NationStates Jolt Archive

"Sir, we're about two hours from the commencement of Tropical Exercise. We have elements of the 2nd and 4th fleets ready and operating in the Caribbean, in international waters, and some elements in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Ynoga sir." The Admiral of the Navy said.

"Excellent. How long will we be conducting this exercise?" The Emperor asked, looking down at the map of the Caribbean.

"Four weeks sir. We'll be at heightened readiness across the board throughout the entire time. We have roughly 65% of our entire military mobilized sir. It's quite an expensive feature."

"Yes it is. That is why we save up for times like this. The shringrots we spent during this time will get our military more ready than ever and certainly more adept than ever."

"Yes sir."

*************************************

In the Caribbean Sea, elements of the 2nd fleet sat no further than a hundred miles off the coast of Ynoga. They included the 4th Enterprise Battlegroup, the 6th Nimitz Battlegroup, the 7th Nimitz Battlegroup, the 4th Vampire Battlegroup, the 6th Wasp Battlegroup, and the 7th Wasp Battlegroup. On the western coast of Ynoga, only eighty miles out sat elements of the 4th Fleet. This included the 10th Enterprise Battlegroup, the 16th Nimitz Battlegroup, the 17th Nimitz Battlegroup, the 10th Vampire Battlegroup, the 16th Wasp Battlegroup, and the 17th Wasp Battlegroup.

The mission would be used to simulate an invasion of Ynoga and South Eastern Virginia from the Caribbean by an unknown naval and air element with ground forces. This would be played by elements of the 1st Fleet, 1st Air Force, and 1st Army, all based in Layarteb. Set to commence at dawn, only two hours away, the Layartebian military was certainly bording on the realm of dangerous. No one had yet been notified.

*************************************

To: Caribbean Nations
Fr: The Empire of Layarteb

Layartebian military units conducting naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. No hostile intentions.

tag

TAG.

Although we will not involve ourselfs in in your wargames, perhaps next time you could inform NAANP members to see how quickly they could ready a defence force to come to your aid, had this been a real attack?

The Empire of Layarteb apologizes for not notifying the NAANP sooner. Had this been a real threat, the NAANP would have been informed far sooner. The goal of the late response was to add to the element of mystique, so to speak. Rest assured that the Empire of Layarteb is not one to sit by and not tell anyone when they are being attacked.

tag

The crew of the ICS Vindicator were hyped right now. They were going to watch the Layartebian exercise to get an impression on the capability of their NAANP ally. As the Layartebians were close allies of Cotland, the Vindicator had been allowed to use the Layartebian naval base in Cabimas. This meant going under a bridge near the city of Maracaibo, but hey! The Layartebians based carriers there, so a single Arleigh Burke Flight IIA class destroyer would have to manage to squease through.


http://www.freewebs.com/cotland/exercise.JPG
Location of Cabimas Naval Base


The crew naturally hoped for some shoreleave. Every port had its own charm. Trouble was that they had to get there first. Following the agreement with the Layartebians, the weapons systems would be offline when they were in or near port. The SPY-2E radar array, on the other hand, would remain online, but only in passive mode. Anything else would interfere seriously with the Layartebian systems. The 380 souls aboard the Vindicator was ancious to get to watch this exercise. After all, it was very rare for the Layartebians to hold such massive exercises. According to intel, well over 60 % of the Layartebian military was involved.

As the Vindicator moored at the naval base, all crew that weren't on duty stood at the railings and looked at the Layartebian base. Many of them hoped for an immediate shoreleave while they watched the many grey hulls of Layartebian warships around the base. It was an impressive sight. The might of the Layartebian Empire at rest here, as seamen scurried from ship to ship, doing something that the Cots couldn't see.


http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/images/ddg-79-voyage.jpg
The ICS Vindicator (DDG-79) entering port


A gangway was raised from the cargohold of the Vindicator and placed in its position on the side, and two Cottish Marines dressed in BDUs and pistolbelts took up position at the dock-end of the gangway along with some sailors and NCOs. The Cottish flag was in such a position that anyone boarding the Vindicator had to salute the flag before entering the ship, as per Cottish naval tradition. The Captain of the Vindicator, Commander Tim Rigel walked down the gangway, saluting the Imperial flag as he passed it and ended up on the dock, where a Layartebian delegation waited. Captain Rigel saluted the senior Layartebian officer before he presented himself with a smile.

"Commander Tim Rigel of the Imperial Cottish Navy at your service sir. Permission to enter the country?"


OOC: Edited for concord errors :rolleyes:

The officer was a captain in the navy, meant to be the liason for the Cottish sailors. He saluted. "Permission granted. Welcome to my country." He extended his hand for a handshake. "You're men are permitted to stay here as long as you like to view our wargames and are allowed free passage throughout the city and other towns, with permission, which I doubt will be hard to get. The operations were to commence about an hour ago but they are being held off until later this evening."

The officer was a captain in the navy, meant to be the liason for the Cottish sailors. He saluted. "Permission granted. Welcome to my country." He extended his hand for a handshake. "You're men are permitted to stay here as long as you like to view our wargames and are allowed free passage throughout the city and other towns, with permission, which I doubt will be hard to get. The operations were to commence about an hour ago but they are being held off until later this evening."


"Thank you sir," Cmdr Rigel lowered his hand from a salute to a handshake. "I trust that it is you I go to for diesel and such as well? I would really like to be in the sea when the exercises start. Can you please provide me with the location of the second fleet as well? So we can join up with them and see what's happening there I mean." The captain was eager to get to sea, even though the Vindicator and her crew had spent three weeks sailing from the Barents Sea, crossing the Atlantic and sailing down the North American coast and past the Florida straits to Venezuela.

"Certainly. All of that will be made available when you check in your crew. As per usual proceedings, you have to register your crew over at the administration building and such, just in case of an untimely event and so your government knows who is where and what. I'd accompany you over there but I must tend to some more pressing matters over at dock 57. Enjoy your stay." He saluted and left.

"Thank you sir," the captain said before he saluted the foreign officer. When he had left, the captain turned to face his crew.

"Alright you landlubbers! We are to take on provisions and fuel, then we're going back out again," the captain said to the crew, who clearly weren't too happy with the Captain's orders. "However, this process takes at least ten hours and will be done mostly by Layartebian seamen. So I will go over to the administration building along with Lieutenant Partridge and Cheif Howard and register you so you can have five hours of shoreleave. I don't want anyone killed or hospitalized like last time you were given shoreleave! Understood?!"

The crew cheered for their captain, and scurried below deck to change into shore uniform. They would most likely be covered in beer, blood and vomit in six hours though. Meanwhile the captain and the two other men mentioned walked down to the administration building to register the crew. As the three men entered the administration building, they walked up to a counter and stated their business.

"Hello miss. I'm Commander Rigel of the ICS Vindicator. I was told to come down here to register my crew so they could get some shoreleave?"

"Thank you sir," the captain said before he saluted the foreign officer. When he had left, the captain turned to face his crew.

"Alright you landlubbers! We are to take on provisions and fuel, then we're going back out again," the captain said to the crew, who clearly weren't too happy with the Captain's orders. "However, this process takes at least ten hours and will be done mostly by Layartebian seamen. So I will go over to the administration building along with Lieutenant Partridge and Cheif Howard and register you so you can have five hours of shoreleave. I don't want anyone killed or hospitalized like last time you were given shoreleave! Understood?!"

The crew cheered for their captain, and scurried below deck to change into shore uniform. They would most likely be covered in beer, blood and vomit in six hours though. Meanwhile the captain and the two other men mentioned walked down to the administration building to register the crew. As the three men entered the administration building, they walked up to a counter and stated their business.

"Hello miss. I'm Commander Rigel of the ICS Vindicator. I was told to come down here to register my crew so they could get some shoreleave?"

"Yes. From the Vindicator. I have the manifest here faxed from your government. All I need you to do is initial next to each name indicating that they are here. If they are not here I need you to fill out why on this form. You can have a seat over there if you like." The secretary was a joinee, one of the few women in the military and even fewer in the navy. She was only in for six months so far and had garnered this job rather than any other but then again women weren't allowed in combat or on ships in the navy so things were limited.

"Thank you miss." the captain said, bowed his head in respect of the lady, and took the manifest and sat down in the chairs in the corner, with the lieutenant and cheif petty officer in the other seats closest.

"Ok. Aber. He's aboard. Alkenty... yep..."

It would take some time.

OOC: Two hours later


The captain placed his initials at the last of the names. They had all matched, save crewman Gortin who were currently serving two years in Monaco for beating up two guys who had tried to rob him. The reason why he had been incarcirated was that he had beaten them to within an inch of their lives. All while he had been drunk. So the captain now had a sore arm after all the 380 initials and the extra form.

"There you go miss," the captain said as he gave the papers back to the lady behind the desk.

OOC: I'll start exercises tomorrow.

She looked over the list. "Looks good. Here is your packet. Good luck sir." She smiled as she handed him the packet.

Meanwhile, dock 57 was bustling with chaos. A Layartebian air defense frigate, a Dnalkrad Class, had encountered a serious mechanical failure on board and there was an explosion. Some eight sailors were dead and with eleven missing.

The captain smiled gently to the lady behind the desk while thinking 'If I just were twenty years younger and unmarried...'. As he and his two subordinates exited the building, they heard and saw the explosion from a frigate 700 meters away. Immediately the three men started to scout for incoming missiles or saboteurs attempting to get away. They considered going to the remains of the frigate to help out, but knowing the Layartebians, they might suspect the men for having something to do with the explosion and arrest them for it. The better part would be to get back to the Vindicator and get a posse of sailors to help out. So they ran like hell back to the Vindicator.

Well aboard his ship, the captain ran to the bridge after giving the package to a seaman, telling him to put it in the captains cabin. He knew who the seaman was, and it would be hell to pay for the man if something went missing. Storming into the Bridge, the captain immediately started to shout out orders.

"Man battlestations! Fire up the radar array! If there are incoming threaths, I want to know. Jones, get me the Layartebians on the horn! Kelly, get me a party to man the boats and help the Layartebians out! Mitchell, get the choppers ready to take off! Step to it gentlemen!"

CPO Jones had the Layartebians on the secured radio after five minutes.

"This is captain, ICS Vindicator. Do you require assistance? We have three boats ready to set off right now and two choppers ready for flight in twenty-five minutes."

"No assistance required. Explosion aboard Dnalkrad Class frigate was the result of a mechanical failure. No foul play is suspected."

"Understood. We can send boats to help search for missing people if need be. For now we'll stay put here. Vindicator out."

The captain placed the phone back in its reciever. Slowly he turned to the bridge staff.

"Stand down for now."

One of the officers objected to this order, claiming that the law of the sea demand that the Vindicator assist. The captain merely shrugged.

"They don't want our help... for now. There are probably more then one fifty thousand Layartebians here, and a heck of a lot of them over at that frigate. We'll stay on a five-minute standby from now. Let the crew know. Shoreleave's been postponed for one week. We're leaving port in three hours."


Needless to say, the crew weren't happy when they heard that there would be no shoreleave for at least a week. But they acted like Cottish sailors. They stowed away the frustration and got to work. After all, the frustration would be taken out when they got shoreleave...

Three and a half hours later, the ICS Vindicator left Cabimas Naval Base and headed for the location of the 2nd Layartebian fleet, making 31 knots after they cleared the bridge at Maracaibo.

Following highly secret talks between the Cottish and Layartebian high commands, a task force set out from the Falklands to provide OPFOR for the Layartebian forces. This task force consisted of one Nimitz Strike Force, two Ynoga Strike Forces, one Destroyer Squadron and two Frigate Squadrons. Also coming to Venezuela was three squadrons of B-9A Sphinx strategic bombers. They would hone their skills in the anti-ship role, using cruise missiles to attack the Layartebian fleets. Those bombers would be on station within 24 hours. The ships would be in the area within two days.

OOC: Crappy post, but you get teh picture...

OPFOR
(Imperial Cottish Navy, Imperial Cottish Air Force)



Navy


Task Force Hammer


5th Nimitz Strike Group - 7573 crew

Improved Nimitz class aircraft carrier: 1
Ticonderoga class cruiser: 1
Arleigh Burke class destroyers: 2
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates: 2
Hades class attack submarine: 1
Supply class AOE: 1

5th Nimitz Air Wing

C-2A Greyhound COD: 6
E-2C Hawkeye: 4
EA-18A Growler: 6
F/A-18F Super Hornet: 40
F-22N Sea Raptor: 16
SH-60F Seahawk LAMPS III: 10


16th Ynoga Strike Group - 3483 men

Ynoga class light aircraft carrier: 1
Ticonderoga class cruiser: 1
Arleigh Burke class destroyers: 2
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate: 1
Hades class attack submarine: 1
Supply class AOE: 1

16th Ynoga Air Wing

F-29B Vulture: 8
EH101 Merlin: 2
SH-60F Seahawk LAMPS III: 4


20th Ynoga Strike Group - 3483 men

Ynoga class light aircraft carrier: 1
Ticonderoga class cruiser: 1
Arleigh Burke class destroyers: 2
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate: 1
Hades class attack submarine: 1
Supply class AOE: 1

20th Ynoga Air Wing

F-29B Vulture: 8
EH101 Merlin: 2
SH-60F Seahawk LAMPS III: 4


32nd Destroyer Squadron - 6028 men

Archangel class destroyers: 8
AEGIS Flight IIA class destroyers: 6
Supply class AOE: 1


4th Frigate Squadron - 4788 men

Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates: 6
Twin Towers Flight IA class frigates: 4
Type 22 Broadsword class frigates: 4
Supply class AOE: 1


20th Frigate Squadron - 4788 men

Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates: 6
Twin Towers Flight IA class frigates: 4
Type 22 Broadsword class frigates: 4
Supply class AOE: 1


Air Force


645th Strategic Bomber Squadron

B-9A Sphinx: 12
F-29B Vulture (escort): 4

659th Strategic Bomber Squadron

B-9A Sphinx: 12
F-29B Vulture (escort): 4


657th Strategic Bomber Squadron

B-9A Sphinx: 12
F-29B Vulture (escort): 4


1056th Strategic Resupply Squadron

C-17A Globemaster III: 4
C-141B Starlifter: 5
KC-10B Extender: 3

The flight of 36 strategic bombers, 12 escort fighters, 9 transport aircraft and 3 refueling aircraft flying towards the Layartebian airforce base in Caracas were less then an hour out. To avoid contact with NATO radars, the Cottish bombers aircraft had flown from the base in Perm, Cotland to the coast of Layarteb, down along the border, over Tennessee where they had been refueled and joined by the fighters, refuelers and transports before the last leg down across Texas and over the Gulf of Mexico before they came into Layartebian airspace again. When they landed in Caracas, the bomber crew had been in the air for more then 26 hours and were utterly exhausted and dove into the beds offered to them by the Layartebians. The operations would start the next day.


