Colonia Storm Tour

The whole process took less than a few seconds. The fire control radars of the Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke III didn't even have time to lock onto those elusive, unknown aircraft before they disappeared. Those were the most advanced Aegis destroyers!

Regardless of how they disappeared from the radar, this was already a sign that the "Zero Realm" was about to descend upon them.

"Tell Lieutenant General Arkens to make sure the entire fleet is pushed to its maximum speed! Once the Zero Domain covers you, you will have nowhere to escape and will be unable to mount any counterattack!"

Joseph roared into the communications tube—"For a fleet that relies too heavily on advanced electronic detection methods such as radar, the inability to receive radar echoes from targets is already fatal. Now, if the entire radar and communication system goes offline in a strong electronic jamming environment, the entire fleet will lose its last line of firepower and become nothing more than a floating coffin at sea."

"General! Our satellites, which have been monitoring the waters around the aircraft carrier, have detected a large formation of unidentified aircraft!"

One of the staff members shouted.

"what?!"

Before the other staff officers and generals at headquarters could react, multiple photos taken via satellite and urgently uploaded to the headquarters' large LCD screens were displayed.

Their "keyhole" photographic reconnaissance satellites managed to capture images of the Storm Messenger Air Assault Division breaking free from the thick cloud cover created by Storm Colonia.

The Vulture attack aircraft, the Pteranodon attack aircraft, and the Quetzalcoatl had already seen the 4V satellite reconnaissance earlier. What shocked the entire command was a giant dragon that appeared in the photo, its body comparable to that of the An-255!

Although it is unknown what the luminous hole resembling a reactor appears in the rear of the nose is, it is clear that this aircraft is used for military purposes, most likely for electronic jamming.

As for the Quetzalcoatl, which is much larger than the An-225 "Mriya" and looks like an enlarged version of the Quetzalcoatl, its purpose cannot be determined after the loss of the eye-shaped drones hovering below.

They couldn't understand the Quetzalcoatl's combat objectives to begin with, and they were even more baffled when they encountered the much larger Quetzalcoatl transport aircraft.

Currently, the only operational radar in this area is not the Lacrosse synthetic aperture radar, but rather the Keyhole satellite, which is not accurate enough in distinguishing ground targets and has even been rendered unusable due to blinding light.

When the entire "breakdown" operation began, Lin Haiyuan initially considered whether to use the anti-satellite capabilities of the Colonia flank base to shoot down the Keyhole and Lacrosse satellites.

Later, I realized that if I wanted to establish the reputation of the Foehn Wind and instill fear in potential enemies, I couldn't hide these futuristic, sci-fi aircraft like the Japanese devils. Instead, I had to openly display them to intimidate those petty villains! Let them know that I can sink an American carrier battle group, and dealing with your tiny island nation is no problem for me.

Therefore, the blood and souls of Americans were used to make the whole world realize that the world has never been dominated by the United States alone.

Fearing that the Standard Missile 6's terminal active radar seeker might enter "mad dog" mode and accidentally damage friendly forces, or even crash into friendly aircraft after its trajectory curve drops, Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke have not dared to launch too many Standard Missile 6s to deal with the Burkes that are engaged in close combat with US aircraft.

Their most frequent kills so far have been against Son of Mosa drones that are single-mindedly trying to attack ships.

These drones, whose flight paths are not particularly complex, are capable of intercepting the Aegis system and its accompanying Standard Missile 6, which were developed to counter the anti-ship missile attacks of the Red Navy and Backfire.

However, the remaining aircraft in the carrier air wing that had not yet been shot down were still forced to engage in a relentless pursuit with the Burst Bees.

These Burst Bees, entering the final stage of their flight, reached a top speed of Mach 2, which was far too fast and deadly for these attack aircraft whose right flight envelope was extremely degraded.

Only high-angle, high-energy-consumption maneuvers can narrowly avoid an impact. However, once all the aircraft's accumulated air combat energy is lost, not only will the flight altitude and speed drop to a dangerous level, but the Kamikaze Shinigami will also follow closely and crash into you!

For pilots in the country that gave birth to John Boyd's theory of energy maneuverability, entering this state during aerial combat is often a recipe for disaster. While advanced air-to-air missiles and avionics can, to some extent, offset the advantage in maintaining air combat energy and the speed at which energy is converted to horizontal planes—especially in a modern warfare system where pilots can engage in thrilling one-on-one or two-plane duels—it becomes crucial to correctly maintain one's air combat energy and horizontal conversion speed advantage, as well as to consistently utilize the aircraft's performance advantages, once the advantages of air-to-air missiles and avionics are lost, along with the loss of friendly forces and logistical support. This is particularly true when facing a relentless opponent willing to engage in a "bumper car" style of combat; pilot skill and intuition become paramount.

