Chapter 24: The Target of Public Criticism

  Using tactics against "Ohio" to deal with "J-20" is simply killing a chicken with a bull knife.

  When hit by a torpedo, "Killer" first released communication buoys and sent out distress signals.

  Upon receiving the message, the commander of the Ramibelli submarine base immediately activated an emergency plan, mobilizing all anti-submarine forces in the vicinity to search for the submarine that attacked the "Avenger".

  The biggest threat to INS Vikramaditya is a P-8I patrolling the South Picket Strait northeast of the Andaman Islands.

  The anti-submarine patrol aircraft turned at thirteen fifty-five and increased its speed to seven hundred eighty kilometers per hour.

  It wasn't until half an hour later that he could arrive.

  An hour and a half later, the Swordfish had traveled seventy-five kilometers to the south, about one hundred fifteen kilometers from where the Avenger had gone down.

  The commander of the anti-submarine patrol aircraft would never have thought that the "Swordfish" attacked the "Interceptor" 40 kilometers away.

  In the most favorable way for India, it was assumed that the "Shooter" was sunk by an attacking nuclear submarine, which launched a torpedo at a distance of 15 kilometers and escaped southward at a speed of 30 knots after hitting the target. Anti-submarine patrol aircraft could only search south from about 95 kilometers south of the sinking point of the "Shooter".

  The active sonobuoys dropped by the anti-submarine patrol aircraft have a working distance of no more than 5,000 meters. The passive sonobuoy's detection range for the "Swordfish" is also no more than 5,000 meters. The anti-submarine patrol aircraft can drop sonobuoys at most at intervals of 10,000 meters. Dropping a group of sonobuoys and determining whether a target has been found takes at least 15 minutes, so the P-8I's search speed to the south is 40 kilometers per hour.

  The "Swordfish" sailed at a speed of fifty kilometers per hour.

  If the "Swordfish" turns and slows down to reduce noise during its voyage, even if all eight Indian P-8Is come, they won't be able to find the "Swordfish".

  The Indian Navy also dispatched shore-based anti-submarine helicopters, contacted the conventional submarines that had set sail earlier and nearby anti-submarine ships. Anyway, all forces that could be mobilized were sent over.

  All of these have been taken into account by Hua Jianfeng.

  "The INS Arihant is not only the Indian Navy's sole operational nuclear submarine, but also its sole nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. If it were to be sunk, the Indian Navy would go all out."

  At 14:30, after speeding south for 25 kilometers, the "Swordfish" slowed down to six knots and changed its course to southeast.

  About fifteen minutes later, sonar picked up the sound of an object entering the water.

  "Passive sonar buoy, not a torpedo." The sonar operator rubbed his sweaty hands together.

  "Don't worry, they can't hear us." Hua Jianfeng patted Shen Nalang's shoulder.

  At this time, the "Swordfish" produced a noise of less than 80 decibels, completely masked by the ocean background noise. Not to mention the sonobuoys dropped by anti-submarine patrol aircraft, even the US Navy's Virginia-class attack nuclear submarines might not be able to detect the "Swordfish".

  Of course, caution is necessary.

  The officers and soldiers all stayed at their respective posts. Those who were not on duty remained in their bunks. Anyway, anything could be done as long as no noise was made.

  "The Swordfish" moved like a quiet deep-sea monster, slowly advancing in the dark sea.

  "Captain, we have found something."

  Hua Jianfeng was slightly stunned and returned to Shen Nalang's side.

  "Northwest direction, over thirty kilometers away, it seems like a 'squid'."

  While the sonar was reporting its findings, the computer was analyzing the intercepted noise and comparing it with data in the database. Before long, a line of data appeared on the screen: "Squid"-class conventional submarine.

  "How about it? Wasn't my judgment correct?"

  Hua Jianfeng smiled slightly and patted the shoulder of Sheng Nazhong. "Continue to pay attention, we will not disturb that big octopus for the time being."

  "Want to switch to tracking?"

  Hua Jianfeng didn't notice Le Jia Cheng's arrival at the command center until he heard a sudden voice from behind him.

  "I don't want to provoke the dozens of Indian anti-submarine aircraft." Hu Jianfeng waved his hand and walked to the side of the tactical control console. "We've taken out the 'Destroyer', completing our most important task. If my prediction is correct, the Navy will make a decision to send troops to the Indian Ocean within these two days. The fleet must pass through either the Malacca Strait or the Sunda Strait. The Indian Navy won't just sit back and do nothing, they'll definitely mobilize fully to intercept our fleet."

  "We rushed over immediately and coordinated with the fleet in battle."

  Hua Jianfeng smiled slightly and asked, "Do you think it's necessary for us to rush over?"

  "This... " Le Jia Cheng heard the implicit meaning in Hua Jianfeng's words.

  "The navy dispatches a fleet, and it must dispatch submarines. The South Sea Fleet has two attack nuclear-powered submarines, and it is also possible to deploy two attack nuclear-powered submarines from the East Sea Fleet, plus the conventional submarines of the South Sea Fleet, which are not lacking in underwater combat capabilities. In the past, we were at most just adding flowers to the brocade, competing with comrades for battle results. Let others know about it, and they would say that we are stingy."

  "What do you mean?" Le Jia Cheng also laughed, he thought that Hua Jianfeng was indeed very petty at times.