At the task force, the Cottish ships advanced steadily. It wouldn't be long before they were within reach of the operating areas. The two of the three subs in the task force were close to the carriers and other ships while the last sub was well ahead of the task force, scouting out the waters for threaths. There weren't any.
The fighters and fighter-bombers trained hard now. The exercise included mock attacks on Layartebian positions in South America. Reconnisance satellites provided valuable information on the positions of Layartebian SSM, SAM, AAA and gun positions. This would come to great use, since then they knew where to use the powerful jammers on the ES-18s carried by the Nimitz class carrier ICS Victory. The fighters on the two carriers ICS Splendid and ICS Relentless would help provide BARCAP to prevent any Layartebian fighters from taking out the ships. So would the F-22Ns and the air defense ships. Cruisers, destroyers and frigates could all play that part, not to mention the Tomahawks carried by the cruisers and destroyers. Those could be a pain in the ass for the Layartebians when they arrived at the area of operations in a day or so...

As the Cottish frigate sailed out of port, Captain Marshall, the liason for the Cottish navy smiled. "Alright men. They're gone. We can initiate the plan." He picked up his secure cell phone link and dialed an eight digit number. "Cottish frigate is moving away. Plan is a go."

"Aye sir. We're go!" The man on the other end was Admiral Wentworth, a long time veteran and a tactical genius. He was sitting in sub-bay 14, hidden from the satellite scans and underneath the water. The sub-bay housed a pair of submarines. Both were Scythe Class attack submarines, the pride of the Layartebian submarine fleet, their existence still unknown given the fact that they so rarely surfaced and always came into port underwater through specially dug lanes, which were dredged once a month.

The two submarines sitting in the bay were ready and waiting. One was to operate to the east of Trinidad for Phase III of the wargames. Phase I were the operations east of Panama; Phase II were the operations west of Panama. Phase III brought in an entire Cottish battlegroup. They were given a vague task: search for and simulate destruction of a Layartebian submarine and to probe the coastal defenses. The other submarine was heading into the Caribbean Sea for reconnaissance operations of an unknown nature. Both were loaded with enough supplies to last them the maximum of one hundred and eighty days at sea and were filled with as much weaponry as they could carry. For tube launched, they could carry forty-eight weapons. Of them, thirty-six were Mark 55 ADCAP IIs and the other twelve were UGM-180H Harpoon II anti-ship missiles. In their twenty vertical launch tubes, each carried two UGM-176A-4 Tomahawk IIs with a one megaton nuclear warhead, eight UGM-176E Tomahawk IIs with four hundred incendiary bomblets, and ten UGM-176C Tomahawk IIs with a BLU-116 penetrator warhead. Both were loaded exactly the same.

In addition, Phase IV was underway as well. Cottish bombers were inbound to Caracas. They would consist of B-9A Sphinx bombers, Layartebian made, long-range, stealth bombers. They could fly five thousand nautical miles and back with a full combat load, at an altitude of 80,000 feet, and a speed of 1,800 miles per hour. It would take a highly advanced SAM to down them. The goal of these bombers was to test their bombing skills against six separate target areas in Venezuela and three in Guyana. In addition it would test the ability of the Layartebian air defense network to track and target said bombers without the anti-stealth uplink, which was always active.

With that Phase I and II began. Layartebian shipping began targetting positions in Ynoga for simulated attacks. The Ynoga fleets to the west of Panama would provide the OPFOR. They would travel down to Colombia and mock attacks against the coast there. All-in-all, the wargames were to be brutal yet not a single shot would be fired. Ground forces would be mobilized and ready but not participating until much later.

List of What's Going On
Phase I: Battlegroup from South Eastern Virginia targets eastern coast of Ynoga.
Phase II: Battlegroup from Ynoga targets western coast of South Eastern Virginia.
Phase III: Cottish battlegroup tests Layartebian coastal defense network and performs ASW against "unknown" contact.
Phase IV: Cottish bombers participate in testing Layartebian air defense network and hone in their bombing skills against targets in South Eastern Virginia.
Phase V: to be announced...
Phase VI: Layartebian forces practice amphibious landings of islands north of Venezuela (Islas De Aves, Islas Los Roques, Isla Orchila, Isla Blanquilla, Islas Los Hermanos, Islas La Tortuga, Isla De Margarita, and Islas Los Tesitgos).

The wargames had been going for two hours when the first data reports were compiled. "How is it looking?" Admiral Shah asked, the man in charge of the entire operation. "I want to hear good things you know."

"Well sir, it's actually going alright." The couier said. "We're actually not being very effective at hitting some of the coastal targets sir."

"Why is that?"

"We're trying to figure that out. We believe it has something to do with GPS jamming and other jamming devices sir."

"Interesting. What is the status of the Air Force operations?"

"The same sir. They have only lost two aircraft sir but they have only had a 65% effectiveness in hitting their targets."

"I am apalled. I don't want to think what it will be like for the army. Anyhow, what is the status on phase six?"

"Well sir that's good. All Marine brigades are ready, the sixth through the tenth, giving us 22,500 men sir. In addition, the 2nd Airborne Force is ready sir, giving us another 35,000 men. The 2nd Army Group is also ready with a total of 62,208 men sir."

"Excellent. What of the LCACs and landing craft?"

"We'll be ready to go in less than twenty-four hours sir."

"Perfect, this is what I want to hear. One last thing. What of the Cottish forces?"

"We're waiting a communique now sir."

"Very well, get back to me when it is available."

"Yes sir." They saluted and the courier left.

The ICS Victory (CVN-75, flagship of Task Force Hammer) travelled towards the coast of Suriname after having crossed 90 kilometers north from the coast of Brazil, and were entering their area of operations from the east. By now, the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighterbombers carried by the Victory were well trained and ready for some action. They would get just that, because they would put the defenses of Layartebian held areas in South America to the highest of tests. All 40 Super Hornets carried by the Victory would be used in this operation, while covered by 2 EA-18A Growler electronic warfare fighters from the Victory and 12 F-29B Vulture fighters from ICS Splendid (CVL-16) and ICS Relentless (CVL-20). The Super Hornets each carried a load of 6 GBU-30 (500 lbs JDAM), 2 AIM-9X Sidewinder, 2 AIM-120C AMRAAM and 1 330 lbs fueltank. Each F-29B carried 2 AIM-9X Sidewinders and 10 AIM-120C AMRAAM, while the two EA-18As carried 4 AGM-88F HARMs each.

When the planes had taken off, they headed for the defense locations near the Layartebian cities of Paramaribo and Nieuw Amsterdam. All planes were skimming the sea at a height of 250 feet AGL, and making Mach 1,3. Thus they should be able to remain under the Layartebian radarcover. When they were fifteen minutes out, a communique went out to the defense commandant of Suriname, and a copy to the Layartebian high command.

FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!

To: Defense Command Suriname, Imperial Layartebian Military
CC: High Command, Imperial Layartebian Military
From: Commander, Task Force Hammer, Imperial Cottish Navy

Begin transmission


"Exercise Tropical Sledgehammer (OOC: Cottish codename of Phase III) is now underway. Cottish naval forces will attempt their best to "destroy" Layartebian coastal defenses, effective immediately. Good luck."


End transmission

At the same time that the transmission went out, the Cottish task force went to war mode. All non-essential equipment was powered down, all lights and laterns were turned off, leaving only red emergency lights on at the bridge, CIC, flightdeck and hangars. Everything was now ready for the exercise.

With the fighters, they were now only 9 minutes away from the coastline. The F-29s were flying lead, with the EA-18s next, before the F/A-18s were the last and most powerful flight. Hopefully this first raid would go undetected untill it was too late for the Layartebian air defenses to respond.

The coast was quiet. The standard CAP fight of six F-22A Raptors patrolling were up at 50,000 feet with all sensors off. AWACS and J/STARS were up, as per standard operating proceedures. The coastal air defense net consisted of MIM-188 Crow sites, each equipped with 12 launchers, 7 missiles at the ready per launcher. Two such batteries were able to cover an area of 96,162.5 square miles each for surface to air and 110,390.625 square miles for surface to surface. However, the two sites for the exercise weren't the only ones. Shorter range, though still highly advanced, Patriot sites were also available to defend against air attack. Each site at sixteen launchers, eight carrying PAC-4 missiles and eight carrying PAC-3 REM-ER missiles. They could cover a total of 18,859.625 square miles. More mobile launchers consisted of M2016A LAADS systems, M2004A1 Predator ADUs, SLAMRAAMs, and FC-1 Flak cannons. For surface to surface sorties, there were three major systems available: the BGM-176B Tomahawk II system with a range of 750 miles, the BGM-180A/B Harpoon II with a range of 220 miles, and the BGM-193C Relic with a range of 92 miles. Of them, the latter was the most destructive with the BGM-180A being a nuclear armed missile. The BGM-176B and BGM-180B both carried an 800 pound blast-fragmentation, penetrating warhead.

Radar systems were top-notch. They were able to detect stealthy aircraft like the F-117 and B-2 easily with certain measures allowing them to detect F-22s at shorter ranges. Stealthy systems were much more difficult to detect and in many cases were undetectable without the use of the still classified anti-stealth system. The only limit to the radars was basically their inability to see over the horizon, which was between 26 and 30 miles, depending on conditions. Anything further out than that would have to be targetted by over-the-horizon systems, namely reconnaissance aircraft and satellites.

As the F-22A Raptors flew in tight formation, a flight of F-32A Foxhounds took off from a close-by airbase to provide additional support, pending the announcement that Cottish forces were ready. This flight consisted of eight F-32As. Between the fourteen aircraft, they carried a total of 44 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, 68 AIM-120D AMRAAM missiles, and 48 AIM-179C BVRAAM missiles. The AIM-9Xs were great for close-range combat, extending out to just shy of 10 miles. The AIM-120Ds could stretch out to 57 miles and the AIM-179Cs could stretch out to 110 miles. Guided by IIR, the AIM-9Xs were immune to flares and could be jammed by advanced IR jamming systems. The AIM-120Ds and AIM-179Cs were guided by terminal active-radar and were equipped with INS/2-way Datalinks, meaning they could be guided by other aircraft. Either way, they were immune to chaff but could be jammed by sophisticated radar jamming systems.

The fourteen aircraft were only a fraction of what was available. The air contingency that defended the entirity of the South Eastern Virginian coast consisted of:


AH-6J Littlebird: 20
B-6A Dementor: 48
C-2A Greyhound: 24
E-3C Sentry: 2
E-8C J/STARS: 2
EP-3E Aries II: 6
F-14E Super Tomcat: 24
F-18C Hornet: 24
F-18E Super Hornet: 24
F-22A Raptor: 24
F-31A Tornado ADV: 18
F-31B Tornado GAV: 18
F-32A Foxhound: 20
HH-60H Seahawk: 60
MQ-9A Predator: 20
P-3C Orion: 12
P-7A Orion II: 12
RQ-1A Predator: 20
RQ-4A Global Hawk: 20
RQ-10A Pegasus: 20
SH-60F Seahawk: 60
SH-97A Serpent ASW: 2
UH-95A Panther: 60


The situation was calm until something was detected, something unusual. "Sir, we've got a contact bearing 0-2-8, seventy miles. Low-flying, high-speed. It's a possible fighter, radar size is small, very small." The radar operator was a lieutenant, recieving his commission only eight months prior. "We're having trouble detecting it on radar sir. Suggest using the anti-stealth uplink."

"Roger that. Go..." The station commander was a major, having been stationed here his entire career. He had rose through the ranks slowly and wasn't about to overexert himself for something that he knew did not exist. Because of that, he was reluctant to give too much of a care. "What have you got?"

"Coming online now sir. we have a flight of fighters, inbound, low-altitude, high-speed. Profile puts three groups. We've got, in the lead, F-29 Vultures, obviously Layartebian made. Following that are two flights of Hornets. Suggest immediate defensive action sir."

"Roger that. Initial the SOPs." The commander lit a cigarette. NOW WHAT!!!