Therefore, most of these well-trained U.S. Navy pilots were able to stay in the air for a while, relying on their human intellect, which is more flexible than that of machines, to survive in desperate situations.

Some of the more astute pilots had already steered their aircraft out of the airspace where they were locked in combat with the Burst Bees and were heading towards the aircraft carrier.

The Burst Bee not only has the advantages of high flight speed and target locking without relying on electromagnetic waves, but also has a plasma ramjet engine that can operate for a short time when entering the final stage of its journey. By diverting the plasma used to create the explosion to fuel the ramjet engine, it can maintain a high speed of Mach 2 for a long time. This design is rarely used by the Burst Bee, which mainly attacks amphibious units.

The diversion of plasma used to create the explosion to the ramjet engine naturally led to a decrease in the explosive power, but this was insignificant for a fragile aircraft that could be quite dangerous even to a bird.

Therefore, these pilots, who had temporarily escaped the airspace entangled by the bursting bees and thought they had escaped death, believed that those drones could not keep their afterburners running for long enough to reach their limit and automatically detonate.

DONBOOM!!

The plasma explosion, much smaller than before, turned the F-35C that had broken free of its entanglement into a bright burst of aerial firework. Then, as the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) passed through the still-spreading plasma, the extremely high temperature of the plasma immediately detonated the SM-6, and the explosion of the SM-6's warhead added a discordant element to the beautiful plasma scene.

Damn it!

Lieutenant Colonel Hall slammed his fist on the control panel, watching the F-35's signal on the radar gradually dwindle. If only three more seconds remained, his Standard Missile 6 could have destroyed the suicide drone and saved the F-35C.

Unlike the pilot who was lucky enough to escape the F-35C and was then hit and destroyed, his fellow pilots were still struggling to hold on amidst the pursuit of the Burst Bees.

The Leviathan motherships "Tiger Shark," "Sea Soul Shark," "Red Devil Shark," and "Touch You Shark," equipped with a complete system for manufacturing, maintaining, and launching Burst Bees, naturally produce as many Burst Bees as they lose.

In the absence of a large-scale US attack aircraft group carrying Harpoon anti-ship missiles and heavy guided bombs, the surplus nanomaterials originally intended for ship hull repair could naturally be used to manufacture more Explosive Bees.

A massive wave of Burst Bees set off again, and soon the Burst Bee swarm and the subsequent Son of Mosa drones, forming a strike group, appeared on the radar of the US warships.

Everyone on the US warship was instantly bewildered. Holy crap, where did this suicide drone come from?!

In traditional aircraft carriers, if you lose all or part of your carrier-based aircraft, it is impossible to replenish the number of pilots on the carrier itself.

You don't just throw a few Franklins or gold into a voting window and a few minutes later a pilot sitting in the cockpit jumps out of the cargo bay, salutes you, and says over the radio, "Hey boss, I'm ready for battle!"

The aircraft carriers born under the science of EA (Ximu) are different from real aircraft carriers. If the carrier-based drones are lost, they can be replenished as long as there are enough materials, but this is obviously impossible in reality!

So you can imagine the "holy crap" that the US Navy officers and sailors were thinking when faced with the same swarm of drones attacking them just now.

On another Arleigh Burke III-class destroyer, Lieutenant Commander Tunner, watching Standard Missile-6 missiles trailing grayish-white smoke as they rose from their launch cells, wondered if these drone swarms would still come even after we'd used up all our Standard Missiles.

If Lin Haiyuan's Colonia flank base hadn't been equipped with the Stormbringer Air Assault Division for the attack, it's quite possible that both sides would have exhausted their carrier-based aircraft and missiles, and would have been left only to watch helplessly from afar via radar and satellite.

As for the launch, whether the sea-based Tomahawk anti-ship missiles launched by Arleigh Burke and its ships can be effective against adversaries equipped with advanced technology is a big question.

It is common knowledge that surface and air search radars have low-altitude blind spots due to radar wave angle issues, and an adversary of that caliber would certainly know this.

