What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 648 Returning Carnage

Tang Wen originally planned to go out, but seeing the large raindrops pouring down, he decided to lie down at the guesthouse.

However, in the afternoon, he ran into Old Zhao, who was barefoot and had his trousers rolled up.

“The flood control problem is indeed very serious; even the drainage system in Hongdu is in danger.”

When he saw Zhao Hande again, his expression had become very serious.

Hongdu, which is located near flood-prone areas, lacks adequate drainage facilities. Even ordinary rainstorms pose a risk of backflow and flooding, let alone torrential rainstorms.

"Tomorrow I'll take the meteorological bureau on a boat to Poyang Lake to take a look; there might be more problems there."

As he spoke, Zhao Hande glanced out the window at the torrential rain that had been pouring down for five hours without showing any signs of abating, and suddenly began to curse:
"Two weeks ago you asked the meteorological bureau to recalculate, not to mention the long-term forecast. According to their prediction, there would be at most light rain in Jiangnan these days. But do you know how much rain fell in Hongdu today? 16 millimeters! The weather forecast is completely inaccurate!"

I asked the locals, and they all say the water level in Poyang Lake will rise by at least 1.5 meters this month! The information you provided is correct; there will definitely be a flood this summer!

Tang Wen was somewhat pleased that Poyang Lake was starting to receive attention, as for the weather forecast... well, you can't blame the meteorological bureau.

The reason why weather weapons have always been considered almost impossible by various countries is that human meteorology has neither formulas that can accurately describe weather movements nor sufficiently powerful computers.

A supercomputer capable of completely simulating a nuclear explosion is powerful enough, right? But it's far from sufficient for large-scale weather calculations. The meteorological bureau's demand for computing power isn't just billions or hundreds of billions of calculations, but positive infinity—an endless thirst.

This is why, when the controllable hurricane appeared in the Christmas campaign, all countries unanimously believed that the Lost Empire must have powerful computer technology, which also confirmed the intelligence of those endless unmanned combat aircraft.

As for the inaccuracy of domestic weather forecasts now, there's nothing that can be done; it's just a limitation of the times… Wait a minute, Tang Wen recalled another detail:
“You could try having the weather bureau introduce the variable of high-altitude snow cover; I think they might not have considered that before.”

“I’ll let them try again.”

Zhao Hande nodded, then suddenly changed the subject:
"Are there any B2 wreckage?"

"No...no, I don't know! Hey, Lao Zhao, that's not very ethical!"

Tang Wen realized what was happening and almost let something slip.

"Don't ask me about that. Third Brother said it was shot down. Besides, didn't Prism Tower deny it?"

Zhao Hande: "What I mean is, if Geiger has any information about stealth fighters, we are willing to pay a high price to obtain it."

"..."

Tang Wen squinted his eyes:

"How about this, you buy five more United States ships, and I will definitely find a way to get a B-2 that can fly and send it to the Air Force, and also send ten battleships to the Navy."

"Oh dear, my clothes are wet. I'll go change."

Zhao Hande got up and left.

……

Whiteman Air Force Base
Bock nervously followed his attendant to the firing range for pilots, and upon opening the door, he heard a continuous, crisp clanging sound.

Wayne, holding a Glock, frantically pulled the trigger, knocking all the cans on the table to the ground. He then immediately changed magazines and started the next round.

Mark, who had just recovered, was also there. He noticed him, greeted him, and whispered:

"The boss has been shooting guns here all morning."

"..."

Bok broke out in a cold sweat. As the captain, he had lost a B2 on his first sortie, and no matter what the reason, he could not escape responsibility.

When Wayne turned around after emptying his magazine again, he finally noticed him and immediately said upon seeing that Burke was still wearing his flight suit:

"Go change your clothes quickly, Colonel, or you'll get sick. Come back to me after you've changed."

Thirty minutes later, in the office at the firing range, Wayne and a group of generals and experts listened to Bock's retelling.

"It is largely consistent with the records provided by the pilots of the USS Stanson and AV-3."

Mark begins to summarize:

“未知雷达在海上于22时40分开机，紧接着AV-3‘纽约幽灵’在离海113公里处暴露行踪，海上发射了导弹，而这之差不多15秒AV-3就发现雷达源关闭。

再之后约3分钟时间，20枚导弹加速并维持了2.5马赫速度，跨越150公里并至少有5枚命中AV-3。”

The two pilots who crashed have been rescued, and the radar of the USS Stanson recorded part of the incident. Combined with Burke's account, the complete story has been pieced together.

Wayne: "The first problem: the radar was only powered on for about half a minute and only provided initial guidance before being powered off, but the missile still locked onto and hit the target."

"I have a guess."

Bock raised his hand:
“Those 20 missiles were very conspicuous, and our passive monitors saw them clearly. At the terminal phase, the missiles clearly split into four groups, and their trajectories didn't overlap, making it seem as if they were attacking an area, trying to find the ‘New York Ghost’ through coverage. This indicates that those missiles only knew the approximate location and had almost no radar guidance throughout their flight.” Mark: “You mean these missiles gambled with numerical superiority and then relied on close-range detection to find the target?”

"This is impossible."

Marcel, a Northrop flight expert who had come specifically for the B-2 design, immediately rejected it:

"The B-2's stealth capabilities against conventional airborne radar are ridiculously strong. Even within 10 kilometers, its radar cross-section (RCS) is less than 0.1 square meters, making it extremely difficult to lock onto."

I was even puzzled by the discovery of the AV-3. At the time, the AV-2 and AV-3 were only about 10 kilometers apart. If they had the capability to detect the AV-3, they should have been able to detect the Bock as well.

