that two A4s had already arrived at their takeoff positions and were being fitted with catapults, while two others were waiting behind them.

The jet engine was generating a lot of noise and causing airflow disturbance. Amid the whooshing wind and engine noise, they realized that the rookie trainees in the ground crew had already warmed up and tested the engine for them.

"Good boy!"

Nie Qiang and Cai Ji completed the handover, sat in the cabin, scanned the area, found no problems, immediately signaled OK, and closed the canopy.

The other A4 next to him was that of outstanding student Xiaolin, who also raised his hand to indicate that he was ready.

"Push up the accelerator, deploy the flaps!"

About three minutes later, following instructions over the radio, the ground crew, wearing earmuffs, confirmed that the aircraft was properly linked and waved the red flag down with a flourish.

Nie Qiang's A4 was pulled down by the tow bar, and then accelerated to 140 knots in the white steam leaking from the catapult, and took off into the night with an orange-red tail flame.

Another A4 followed shortly into the night sky, quickly ascending and disappearing from sight.

In less than 15 minutes, all four A4s were ejected.

If the Imperial Navy were watching, they would be astonished, because steam catapults require time to charge, although under Allison's control, there were no such restrictions.

After taking off, the four A4s immediately flew toward the direction of the unidentified aircraft. A few minutes later, they spotted the low-altitude target on the radar and discovered that they were chasing the Zero seaplane launched by the Shin-Kaze. They then forced the Zero seaplane to make an emergency landing to verify its identity via radio.

Upon seeing the A4 reinforcements, the Zero seaplane reconnaissance aircraft, which was busy dodging and weaving at low altitudes, immediately shouted:

"Come quick, help! These guys look like wild horses; they're blind without radar!"

Mustang? P51?

Fortunately, the pilots were all quite knowledgeable and had done their homework beforehand, instantly recognizing it as a Wharf OV-10F Mustang.

(The image below shows the OV-10F "Mustang" night variant)

This thing and the P-51 are both called Mustangs and are both manufactured by the same aircraft manufacturer, but it was designed in the 60s specifically for low-altitude, low-speed operations, using turboprop power to carry out low-intensity ground attacks.

Designed in the 60s, the Mustang had a maximum level flight speed of only 450 km/h and was not equipped with radar, only with a FLIR infrared night vision system.

If it weren't for its ability to carry two AIM-9 infrared air-to-air missiles, it would have been utterly destroyed by the F4F.

In other words, the Zero seaplanes weren't that great either. If the SBD encountered one of these, it could fight it for several rounds. Deploying four A4s would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The two Mustangs, busy chasing the Zero reconnaissance planes, had no idea that there were four A4s overhead because of the radar and the darkness. It wasn't until Lei Zhan's A4 seized the opportunity and suddenly engaged afterburner, its bright exhaust flames flashing past their eyes, that they realized they had met their match. They quickly started talking on the radio and climbed to a higher altitude.

Nie Qiang struggled to understand that they were speaking English, but their accents were so heavy that he could barely make out that they were asking for his identity.

Upon seeing this, he replied:

"You are approaching the Dongjiang Maritime Joint Defense Team's Super Yorktown sightseeing cruise ship. Please do not approach in a way that may interfere with our normal navigation."

The other party rattled off a string of questions, then mustered his courage and sped up to the maximum speed, barely managing to keep up with the deliberately slowed-down A4. Through the FLIR, he could see that it was actually an A4 fighter jet!
Good heavens, it really is Yorktown in Gaijin! Isn't that a concrete aircraft carrier docked in the bay? How did it appear right in front of us!
The two Mustangs were yelling on the radio again, which, when translated, demanded that Nie Qiang give way immediately and that the entire fleet dock and undergo boarding inspection.

This left everyone completely stunned, almost thinking they had misheard.

Seeing no response, the other party repeated themselves, even emphasizing their tone.

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

Lei Zhan had had enough of this nonsense. He was just a tourist pilot and didn't want to follow any red tape.

Nie Qiang was too lazy to bother with any more trouble. The four A4s immediately took action, pairing up to sandwich the two Mustangs, responding with concrete actions.

The Mustang's roar immediately ceased, and it frantically shook the control stick, fearing a collision, and hurriedly turned to try and return to base.

The four A4s carried them towards the coast, and as they were about to leave international waters, Lei Zhan reminded them:

"Be careful, they have F-16s. If necessary, withdraw."

Once the four A4s realized they had achieved their objective of expelling the planes, they disembarked and returned to their respective bases, leaving two terrified Mustangs trembling as they returned to the airport, recounting their ordeal to Malinda Airport over the radio.

The Mullinda Airport was shocked to learn that it had collided with an A4. It hurriedly reported the incident and only received orders an hour later, after the Mustangs had all landed, to scramble four F-16s from the Mullinda Airport to intercept the fleet.

机场方面立刻傻眼，抓哇的主力战机有12架F16、14架A4，以及其他20余架螺旋桨飞机，马琳达机场刚好有4架F16和7架野马。

However, all the jet aircraft had long been grounded because the airport was unwilling to buy spare parts for maintenance, and the only usable propeller aircraft were the sturdy Mustangs. The fact that two aircraft could be dispatched in the middle of the night was the result of the airport manager's hard work, and this was the only air force available.

F16? Are you kidding me?
(End of this chapter)