The Virginia-class attack submarine, lacking any anti-aircraft weapons and equipped only with anti-ship and land-attack weapons underwater, is helpless against the situation in the air. Its Tomahawk missiles are also unsuitable for anti-ship strikes, especially against a fleet with a constant speed of 46 knots and complete anti-aircraft firepower.

Vice Admiral Arkens Freys, who was almost driven to desperation, even considered sending two Virginia-class attack submarines to attack the Maelstrom fleet.

However, the captains of the two nuclear submarines would never agree to carry out such a suicidal action, even if they might face a military court-martial for disobeying orders afterward.

It's important to understand that their opponents weren't just shipborne drones, but also submarines from the elusive Foehn forces that appeared out of nowhere.

These submarines, almost blending into the background noise of the ocean, appeared on the monitors in front of the sonar operators—at present, only American submarines were roaming this area. If submarines outside the sonar's detection range appeared, they could only be submarines of the Foehn Force. The Russian Black Sharks wouldn't come all this far to cause trouble.

Their role is to use active sonar to "intimidate" these small, unknown submarines, letting them know that they have been detected and that if they get any closer, they will be warned with 533mm MK-48ADCAP heavy wire-guided torpedoes!

A complete Foehn naval task force wouldn't consist only of Swordfish frigates and Leviathan motherships; it would also include a submarine, the "Flatshark support submarine."

To counter the numerically superior Epsilon submarine force and the controlled Soviet naval forces, the Flat Shark decoy submarine was developed.

Instead of launching heavy guided torpedoes or cruise missiles to severely damage enemy ships, he launched a guided smart torpedo. Once launched, this torpedo would continuously track the target until its fuel tank was exhausted, at which point it would automatically detonate or hit the target, releasing a series of confusing pulses to confuse everyone on the submarine or ship, causing the entire crew to lose their minds and fight against friendly forces.

This would obviously reverse the numerical disadvantage of the Foehn Navy, because the enemy's numerical advantage would become the Foehn Navy's advantage, as they would have to risk friendly fire to destroy the disruptive Flat Shark support submarine.

Furthermore, the Flat Shark support submarine can also deploy a decoy mine at its current location. These mines will continuously release decoy pulses over a period of time, and if the ships chasing the Flat Shark do not circumvent them, they will also join the attack on friendly forces.

Obviously, in order to guard against the Americans resorting to desperate measures and sending attack submarines to attack the fleet, the Foehn Navy, which lacks anti-submarine aircraft, naturally had to use the Flat Shark to support the submarines and keep an eye on the American Virginia-class submarines.

Even a single hit from a heavy wire-guided torpedo would be a devastating blow to the Leviathan mothership. If it were to hit the keel by sheer luck, it could render the Leviathan incapable of combat and unable to sail.

The Leviathan mothership's reinforced armor against torpedoes is most likely intended to prevent the armor from being directly destroyed by a submarine-launched torpedo, and then the hull itself from being destroyed by a second torpedo.

The warning from the Hawaii Command was quickly relayed to the operations control room on the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier via military satellite.

Are they doomed?!

Vice Admiral Arkens Freys stared at the nautical chart with a pained expression. They were still 4850 nautical miles away from the Carl Vinson carrier battle group, where they were scheduled to rendezvous!

“Our lads have tried their best... but the opponent we are facing this time is just too strong, and we are outnumbered and outmatched.”

Bill Caller sighed. He could see on the radar that the radar echoes from the Super Hornet and F-35C were gradually decreasing, while the radar echoes from the drones were increasing...

This is even more despairing than the anticipated attack by the Red Navy's anti-ship missile swarm, which has already penetrated the inner air defense zone.

After all, high-Mach anti-ship missiles can send them to meet God in an instant, while these drones that are grinding down carrier-based aircraft and consuming missiles make them feel like prisoners being subjected to "waterboarding," with a slow and deadly death slowly simmering over them.

If the United States hadn't lost Yokosuka and Yokohama, they might have been able to hold out until reinforcements arrived, since the battle groups departing from Yokosuka or Yokohama would have had to travel less navigating the seas than those from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii!

Having lost the potential threat posed by the rise of China and the Soviet Union, and with the presence of Yokosuka Port in Japan, the Americans did not undertake extensive construction to strengthen this unsinkable aircraft carrier on Guam.

Damn Japanese, damn DEM! Damn elves! Damn money-grubbing congressmen! And the intelligence agents and naval experts, the day I catch you all, I'll feed you all to the sharks! — As Vice Admiral in charge of the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group, Arkens Freys had the right to know the inside story of why the United States Congress was driven out of Japan.

