Overwhelming Force

by Andrew Watts

  David said, “So we’ve been told.”

  “What are these towers?”

  Susan said, “That’s what we’re here to discuss.”

  “You have any images that are zoomed in…oh, here’s one.” The DARPA scientist reached for a picture of the tower on the Jiaolong-class ship.

  The expert on naval warships said, “It’s odd that they’ve positioned the flight decks off to the side. They plan on landing four helicopters at once?”

  David said, “We believe that each one of those side-mounted flight decks is for an unmanned dirigible. The dirigibles are about three hundred feet long. You can see a close-up of one of those here.” David slid over another image. “And while we don’t have much data on them, we believe that they’re extremely effective as ASW platforms.”

  The man arched his eyebrow at that. “No kidding. Dirigibles.”

  The DARPA representative said, “We had a project like that a few years back. Not for ASW, mind you. Ours was for cargo transport and logistics. You could carry twice the load of a C-130 at a much lower cost per mile.”

  David said, “Why did the program get shut down?”

  “Well, that’s what’s so surprising about this. Dirigibles have obvious risks when used in a military environment.”

  “You mean they could get shot down easily.”

  “Of course. A three-hundred-foot target would be a sitting duck if it’s in range of—well, just about any antiaircraft weapon.”

  David said, “So why would the Chinese take such a risk?”

  One of the men said, “You said that it was very effective. How effective?”

  “We’ve lost three US fast-attack boats in the past week. To our knowledge, our submarines weren’t even able to make it into torpedo range before they were destroyed.”

  “During the cease-fire? Well, why the hell haven’t we reattacked the Chinese?”

  David and Susan looked at each other. Then David said, “That’s not what we’re here to discuss.”

  Seeing that they weren’t satisfied with that answer, he continued, “There are still some battles being fought. Ones that we don’t talk about. We have a hell of a lot of civilians and military personnel that are being allowed to leave Asia unharmed. But that’s above our pay grade, I’m afraid.”

  “Sorry.”

  The air defense expert said, “What a minute. These towers…I think I know what they might be.”

  “Directed-energy weapons.”

  After speaking with the three experts for an hour, Susan and David now sat in the Raven Rock executive conference room with the national security advisor, several flag officers, and the director of the CIA.

  “That’s what these towers are?”

  The room was focused on the projection screen, which displayed one of the images of the Jiaolong-class ship.

  “That’s our hypothesis, sir. We think they’re being used as a new type of air defense weapon.” Susan tapped a button, and the presentation screen changed to an infrared image of one of the Jiaolong-class ships. “Our analysts believe these Jiaolong-class ships have modular nuclear power systems installed solely for these weapons. If that’s true, it would provide a nearly unlimited source of electric power.”

  An admiral at the end of the conference table looked skeptical. “We have our own directed-energy weapons. The list of canceled projects goes on and on. How have they solved the range and beam attenuation issues? These systems aren’t yet viable air defense weapons. How do you even know that these things really work?”

  David spoke up. “Sir, I’ve spoken with our experts who have seen the Chinese design. They’re convinced that the Chinese are on to something. They’re using billions of carbon nanotubes, stacked on top of each other throughout the towers. These nanotubes absorb the light and convert it to different types of energy.”

  Blank stares.

  “What’s the range?” asked an Army general sitting at the table.

  “We don’t know that, sir.”

  “Then why is this even something we’re discussing?”

  “Because the Chinese must believe them to be pretty damned effective to risk using dirigibles for ASW. A blimp is an easy target for surface-to-air weapons.”

  The general shot back, “Then maybe the Chinese are just stupid. They are communists, after all. Just send in an air strike and take out those dirigibles, then send in the submarines.”

  David shook his head.

  General Schwartz cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, how many wars have been lost because rooms like this underestimated the effectiveness of a new technology?”

  David looked around the room. Some of the men and women here still didn’t seem convinced. He didn’t care if he spoke out of turn. He needed to make them understand.

  David stood, and all eyes were on him. “This Jiaolong-class ship contains two disruptive technologies: a leap in ASW capability, and a leap in air defense capability. If any ship were to hold just one of these new capabilities, it would still be susceptible to attack. The American military would still retain its advantage. For example, if a Chinese destroyer had this new directed-energy weapon but no new leap in ASW capability, we could still sink that destroyer with one of our submarines. But together they could make this Chinese fleet quite lethal.”

  “You’re making a jump, son. The ability of these directed-energy weapons remains to be seen.”

  A Navy captain said, “The Chinese screen formation was unusually tight. That would make sense if they were all trying to stay under one umbrella. Instead of the destroyers protecting the high-value unit in the center of the formation, it seems like the HVU is protecting the entire fleet. The closer they stick together, the greater the level of protection.”

  David nodded. “Exactly. If this directed-energy weapon works well, the Chinese fleet, with these Jiaolong-class ships, would be able to move with impunity throughout the Pacific.”

  The skeptical admiral at the end of the table said, “That’s if this directed-energy weapon proves to be as effective as you’re suggesting.”

