NationStates Jolt Archive

Lieutenant Michael Davidson studied the imagery he was receiving from the Global Hawk drone one more time as the A7D Fury jostled, catching a minor thermal from the ocean surface 500 feet below him. Looking between the ships on the multifunction display and on the mission planning clipboard on his leg, he double checked the small convoy on the screen, confirming the identities of the ships. Satisfied, he toggled the plane's intercom.

"They're the ships we're looking for boss," he said, notifying the pilot, Captain Anthony Gideon.

"Roger that," Captain Gideon acknowledged. Then, pressing the Push-To-Talk button for a short range encrypted burst transmission to his wingmen, "Corsair Lead to all Corsairs, engage, engage, engage."

As Captain Gideon gave the order to attack the target, Lieutenant Davidson pressed the "pickle" button and felt the first thumps of six Shepherd's Crook anti-ship missiles dropping away from the aircraft, two on the wing pylons and four from the internal bay. A variant of the Shepherd, it replaced the armor piercing DU cap and shaped charge with a six hundred pound semi-armor piercing warhead. More than enough to ruin anyone's day. An audible "whoosh" sounded throughout the cockpit as the rockets kicked in, quickly accelerating the missiles to their design velocity of Mach 2.5

Davidson smiled mirthlessly to himself as the Fury swung around to begin its seven hundred mile trip back home to the carrier CRNV Rebuke. They were well under the radar horizon, never giving a single peep to the Griffincrest convoy that they were coming. Just another routine and tranquil day to them. That is of course, until the missiles came over the radar horizon. Their sea-skimming altitude would make that no more than fourteen miles, and, traveling at nineteen hundred miles per hour, they would reach their target in under thirty seconds. About enough time for someone to go "Oh shit" before dying. The anti-CIWS deception jamming employed by the missile would help to further ensure the mission's success.

The only real threat to the mission was the Neptune class cruiser, and that was entirely too charitable a statement. The pathetically short-ranged missiles aboard it, only capable of twelve kilometers, had no chance of protecting the convoy. Still, all six of Corsair Lead's missiles were targeting it. The two Rajputs received four missiles each. Their ancient SAMs had a doubtful ability to engage such a low altitude target, and they could target only two targets at a time. The Um Al Maradim missile boats each received a pair of missiles, more out of boredom than anything else. They were of no consequence. That left seventy missiles for twelve tankers. An odd number, with two ships only receiving five missiles rather than six, but more than enough to sink the tankers.

Far overhead, and far out of range of the convoy, the Global Hawk continued to watch, silently relaying electronic intercept and bomb damage assessment information back to its home on Rebuke

State Department Communication
A state of war now exists between TPF and Rosdivan. The attack on civilian shipping on our allies now forces use to declare war against you. We will you give you a chance to pay back the lost funds, or else face our wrath.

State Department Communication
A state of war now exists between TPF and Rosdivan. The attack on civilian shipping on our allies now forces use to declare war against you. We will you give you a chance to pay back the lost funds, or else face our wrath.

OOC: You're an idiot. How about you try waiting until Blackhelm even makes an accusation and provides proof? Or did you completely fail to notice that there's not even a single indication that I did it (planes were below the radar horizon, and have measures to prevent Non-Cooperative Target Recognition anyhow and the missiles used are domestically produced in several nations)? Have fun being ignored for godmoding (IC knowing of that which you cannot know of IC) in the meanwhile.

OCC: Flame. Noob. I'll also wait for proof, but It wont take long.

OOC: You're an idiot. How about you try waiting until Blackhelm even makes an accusation and provides proof? Or did you completely fail to notice that there's not even a single indication that I did it (planes were below the radar horizon, and have measures to prevent Non-Cooperative Target Recognition anyhow and the missiles used are domestically produced in several nations)? Have fun being ignored for godmoding (IC knowing of that which you cannot know of IC) in the meanwhile.

OOC: a little harsh...little one

OOC: You guys are idiots, Rosdivan is a very, very good RPer, if he's a noob you guys would be on the level of Hataria. Rosdivans understanding of RP would be enough alone to destroy each one of you, let alone blackhelm.

OCC: What is with all this flaming? Also Silver, I seem to recall you lost to Blackhelm. And as for Rosdivan being a good rper, I have no doubt, but I could probably stand up to him. Please, stop using the word 'idiot'

[OOC: Lost? We never finished it, ended in an ignore of Blackhelm because of his plywood planes with greater payload capacity, range, detection capability then some modern fighter bombers, the fact that he said he had airports left after I attacked and he said I destroyed them all, his response to being questioned about that was because they weren't government owned, rather by one of his states, when I said I attacked them all.

Then the little bit about Leaf penetrating haven waters far enough to get into missile range of whyatica, we would have nuked blackhelm because they were ballistic missiles, and ICly we would have thought they were nukes, but he refused to RP being nuked. If anyone lost anything, he losts a ton of respect from alot of people.]

OCC: I see. He said we won.

OCC: I see. He said we won.

OOC: Blackhelm says alot of things.

OOC: Blackhelm says alot of things.

OCC: Hm, I suppose.

[OOC: Lost? We never finished it, ended in an ignore of Blackhelm because of his plywood planes with greater payload capacity, range, detection capability then some modern fighter bombers, the fact that he said he had airports left after I attacked and he said I destroyed them all, his response to being questioned about that was because they weren't government owned, rather by one of his states, when I said I attacked them all.

Then the little bit about Leaf penetrating haven waters far enough to get into missile range of whyatica, we would have nuked blackhelm because they were ballistic missiles, and ICly we would have thought they were nukes, but he refused to RP being nuked. If anyone lost anything, he losts a ton of respect from alot of people.]

