After the Chinese Navy captured Diego Garcia Island, the two raiding destroyers did not enter the water again, but were temporarily used as fixed forts on the island. At the same time, the landing engineering troops accompanying the fleet also quickly repaired the airport and other facilities on the island so that they could be put back into use.
The important strategic position of Diego Garcia Island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is self-evident. After China seizes the island, it can balance its defense power in the east and west Indian Ocean. Deploying a large number of naval aviation groups here will also help in subsequent battles. occupy a favorable position.
The pLA immediately transferred through Myanmar and mobilized an entire regiment of Backfire bombers and an entire regiment of J-9 fighter jets, with the purpose of enhancing the anti-ship capability in regional waters. After the Backfire bomber was introduced from Russia, it directly replaced the slightly backward H-6K medium-range bomber and became the core weapon of China's tactical bombing. At first, the Air Force equipped 160 of them, but then they became more and more comfortable with them. Additional orders began to be placed and manufactured by XAC, so that by the time the war began, XAC still had a large number of orders for Backfire bombers.
And not only did the Air Force equip a lot of Backfires, Hainan Airlines also took this opportunity to once again equip the bomber model. Because the improved Chinese version of the Figure 22 Backfire can carry multiple types of anti-ship missiles from the Chinese Eagle Strike series, perform air-based anti-ship combat missions, and greatly make up for the effective range of fighters such as the J-6 and J-L. and the shortcomings of insufficient combat radius.
The United States and NATO also regard Backfire as a serious threat. This kind of supersonic bomber flies very fast, and its range after passing through China is not very short. The combat radius of 36 kilometers is more than enough. What is even more tormenting is China. A large number of this type of bombers are equipped. The weapons used by this type of bomber are mainly cruise missiles with a range of thousands of kilometers. Even anti-ship missiles are long-range anti-ship missiles of three to four hundred kilometers, which can basically achieve the effect of off-zone strikes. In order to deal with this kind of bomber, the US military even considered developing a fighter jet capable of high-altitude and high-speed interception. It also set a standard for the B3 under development to reach Mach 2- or above, which made Lockheed Martin scratch its head because they initially Only the speed of Mach 6 is designed for B3 Feidian.
The loss of Diego Garcia itself was expected by the Americans. There is no saying on the battlefield that a glorious victory can be achieved without paying any price. The Americans know this truth very well. But they are also increasingly keen on opening a maritime corridor from South Africa to India. The U.S. expeditionary fleet headed by the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier briefly docked in the Port of Cape Town, South Africa, and then set off into the Indian Ocean to find the Chinese fleet for a decisive battle.
Zhang Juzuo, the commander of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, did not want to give the Americans what they wanted. Although the Chinese were not afraid of a large-scale decisive battle at sea, Zhang Juzuo still adhered to traditional Chinese strategies and tactics before the decisive battle. The idea is to weaken the strength of the U.S. Navy's expeditionary fleet to the greatest extent, making it tired, frightened and demoralized.
The best weapon that can accomplish this task is China¡¯s submarine
The Indian Ocean Fleet currently deploys dozens of conventionally powered and nuclear powered submarines. Except for some that follow the fleet's activities for anti-submarine and escort missions, most of them sail alone in the deep sea, like lone wolves. But as long as the enemy is discovered, will launch the most violent and vicious attacks.
The U.S. military also understands that after entering the Indian Ocean, it will face a huge threat from Chinese naval submarines. In order to deal with this threat, the commander of the U.S. Expeditionary Fleet, Cornell, requested the headquarters to mobilize dozens of fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft, including P3 and newly developed aircraft. PB Poseidon is stationed at South Africa's airports, patrols in nearby waters and even further in the Arabian Sea to discover and attack China's submarine forces.
However, the anti-submarine aircraft of the US military entering the Arabian Sea in the northeast direction will basically be intercepted by Chinese fighter jets stationed in Somalia, and this interception is not a warning and expulsion. China and the United States are already in a state of substantial war. As long as a US aircraft is discovered, the Chinese fighter jets will It will inevitably be shot down without mercy, so the possibility that the US military can achieve anti-submarine operations in further areas is relatively low. It can at least enhance the safety of fleet navigation along the coast of South Africa.