"Roger that sir." Immediately, alarms went off at the two nearest airbases to the location. The alarms raised would put a total of four B-6A Dementors, eight F-14E Super Tomcats, six F-18C Hornets, four F-22A Raptors, four F-31A Tornado ADVs, and six F-31B Tornado GAVs into the air, in addition to the fourteen that were already airborne. They would all be loaded with air to air ordinance, except the Dementors, Hornets, and Tornado GAVs. The Dementors carried twelve Harpoon IIs in its internal weapons bay and eight Harpoon IIs externally. The Hornets each carried four Harpoon IIs and the Tornado GAVs carried three Harpoon IIs. The goal of the fighters would be to protect the ground-attack aircraft, which consisted of the Dementors, Hornets, and Tornado GAVs. They were tasked with attacking any shipping that was out there. The Dementors would also help with over-the-horizon targetting of the surface-to-surface missiles based on the coast.

Phase III had begun.....................

The docks were bustling. Almost 85,000 soldiers, marines and army, were preparing their gear. They would board a number of LCU-2000s and LCAC landing craft, along with armor from the 2nd Cavalry Division. Their goal would be, more or less, to land on eight groups of islands north of Venezuela. In addition, at three different airfields, C-130J Hercules and C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft were sitting on the tarmac, just waiting for the go. They would be carrying a total of 22,500 soldiers to the islands, they were the airborne soldiers. These soldiers would be going in some twelve hours ahead to secure strategic poitns such as airfields, communications, and other targets. These targets would be defended by soldiers numbering at least three times more and extremely better equipped.

Lieutenant Phil Brennan was the pilot in one of the EA-18s in the flight headed for the defenses. It looked good so far. 'Heck, maybe we can make it,' the lieutenant thought just as the threath screen flashed that multiple radars had lighted up. 'Oh shit,'"Dog and Angel flights, this is Rotten Two. Enemy radar sites have initiated. Moving in to disable."

"Roger that Rotten Two. Rotten One and Dog seven and eight will accompany you. Good luck." the leader of the strike force said. The leader was a Commander, and a experienced pilot. 'Why didn't we bring the Sea Raptors?!' he thought to himself as he ordered the remaining flight to go even lower, start their own radars and prepare for dogfight. The planes split up into groups, each heading away from eachother to avoid getting blown out of the sky by accident. The EA-18s headed ahead of the rest of the group and started their jammers. All bands but the emergency frequency and the cryptated Cottish frequencies was jammed. They were near the coastline now.

-----------

The rest of Dog flight were heading in front of the Super Hornets of Angel flight, splitting up to pairs and readying their AMRAAMs and Sidewinders for the air combat that would ensue. The Vultures were some very good fighters, and highly manouverable. The Hornets weren't so bad either, but they only carried two AMRAAMs each. So they would have to stay in the rear, and try to sneak in while the Layartebian fighters were busy with the Cottish fighters. The flight leader did consider a tactical retreat, but then again, why should they? It was just an exercise, right? And this raid was just the predecessor to the "horrors" that were to come.

OOC: Naturally this is all simulated but I don't feel like writing it like it is.

"Sir, we've got jamming. A flight of Hornets have broken off and are currently jamming us. Radar systems are fluctuating. We've got a solid track on anti-stealth though sir."

"Very well. Relay the information to the fighters. What is the status of the air defense sites?"

"Sir, they're asleep and are awaiting command."

"Very well. What has them?"

"Sir we can fire with a pair of Patriot sites and one Crow site."

"Very well. Maintain stealth tracking on them. Keep their radars off. If they got jamming you can bet they have missiles."

"Roger that sir. Sending orders." Orders travelled fast. A network of wires running underneath the ground connected just about every air defense site in Layarteb to each other. The whole net was established quite well. In a fraction of a second, orders were at the two Patriot and one Crow battery. The batteries would go into slave mode. That meant their missiles would be fired according to information transmitted to them from the command center, which got them from the anti-stealth system. It was costly but highly effective. "Sir, we've got a pair of Patriot PAC-4s on the way towards each jamming aircraft. Tracking the other fifty-two aircraft sir. Awaiting orders."

"Fire a mix of PAC-3 REM-ERs, PAC-4s, and Crows. We'll show them what we're made of!"

"Roger that." More signals traveled and within a few minutes there were just shy of sixty missiles in the air, all fired in slave mode. Now it was a matter of time before they hit. Because they were in slave mode, they emitted no signals. This would be disasterous for the enemy aircraft, as they gave no RWR warning. The missiles would still use their terminal active radars but that wouldn't be until they were within 10 miles, the furthest, from the enemy aircraft.

Layartebian fighters maintained a picket line. The F-22A Raptors stayed high and took their commands from AWACS. They weren't going to fire, yet. Whatever SAMs missed would be replaced by AIM-120D AMRAAMs and AIM-179C BVRAAMs from the F-32A Foxhounds. What was going to happen though was a serious air to ground operation.

Bombers and ground-attack fighters were flying as low as possible and as fast as possible, moving towards the location of the enemy fleet, which was being detected by satellite tracking systems. They were way over the horizon, unfortunately. Because of this, they wouldn't be able to fire their missiles until they were well within range. They would need an over-the-horizon aircraft but they couldn't get one up yet, they had fighters to worry about...

Lieutenant Brennan was sitting in his cockpit, watching the air combat in progress when the computer told him that he, and fourty other Cottish planes had been hit by enemy SAMs. His plane immediately started to vent white smoke to signal that he had been hit, and Brennan placed the transponder to 4700 before climbing to a altitude of 30 000 feet and headed back to the Victory, as per his orders. So did thirty-eight of the Super Hornets, both Growlers and one Vulture. The remaining planes (eleven F-29B Vultures and two F/A-18F Super Hornet) headed to an altitude of 1000 feet, locked on their AMRAAMs and let loose. The eleven F-29s carried a total of 110 AMRAAMs, and they weren't afraid to loose them. The two Hornets were ordered to sneak in and bomb the nearest target, a SAM site ten kilometers away. They would sneak in at Mach 1,5 at an altitude of 100 feet AGL. 10 feet lower, and they would be brushing the treetops. Range to the MIM-188 Crow site: 6 kilometers and closing fast.

--------

At the location of the task force, the E-2C Hawkeye that was circling above the group detected an inbound foe. Immediately the ICS Victory sent the four F-22N Sea Raptors already in the air towards the threath, and scrambled the remaining twelve F-22Ns. Air defense ships such as the Ticonderoga class cruisers and the Arleigh Burke class destroyers powered up their powerful SPY-2E radar arrays and phased in on the threaths. RIM-66M Standard SM-2MR Block III and RIM-156A Standard SM-2ER Block IV missiles were readied in their VLs tubes. CIWS systems prepped themselves, ready to take on any missiles fired by the enemy. There weren't so many ships at the carriers that they ought to be. It had a very good reason. The 32nd Destroyer and 20th Frigate Squadrons had sailed off to harass the Layartebian defenses further "upstream".

At a location 97 nautical miles away, the 14 destroyers sailed up against the wind and unleashed an array of RGM-109 Tomahawks towards the air and sea defenses. Nine of the frigates protected them, while five dared to head to within range of their 5 inch guns and shell the beaches and fortifications (with flour shells). It looked like they were preparing to land troops...

Nürnberg, Germany...

-----------------------------------

[Translated from German]

Chancellor Kahn: "Wargames in the Carribean it is?

Let's see how the Layartebians and Cottish stand up to our forces.

Captain Kluberfuchs, I want you to send the following forces from Küstefeld, Alabama to 14° N and 68° W:"

■ The 16th Missile Ship Strike Force

■ The 4th Wolfpack

■ The Brecker Advanced Aircraft Carrier

■ Thirty-six FK-21 Fighter/Bombers

"We will be operating in a box -- 13° N to 15° N, 64° W to 72° W.

See to it that the 4th Wolfpack arrives first. Let's see if they can find our new subs."

-----------------------------------

Küstefeld [Ft. Morgan], Alabama...

The port was bustling as the selected ships set sail to the area dictated by Chancellor Helmut Kahn...

OOC: Cotland, how far is the first group from the coast & where is the second group (coordinates wise). Also what groups are in what?

"Sir, we still have eleven Vultures inbound and a pair of Hornets."

"Roger that. Fix positions and fire."

"They're almost inside minimum range sir."

"Well then fire fast!"

"Roger that sir. Birds away!" Thirteen more surface-to-air missiles lifted off. Since the MIM-188 site was equipped with twelve TELs, each one fired off a missile. The thirteenth missile as a PAC-4 fired from a site only about thirty-eight miles away. It would be there in no time.

The fighters were close, very close, to the main Crow site in the area. Luckily, it was defended by M2016A1 LAADS. The systems were phenomenal and carried a single 25MM Gatling gun, 8 IIR or wire guided MIM-170B/C Predator missiles, and 20 Wizard missiles. They would allow for point-defense. As the enemy fighters came into range of the Predator missiles and Wizard missiles, the LAADS systems fired up their radars and targetted the enemy aircraft very quickly. They were targetting two Super Hornets. Upon each Hornet, they fired a single wire-guided MIM-170C Predator missile at the enemy fighters.

*******************************************

However, inside the air things were very different. The aircraft nearest to the enemy fighters were the six F-22A Raptors and a flight of four F-31A Tornado ADVs. They were in the process of targetting the enemy aircraft when, all of a sudden, their RWRs went crazy. Missiles were inbound. Immediately, the fighters all activated their ECM systems and dropped chaff. At the same time, they hit their burners and banked hard away from the signals. The RWRs told them one thing: AMRAAMs were inbound. That meant they were within ten miles, in their terminal phase.

The four F-31As bought it before ever getting a missile off. The F-22A Raptors, on the other hand, were slightly more lucky. They were high and fast to begin with, giving them an advantage. In addition, the radars of the AMRAAMs, in testing, always had trouble tracking the F-22. Because of their agility and speed, they were immediately able to pull heavy G forces. Their banked turns and jink maneuvers were between +8 and +9.2Gs.

In addition, they had locked up the Hornets, being that they had the largest radar signatures. Each of the Hornets had, before their AMRAAMs went active, a pair of AIM-120s bearing down on them. At the same time, the eleven Vultures were engaged as well. Eight of them had an AIM-120D AMRAAM on them as well, putting a total of twelve in the air.

The AMRAAMs did less damage to the F-22A Raptors than expected. Only one was knocked out, more or less by the proximity blast rather than a direct hit. The others were now on a mission. Taking their cues now from central command and AWACS, they made their way out to sea, still at 50,000 feet and Mach 1.58, super cruise speed. They had enough fuel for another two hours of loiter time so they weren't worried about that. What they were in the mood for was blood.

They were, more or less, being directed at the largest radar emitting target, an E-2C Hawkeye flying in the vacinity of the enemy carrier force. Once it came within 57 miles, it would be engaged and engaged in force. It was at that time that the anti-stealth system picked up a dangerous foe, F-22 Raptors, taking off from the carrier. "Shark 1. Hostiles bearing 0-2-0, eighty miles, climbing. ID'd as Raptors. Proceed with caution."

"Shark 11. Copy." The five F-22As tightened up their formation, making their radar signature even smaller. "Shark 1, tighten up. Snooze radar."

"Two...Three...Four...Five." They all agreed.

"Cobalt 2, Shark 1. Request datalink guidance."

"Shark 1, Cobalt 2. Copy."

The AWACS would not only be able to guide their missiles to the target but also target for them. All the Raptors had to do was get within range and fire. It was all part of the advanced systems that the Layartebians had developed. Datalink systems were crucial.

At the same time, the enemy forces began their land assault. Immediately, AWACS detected low-profile, slow-moving, low-flying targets from a position only 110 miles away from the main fleet. It was obviously a distraction. The enemy was certainly firing on Layartebian positions but at the same time, they were trying to draw the Layartebian fighters away from the main group. It wouldn't work.

*******************************************

As the B-6A Dementors and F-18C Hornets progressed towards the main battlegroup, just waiting to unleash their supersonic Harpoon II missiles, the F-18E Super Hornets and F-31B Tornados broke off and headed to the second group. Over-the-horizon was now available. A P-3C Orion flying reconnaissance about one hundred and seventeen miles away from the main carrier group picked up the radars of the enemy ships. The P-3C Orion was loaded with eight AGM-180D Harpoon II missiles. Flying with only passive sensors, the P-3C managed to identify the enemy detachment.

"Command Sea, Orion 1. We have confirmation on location of enemy and shipping types. It looks like they are firing up their radar systems. Transmitting information now. Request permission to engage?"

"Orion 1, Command Sea. Information recieved. Stay silent. Keep out of their missile range. Long-range system is the RIM-156A Standard SM-2ER Block IV, maximum range 150 miles. Proceed out of engagement envelope. Maintain angels twenty-seven."

"Command Sea, Orion 1. Copy."

The P-3C Orion took the orders and proceeded out of the engagement zone of the enemy shipping at a speed of 350 miles per hour, climbing from 22,000 feet to 27,000 feet.

*******************************************

Things were in motion now. At nearby airbases, a new flight of aircraft was being prepared. They consisted of a flight of six RQ-10A Pegasus drones, armed with 4 FIM-186A Wizard air to air missiles and eight GBU-49A JDAM II bombs. The drones had a very low radar signature, the same RCS reading as the most stealthy Layartebian aircraft, 0.0009 square feet. It would be next to impossible to detect them at range or at altitude. They would have to be on top of the target to be detected and they normally flew at 65,000 feet. At that altitude, they could drop their bombs from twenty miles away, never having to come close enough to the enemy targets to be detected and if they were it would be next to impossible to track and lock onto them. The four aircraft would be heading to the second group, dropping their JDAM II bombs from altitude and ranges between 12 and 18 miles, allowing them to remain undetected.

In another, a P-7A Orion II was being readied. Loaded with 14 AGM-180D Harpoon II missiles (10 ext; 4 int). The P-7s would use the range of the missiles to their advantage. The Harpoon II missiles had a range of 140 miles and they would need every bit of it. The launch profile would put the P-7A Orion II no closer than 110 miles from the ships and no lower than 27,000 feet. They would fly in, target, fire, and leave the engagement envelope.