The planes carried one missile each, and were based on the Nazi's Salamander interceptor. If the plane flew in '43, I'm pretty damn sure it can fly today. And I still stand by the fact that you only attacked Confederate bases. We can argue this all day. Ros, I'll have a response tommorrow.

OOC: Secret ICly I want Blackhelm destroyed, Open ICly I am neutral, and OOC: I find Black to be a good guy, if at some degree a sore loser... Black agent assassination attempt...

What the Rosdivan intelligence had seemingly missed was that the missiles aboard the Rajputs were not the old 1970's era S-125's, but the upgraded 1999 version of the same missile, the Pechora 2M. The newer missiles could engage multiple targets, had a range of 27 kilometers, and even had anti-cruise missile capabilities. The Rajupts would pick up the enemy aircraft at over seventy kilometers, and begin tracking from there. They would then open up with their S-125's, firing at the Shepard's Crook missiles, and then the rest of the fleet pumping away with their CIWS systems.

Dephire had, not to long ago, sold stolen designs to the Shepard's Crook, and since then defence aganst this missile had become an important part of the escort fleets training. The eight Sea King helicopters around the fleet also would open up, and even though their door guns would likely be of little effect, it was still more lead put up to halt the oncoming missiles. This was the moment that all of the men in the fleet had trained so long for, and no that training was becoming a reality.

OOC notes
Ball is in your court for things to start blowing up, my guys launched and left.
You literally can't pick up my aircraft at seventy kilometers, they're below the radar's horizon. For detection at 70 km, and assuming your radar masts are some 50 feet high, I'd need to be about 600 feet up. Which I'm not. I've also got RCS reduction on those aircraft, and furthermore, those missiles are coming in at twelve feet.
Dephire has never had access to the Shepherd missile design.
Hitting a Mach 2.5 missile at low altitude with a Sea King door gun isn't going to happen.
I have extreme doubts that your convoy was at general quarters
According to this article (http://www.arms-tass.su/data/Files/File/6.pdf), pg 33, Pechora-2M has a minimum engagement altitude of 20m (my missiles are 3-4m) and suffices only for targets up to 700 m/s (Mach 2), while my missiles are at 850 m/s (Mach 2.5)

OOC: I had no intention of actually downing the missiles, Dephire said that he did have the missile design, and sent me them in a TG, which is now, unfortunatly gone. The covoys are always at general quarters as this is not the first pirate attack on me. Anyway...

IC: Very few missiles were actually downed by the fire that was thrown up by the ships, and the first casualty was the Neptune, which erupted into flame as the missiles smashed through it. The fleet was lit aflame in minutes, and by the end of the maelstrom of missiles, only one of the Um al Maradims remained afloat, miraculously keeping above water when its CIWS system managed to destroy the missiles sent at it. The small little craft's crew was left utterly dumbfounded by the attack and began to pick out survivors from the oil stricken water. Around them, the large tankers sank into the water, their oil on fire in the water making surviving the assault difficult at best.

This was the first attack from the air. An attack from sea was what was expected and prepared for. It looked now as if new measures would need to be taken now to defend against air threats. The Um al Maradim's would be dropped from the line up, and the AFTERBURNER mercenary company would soon be recieving a new order.

The carrier loaned by Blackhelm carried an airwing of 40 F-14 Tomcats, 4 EA-6 Prowlers and 5 E-2 Hawkeyes. Two Hawkeyes were always in the air as well as 5 F-14s and 2 were always on the catapult ready to launch, a Prowler would also be launch to jam enemy radar. Worst thing that could happen now was if the enemy stopped attacking and Afterburner's contract being canceled.

OOC: Just so we're all on the same page, you're escorting his convoys with that carrier? Is it just that carrier, or other ships as well?

OOC: Just so we're all on the same page, you're escorting his convoys with that carrier? Is it just that carrier, or other ships as well?

OOC: Blackhelm agreed to loan a carrier and escort ships, but that is as far as the contract goes.

OOC: Just so we're all on the same page, you're escorting his convoys with that carrier? Is it just that carrier, or other ships as well?

OOC: Blackhelm agreed to loan a carrier and escort ships, but that is as far as the contract goes.

Don't use that yet, I am just paying you to use that carrier to patrol the sea lanes, in case of a second attack. This one is over.

Combined ops are what its all about thought Captain Michael Bannington, commanding officer of the Stravinsky-class nuclear attack submarine CRNV Kashchei the Immortal, as he looked at the image of their prey in the CIC and sipped from a cup of tea. Periscopes were old-fashioned, newer vessels used photonic masts and transmitted any visual images to a large screen. Fighting war with large screen plasma TVs? I've got no complaints. Kashchei the Immortal was one of forty ships either belonging to Task Force 12 or attached to it. It was they who, while officially on normal patrols and war games, were sinking Griffincrest tankers.

"Captain? Torpedo room reports readiness. Six wake-homing torpedoes, all ready for launch, sir," reported one of the young sailors.

"Good, thank you," responded Captain Bannington, putting down his tea cup on its saucer. Wake homing torpedoes were a favorite of his, and a severe annoyance to surface ship captains. They homed in on the wake left by a ship as it traveled, with a passive acoustic backup in the case of these torpedoes. Decoying them out of that wake was, well, nearly impossible. And with their thousand pound warheads, they'd cause tremendous hurt to their target. Even if they didn't, by some strange chance, sink the ship, it'd be so crippled as to be incapable of launching flight ops to defend itself. With the carrier gone, any tankers would be easy pickings, taken at his leisure.

"Torpedo room, FIRE ONE!"

"FIRE TWO!"

"FIRE THREE!"

"FIRE FOUR!"

"FIRE FIVE!"

"FIRE SIX!"

OOC: Just for fun, this is a video of a single Mk 48 torpedo hitting an old Aussie ship (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vaImLvZbPw)