  “Yes, sir.” But why else would they go out on a limb like this? Jinshan isn’t stupid.

  A phone rang at the table, and one of the flag officers picked it up. “When? Very well. I’ll let everyone know.” He hung up the phone, then looked up at the group.

  “The Chinese fleet has been picked up on radar, heading towards Guam. They just crossed the one forty-four.”

  22

  USS Farragut

  100 miles north of Guam

  Victoria walked into the combat information center shortly after general quarters was called. The captain had ordered her air detachment to bring the bird into the barn, and she was hoping to lobby him against that decision.

  Like any good athlete, she wanted to be on the field during the game. There might be a submarine threat, after all. Or they could provide over-the-horizon targeting or surveillance. Hell, it might take them a while, but she could even have her men throw on a few Hellfire missiles if it would help. But as she surveyed the room, her “put me in, coach” attitude diminished.

  The basic concept of naval warfare hadn’t changed much in the last few hundred years. Target and sink the enemy’s ship before they sink you. But the complexity of modern tactics lay in the vast amount of information being streamed into the warfighter. Gigabytes of data were pumped into the ship via datalink, radio, sonar, radar, electronic and other sensors. Even the lookouts on the bridge fed information via sound-powered phone. Now all of these sensors reached out into the unseen distance, searching for their enemy, who was in turn searching for them. The same old game.

  A dim blue overhead light illuminated the captain as he spoke to the tactical action officer. Together, they were studying the tactical picture. The USS Michael Monsoor, a brand-new Zumwalt-class destroyer, was five miles to their west. Their captain was in charge of the Farragut’s surface action group.

  “SAG is directing us to adjust the screen, sir
.”

  The captain said, “Very well. Get it done.”

  Victoria watched the combat team as they prepared to fire antiship missiles at targets for which they still had no coordinates.

  The captain, seeing Victoria, waved her over. “Sir, is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I wanted to bring the helicopter inside the hangar in case we take any fire. I figured that would help the aircraft survive better so we can launch you when we get closer. Be ready to go.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  One of the operations specialists turned from his computer terminal and said, “TAO, Seventh Fleet just informed us that friendly aircraft will be transiting overhead for the next hour. They expect to give us targeting information soon.”

  Twelve B-52s launched in rapid succession from Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. The aircraft had deployed to Guam from two squadrons: the Twenty-Third Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and the Sixty-Ninth, both out of Minot AFB, North Dakota.

  Dark trails of exhaust flowed from the engines as they climbed. Soon after, ten more aircraft launched. These were B-1Bs from the Thirty-Fourth and Thirty-Seventh Bomb Squadrons. Within minutes of launch, the B-1s went supersonic, heading to a position southwest of the Chinese fleet. Once there, they slowed and spread their wings, loitering while the B-52s flew into position.

  F-15 and F-22 interceptors flew combat air patrol, stationed in between the two groups of bombers. An E-3G AWACS aircraft, with its round radar dish fixed atop the large Boeing airframe, acted as the command-and-control platform.

  On board the E-3, airmen watched as the Chinese fleet appeared on their screen. Radar and other sensors picked up over fifty ships, all headed towards Guam at twenty knots. The Air Force’s electronic sensors matched the fleet’s radar and other signals to their archives of Chinese military systems.

  An Air Force major on board the E-3 spoke into his microphone. “Send the execute order to all aircraft.”

  Within seconds, the bomb bay doors of the B-1s and B-52s opened, revealing the blue ocean twenty thousand feet below. From the bomb bays fell dozens of the US military’s new AGM-185 long-range antiship missiles (LRASM). These missiles had been specially transported to Guam the week before.

  Thin wings and a small vertical fin extended from the sleek black missiles. The LRASMs used all of the data that had been shared between the attacking Air Force squadrons to chart their course, making continuous corrections as they dove towards the sea at just under the speed of sound. They skimmed low to the water to avoid radar detection and used their inertial navigation systems since the Chinese had destroyed GPS.

  The missiles coordinated with each other autonomously, widening their formation to make it harder for the Chinese to defend. Their attack profile had been preprogrammed by Air Force experts prior to launch. Now they sped closer to the Chinese fleet, setting themselves up to attack from three directions simultaneously.

  On board the E-3G command-and-control aircraft, the mission commander stood in the tunnel, watching a digital display over the shoulder of one of his men as over two hundred missiles closed in on their targets.

  “Everything look good?”

  “Yes, sir. Fifty miles out. Any second now.”

  The mission commander knew that the weapons would be in their final phase of flight now, using onboard electronic sensors to home in on enemy radar to—

  “What the hell? What just happened? Where did the missiles go?”

  Victoria melted into the wall of Combat, unable to stop watching as the battle unfolded.

  An operations specialist petty officer said, “Sir, we’re losing contact on friendly air tracks.”

  “Are they hitting their targets?”

  The OS said, “Not sure, sir.”

  “Is it a datalink issue?”