However, this still cannot prevent the elusive Chinese submarines from attacking the fleets of the United States and its allies. The first to suffer was South Africa's Warrior-class missile speedboat Markhanda. This small naval vessel has a displacement of only 450 tons and has little endurance. It mainly operates near the coast. However, while cruising in the offshore area, the boat was stalked by a Chinese Type 096 nuclear submarine. Without the boat being aware of it, the Chinese nuclear submarine launched a light torpedo and sank it. The whole boat was fifty Many officers and soldiers, and more than 20 people died in the sea.
However, this was just the beginning of the underwater nightmare of the NATO allied fleet. Immediately afterwards, the Canadian Halifax-class frigate sailing in the waters east of South Africa was also attacked by a Chinese submarine. The Chinese nuclear submarine fired multiple missiles at one go All the torpedoes hit the 3,000-ton frigate and cut it in half.
Company of allied shipsThe continued losses made Fleet Commander Cornell very shocked and nervous. He even said: "If we cannot ensure that there are no Chinese submarines ambushing us on our routes, our expedition fleet will not enter the Indian Ocean to start a war with the Chinese. We have to take responsibility for our boys.¡±
Even so, Cornell continued to dispatch anti-submarine aircraft and ships with anti-submarine warfare capabilities to continuously scan the sea area. He did not know how many Chinese submarines there were in the sea area, but if he did not find a parallel attack If it sinks a ship, he cannot feel at ease.
The Americans were lucky. More than 300 kilometers from the southern tip of Madagascar, the U.S. anti-submarine fleet discovered an unfamiliar underwater sound signal and judged it to be a Chinese submarine. Subsequently, multiple anti-submarine aircraft flew over the sea area and dropped There are a large number of sonar buoys, and the anti-submarine helicopters on the anti-submarine ships are constantly passing back and forth to locate this underwater acoustic signal.
"Captain, there are too many sonar buoys above our heads. As long as we move, we will be discovered by them." The political commissar on board the Type 09-type attack nuclear submarine said to the captain anxiously. Because of the habit of being a submarine soldier, They all spoke very quietly.
This Type 09-type nuclear submarine was currently hiding on the seabed more than 20 meters deep. They knew the seabed conditions here well. In such a critical roundup, the captain made a decisive decision and regarded the submarine as a boulder on the seabed and stopped it. He landed on the seabed and completely stopped his actions.
This kind of thing itself is quite dangerous, because no one knows whether the submarine can rise again after stopping on the seabed. In so many years of submarine training and combat experience, only the submariner who is now a senior official of the Naval Command has Genius Li Chun did such a thing. It just so happens that the captain of this 09-submarine is a fan of Li Chun, the submarine warfare genius who used to play with the NATO fleet. He has analyzed all Li Chun's battle cases. At this moment, he is so bold to let the nuclear submarine park on the seabed to escape. Detection of opponents.
This is not a very good idea. Although the enemy cannot detect the existence of the ship because it is stationary, he is also completely trapped in this sea area. This nuclear submarine has been sailing for more than a month. The supplies on their ship It can last less than a month at most. If the enemy violates the axis within this month and wants to blockade this sea area, and we have not rescued it, then the nuclear submarine will not be sunk if it is not sunk. What a difference.
What¡¯s even more distressing is that for fear of being discovered by the enemy, the nuclear submarine cannot actively communicate with the outside world. At this moment, it is in a state of complete radio silence. They were unable to notify the Indian Ocean Fleet headquarters of their location and to send troops to rescue them. Now they are helpless.
The captain was not very old, but very calm. He held the edge of the table and said calmly: "Wait, let's wait. As submariners, our greatest virtue is patience. In order to wait for the enemy to take the bait, we can stay In order to wait for the enemy to leave for a month underwater, we will also wait underwater for a month. Even if we are suffocated to death in this big iron jar, we will never take action before the opportunity comes. This is the consciousness that our submarine soldiers should have. "
The weapons commander said with some regret: "If we are driving a 096 that can run at a speed of more than 40 knots, and also has countermeasures against torpedoes, then we will not take care of these clowns, and they will run away if they want to."