  "Go here." Hua Jianfeng brought up an electronic sea chart and pointed out a location.

  "Sri Lanka Island?"

  "We'll come here to wait for an opportunity." Hua Jianfeng patted the pocket on his chest, only to find that he had left the cigarettes in the bedroom. "We've already sunk the 'Aircraft Carrier', even if we sink all of India's conventional submarines with one blow, it would be gilding the lily at most."

  Luo's eyes widened in surprise as he asked tentatively: "Are you planning to deal with India's aircraft carrier?"

  "Can't we? "Hua Jianfeng smiled and said, "If we can sink an aircraft carrier, we will be the most powerful submarine in the history of the Republic's Navy. If we can sink two aircraft carriers, there is no need to fight this battle, we can go back to sleep."

  "Is it going to be that easy? The Indian aircraft carrier must have been heavily guarded. Even if we manage to launch a surprise attack, how are we going to escape?"

  "Run?" Hua Jianfeng shook his head, "No need to run at all. Launch torpedoes 50 kilometers away and use tail flow self-guided mode. I'm afraid when the Indian aircraft carrier is sunk by us, the enemy won't even know where we are."

  "But... " Le Jia Cheng was still a little afraid.

  "The Vikramaditya carrier battle group, which was originally stationed in Visakhapatnam, has gone to the Arabian Sea to assist the Vikrant against the Pakistani Navy." Hu Jianfeng pointed at the screen again, "As long as we send a fleet to the Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy will definitely dispatch a carrier battle group to the Bay of Bengal. If India is determined to intercept our fleet, they must send two carrier battle groups, one deployed in the Andaman Sea and one in the southwestern waters of Sumatra. Whether it's one or two carrier battle groups, they all have to pass through the Eight Degree Channel and the southern waters of Sri Lanka. We'll ambush them here, come one, sink one, come two, sink two!"

  "We should report this situation to the General Staff."

  Hua Jianfeng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "There's no need for that at the moment. The order clearly states that we're on a free hunt mission and don't need to assist the fleet in battle. We're still in a dangerous sea area, with many anti-submarine planes nearby, and India's conventional submarines are also rushing over, so we can't send out any messages at this time."

  Luo Jia Cheng did not argue back because there was no need to, as Hua Jian Feng had spoken nothing but facts.

  "What's more important is that we can't reveal our intentions. The General Staff will definitely adjust the battle plan after knowing that we are going to intercept the Indian aircraft carrier fleet, and may even 'betray' us at some point, causing the Indian aircraft carrier to take a detour and not pass through the sea area where we are ambushing, or even bring in India's anti-submarine forces." Hua Jianfeng smiled faintly, "We are submarine soldiers, and the greatest advantage of submarines is stealthy approach and sudden attack, isn't it?"

  "It seems I can't argue with you."

  "We didn't argue, we were just discussing tactics." Hua Jianfeng patted his deputy on the shoulder. "You go rest, come replace me in four hours."

  Luo Jia Cheng stopped nagging and left the command center.

  After the deputy captain left, Hua Jianfeng had someone bring over cigarettes and handed out one to each of the officers and soldiers in the command center. The "Swordfish" was equipped with powerful air conditioning and air filtration systems, and although it was normally strictly forbidden for anyone except the captain to smoke on board, occasionally breaking the rules felt pretty good. Besides, sinking the "Jianjizhe", the officers and soldiers had achieved a great merit, so they should be given some small reward.

  Just as Hua Jianfeng was winning people's hearts with his "small favors", the "Jianyu" became the target of public criticism.

  Above the sea, eight P-8Is and twenty-four "Sea Kings" swarmed in, frantically searching for the submarine that sank the "Destroyer". More than 120 sonobuoys were dropped. On the surface, four anti-submarine escort ships and six anti-submarine boats shuttled back and forth, not only using active sonar to scan the situation in the sea but also dropping hundreds of deep-water bombs on several suspicious targets, resulting in no hits on the submarine, but killing a few innocent sperm whales. Underwater, six conventional submarines completely disregarded their own safety, traveling at maximum speed while using active sonar to search the surrounding waters and firing anti-submarine torpedoes at all suspicious targets, ultimately ending three sperm whales with seven expensive heavy-duty torpedoes.

  In the north, search and rescue work is also being carried out in a tense manner.

  The first destroyer to arrive on the scene had already used sonar to determine the exact location of the sinking of the "Killer" and found that it had broken into three pieces. Although no nuclear pollution has been detected yet, the reactor compartment of the "Killer" was severely damaged and deformed, and under the huge pressure of over a hundred atmospheres, it will inevitably cause radioactive pollution. There are also twelve ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads on the submarine, which must be salvaged as soon as possible to prevent them from falling into the hands of enemy countries or terrorists.

  At this time, the most anxious are not the Indian Navy officers and men who are performing combat missions in the Bay of Bengal.

  On receiving the news of INS Vikrant being sunk, Admiral Das, Commander-in-Chief of Indian Navy, was initially disbelieving and then picked up the phone to report the situation to the Acting Prime Minister.

  In the evening, Das boarded a special plane flying to New Delhi.

  The situation could not be clarified over the phone, so Santos had to hear the report in person. The moment he boarded the plane, Dass realized that the Prime Minister would not forgive him and neither would the Indian people; his naval career was about to end.

  ****

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