*******************************************

So far it had just been the workings of the Coast Guard. Now it came time for the Air Force to get involved. Being prepared at the nearest air force base was a serious detachment of fighters. They included: 4 EF-111A Ravens, 20 F-15C Eagles, 40 F-22A Raptors, 18 F-26A Typhoons, 24 F-31A Tornado GAVs, and 24 F-32A Foxhounds. They were carrying a massive array of missiles each. The F-15C Eagles carried 2 AIM-9X Sidewinders, 4 AIM-120D AMRAAMs, and 2 AIM-179C BVRAAMs. The F-22A Raptors carried 2 AIM-9X Sidewinders and 6 AIM-120D AMRAAMs. The F-26A Typhoons carried 6 AIM-9X Sidewinders, 4 AIM-120D AMRAAMs, and 4 AIM-179C BVRAAMs. The F-31A Tornado GAVs carried 4 AIM-9X Sidewinders and 4 AIM-120D AMRAAMs. The F-32A Foxhounds carried 4 AIM-9X Sidewinders, 4 AIM-120D AMRAAMs, 3 AIM-179B BVRAAMs (IIR/Datalink, M4, 40 miles), and 3 AIM-179C BVRAAMs.

Within minutes they would be airborne with the goal of shooting down every enemy fighter that the Cottish Navy threw up. For anti-shipping, there were bigger plans. The over-the-horizon targetting of the P-3C Orion allow the Coast Guard to target the Cottish ships with Harpoon II missiles. The nearest site had four mobile launchers with sixteen missiles each, giving a total of sixty-four missiles. Unfortunately, four of them were nuclear so they were not available for firing. With a range of 4.5 to 220 miles, the BGM-180B Harpoon II missiles were placed in slave mode. Over-the-horizon targetting allowed the missiles to get a good firing solution and though they were guided by active radar and terminal IIR, they also had guidance from the satellite tracking systems.

Of the twenty-one (right there's 21 ships in the first group) ships sitting off the coast, each one would be targetted by two missiles, forty-two being fired immediately. They were in range for Crow missiles to be fired in surface-to-surface mode but they had other problems...

*******************************************

The Empire of Layarteb thanks the support of the North Germanian government. Your task will be hunting a renegade submarine of unknown nature in that box. Please be equipped for ASW support and land-attack support against rebel elements on islands north of Venezuela.

*******************************************

Remaining Aerial Forces


AH-6J Littlebird: 20
B-6A Dementor: 48
C-2A Greyhound: 24
E-3C Sentry: 2
E-8C J/STARS: 2
EP-3E Aries II: 6
F-14E Super Tomcat: 24
F-18C Hornet: 24
F-18E Super Hornet: 24
F-22A Raptor: 23
F-31A Tornado ADV: 14
F-31B Tornado GAV: 18
F-32A Foxhound: 20
HH-60H Seahawk: 60
MQ-9A Predator: 20
P-3C Orion: 12
P-7A Orion II: 12
RQ-1A Predator: 20
RQ-4A Global Hawk: 20
RQ-10A Pegasus: 20
SH-60F Seahawk: 60
SH-97A Serpent ASW: 2
UH-95A Panther: 60


Casualties


F-22A Raptor: 1
F-31A Tornado ADV: 5


*******************************************

Some Specs:

FIM-186 Wizard

Role: Man Portable Air Defense Missile
Length: 5.00 ft.
Finspan: 3.60 in.
Diameter: 2.75 in.
Weight: 30 lb. [missile]; 45 lb. [system]
Speed: Mach 2.5
Ceiling: 0 - 21,120 ft.
Range: 0.02 - 5.00 mi.
Propulsion: Solid fueled rocket
Warhead: 10 lb. blast-fragmentation
Single-Shot Kill %: 99%
Guidance: IIR [A]; IIR and Anti-Stealth Uplink [186B]
Maximum G Ability: 60
Cost: $25K [FIM-186A]; $35K [FIM-186B]; $150K [system with 4 FIM-186A missiles]
Note: FIM-186B only for use on vehicles

MIM-170 Predator

Role: Surface to air missile
Length: 9.98 ft.
Finspan: 19.5 in.
Diameter: 7 in.
Weight: 162 lb.
Speed: Mach 3
Altitude Limits: 50 ft. - 25,000 ft.
Range: 0.1 mi - 7.5 mi [A]; 0.1 mi - 16.0 mi [170B]; 0.1 mi - 10.5 mi [C]
Propulsion: Hercules low-smoke solid-fueled rocket
Warhead: 26.5 lb. blast frag
Single-Shot Kill %: 80% [A]; 100% [170B]; 98% [C]
Maximum G Ability: +40G
Guidance: Command [A]; Imaging-IR [170B]; Wire-Guidance [C]

JDAM II

Length: 6.00 ft. [GBU-49]; 7.13 ft. [GBU-50]; 9.96 ft. [GBU-51]; 12.38 ft. [GBU-52]; 19.17 ft. [GBU-53]
Diameter: 6.00 in. [GBU-49]; 10.75 in. [GBU-50]; 14.06 in. [GBU-51]; 18.00 in. [GBU-52]; 14.57 in. [GBU-53]
Finspan: 2.50 ft. [GBU-49]; 1.24 ft. [GBU-50]; 1.63 ft. [GBU-51]; 2.08 ft. [GBU-52]; 3.08 ft. [GBU-53]
Weight: 250 lb. [GBU-49]; 507 lb. [GBU-50]; 1,050 lb. [GBU-51]; 2,200 lb. [GBU-52]; 4,700 lb. [GBU-53]
Warhead: 50 lb. HE [GBU-49A]; 275 lb. HE [GBU-50A]; BLU-110 [GBU-51A]; BLU-109 [GBU-52A]; BLU-116 [GBU-52B]; BLU-118 [GBU-52C]; BLU-113 [GBU-53]
Range: 20 mi
Ceiling: 100,000 ft.
Guidance: GPS
CEP: 6.50 ft.

Nürnberg, Germany...

Chancellor Kahn received the response from Layarteb, and acted accordingly.

Chancellor Kahn: "Oberst Brecker, send the 1st and 5th Reichswehr Regiments of the 30th Reichswehr Division from Küsteland. Send them to the same position as the last deployment."

Nürnberg, Germany...

Chancellor Kahn received the response from Layarteb, and acted accordingly.

Chancellor Kahn: "Oberst Brecker, send the 1st and 5th Reichswehr Regiments of the 30th Reichswehr Division from Küsteland. Send them to the same position as the last deployment."

Command Central

Operate against rebel contingency on Islas De Aves to the direct east of Netherlands Antilles. Rebels in control of small airstrip with short-range aircraft.

From: The Empire of Layarteb
To: The Island of Rose

The Empire of Layarteb would like to, once again, officially propose the peaceful transition of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Trinidad, and Tobago to Layartebian rule. We are greatly interested in the islands given their extreme proximity to the coast of South Eastern Virginia. We are ready to compensate all Rosian residents on the islands with monetary sums as well as the Rosian government for this measure.

We await your response.

Thank You

The Emperor of Layarteb

To: The Emperor of Layarteb
From: Sergei Ilyanov, First Chancellor of Foreign Affairs

The Imperial Union of The Island of Rose will not give up the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Trinidad, and Tobago to Layartebian rule. But, I think if you
contact the Chancellory of Commerce, you can strike a deal where you don't
have to pay tarriffs to pass. Of course I cannot guarantee anything, since
I only run foreign affairs, but Rosta (the guy who runs Commerce) might be
able to do something. Sorry, but no. The Imperial Union hopes that no other
problems can occur.
Sergei Ilyanov
Chancellory of Foreign Affairs

Islas De Aves...

The landing craft carrying the Reichswehr Regiments had unloaded their cargo.

30,000 infantry, supported by 65 Panzer-XI Light Tanks, 45 Panzer-X Multi-Purpose Assault Vehicles, 15 Kormoran-III Missile Systems, 40 Kormoran-II Missile Systems, and 300 Pz.Kfw.12 APCs had landed.

A forward command center, called Drachau, had been established and the long-range Kormoran missile systems set up near the artillery tent.

If need be, not only would the long-range Kormoran-III Missile Systems fire, but the FKB-119 Missile Ships would too.

----------------------------------------

Nürnberg, Germany...

Chancellor Kahn: "The Island of Rose is being resistant. Deploy the following:

1. Three A-16 Class Battleships

2. Six Kf.B. 9 Frigates

3. Eight Kf.B. 14 Destroyers

4. The 21st Panzer Regiment

Make sure they're sent to the original coordinates provided by Layarteb. Let's see how this adds up to what we already have there.

Oh, and commander, station the following to these areas:"

1. The 4th Panzer Division to the Austrian/Slovakian border.

2. The 7th Panzer Division to the Hungarian/Slovakian border.

3. The 9th Panzer Division to the Polish/Slovakian border.

4. The 11th Reichswehr Division to the Austrian/Slovakian border.

5. The 15th Reichswehr Division to the Hungarian/Slovakian border.

6. The 19th Reichswehr Division to the Polish/Slovakian border.

"As well, activate the 31st Luftwaffe Division and all IRBM Silos in Germany.

Prepare for invasion."

(Lay, go to the CIIP forum.)

The Empire of Layarteb thanks the government of North Germania. We hope all goes well with the invasion of Islas de Aves and may the resistance be stomped out!

************************

Today, the Emperor of Layarteb, has made an announcement concerning the Panama Canal. From this moment on, during these unstable and turbulent times, the Panama Canal will be restricted only to pre-approved nations. Any attack as a result will be considered an unacceptable use of force and will be met with retaliation.

OOC: I don't really know the coordinates at this time because I'm not writing from my own computer. But the carriers are off the coast of Suriname, almost at the coordinates that they are supposed to go to. The frigates and destroyers are 90 nautical miles to the west.

IC:

Skies over the Crow site
The two remaining Hornets each took direct hits from the missiles that had been fired from the Layartebian air defense sites and fighters. So did four Vultures. The other fighters fired their remaining missiles at the enemy before initiating the stealth systems and fleeing low and fast. Five Tomahawks would be at the area in five minutes anyway.


SKies over Task Force Hammer
The Cottish F-22N Sea Raptors picked up the Layartebian F-22A Raptors on their radar, and immediately decided that those would be their primary targets. The remaining four F-29B Vultures were also scrambled and rose to the task, each donning 10 AIM-120C AMRAAMs and two AIM-9X Sidewinders. They would assist the F-22s, but there weren't too much hope for them to keep the enemy off by themselves. Two more E-2Cs were launched from the ICS Victory as well, so they could provide more radar coverage. This air combat would determine whether the Cots would upgrade the Hawkeye or keep the same design.

"Delta flight, this is Looking Glass two. Inbound fighters at your twelve o'clock. Looks like foxtrot twenty-two alphas. Range seventy miles. You are weapons free, repeat weapons free."

"Looking Glass two, Delta one. Copy that. Engaging when within range. Delta one out."

The fighters rose to 30 000 feet and increased speed to Mach 1,3. None of the fighters had any brackets under their wings, and therefore did not have any radar signature to speak about. The Layartebians would have some problems when they faced the Cots. As soon as the F-22Ns and F-29Bs were within range, they fired AMRAAMs towards the incoming planes.


ICS Robert Payne (CG-63)
"Inbound aircraft sir. I'm counting a lot of signatures. Still out of range though."

The atmosphere in the CIC aboard the Ticonderoga class cruiser ICS Robert Payne was tense right now. The Captain of the cruiser were down there to get a overview of the situation, and now he had a whole airforce against the task force.

"If they get within range, fire. Turn up the radar coverage. I want max coverage. Go to active radar. Get the CIWS systems online too. If that is missiles, we'll need them," he said to the people in the CIC. Then he left the room in favor of the bridge. The radar array of first the Robert Payne, then the rest of the task force went up to max coverage and phased arrays. They should be able to pick up even the most stealthy plane. They also picked up the sole P-3C Orion that flew just out of range of the engagement zone.


ICS Victory (CVN-65, flagship)
Rear Admiral Robertson (Commander Task Force Hammer) weren't happy. He had just been told that there were a heck of a lot of enemy planes inbound, not to mention the Orion that was watching the movements of the fleet. Had it not been for his need to fend off the enemy planes, he would dispatch a few F-22s to blow her out of the skies. He couldn't do that, so he did the next best thing.

"Send to the Pickton, Robby and Mark: Sail 50 degrees south and engage the Orion with missiles. To the cruisers and destroyers: position around the carriers and supply vessels to provide air cover. Frigates: provide last ditch defense and ASW coverage."

As the admiral had ordered, the ships repositioned accordingly in order to provide as tight a air defense grid as possible. Only three Perry class frigates sailed away from the grid in order to hunt and destroy the Orion. They were making 32 knots and trying their best to get the damned Orion. They also engaged fighters that happened to stray in their way.

Also ordered by the Admiral was the launch of 76 RGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles towards the naval and air bases that lay in Suriname. Those were fired and flew fast towards their targets, skimming the sea.


32nd Destroyer/20th Frigate Squadrons
The destroyers and frigates finished their launchs and hurried to get away from the area. The commander of the squadrons ordered the ships to head for open seas as fast as possible. They failed to detect the UAvs that dropped bombs, but they did detect the bombs as faint radar signatures. Acting fast, the ships powered up their radars and SAMs and fired missiles towards the bombs. Hopefully they would be able to blow the bombs out of the sky.