The captain frowned and said: "This is not the time for us to complain that our weapons are not advanced enough. War is not only about weapons and equipment, but also about the tactical quality and psychological quality of our officers and soldiers. I believe in myself, and I believe even more. All of us, and I also believe that this submarine, which has been following us for more than a year, together, we will be able to go out victoriously."
The captain's words inspired everyone, but due to the need to keep quiet, everyone could not shout in unison or anything. They just quietly performed their own duties in their respective battle positions.
The Chinese submarine soldiers underwater are very anxious, and the U.S. anti-submarine soldiers on the surface and in the air are not having an easy time either. Cornell, the commander of the expeditionary fleet, has given a death order. He must see a Chinese submarine sunk, otherwise these guys will not come back to see him. The NATO fleet has been severely hit by the Chinese submarine force. They really need such a result to declare to themselves and the world that China's submarines are not terrible and can be defeated.
It¡¯s just that no matter how the towed sonar of the US Perry-class frigate and the sonar buoy of P3 were detected, the underwater acoustic signal just now could not be found again. The Chinese submarine seemed to be lost in this sea area.
"Sir, we have conducted a complete investigation in this sea area, but we still found no trace of the enemy submarine. Could it be that they have evacuated from here?"
The captain of the frigate USS Boone was deeply skeptical about this. He said: "It's impossible. If this submarine leaves at high speed, it will be easier for us to find her traces. She definitely did not leave this sea area. It's just this cunning guy. Hidden somewhere, let me?Not detectable. If we can¡¯t catch her once, we¡¯ll do it two or three times. We¡¯ll have a lot of time to spend with her.¡±
Someone from the communications department reported again: "The USS Virginia and the USS New Hampshire have entered the operating sea area and joined our anti-submarine operations."
The captain of the USS Boone waved his fist and said: "Great, the more people join us, the better our chances of winning."
The Virginia class that replaced the Sea Wolf class in this plane did not appear. The Americans redesigned the Sea Wolf class and developed the Bc11 model of the Sea Wolf class without weakening its combat effectiveness. The USS Virginia and the USS New Hampshire both belong to the Bc11 batch of the Seawolf class. In terms of overall combat power, the Sea Wolf class exceeds China's 09-class by a lot.
But just when the U.S. anti-submarine fleet received strong support, bad things happened at the same time.
An alarm suddenly sounded on the originally calm Boone, shocking all the officers and soldiers on board. An officer shouted: "It's an anti-ship missile. We were targeted by an anti-ship missile. Damn it, who sent the missile? There is no trace of the enemy at all."
"The bomber is actually a Chinese bomber"
This sea area happened to be within the combat radius of the Backfire bombers that had just been deployed at the Diego Garcia base. The Backfire bombers were performing a mission. After receiving information that our submarines might be in danger, they immediately rushed to the nearby airspace. And with the assistance of satellite positioning, multiple YJ-2 anti-ship missiles were launched. These long-range anti-ship missiles can be launched even before the bombers are detected by the ship's radar, and the Chinese bombers will never fail. After launching the anti-ship missiles, they immediately turn around and return at supersonic speeds.
The U.S. military has two Albuquerque-class destroyers in the sea area. Facing the Chinese anti-ship missile attack, it immediately activated the Aegis system to counterattack. The U.S. military launched multiple standard missiles and activated its own Phalanx, but two missiles still passed through the defense network built by the American Aegis ship and hit the Boone. As a heavy anti-ship missile, the YJ-2 can sink a frigate of more than 406 tons with one hit, let alone two.
More than 30 U.S. sailors on the Boone died on the spot, and many others drowned later. The Boone sank directly into the sea without even being rescued.
And just when the US military was about to calm down, the alarms of other ships were ordered to go off again.
"Why are there still anti-ship missiles? Aren't the Chinese bombers gone?"
¡°Oh, my God, there are other Chinese submarines here¡±