Arkans Frey cursed the stingy congressmen, intelligence officers, and naval experts, wishing them a terrible death. Losing Japan, coupled with the instability of Subic Bay in the Philippines, was utterly useless—previously, maintaining ships there required borrowing technicians from Yokosuka, but after losing Japan, they all returned to Hawaii. This meant that there was no port in all of Asia that could dock and maintain a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier!

And at that very moment, the final straw that broke the camel's back for the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group arrived!

With the long roar of the cyclone engines and the massive fuselage cutting through the sky, the Stormbringer Air Assault Division on the flank of Colonia had already come into view of the American sailors!

Then, the Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke III AN/SPY series radars went offline, followed by the fire control radar, the navigation radar, and finally the entire communication system, both shortwave and longwave communications, were cut off, leaving only noisy noise.

"Zero Realm!!!"

Colonel Hall roared in frustration, revealing the code name for this unsolvable electronic jamming phenomenon. All the US Navy officers and men knew that they were facing a massacre from the air, with no ability to resist!

The word "die in the line of duty" is not far removed from them now.

"The Vanguard gunship has entered the lighthouse circling route."

After Walker.com AI's report, the two baffles on the right side of the soaring vulture automatically pushed open, and the cannon barrel of the particle impact cannon extended out from inside.

None of the recruited personnel are qualified to operate the Vanguard gunship, because the Vanguard gunship can only be docked and maintained at the Colonia Flanking Air Base. Obviously, the crew members also need to go to the Colonia Flanking Air Base. However, the existence of the Colonia Flanking Air Base is currently top secret, known only to Lin Haiyuan and Walker.net AI.

After the Vanguard gunships entered their attack routes, the Pteranodon and Condor attack aircraft had already entered their attack routes, strafing the external close-in weapon systems on those ships.

These air defense weapons, which rely entirely on shipborne radar, have become completely useless after the radar systems were all taken offline.

As for the sailors' counterattacks, aside from using their own guns to fire at the air to bolster their courage, they were utterly useless.

As for the largest aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, it was handled by the Vanguard gunships.

With the smooth cannon fire of the particle impact cannon, the high-density, high-temperature spherical particle projectiles remain intact under the constraint of the magnetic field until they collide with the target and begin to disintegrate.

Upon seeing the incoming particle cannonballs, the colorful ground crew on the aircraft carrier deck immediately dropped everything they had and took refuge. With almost all of their carrier-based aircraft lost, there was no point in continuing to hold onto the tools specifically prepared for the aircraft.

Some ground crew members, in order to save their lives, made up their minds and jumped directly into the sea next to the aircraft carrier while it was underway. They didn't have time to run to the shadow of the island superstructure or the vicinity of the elevators!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The target area for the Vanguard gunships was not the island superstructure of the aircraft carrier, but its deck. Lin Haiyuan intended to completely disable the take-off and landing capabilities of this sea behemoth.

The power and effectiveness of particle projectiles are clearly incomparable to ordinary battleship shells and supersonic anti-ship missiles.

Upon impact with the flight deck, the confined magnetic field immediately restrained the expanding particle cluster. The resulting natural phenomenon was the violent expansion of the high-density, high-temperature particles, melting everything they touched that couldn't withstand the temperature and pressure.

The explosive expansion of the particle projectiles also brought powerful shockwaves. Each explosion shook the entire aircraft carrier, making the entire carrier resemble a poorly clothed beggar shivering in the cold wind.

Those in the combat command room on the island superstructure could feel a strong tremor, like an earthquake, and could also see the vanguard gunships circling the lighthouse through the glass windows.

"Air Gunship?!"

Bill Culler, his head bleeding from the jolting, stared in disbelief at the Vanguard gunship.

He never imagined that armed transport aircraft like the AC-130 could participate in naval operations, which was clearly a significant shock to his current worldview.

Boom! ...

With the final two explosions, the entire aircraft carrier deck was completely blasted into a twisted, hot, unwalkable mass of metal plates riddled with holes by the particle cannonballs.

The aircraft carrier's takeoff and landing capabilities have been disabled, but to bring the carrier to a complete stop, bombing of areas outside the deck is still necessary.

However, this kind of delicate work cannot be entrusted to the destructive Vanguard gunship. Lin Haiyuan did not want this nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to become a source of radiation pollution at sea, and it would be a tragedy if it were accidentally blown up.