"Sir, we've lost the radar at the Crow site. We're stuck with just anti-stealth sir."

"Very well. Let's not give them the hint that it exists. Power down the site. Maintain point defense. Where are the fighters now?"

"Heading back out to sea sir. They're going low and fast sir."

"Very well. Let them go. What is the status on the enemy Raptors?"

"Closing sir. But we have another problem. We have enemy missiles inbound. I count seventy-six sir. Tomahawks."

"Very well, can we figure out their courses and targets?"

"Not yet sir."

"Very well. Keep point defense on the alert. Maintain SLAMRAAM status and fire when within range. They're stealthy those missiles so make sure they have a good lock. I don't want to waste anything. Divert four F-31As and six F-26As to deal with the missiles. They'll have to engage short-range with infrared missiles because of the stealth of the Tomahawks."

"Roger that sir. Diverting."

*******************************************

"Shark 1, Cobalt 2." AWACS was definitely busy. Another was being launched to handle the multiple tasks. "You are in range of enemy AWACS. Two more are in the air but out of range. Enemy Raptors within range as well."

"Cobalt 2, Shark 1. Copy." The flight leader switched on his radar. "Shark 1, radar on. Target fighters and engage. Weapons free."

"2...3...4...5..." They were doing it now. Every radar came on and the flight leader targetting the E-2C that was already airborne.

"Fox three long, AWACS 1." He fired off an AIM-120D from a range of 55 miles. It would climb to altitude and barrel towards the target at Mach 4. It would certainly be detected by AWACS but not until it was 10 miles out, too late for it to anything.

The fighter pilots all locked up a target, unbeknownst that enemy missiles were inbound. They weren't far from the F-22s and if they could detect them, they certainly could be detected, this much they knew. Twenty miles out wasn't far and they were closing fast. Each of the F-22As fired off a single AIM-120D at five F-22s and then immediately switched their radars off. The Datalink guidance of the AWACS would guide the missiles until their terminal phase. "Shark 1. Snooze radar. Take evasive action."

"2...3...4...5..." They banked hard and set a side course, meaning the missiles would be coming down on the side of the F-22s, having to turn and burn as the F-22s lit their afterburners, proceeding to their maximum speed of Mach 2.2. They would basically fly a long pattern away from the enemy fighters to open up the range and therein give themselves more room. Then, they would bank in and split up. Two would go after the E-2Cs while the rest went after the F-22s.

*******************************************


"Command Sea, Orion 1. We're being picked up on active radar."

"Orion 1, Command Sea. Maintain course out of engagement range. Missiles on their way."

"Orion 1. Copy."

The Orion was flying out of the engagement envelope and for good reason. High up, it provided a good amount of over-the-horizon targetting for the fifty-six anti-ship missiles flying just above the waves. However, the frigates had come very close. They were now within range of the Relic system that based near the coast. The side had ten mobile launchers with four missiles each, at the ready. Basically they targetting the frigates and destroyers and unleashed unholy hell. Forty missiles were now inbound, in addition to the fifty-six. The missiles were highly supersonic, Mach 3.5, and had enough power to sink a 25,000 ton warship each.

Then something dangerous happened, very dangerous. The P-7A Orion II that had taken off was within range of the enemy fleet and because of that within range of missiles herself. Inside the hull, two weapons operators worked frantically to target some of the Harpoon II missiles. It wasn't a five minute process and required fine tuning. After all, she only carried fourteen of the supersonic missiles.

"Command Sea, Orion 2. Targets acquired, request permission to engage."

"Orion 2, Command Sea. Weapons free. Maintain distance from fleet. Engage criticals."

"Orion 2. Copy." The Orion came about face and began to volley her missiles away, two at a time. The wings emptied first and the bay last. All-in-all, fourteen missiles were heading towards the enemy ships. Six were targetted on the three frigates out at front, trying to tag them. The other eight were split against two ships, four per ship. They were targetting the two carriers. Supersonic at Mach 2.0, their being shot down was no easy matter.

*******************************************

"Whistler 1. Weapons free. Attack targets." Whistler flight was the B-6A Dementors, loaded heavy with missiles and well within range. The four of them had already done their targetting, getting the information from the Orion. Now all it required was for them to fire. Like clockwork, they opened their bay doors and then fired. Each of them carried twenty missiles, giving them a total firepower of eighty missiles. Five would go to each carrier, leaving seventy more missiles remaining, fired at the other ships, two per ship, three in some cases. Then, the B-6As turned hard and fast, banking back towards the way they had come.

The F-18C Hornets, on the other hand, turned differently. There were so many missiles fired at the ships now that they were unsure what to engage. So, being that, they each engaged a separate ship. Three of them engaged destroyers, and the other three went after the supply ships and a frigate. They too turned back and set a course for base.

The F-18E Hornets and F-31B Tornados were coming within range themselves. They were targetting the destroyers, using signals handed down to them from satellites and over-the-horizon targetting. An E-8C J/STARS was up in the air, code-name Cobalt 1, flying roughly 300 miles away from the ships, but very high, enabling its side-looking radar to pick up the ships. Once the information was handed down, the Tornados and Hornets fired, putting sixty more missiles against the enemy ships, all supersonic Harpoon IIs. After doing so, they turned back.

*******************************************

Over the frigates, the RQ-10s flew away from the targets. They had dropped their bombs, albeit certainly not enough to sink them but hopefully damage them severely. The bombs they had dropped had been noticed because SAMs lifted off from the ships, flying towards them. Whether or not they would hit was a major question mark. The 250 lb. JDAM II was tiny and flying down at an angle. That meant the missiles would have to intercept at an angle. Proximity would be their best bet but it was difficult to hit the JDAM IIs because as they fell, they picked up speed. Forty-eight bombs were falling on the destroyers and frigates.

OOC: You can figure out how many of them you destroy & hit, I'm not that knowledgable with hitting them. I'm sure it's possible but I doubt unlikely in RL. But then again, this is NS, so I leave this one up to you. You can have them all hit, none, some, etc.

The RIM-66D Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB and RIM-156A Standard SM-2ER Block IV missiles had a tough job, but they got it done for the most part. Of the 48 bombs inbound, the missiles knocked out 27 of them with a hit ratio of 1 hit per 2,8 launch. The 30mm CIWS systems knocked out three more bombs with 30mm projectiles too. The relatively good hit rate didn't stop the remaining 18 bombs from hitting the group though. Two frigates and one destroyer was "sunk", and eight frigates and destroyers were "severely damaged". The rest of the ships started to flee the area, but remained so that they could cover their injured friends with missiles while they left the engagement zone. While they left the area in a speed of 16 knots, they shelled and later fired Tomahawks and Harpoons at the missile sites within range.

(OOC: You decide whether I hit something or not)

***********

"Evasive right, evasive right!"

The alert message went out to all the Cottish planes involved when the RWR warnings started to make their apperance known. They had missiles inbound, and they were very close. Immediately they preformed crazy, neckbreaking manouvers to avoid the missiles. They were modified versions of the same missile that the Cottish fighters used: The AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM). This had to be the version that the navy wanted to introduce to the fleet next year, after extensive testing. Now they were at the wrong end of the missile, and that annoyed them. So they did just like they were supposed to. Evaded the missiles as best they could, and returned fire with their own AIM-120Cs. It did cost the Cots a few planes though. Two F-22Ns and three F-29Bs "went down" in a hail of white smoke, all but one due to proximity kills.

***********

In the CIC of the ICS Robert Payne, the radar suddenly went crazy.

"Vampire, vampire, vampire!! Inbound missiles bearing 0-1-9, range 500 kilometers and closing damned fast!"

Immediately the activity in the ships of the fleet went up a few notches. Within seconds, a lot of keys were turned and a heck of a lot of 30mm CIWS mounts went active and faced the direction of the missiles. Ready in the magazines of each CIWS mount were 1700+ rounds. They would fire if any of the missiles came within 3000 meters of the task force. Also ready to fire was the RIM-116 Block I Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) close defense system that were at almost all the ships.

At a range of 45 000 meters, the first missiles were fired, guided in by the highly sensitive AEGIS SPY-2E radar arrays in use with the Cottish navy. They fired off a total of 770 missiles at the incoming SSMs. Those who managed to slip by the missile barrier faced a litteral wall of 30mm projectiles that was guided in by a powerful radar. The ships lost a lot of weight in that self-defense action. Hopefully with few losses in return.

While the action went on, the task force started to move away from the area. Each ship went to flank speed, with the carriers, cruisers and destroyers flying fast away from the area making speeds of up to 36 knots. The frigates contributed the rear guard, sailing away making 31,2 knots max.

(OOC: You tell me how many missiles I've hit, and I'll post the losses after I get that info. Just remember that my close defense systems are top notch, with very low miss rates.)

I'll post something later when I get back from work, after I figure out just WTH I fired and what and so on and so fourth.

Just for clarification:

You have a main group near Suriname and another further west. The one further west is just the frigate & destroyer squadron right? The one near Suriname is everything else?

OOC: Correct. I'll prob talk to you on AIM tommorrow regarding both this and the stuff in Norway/Britain. Going back home tonight on the night train, so I can't do it today.

The Cottish counter-attack from their frigate and destroy groups did signficant damage. It knocked out two radar sites and a pair of Harpoon launch sites. Had it not been for the mobility of the Relic sites, they too would have been removed from service. As the fighters returned to their bases, there was a vacuum of air cover. It would have to be filled. The F-18Es and F-31Bs would be supplemented in the air by another three B-6A Dementors and another eight F-18E Super Hornets, all loaded with Harpoon II missiles. They would continue to target the enemy shipping.

*******************

"Shark 1. Break hard. Missiles inbound." Everyone's RWR lit up. They had missiles inbound, a good amount of terminal AIM-120C AMRAAMs. They had fired their missiles off and AWACS indicated that they knocked out five aircraft. It wasn't great but they had to do what they had to do. As they performed more +9 manuevers and lit their ECM systems, they too caught some losses. There were five of them, but when the engagement was over, there were only two left. Those two were fully engaged now. Using commands from AWACS, they launched their remaining missiles, four AIM-120D AMRAAMs at aircraft. In addition, they were closing to AIM-9X range and they would gain locks through boresight mode on their radar, fire, and run!

*******************

By now all ground attack aircraft had landed. The only ground-attack aircraft still in the air were the three B-6A Dementors and eight F-18E Super Hornets heading towards the frigates and destroyers. They were loaded with a total of 104 anti-ship Harpoon II missiles. They would fire them from a shorter range, using their low-altitude flight capabilities to approach fast and hidden. The enemy destroyers and frigates would be getting low on ammunition by then and they would rather save their missiles for worthwhile targets than hard to hit, low-flying, fast flying bombers.

*******************

The plethora of fighters in the air meant to be shooting down the enemy aircraft were getting within range. The AIM-179C BVRAAM missiles had a long range and they would be used again the AWACS and other fighters that had taken off from the carriers. They would provide cover for a new batch of ground-attack aircraft that were taking off. They consisted of four F-31B Tornado GAVs, six F-14E Super Tomcats, and two P-7A Orion IIs. They were all loaded with a total of fifty-two anti-ship Harpoon II missiles. Targetting the remaining ships, they would be the last air strike against the ships. After that it would be on to the next attacks, made by submarines that would be in the area within twelve hours.

*******************

Beneath the waves, three submarines kept slow, deep, and quiet. One was a Scythe, another was a Shield, and the third was a Virginia. They would be coming in from the west, from the north, and from the east, respectively. Loaded with ADCAP IIs, Harpoon IIs, and Tomahawk IIs, they were capable of sinking the entire enemy navy. Naturally, they would need ASW coverage. Command Sea was already using the SOSUS net to track the movements of enemy ships and submarines. It wasn't going to be easy but they were definitely going to have to find them all. ASW would be provided for by a number of P-3C Orion, P-7A Orion II, and SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopters. There would be no escape for the enemy.

*******************

Remaining Aerial Forces


AH-6J Littlebird: 20
B-6A Dementor: 48
C-2A Greyhound: 24
E-3C Sentry: 2
E-8C J/STARS: 2
EP-3E Aries II: 6
F-14E Super Tomcat: 24
F-18C Hornet: 24
F-18E Super Hornet: 24
F-22A Raptor: 20
F-31A Tornado ADV: 14
F-31B Tornado GAV: 18
F-32A Foxhound: 20
HH-60H Seahawk: 60
MQ-9A Predator: 20
P-3C Orion: 12
P-7A Orion II: 12
RQ-1A Predator: 20
RQ-4A Global Hawk: 20
RQ-10A Pegasus: 20
SH-60F Seahawk: 60
SH-97A Serpent ASW: 2
UH-95A Panther: 60


Casualties


F-22A Raptor: 4
F-31A Tornado ADV: 5
Harpoon II Site: 2
MIM-188 Crow Site: 1
Radar Site: 4


*******************

OOC: Consider maybe what 14 of the missiles hitting? How many have I fired all together through land and air lol?

From: The Empire of Layarteb
To: The Island of Rose

The Empire of Layarteb has reason to believe that any number of Rosian citizens are acting as spies. Two Rosians citizens have been arrested trespassing at one of our military facilities in Colombia. These two citizens will be immediately deported back to their homeland. Given these acts, the Empire of Layarteb, Department of State is issuing a decree that all Rosians citizens please return to their homeland. All Rosian citizens will be given a total of two weeks or fourteen days to repatriate back to their homeland. We frown upon the dishonesty of the Rosian government especially in a time of strain between our two nations. The Layartebian wargames will continue, despite the attempts of espionage.