"Did the 'New York Ghost' suffer an accident during flight, resulting in paint damage or skin peeling off?"

"No, that would be detected by the 'Arizona Ghost,' and the problems you mentioned are enough to amplify the RCS by dozens of times."

When Marcel insisted that the problem wasn't with the plane, Wayne became angry:

"How did my B2 crash? All I know is that it was detected by radar and shot down by a missile!"

Mark: "This missile is no small thing. It retains its power even after leaving the first stage. Its size is likely similar to the 'Bronze Knight' and it uses a ramjet engine. There are no such missiles on the subcontinent, and all 20 of them were launched at the same time. The only possibility is... a submarine!"
This is a meticulously planned conspiracy. The Lost Empire had long ago laid an ambush in Kaki Bay, waiting for its prey, and it's very likely they were targeting B2!

Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up instantly. In their minds, the Lost Empire lacked high-tech equipment, so using this method to fish... was terrifying, but not impossible.

"The Imperial Navy has determined the crash site, and Northrop will investigate thoroughly."

Marcel pointed to himself:

"I will go to the scene to investigate the situation."

……

Kachi Bay

A lightly armed task force consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS San Jatoxin, and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Paul arrived at Khaki Bay.

But before that, the aircraft on the carrier had already conducted a comprehensive search of the entire bay, and two P3Cs also came over to circle around, quickly discovering a total of 20 U-boats!
These U-boats have reached within tens or even hundreds of kilometers of the crash site. The reason they have not continued to approach is because the USS Stansson is guarding the area.

When news of the B2 crash was learned, the first to arrive at the scene were not Indians, but the Hood squadron.

Dai Ying almost immediately ordered three warships, including HMS Hood, to go to help his ally, while HMS Stanson and the Perry-class ships tried every means to negotiate and refused to accept Dai Ying's goodwill.

Therefore, the USS Stansson had no energy for anti-submarine warfare and was only startled when the aircraft carrier arrived, sounding the highest alarm and organizing the Lost Empire to seize the wreckage.

Slow-moving U-boats are no match for an entire carrier battle group. With the addition of the British, the Nimitz-class carrier strike group had a good time, sinking four U-boats in the first move.

Although Tang Wen did not intend to fight head-on, he could not simply stand still and take a beating. He would inevitably cause some trouble for the Empire. The other submarines immediately slowed down and entered a state of concealment.

U-boats have no reconnaissance capabilities and can only hide while waiting for warships to approach and for a possible window of opportunity for a sneak attack.

However, since the U-boats caused a disturbance on the east coast last year, the Imperial Navy has gained more experience in anti-submarine warfare and now mainly uses helicopters or carrier-based aircraft.

Carrier-based aircraft launched from the aircraft carrier deployed sonar to compress the submarine's operating space, while helicopters waited to intercept anti-submarine torpedoes and depth charges. The coordinated efforts were so effective that they quickly sank two more submarines.

However, just then, the HMS Hood squadron, having discovered the big news, wanted to get involved, and the two escorting Type 23 frigates also wanted to make a name for themselves, so they immediately reported it.

The telegram requesting permission to fight was delivered directly to Band, who believed that since they had finally caught so many outdated submarines that were unable to fight back, the Royal Navy could send them out and sink a few submarines to clear away the gloom of the Christmas campaign.

However, considering the Empire's current protectiveness of its resources and the potential risks posed by the HMS Hood, he only allowed one frigate, the HMS Lancaster, to participate in anti-submarine warfare.

The Nimitz strike group, tasked with the blockade mission, after discussion, determined that the Type 23 frigates were more professional in anti-submarine warfare and thus assigned a section of the area.

At this point, the remaining 14 U-boats were surrounded in an irregular sea area of ​​less than 200 square kilometers. The Lancaster quickly spotted the target and pinged it a few times before speeding up to approach and launch anti-submarine torpedoes.

After the target was detected and the message was broadcast on the public channel, the USS Stanson immediately issued a warning, believing that approaching the U-boat might bring unknown risks, and warned the USS Lancaster not to go forward, saying that it would be safer to use the shipborne helicopter for anti-submarine warfare.

However, just minutes after he finished speaking, a 324mm anti-submarine torpedo launched by the Lancaster hit its target, and soon a pile of debris and oil slicks floated on the surface of the sea.

The captain of the Lancaster finally responded to Stanson's warning, but instead launched helicopters to begin a two-pronged search.

However, the Stanson remained cautious. The Imperial Navy's concerns were not unfounded. Based on their long-term contact, they suspected that the submarines of the Lost Empire might have an unknown underwater communication method.

While it was satisfying for the Lancaster to strike the U-boat's bow, it undoubtedly revealed its coordinates, and who knows what hidden risks that might have been introduced.

However, just as he was thinking this, the Aegis system issued a series of warnings and launched three missiles at distances of 8 kilometers, 13 kilometers, and 15 kilometers respectively!
The USS Stanson immediately steered at full speed to evade, while simultaneously launching four Standard Missile-2 missiles to intercept missiles locked at 13 and 15 kilometers away.

As for the most recent "missile," it was already below the minimum attack range of the "Standard Missile 2," and the USS Steinson had not yet been equipped with the "Sea Sparrow" missile system. It could only pray that the target was not itself and try to use the Phalanx CIWS to face the direction of the missile.

Fortunately, the three missiles were not aimed at the USS Steinsen, but at the USS Lancaster.

The map shows that the launch sites of the three "missiles" surrounded the Lancaster, with an average distance of only a few kilometers. By the time the Stanson launched Standard Missile 2, it had already overlapped with the Lancaster.

(End of this chapter)