Munitions Empire

Inside the cramped fuselage of the Early Warning Aircraft of the Great Tang Empire Navy, the dispatcher grabbed the intercom and said to the Destroyer patrolling the perimeter, "We've discovered an enemy vessel with a small radar cross-section and slow speed, suspected to be a submarine... please proceed to confirm!"

"Tengyun 06 Destroyer, understood! Heading to target area!" A Deputy Officer aboard the Navy Destroyer responded to the Early Warning Aircraft's order via the communication channel.

At almost the same moment, in the bridge of the Dorne Viva Aircraft Carrier, the flagship of the Joint Fleet, Supreme Commander John Cleves received a communication from the Submarine Troops handed over by a communications officer.

"We received only one communication before getting jammed," the communications officer said, "Under normal circumstances, similar intelligence needs to be sent twice."

"They've detected an enemy aircraft? More than 800 kilometers away from us?" John Cleves muttered incredulously, then walked over to the sea chart table.

He carefully measured the ocean distance, drew a large circle with his Fleet at the center, and found that there was absolutely no enemy airport nearby.

In other words, the enemy Aircraft Carrier has already arrived nearby! Yet he still did not know the enemy's location.

"The enemy has already released aircraft... It seems the situation is not looking good." He looked at his advisor, "The submarine hasn't detected the enemy's warship, do you think we should let the aircraft take off?"

"We can let the Fighter Jets take off to protect fleet airspace... Additionally, we should dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to determine the enemy's exact location." The advisor offered a relatively conservative suggestion, "Also, we can have the Stuka Attack Aircraft equipped with bombs, ready for the order to take off."

"You're right! Let the Pirate Fighter Jets take off!" John Cleves nodded in agreement with the advisor's suggestion, "Take off immediately! Also, have the warning fleet radar activated! Search the nearby seas!"

As the fleet Commander, John Cleves was very aware of where his advantage lay. His fleet had more Warships, so they could undertake a part of the search and attack tasks in critical moments.

Soon, the warning fleet, which had activated for reconnaissance, transmitted a rather embarrassing message: the radar was jammed. The Great Tang Empire was very familiar with the radar of the Warships they sold, and the frequency was naturally no secret. The Electronic Warfare Aircraft could easily handle these outdated electronic devices.

The Joint Fleet now was no different from being blind, relying only on the most primitive method—dispatching the reconnaissance aircraft to find their opponent.

"The radar is jammed..." After receiving the feedback, the advisor returned to the sea chart table to report to his Commander.

"What's the situation with the reconnaissance aircraft?" John Cleves asked nervously. In fact, he was well aware that with the radar down, the reconnaissance aircraft naturally could not communicate any intelligence back in time.

Indeed, the communications officer shook his head, delivering an unfavorable message, "We seem to be jammed again, unable to communicate with the reconnaissance aircraft."

On the other side, the Great Tang Empire Navy fleet had already begun the second rapid maneuver, choosing a headwind route and then catapulting the Intruder Attack Aircraft that were already waiting in the catapult position.

Behind, Phantom Fighters opened their folding wings, loaded with Thunderbolt Missiles, and waited in the takeoff zone. Ground personnel were busy amid shouts and people waving signal sticks everywhere on the deck.

Standing on the bridge, overlooking his carrier-based aircraft taking off one after another, Bernard was very relaxed. His fleet was launching the attack aircraft group in a very safe position, and his opponent didn't even know exactly where he was.

Even if they found out, the opposing carrier-based aircraft's attack range wasn't long enough; to close the distance, the other side would need to be faster than his fleet's speed.

Unfortunately, the opponent's speed was around 25 knots, unable to catch up with him. And even if he didn't avoid them and went head-on, his carrier-based aircraft could easily crush any junk they had in the sky.

"Equipping Thunderbolt Missiles is actually useless," the advisor kindly reminded his Commander, "The enemy doesn't have any jet Fighter Jets..."

"Just in case," Bernard cheekily replied. In his view, taking off equipped with Thunderbolt Missiles at least proved that the Navy's combat power was not inferior to the Air Force, which was his lifelong pursuit.

A Phantom Fighter Jet was catapulted out by the steam catapult. It wobbled for a moment before starting its climb, gradually flying into the distance.

Behind, an Air Force scheduling officer approached, stood at attention, and saluted Bernard, "Marshal! The first batch of the strike aircraft group is ready and flying towards the target!"

"The enemy's position is very clear! The first wave of missile attacks will be launched in 50 minutes." He finished speaking, saluted, and turned away. Bernard glanced at his watch, nodding in satisfaction.

Now he had complete control; if he couldn't win even like this, he might as well hang himself somewhere. To put it bluntly, even if a dog were tied to his position, the Tang Army would surely win.

Soon, a second officer came over, stood at attention and saluted Bernard, reporting, "Tengyun 06 Destroyer has sunk an enemy submarine! Now returning to the fleet..."

Just moments ago, a Qin Country submarine that had revealed its position noticed a Tang Army Destroyer charging straight at them.

The terrified Qin Country submarine officers immediately submerged, but during the submersion, they were able to see the swift, sci-fi styled Tang Country Navy Destroyer on the sea's surface.

Initially, they thought they could avoid detection by submerging deep enough and staying quiet.

Reality slapped them hard in the face: The Tang Army Destroyer quickly used sonar to locate the Qin Army submarine and engaged with a wire-guided torpedo...

A turning, self-targeting torpedo... the Qin Country Navy had never seen. That torpedo accurately hit the Qin Country submarine, causing it to rapidly sink from a depth of over 30 meters to more than 700 meters at the ocean bed.

The entire process was exceptionally smooth, so smooth that the Qin Country Navy submariners didn't even know how they were discovered. They only felt a violent shake before the seawater engulfed them.

In another scene, under the blue sky, twenty Intruder Attack Aircraft loaded with anti-ship missiles, accompanied by four Phantom Fighters, fiercely headed towards the sea area where the Joint Fleet was located.

Very soon... dense brilliant spots appeared on their radar screens.