Thank You

The Emperor of Layarteb

While there were a small lull in the attack, the Cottish admiral looked at the results of the strike. 'Good. They've been crippled radar-wise. Now is the time for a second strike!'he thought, then ordered another fifty Tomahawks to be launched from the cruisers and destroyers in the task force. He still had a lot of missiles left, most of the Tomahawks were in the three Hades class SSNs below the task force though.

"Send to all ships: Weapons check. I want reports on what we have, and I want it now!"

The reports came back less then a minute later. The ships had depleted most of their RIM-116s and quite a bit of the RIM-7Ps, RIM-66s and RIM-156s. They also had on average 700 rounds left in the CIWS guns. Not enough to repell all the missiles that was surely to arrive. So the Admiral had the escorts create a closer wall around the carriers. If they lost a carrier, the game was over!


********


"Kobler flight, this is Looking Glass one. Let's do something they don't expect. We'll... Inbound missiles! Break right, break...."

The contact with Looking Glass 1, one of the three Cottish E-2C Hawkeye AWACS planes in the air was lost. Not lost in the sense that they had really been shot down, but in the sense that they had turned off their radar, ended communications, released white smoke and started on the return trip to the carrier. Yet another casualty in the heat of the battle.

Still, the Cots had two more Hawkeyes to rely on for accurate radar guidance. But three of the four Layartebian AMRAAMs found their mark. Another two F-22s and the last F-29 was "lost". The Cots fired four AIM-120C AMRAAMs at the surviving Raptors and were about to enter Sidewinder range when they got a call.

"Kobler flight, this is Looking Glass three. You're what's left of our fighters. Pull back ten nautical. You are dangerously close to Sidewinder range. We need you elsewhere. We've got incoming bandits on longrange radar. I need two of you to check out something that looks like an Orion. And we'd like some fighter cover ourselves."

"Looking Glass three, Kobler one. Wilco."

"Kobler five and seven, check out the Orion. Nine through twelve, cover the Hawkeyes. The rest, target any enemy plane with AMRAAMs and fire when within range. There are still at least a few Raptors out there!"

Two F-22Ns headed towards the contact with the Orions that were inbound, not knowing that they were heading towards more planes then they had missiles. They had three AMRAAMs and two Sidewinders each, in addition to the 480 20mm ammo for the cannon. The remaining fighters lobbed off chaff and flares while preforming neckbreaking manouvers to avoid any potential missiles. Unfortunately, another five F-22s were shot down by the Layartebian BVRAAMs.

What remained was shocking. (OOC: F-22N Sea Raptor: 9 left, 7 shot down) Shocking enough for the admiral to order the planes to close to the fleet. The Cots kept traveling fast away from the area, leaving a few frigates and destroyers to provide a small cover.


********


Then the shit really hit the fan.

"VAMPIRE, VAMPIRE, VAMPIRE!!! Inbound missiles, coming in low and fast! Range... Oh shit, twenty-seven thousand meters and closing damned fast!"

"Shoot them down, shoot them down! Firing RAMs, readying CIWS."

From all the escorts in the task force, small missiles started to fly towards the incoming wall of Harpoons. When they came closer, the 30mm projectiles started to kill missiles as well. It all went well, but apparently the missiles were all aimed towards the carriers.

Most of the missiles were shot down, but a number got past. Though aimed at the carriers, there were one small detail in the way for the missiles to reach their target: the frigates and destroyers. The attack "sank" three frigates, two destroyers, one Ticonderoga class cruiser and three of the Supply class AOEs. Another two frigates, three destroyers, one cruiser and one of the Ynoga class carriers were damaged. The fleet limped back to "safe" waters while letting the fighters land. The assault had proved a limited success. The Cots had shot down quite a lot of enemy aircraft and destroyed a heavy proportion of the radar and SAM coverage in a certain area, but also lost a lot of planes and some ships in the process. The High Command would use the information gathered in this exercise to work out a new naval strategy.

From: The Empire of Layarteb
To: The Island of Rose

The Empire of Layarteb has reason to believe that any number of Rosian citizens are acting as spies. Two Rosians citizens have been arrested trespassing at one of our military facilities in Colombia. These two citizens will be immediately deported back to their homeland. Given these acts, the Empire of Layarteb, Department of State is issuing a decree that all Rosians citizens please return to their homeland. All Rosian citizens will be given a total of two weeks or fourteen days to repatriate back to their homeland. We frown upon the dishonesty of the Rosian government especially in a time of strain between our two nations. The Layartebian wargames will continue, despite the attempts of espionage.

Thank You

The Emperor of Layarteb

To: The Emperor of Layarteb
From: Sergei Ilyanov, First Chancellor of Foreign Affairs

I was not aware that such strains existed. We didn't even know that we
had Rosian citizens in Layarteb. Hm. Very well then, as long as the Rosians
are not hurt we're not angry. But to think that they're going to spy on you?
Please, our spies don't go unarmed... it must've been two drunk frat boys
after having sex with two Columbians and a midget... yes, this has happened
before. Nikolai was drunk and got inside one of the Island's Forts... well,
he almost got shot. But now I'm just rambling, but the next time there are
tensions, tell me.
Sergei Ilyanov
Chancellory of Foreign Affars

"Shark 1, Cobalt 1. Enemy Raptors breaking off engagement. Heading towards Orion 3. Copy?"

"Cobalt 1, Shark 1. Copy. Engaging." The F-22As immediately slammed their burners and began to chase after the F-22Ns. They carried two AIM-9X Sidewinders each now. As they raced through the sky at Mach 2.2, their RWRs lit up but they were moving too fast and on too hard of an angle to get tagged by the inbound missiles, or so they thought. One of the AIM-120Cs went off dangerously close, setting off a proximity blast that crippled one of the F-22As, forcing her to return to base. "Cobalt 1, Shark 1. Requesting help."

"Shark 1, Cobalt 1. Copy." The air was alive now. F-32A Foxhounds flying far back locked in their BVRAAMs with the datalink systems and fired off another four AIM-179C BVRAAMs at the incomming F-22As. The Orions, now alert to the incoming enemy aircraft immediately turned back towards Venezuela, full speed, and turned on their powerful ECM systems. The P-7A Orion II was meant to be on hostile stations for a while and was equipped with a high powered, advanced jamming system that was capable of jamming pulse, frequency hop, and normal radars.

After the first set of AIM-179Cs hit, the enemy aircraft turned back towards the fleet. The goal was to let them run. However, they were running towards a single F-22A Raptor, armed with a pair of AIM-9X Sidewinders. At a disadvantage, the F-22A would do its best and launch both missiles in boresight mode from maximum range at the incomming fighters. Then it would hit the deck, hard and fast, and return to base, with just enough fuel to make it. The plan was solid and it launched its two AIM-9Xs on target at two aircraft and dove, its burners off but in full military power.

*******************

Remaining Aerial Forces


AH-6J Littlebird: 20
B-6A Dementor: 48
C-2A Greyhound: 24
E-3C Sentry: 2
E-8C J/STARS: 2
EP-3E Aries II: 6
F-14E Super Tomcat: 24
F-18C Hornet: 24
F-18E Super Hornet: 24
F-22A Raptor: 19
F-31A Tornado ADV: 14
F-31B Tornado GAV: 18
F-32A Foxhound: 20
HH-60H Seahawk: 60
MQ-9A Predator: 20
P-3C Orion: 12
P-7A Orion II: 12
RQ-1A Predator: 20
RQ-4A Global Hawk: 20
RQ-10A Pegasus: 20
SH-60F Seahawk: 60
SH-97A Serpent ASW: 2
UH-95A Panther: 60


Casualties


F-22A Raptor: 5
F-31A Tornado ADV: 5
Harpoon II Site: 2
MIM-188 Crow Site: 1
Radar Site: 4


*******************

The smoke cleared from the battlefield. The enemy ships were out of Relic range and they were too far away to be a threat except with Tomahawks, another batch of which was incomming towards airbases. Point defense, SLAMRAAMs, PATRIOTS, and patrolling fighters would engage the subsonic cruise missiles easily. Using their infrared guided missiles, the patrolling fighters would lock onto the missiles in boresight mode and fire off an AIM-9X Sidewinder. All-in-all, there were fourteen F-15C Eagles and twelve F-22A Raptors in the way of the Tomahawks, enough for a total of fifty-two AIM-9X Sidewinders and one hundred and fifty-six AIM-120D AMRAAMs. They were fresh off the deck, from the ILAF.

There were two SLAMRAAM units, a single PAC-3/4 site, and at least a dozen M2016 LAADS and M163A3 Equalizer systems in the way. All of them were capable of engaging the Tomahawks and though they flew fast, they were subsonic, meanign they were that much easier to engage.

*******************

"Command Sea, Orion 4. Enemy fleet is moving away from the engagement area. Suggest that they are badly crippled. Request permission to conduct ASW operations."

"Orion 4, Command Sea. Roger that. Begin operations." ASW was going to be done by a P-3C Orion, a P-7A Orion II, and six SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopters. All of them were armed with torpedoes, four on the P-3C and four on the P-7A. Each SH-60F carried two. All of them carried the MK-50 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo, a brutal and dangerous torpedo capable of diving deep, fast, and taking out a submarine in one shot. In addition, each P-3C carried four Harpoon II missiles, a pair of external jamming pods, and a pair of external countermeasures pods. Each P-7A carried, in addition to the torpedoes, six Harpoon IIs, a pair of external jamming pods, and a pair of external countermeasures pods. They were within range of the enemy fleet to fire off their Harpoon II missiles but decided not to attract any more attention.

Now began the best part of the exercise. They dropped in sonar buoys, both in passive and active mode. The enemy had three submarines, that they could be sure of. They would be either advanced Virginia subs or even more advanced Hades submarines, made by the EOL and sold to the Cottish navy. Either way, they would be looking for them. If any of the submarines fired off a cruise missile towards the Layartebian coastline, they could be sure that they would know where it was fired from and where the submarine was. After all, a Tomahawk could only be fired from a depth of one hundred and fifty feet or less and a speed of five knots or less. It would be easy pickings.

*******************

As the ASW aircraft proceeded along their route, a pair of ships left the harbor. Both were advanced corvettes, specialized for submarine hunting in addition to light patrol. They were Scorpion class corvettes, armed with eight Harpoon IIs, a three inch gun, a pair of Phalanx mounts, six torpedoes, and man-portable Wizard missiles for air defense. Trailing a tower sonar array and moving at twelve knots, they would make their way out of shallow water and into deeper water where they would slow to four knots and, from the surface, just hunt the enemy submarines. A Verrazano class ASW destroyer would be coming into the area as well. Both the Verrazano and the submarines were still a total of three hours away.

*******************

To: The Island of Rose
From: The Empire of Layarteb

All Rosian citizens are not being harmed and those arrested will be released into your custody. We assure you that both spies were not drunken frat boys. It is difficult to imagine that your government did not realize the tensions between our two nations, especially with the events at sea and the blatant dismissals for peaceful land transfer but alas, now ye know.

The Empire of Layarteb

The two F-22Ns that were heading for the Orion never got there. Both were shot down by the BVRAAMs after severe manouvering. They barely got within range to fire one AMRAAM, and that was at the very edge of its range. If it would make it there were uncertain.

*********

"Kobler three and four, follow me and two. We're RTC."

"This is three. Copy that. RTC."

The four F-22Ns started to return to the carrier, flying in an altitude of 7 000 feet at a speed of Mach 0,9. They had very few weapons left. One had depleted all his AMRAAMs, while the others had only one or two AMRAAMs left. They all did have their AIM-9X Sidewinders and the 480 rounds for the M61A2 gatling cannon. Then the shit really hit the fan. RWRs went off, and the four fighters started to preform radical manouvers to avoid the missiles. Unfortunately, both hit home, "killing" Kobler one and four. The rest of the flight, Kobler two and three, took up the pursuit and followed the F-22A that had fired the shots. It had its engines running hot, so the Cots didn't have problems locking their own Sidewinders on the target. They only had to get within range. To solve this problem, they went to afterburners and accelerated to speeds of Mach 1,7 untill they were within range. Then they fired their own Sidewinders and returned to the base, leaving the four AIM-9Xs to do their magic.

*********

The control room was of the SSN-442 was in a tense state of mind. They had heard the task force leave the area, but had been given orders to cover the retreat from the rear and keep the enemy at a distance of 30 nautical miles. SSN-423 and SSN-439 had been ordered to scout ahead and clear the waters for the remains of the task force. The ships that had been "sunk" had headed for the nearest Layartebian naval base to stay there for a few days, in accordance with the rules of the exercise. Now, however, the ECM antenna picked up a lot of flying contacts that were identified as P-3C Orions, P-7A Orion IIs and SH-60F Seahawks. They were positive identifications because the Cots used the same airplanes and helicopters. The Cots also knew that the Layartebians had experience finding Hades class submarines. After all, they had built the SSN-442. One thing that the Cots had added to the Hades class that the Layartebians didn't know about though, was a pair of FIM-92C Stinger MANPADs for this kind of scenario. But then they would have to surface, and no Cottish sub-skipper would do that out of his own free will. So the -442 floated slowly and quietly at 240 meters right below a thermal layer, making 10 knots. She sailed in such a matter that the sub itself was below the layer, but the towed sonar array was over the layer so she could listen.

The -442 was rated quiet in speeds up to 25 knots, but the skipper didn't want to take any chances. She would creep slowly in 10 knots, and fire her load if detected. Currently in her six torpedo tubes were three Mk-48 ADCAPs, two UGM-84F Harpoon Block II and one MOSS tactical submarine simulator. Although basically just a modified Mk-48 equipped with more fuel and a taperecorder playing the sounds of a Hades class propulsion power plant several times stronger then normal, it always fooled whoever looked for a Hades. Now however, the Cots went deep and waited.