  The petty officer shot a look to the OS chief standing nearby. The chief had his arms folded across his chest. “Sir, I don’t think it’s the link. I think our missiles got shot down.”

  “All of them?”

  A sickening feeling formed in Victoria’s stomach.

  “Another dozen aircraft just launched from Guam, sir.”

  The captain said, “Do we have targeting coordinates yet?”

  “Negative, sir.”

  Victoria could hear radio calls going to and from each of the ships in company. The ships were adjusting their formation for combat and acknowledging the change to the screen commander. The familiar sounds of young military voices over the radio, static noise, and electronic beeps.

  The TAO’s voice was subdued. “Captain…”

  “What is it?”

  “Seventh Fleet is saying that all twenty aircraft we launched from Guam have been shot down.”

  No one spoke for a moment. Then the captain said, “What’s the expected range of the enemy fleet?”

  “The data is time-late, sir…”

  “I understand. What’s the range?”

  “One hundred twenty miles, sir.”

  Victoria could feel the tension in the room. The tacticians operating the ship’s weapons systems needed targeting data if they were going to engage the enemy.

  An electronic alarm emanated from the air-defense section of the space. A split second later, Victoria heard a voice over the net.

  “VAMPIRE! VAMPIRE! Multiple missiles inbound!”

  The room erupted in shouted commands and reflexive movements. Then a rumble in her chest and a roar from outside the skin of the ship as surface-to-air missiles fired off.

  “What’s the count?” asked the captain.

  “Ninety-six, sir. Ninety-six missiles inbound.”

  Victoria watched as the ship’s combat team coordinated with the other destroyers in their group. Much of it was done electronically over the datalink. Deciding who would target which inbound missile, how many to fire, and when. Every few seconds, she heard the roar of another SM-2 missile launching off the USS Farragut.

  Her heart beat faster as she watched the tactical display, the incoming missiles growing closer by the second.

  Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning

  Admiral Song sat in his elevated flag officer’s chair in the expansive combat operations center. Until today, the Jiaolong’s directed-energy air defense technology was untested.

  But not anymore. Within the past few minutes, it had worked exactly as the engineers and scientists claimed it would, shooting down hundreds of targets without breaking a sweat. Admiral Song almost felt sorry for his opponents with how outmatched they now were. The Jiaolong technology was truly a step change in sea power. He was now one of the privileged few commanders in history to be the first to use a powerful new technology in combat. He found himself thinking of other examples. The first Gatling gun, or the tank, or—

  “Admiral, we detect American surface-to-air missile launches.”

  “How do the numbers match up?” the admiral asked.

  “The Americans are matching their surface-to-air missiles with our antiship missiles nearly one for one.”

  “Good.” He wanted the Americans to use up their inventory.

  “Range to American fleet is now two hundred kilometers, sir.”

  The admiral rose from his chair and walked to the massive chart table nearby. Two of his senior officers joined him.

  He looked at the digital display that showed the progress of the Chinese antiship missiles. Most had been shot down at the midway point between the two fleets. The problem with launching their weapons was that, as with any emission, doing so gave away the approximate position of his ships. That gave the Americans updated targeting data.

  The Americans were shooting down Admiral Song’s first volley of missiles. Now the Americans would be faced with a choice. Use this new data to reattack and give away their own position? Or close the distance, gather more information, and fire at a range that gave them an increased probability of a kill? Both paths came with their own set of risks and advantages. Which would the Americans choose?

 
; An alarm sounded, and the admiral had his answer.

  “Sir, the American fleet are firing their antiship missiles. Approximately forty missiles inbound. Bearing one-five-zero. Range one hundred fifty kilometers.”

  The admiral nodded. “Understood.” He could see that the faces of his men were filled with fear. They were going into combat for only the second time, and taking action that was contradictory to all of their training. But they held firm. The admiral had trained them well.

  No one asked to initiate surface-to-air missile launches in their defense.

  The Chinese YJ-18 surface-to-surface missiles were almost all intercepted by the American Navy’s surface-to-air missiles. Ten Chinese missiles broke through the American wave of SAM defense.

  Those ten missiles continued to close the American destroyers at subsonic speed. The US Navy ships fired a second wave of interceptor missiles, destroying all but two.

  Those final two Chinese missiles had just hit their late-stage supersonic kick, diving towards the water and then skimming the ocean’s surface as they headed for their targets.

  A thunderous WHRRRRRTT. WHRRRRTT. WHRRRRRT noise could be heard on the USS Farragut as the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System fired its revolving gun at the remaining two missiles. One was destroyed, its fragments landing harmlessly in the ocean. The final missile scored a hit on a nearby littoral combat ship, slamming into the superstructure and detonating its 660-pound warhead. A gray-white explosion erupted from the ship.

  One hundred miles to the northwest, the American volley was arriving at the Americans’ best guess of where the Chinese fleet was located. Dozens of SM-6 missiles fired from the Navy destroyers were about to enter their final phase of flight, where they would drop towards the water and skim the sea at a speed of Mach 3.

  But that never happened.