OOC:

Weapons load, Hades class

FIM-92C Stinger MANPAD: 4 + 8 reloads
Mk-48 ADCAP: 30
Mk-48 MOSS: 6
UGM-84F Harpoon Block II: 18
UGM-109 Tomahawk TASM (VLS): 4
UGM-109 Tomahawk TLAM-C (VLS): 8

"Cobalt 1, Shark 1. I'm done for. Returning to base. I got two of them."

"Shark 1, Cobalt 1. Copy. Return to base." The radio was still full of chatter. "All flights, Cobalt 1. Maintain barrier fifty nautical miles off coast. Do not pass."

All of the flights keyed in that they copied the order. It was basically a show of force, more or less, to show the Cots that they weren't getting in again.

************************************

The Orions on patrol were listening more to their passive buoys than their actives ones. There wasn't much to find out there, unfortunately. They all reported that, in short, they weren't finding much. It was obvious that the enemy subs were beneath the layer. Luckily, for them, they carried an advanced sonar buoy. It dropped in like a normal buoy but it was two sections. The first section floated and remained on the surface, transmitting information to the Orion that dropped it. The second part descended into the water and sunk towards the ocean floor, a wire connecting it to the floating section. Each buoy coiled roughly a mile of wire, allowing it to sink pretty far, well below the layer. It could be used in either active or passive mode and it also had a proximity, magnetic sensor which was good for a thousand yards. Development of one with an explosive warhead was being undertaken.

The Orions dropped a total of ten of those into the water, spread out well. Each buoy had a range of between ten and twenty nautical miles, depending on the sea conditions. Since the conditions were good they would probably work for eighteen nautical miles.

************************************

Still an hour out, the Layartebian ships and subs were already searching with their towed arrays and passive sonars, their tubes loaded with ADCAP IIs or ALWTs. They were in the mood for a kill and they were going to get them!

(LNN) The Imperial Layartebian Space Division announced today the deployment of a new intermediate range missile system. The missile system, code-name Saber, is designated MGM-195. It has two versions, marked "A" and "B."

The Layartebian News Network has been informed that the missile is 55.50 feet long, 5.87 feet in diameter, and 82,000 pounds. The range of the system is believed to be between 200 and 2,400 miles. It is a two-stage system and has a ceiling, reportedly around 750 miles. The speed of the missile is also reported to be 9,200 miles per hour. The warhead of the "A" version is in the area of one megaton and the "B" is loaded with three MIRV warheads, each of seven hundred and fifty kilotons. Accuracy is reportedly as high as 100 feet.

The ILSD has announced that it has deployed some 800 total systems and released the following document:

http://www.theforsakenoutlaw.com/Graphics/Nation-States/Other/Saber-Engagement-Env.jpg

We'll have more on this in the next hour...

SSN-442
"Splashes..."

The sonar operator was nervous now. Naturally he and every other man aboard knew that it was just a wargame, but it was a highly realistic one. Now, he was busy counting the splashes from the sonar bouys that was dropped from the Orions. It had to be Orions. The Layartebians didn't use other aircraft for ASW warfare with bouys. Or so the intel told him. Anyway, he counted a total of ten splashes ranging from vary far away (100 nm+) to close (10 nm).

"Conn, sonar. I've got ten splashes. They are in passive mode though, but one of them landed very close. Ten nautical sir."

"Copy that. Good job."

The captain was calm as ever, drinking a cup of coffee while he contemplated on his next move. It they were detected, he would have to go to flank speed and fire a lot of countermeasures. He would even surface the sub if need be. It wasn't quite the normal way to do things, but when you're in a crisis....

-------------

ICS Victory
The Admiral was pissed right now. His task force were out of the engagement envelope, and he could once again use his planes. But this time he would not make the same mistake like last time and send all his planes towards one target. No sir. Instead, he ordered two F-22Ns to be loaded for stealth (IE 2 AIM-9X Sidewinder, 4 AIM-120C AMRAAM) and sent to dispatch of the helicopters and Orions who threathened SSN-442. The rest of the planes were in a tight CAP or ready on the flight deck to take off.

The two F-22N Sea Raptors were flying high and fast. They had their radars off and used their eyes and intel to head for the area. They were going to hit hard, fast and brutal, leaving the Layartebians wondering just what the heck happened. They would be within range in 10 minutes.

OOC: Cotland anything over like 27nm won't be detected unless it's REALLY loud. The towed array on the 688/I only detects out to 27nm in the best conditions. So anything out at 100nm won't detect you and you won't detect it.

The Orions get dropping in their sonarbuoys, listening. At the same time, AWACS reported multiple contacts flying from the fleet, tough to track contacts. Luckily for them though, the stealth system picked them up. The multitude of aircraft sitting at the 50nm zone began to alter their course. New orders were given to protect the Orions and Sea Hawks at all costs. A multitude of them carried the AIM-179C BVRAAM with a range of 110 miles. That put the enemy aircraft within range from their position. AWACS would guide the missiles in, as well as the stealth system. The missiles came with datalink so they could be guided by other aircraft or ground radars. AWACS only picked up one target and guided four missiles onto that target. Ground-based, anti-stealth picked up two and guided four missiles onto the other target.

OOC: My bad.

IC: The two fighters were flying high, fast and stealthy, or so they thought. Then all of a sudden the RWRs started yelling out that there were incoming missiles. Instantly, the two F-22s started to preform radical manouvers and dive like hell down to the sea while ejecting flares and chaff. Hopefully they would manage to get out of it alive. Unfortunately, both "died". The lead pilot opened a radio channel to the Layartebians just for the kick of it.

"Layartebian fighters, this is Gold one. You've got us. How in hell did you manage to do that? Over."

"Gold One, Command Air. We thank you for your participation. Unfortunately that information is classified. Good fighting with ya! Out."

****************************

The submarines are finally in the AO. They were deep beneath the layer, moving at 5 knots, slower than slow, quieter than quiet. As they searched passively for the enemy submarines, Orions overhead dropped their advanced sonarbuoys, trying to locate the enemy submarines. Five of them would be active and the other five would be passive. In the air, they had enough torpedoes to sink just about every ship from the fleet and slowly but surely, they were going to do something dangerous and deadly.

SSN-442
The SSN-442 was floating through the water in a speed of 10 knots. Then the sonar operator though he heard something in the water.

"Conn sonar. I think I've got something. It's really faint though. I'm classifying it as a possible submerged contact, designation Master seven. Range 17 000 meters."

"Copy that. Keep on it," the captain told the sonar operator before turning towards the weapons officer to give the order to get a firing sollution. When he looked at the officer, he saw that he was already busy with the weapons team, punching in data to the relevant computer. It made the captain proud to see how well drilled his crew was.

"Mister Matteson, get me a firing sollution. When you've got it, stand by to fire a MOSS and a couple of ADCAPs."

The officer nodded and returned to the computer. When they had it ready, he turned to the captain again and nodded. 'Excellent' the captain though before he shouted out the next series of orders.

"Fire the MOSS. Set it to run silent for four thousand meters, then go active. Meanwhile I want us to go deeper, to four hundred meters. Then set bearing zero eight five and get us out of here. They won't expect that. Get to it."

Immediately the things the captain had ordered were carried out. After two seconds, a single Mk-48 MOSS was fired from the torpedo tube and instantly reloaded with a second MOSS. The sub shuddered for a second due to the launch of the MOSS.

"Tube five fired electrically sir. Fish running straight and normal. Initiating procedure.... now."

The MOSS started to give away the noises of a Hades class submarines reactor multiplied several times. Everyone fell for this one. Even the people who should know better. Meanwhile the SSN-442 slipped downwards to the dark in the totally opposite direction of the MOSS. Hopefully it would fool the possible contacts from tracking the SSN-442.

"Conn, Sonar. We've got a contact bearing 0-7-0, range 18,500 yards. It's faint. Contact Sierra One."

"Sonar, Conn. Aye. Keep a track on it. Fix position and relay to the Orions overhead."

"Conn, Radio. Transmitting on VLF antenna. It's going to take some time sir."

"Radio, Conn. Aye. Just keep on it." The Scythe slipped through slowly, it's reactor noise being the only sound in the water and at that the only sound that could be heard, though not far. As the submarine moved slowly beneath the waves it had four of its eight torpedo tubes loaded with exercise ADCAPs. They would travel to the enemy sub and shut down. Then they would, after an hour, float to the surface after buoyancy balloons discharged on the torpedo.

"Conn, Sonar. We've got a high-pressure launch from Sierra One. Possible torpedo launch but we don't have a screw yet."

"Sonar, Conn. Keep on it."

"Weapons, Conn. Snapshot tube one to Sierra One, run it at 40 knots, depth of 2,000. Passive mode."

"Conn, Weapons. Aye sir!" Within thirty seconds, an exercise ADCAP jolted out of the Scythe and another one was reloaded, that would take eight minutes.

"Manuevering, make your depth 1,500. Change course to 0-0-5."

"Aye sir." The orderes were repeated and the submarine began to dive from 500 feet to 1,500 feet, slowly. It would make some creaking noises as it went deep but nothing too serious. At most, their sounds would be heard maybe six thousand yards away.

"Conn, Sonar. We've got creaking noises of deep diving but Sierra One is maintaining its depth, course, and speed."

"Sonar, Conn. What's track?"

"Conn, Sonar. We're too far away to fully identify but it certainly isn't one of ours."

"Sonar, Conn. Aye. Keep on it."

The sonar operator pressed his headset to the ear to listen carefully, and then he heard what sounded like a torpedo being fired. Instantly he pressed the button that opened communications to the Conn.

"Torpedo torpedo torpedo! I have a probable launch from submerged contact, range nineteen thousand meters!"

"Mann battlestations torpedo, stand by to snapshot two fish. Damage control teams, stand by. Two-inch room, stand by to launch counter-measures."

The orders of the captain was carried out immediately and without a question.

"Sonar, Conn. I want an identity on the contact ASAP!"

"Sir, it's weak, but it don't macht anything we've encountered before from the Layartebians. It's a new class sir. It's got to be."

"Record everything you've got. If it indeed is a new class, I'll get a row of pings so we can get more intel in it. But that'll have to wait till later. Right now I want two fish up his ass. Can you do that?"

"Aye sir!" The sonar operator was hyped on getting this bugger recorded, and so was the captain. That was why the -442 increased speed to 15 knots, still well below her silent speed, and headed towards the Layartebian. Then, in an act completely against all doctrine in the Imperial Cottish Navy, the captain sent a series of five high-intensity pings towards the enemy before firing two exercise ADCAPs of his own. They were painted red and clearly marked "PROPERTY OF THE IMPERIAL COTTISH NAVY, PLEASE RETURN TO NEAREST COTTISH NAVAL FACILITY OR EMBASSY". They traversed the seas in a speed of 45 knots, and would reach their target in three minutes. Just then the Cots detected the incoming torpedo. It had ignored the MOSS.

"Incoming torpedo! Bearing zero zero five!"

"Evasive starboard! Fire counter-measures and reload."

This couldn't be. Sure, this was the first patrol of the captain, and by the looks of it, it could very likely be his last. "Blow ballast tanks! All of them!"

"But sir," the executive officer protested. "If we blow the ballast tanks, we don't have any way of controling our ascent! It's dangerous sir."

"We've got a friggin' torpedo after us! Just blow the friggin' tanks! That's an order!"

Reluctantly, the XO nodded to the cheif who stood with the controls in his hands. Upon seeing this, he pulled the level and SSN-442 started an uncontrolled rise to the surface. Orders were yelled throughout the ship that the crew had to hang on as best they could, but that was easier said then done.


http://web.umr.edu/~rogersda/military_service/Blowing%20ballast%20tanks_sm.jpg
SSN-442 breaking the surface


The -442 broke the surface in a mighty jump, showing off her belly and the bulk of her hull before she came crashing down again, throwing water to every direction. It created a massive sound, and also a lot of injuries aboard. Several of them critical.

"Damage report."

"Coming in from all compartments.... several wounded, sickbay is reporting that they're flooded. And... stand by."

The XO pressed the phone closer to his ear, then his facial expression changed from worry to shock to anger. He dropped the phone and faced the captain, anger burning in his eyes.

"Captain, I am hereby relieving you of your command by the authority given to me by the Code of Military Justice section twelve on the grounds of five counts of murder in the second degree and one count of serious neglect of your command."

"What the hell are you talking about commander? I have done no such thing!"

"You gave the irresponsible order of blowing our tanks despite us not being in serious danger, thereby causing the deaths of at least five crewmembers aboard this ship. It is only a wargame captain. Cheif, have an armed team escort the captain to his cabin and confine him there."

The chief acknowledged the order and had two crewmembers armed with pistols and take the captain to his quarters, where he was locked in.

"Cheif, contact our fleet and the Layartebians. Tell them we need immediate support. We are out of this wargame."

**************************

To: Task Force Hammer
CC: Layartebian military units
From: SSN-442

Begin message

SSN-442 requesting immediate assistance. Large-scale medical emergency.
Five crewmembers dead. Moderate hull damages. Captain detained by armed guard.
SSN-442 out of the wargame. Coordinates 8°19'N, 55°00'W. Send help now!

End message

"Conn, Sonar. We've got noise in the water. The target has increased speed to fifteen knots, we've got a full bearing on her. It's a Hades sir. Reactor plant noise confirmed. Holy shit! Active sonar! Five pings in the water sir!"

"Sonar, Conn. Will it get us?"

"Conn, Sonar. Tough to say sir, they're about eighteen thousand yards off, we've got ways to avoid this, we're under the layer. TORPEDOES IN THE WATER. Two of them sir, ADCAPs. "

"Manuever, make your depth two thousand, course 0-0-0, speed three knots. Launch your countermeasures on my mark. Change speed twenty knots."

"Aye sir. Make my depth two thousand, change speed to twenty knots, set course 0-0-0."

"Weapons, Conn. Launch your countermeasures." The captain looked at the overlay map and saw the enemy submarine and torpedoes. He began a stopwatch and listened to the water as the ADCAP began active pinging. "DIVE DIVE DIVE" He yelled as the submarine lurched forward and down. They would be within forty feet of the bottom of the water in their area, a nice trench that they could sneak into. Their goal was, more or less, to have the torpedo lose track of them as they entered the trench. Sounding and 3D image maps of the trench were provided and they knew where every rock was, that wasn't a problem. What was a problem was the descent.

***********************************

The Admiral looked at the communique. "Holy shit! Get a message to the Scythe, tell her to cease immediately and return to base. What's the nearest ship?"

"Sir, we've got a Twin Towers not far away with a Sea Hawk. We can send it out there immediately."

"Do it." What about the Scythe. "Depends on how deep she is. Underneath 600 feet we'll likely not get anything to her. If she's under 1,600 no chance at all."

"Where is she?"

"Somewhere in this area." The aide pointed to the map. "There's a trench here, just over two thousand feet deep. Knowing SOPs, they're at the bottom or in that trench, somewhere."

"Aye. Just make sure something happens."

"Yes sir."

Communique to SSN-442

The ILN will assist. We have a Twin Towers in the area with Sea Hawk helicopters. Please surface and await medical pick up.

Communique to Cottish Command

The ILN will assist with your submarine problem. Please have submarine dock at nearest port.

The situation aboard the -442 was quickly deteriorating. Three more men were down with interior bleedings and needed medical care immediately if they were to stand a chance. All in all, the majority of the crew had injuries ranging from bruises to internal bleedings, and the situation for the hull of the -442 wasn't better. Several minor hull breeches was filling up the aft sections with water relatively quickly, but those could be kept at bay untill relief arrived. The XO of the -442 was busy trying to get the most injured to the sections with escape hatches so they could be evacuated first. It really wasn't safe to stay aboard with the hull breeches.

***************

The Admiral in command of Task Force Hammer was frustrated. Immediately he sent a reply to the Layartebians that the wargames were temporarily suspended. Three destroyers and two frigates were already on their way, but the Layartebians would reach the area with ships first. The Admiral ordered two F-18s to check out the situation from the air, and to make sure that no foreign nation tried something funny against the -442.

***************

The ICN will send rescue ships and fighters to provide aircover, but they will not be there for another hour and an half. The wargames are temporarily suspended pending completed rescue of SSN-442. Reports are coming in on wounded, but five seamen have been confirmed dead. We request you grant a C-141 permission to land in order to recover the bodies of those deceased.

The Admiral of the Navy immediately took over the situation. "Suspend the wargames. We have a serious problem on our hands. How far is the Twin Towers?"

"She's fifteen nautical miles away, moving at forty knots sir. Her Sea Hawks should be over the submarine immediately. I suggest we tow her back to port rather than risk it running on its own power, especially if she's taking water."

"We'll have to find out. Send a communique to the Cottish command that we're going to tow the boat in and we need to know if they are taking on water. We also need to know the status of their nuclear reactors because if they are breeched then we're in deep trouble."

******************************

In the air, a single HH-60H Sea Hawk overflew the submarine. Loaded onboard were two, bright yellow boxes. They were loaded with medical supplies. The helicopter immediately descended just over the submarine, the rotorwash being almost unbearable. The boxes hung over the submarine, suspended in mid-air from the helicopter. The crew on top of the conning tower of the submarine would have to snag the boxes with a hook and bring them onto the deck or else they weren't going to get them into the ship. They were designed to float but the rotor wash would push them too far away to do any good if they fell into the water.

A pair of SH-60F Sea Hawks were also inbound from the mainland, making best speed towards the submarine. One had medical supplies and the other had a medical team.

The crew in the conning tower was among the ones what had sustained little injuries from the dramatic events half an hour earlier, and now they were attempting to hook on to the packages. Three men were busy with that while a crewman in the aft of the tower stood with a FIM-92C Stinger MANPAD in his hands, but not aiming it at anything particular. On the fifth attempt, the Cots managed to get the medical supplies hooked on and brought them safely down to the sub. It was hopefully enough to keep the wounds of the most critical at bay untill assistance arrived.

The radio communication with the helicopter was also established after a little while. The Cots just had to dig out an emergency radio, since the short-wave radio that they usually used had been damaged.

"This is Sierra Sierra November four four two, do you copy? We have a lot of casualties and need immediate assistance. Do you read. We need doctors on the double please. Over."

"SSN-442. We've got doctors inbound. ETA six minutes from Sea Hawk flight November. Will require more lift equippment. Advise aft missile man stand down. You're making us nervous up here. Over."

The two SH-60Fs flew level and fast, as fast as they could. At sea level the best they could do was 145 miles per hour. They were still 14.5 miles from the submarine and that meant they were getting close, but they still had far to go.

"Roger that. We'll have him back off." The officer who had spoked turned to the seaman with the Stinger and told him to put it away. Then he turned back to the radio.

"It's ok. He's backing down. It's good to hear that help is on the way. We've got at least five deaths and a lot of wounded. We also have a lot of minor hull breeches, but the reactor is ok for now. The XO has ordered it to be turned off in order to prevent any mishaps. We really need those doctors, and preferably someone to tow us to port. We're in no condition to sail on our own. Over."

"We got a tug inbound. It'll take some time to get there given your position. We don't see any rough seas ahead so it should be good for now. Any wounded you can move, please move them to the main deck. Rafts from the Twin Towers coming in will be able to take them for treatment. Those who cannot be moved list the compartments and numbers, we have to triage this before the doctors arrive." The HH-60H Sea Hawk flew in a circular pattern about six hundred feet off the surface of the water. To the west, the masts of the Twin Towers came into view. It was slowing down though it was still and was about six nautical miles out. It would come within a few hundred yards of the submarine so that rafts could be used to rescue those in need.

"Copy that. We'll start moving the mildly injured to the deck immediately. Any ETA on the Twin Towers? Over."

The officer shouted something down to the interior of the submarine, and after a minute, sailors started to flood out of the escape hatches and onto the submarine.

"Ok here's the count. We have now six dead, thirty-eight critically wounded and the rest with minor injuries ranging from bruises to broken limbs. Over."

As the Cottish officer said that, two F-18Es bearing the identification marks of the Imperial Cottish Navy flew over the sub and started to fly a close CAP over the submarine and Seahawk at an altitude of 1400 feet. They were armed with two Harpoons, four AMRAAMs and two Sidewinders each.

"Roger that." The scream of the F/A-18Es overhead shook the fuselage of the HH-60H Sea Hawk. It was flying in a circular pattern still, watching as the deck was being flooded with people. "ETA on the Twin Towers isn't long. It's to the west now, approaching slowly."

"Copy that. I just hope that we can prevent more deaths. The Captain screwed up bigtime. I heard the XO talk about getting him court-marshalled. Ah well. There are some Cottish destroyers and frigates heading over here too, but they won't be here for another hour or so. I'm still waiting for the final hull reports, but there are some flooding down in the aft compartments. We need to get to a dock soon. Over."

The sub was starting to list aftwards. It was clear that the pumps wouldn't be able to keep the water at bay for much longer. Looking up, the officer saw that the F-18s maintained their CAP over the stricken submarine.

**************

The five ships, three Arleigh Burkes and two Perrys, were 74 minutes out from the -442, and now they started to send up their helicopters. Within minutes, five Cottish SH-60Fs were in the air, laden with corpsmen from the ships and medical supplies. They would be at the submarine in 12 minutes.

The Twin Towers floated in at less than five knots, getting to within a thousand yards of the submarine. It was listing to the aft and that was dangerous. Additional water pumps would have to provided if they were going to stay afloat. They didn't want to have a major incident with a sunken submarine, crew inside, and nuclear reactors that close to the mainland. That was very dangerous.

They had boats in the water already, large, rubber rafts inflated on the deck and pushed over the side. Inside the four rafts were no less than twenty-four men, eight of whom were doctors. The rest were just normal crewmen, who would be tasked with working on the damaged ship to try and get her working again. They brought along clamps and welding equippment but who knew if they would be using it.

At the same time, the two SH-60F Sea Hawks came within visual range and dropped static lines to the top of the conning tower. As the Sea Hawks hovered seventy feet over the top of the conning tower, the ropes were tied down. The men inside slid down the ropes much like Airborne soldiers did descending out of a UH-60L Black Hawk.

Once they were inside and safely aboard they looked around, "Alright let's get started. We have eight doctors here and medical supplies are being brought down now." The second SH-60F moved over the conning tower and began to drop its supply boxes.

The XO met the Layartebians at the hatch and introduced himself.

"I'm Commander Drake, executive officer. We've got most of the crew up on deck, but the corpsman is busy in the messhall. We've gathered the wounded there, but I'm not sure how long they can hold on. We've already lost one man. If you'll follow me..."

The XO started to walk towards towards the bough where the mess hall was, knowing that the Layartebian doctors would follow.

"We're having difficulty holding the water out of the boat. The pumps are really pressed to the limit. I just hope that we can get to land soon."

*****************

Up on deck, the crew started to embark in the rafts. There were sixty of them that was going to be evacuated immediately. Thirty-eight were too wounded to be moved, and six were dead. The remaining twenty-six would be aboard, tending to the wounded and keeping the sub from sinking.

*****************

The five SH-60Fs were just coming within visual range now, and they could see that they weren't the only ones there. When they saw the Layartebian frigate and the three helicopters, the Cots took contact.

"Layartebian helicopter, this is Cottish Navy helicopter Tiger one, inbound with five Sierra Hotel six zero Foxtrots carrying medical personell and supplies. Would you mind giving us some room to touch down at teh submarine?"

"Tiger One, November One. You're cleared in, we're low on fuel and returning to base." The SH-60F Sea Hawks tilted sideways and banked away back towards the main land. They had enough fuel to get back to their base and loiter for about ten minutes, not as much as they wanted to have.

The P-3C Orion that flew overhead first was already landing. With it were pictures of the damaged submarine and preliminary data on the craft, based on thermal readings. They wanted to make sure the reactors were in tact. In a situation like this, anything could initiate a catastrophe.

*******************

The Layartebian doctor followed the XO. "There sure are a lot of wounded. We'll have to triage them and treat the most serious cases first. What are we talking about here? Bleeding, concussions, broken bones? Anything broken can wait, we'll just immobilize the bone and move them up to the upper decks. If we have to, we can put them on stretchers and lift them up, we've got the manpower here. Anyone who isn't hurt or who is capable of assisting should be."

The first of the five Seahawks headed for the aft of the submarine and came to a hover just centimeters from the deck of the sub. There the passengers and cargo disembarked and headed for the escape hatches. The deck was beginning to empty itself of people as they went to the Layartebian frigate, so there were little risk of injuring people with landing on the sub. When it was clear, it lifted off so the next chopper could unload.

**************

"Well, mostly fractures and wounds from falling. We were virtually in ninety degrees for some time when we headed for the surface. There are several with internal bleedings though. Our three corpsmen are having trouble keeping them alive, along with any man able."

The XO looked at the eight Layartebian doctors.

"I'm leaving it to you now. I've got to oversee the repairs. Good luck gentlemen."

As the XO left, fifteen Cottish seamen came in. They weren't dressed in the standard submarine jumpsuit that the Cots used, but in uniforms usually found on surface ships. It was clear that these men weren't part of the subs complement. One of the men walked up to the lead Layartebian. He was in his late twenties, and dressed in a khaki uniform, telling that he was an officer. The distinctions of a Navy Lieutenant and the medical insignia confirmed that he was a doctor.

"Are you in charge here sir? I'm doctor Bowden, from the Thor. I've got three doctors, myself included, and eleven corpsmen. We've got supplies too. Where do you want us to begin sir?"

He looked around. The wounded were lying on the tables and on counters. There were blood, and cries from men in pain. It was a virtual hell. In a corner lay six bodies covered in sheets. The deceased. Lt Bowden looked back at the Layartebian doctor, waiting for instructions.

"Internal bleeding is going to be the toughest. We have to get surgery for that and unless they get to that frigate in a few minutes they're going to die. We can, to a degree treat it here but it won't be pretty. We don't have any sterile operating room but we do have some of the tools, we've got morphine."

The doctor looked around. "Alright here's what we're going to do. Triage the patients. Those with internal bleeding will be dealt with immediately. Get some morphine in them. We have to cut them open and find the source of the bleeding. We don't have time to go back to the frigate to do this. It's going to get messy and hectic in here so only authorized personnel." He looked around again. "You three," he pointed to three Cottish sailors. "Get the supplies down here on the double."

"Yes sir," the three seamen said before running up to carry down the supplies. Bowden took the corpsmen and started sorting the wounded while calming them down by telling them that they were going to be all right. It was amazing what a few words of reassurance could do. There were eleven men with internal bleedings that had to be dealt with immediately. They were placed on the tables and prepared for surgery. It would have to be meatball surgery. Just enough to get them through a trip to the nearest proper operating room on the mainland. After triaging the men, Bowden walked back to the Layartebian.

"They've been triaged sir. Eleven in need of surgery right away. It's gonna have to be meatball surgery sir."

Then the three seamen came back with arms full of medical supplies from the destroyers and frigates.

"Where do you want it sir?"