Karshkovia
20-02-2008, 10:18
2145 Local, 16 Feburary
Karskovian Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier Yovari, Southern Sea
Captain of Aviation Dimitri Andropov sighed as he felt the heaviness in his arms and shoulders, the parched tongue from breathing the oxygen mixture from his mask, and the frustration of the failed prior attempts to land on the new ship. Winter had the southern sea set firmly in its teeth as evident by the low ceiling and light snowfall. Because of the windswept cloud cover the moon light was obscured and the lights of the carrier were a tiny multi-colored gem on the black satin sea. Dimitri rolled in on his final approach, confident that this landing would be 'it'. He had fumbled his first attempt and was dead-set on landing this pass, mentally envisioning the invisible glideslope he was to follow down to the carrier's deck. The first time he hit the landing squarely on the nose but the hook bounced off of the deck and over the wires, forcing a missed landing.
The big Sukhoi 37 was a dream to handle while dog fighting and performing mock bombing runs however it was sensitive to wind at low speeds which did not help in landing on the moving carrier's deck. Dimitri flicked his head to remove the beads of perspiration that dotted his forehead and then flexed the muscles in his body to help release the tension building in them. The rock-hard seat was starting to pain his backside, and the beginning of a cramp in his thigh was forming. The every pilot in the airwing was currently trying their hands at landing tonight as ordered by military command so stress was very high. There was no point in having a carrier if the pilots couldn't utilize it when they are needed, so the powers-that-be decided that every other night the entire airwing would practice their landings. Thankfully they had lost no pilots or aircraft, though there were a few bruised egos and bent landing gear to show for it.
Dimitri watched the intervals of the aircraft on their final approach and made a judgment to extend his downwind leg. This would give him slightly more time to line up the approach and as he watched as another SU-37 turned gracefully onto the base leg at 275 meters altitude. First Lieutenant Matryonan Bazhukov swung her aircraft onto the glideslope as if she was born to fly carrier traps. She had set an example to the rest of the pilots on how carrier landings were to be done and all had tried to follow her lead. She was a fine pilot and steady soldier. He was also very proud to call her his wife.
Dimitri pulled his Sukhoi into a shallow left turn at 280 knots to line up for his own approach. The Yovari's wake was a florescent green robe on the dark ocean giving the approaching pilots a good point of reference for the ship's location and if they were on the correct flight path. Ahead of him, the carrier’s lights danced in and out of visibility as intermittent grey clouds obscured his view.
Glancing around, Dimitri caught views of Karshkovia’s new 20 ship Carrier Battle Group. One of the two Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers passed under the Su-37, most of its lights had been turned down or off. In the distance, one of the three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers could be seen. The AoE and AoR supply/oiler ships were not visible at all, though Dimitri knew they were there. He also knew that two Spruance class destroyers and three Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates were standing a silent guard around the supercarrier. Finally, somewhere in the mercy night was an AS-39 Submarine tender ship, the four nuclear powered submarines: Two brand new SSN-774 Virginia-class attack subs, a SSN-21 Seawolf-Class attack sub, and the newly upgraded Project-971A Akula II attack sub and finally a soviet made SSV-33 Kapusta CnC ship patrolled the waters near the carrier group. It prided him to see the magnificent fleet below him and how strong his adopted country was now becoming.
The captain had nearly 3200 hours piloting aircraft of various designs from his time at the Gromov Flight Research Institute and Russian Federal Space Agency and over 150 daylight carrier traps under his belt. The problem is nearly none of the pilots, including him, had many nighttime carrier landings. Especially under low-visibility conditions such as they were now experiencing. There was no room for error and lack of concentration meant a crash or worse. Russia only had one carrier when he was in the military and even then they did not push their pilots into night landings.
Using the churning wake as a guide, Dimitri was very satisfied with his approach this time around as the drop lights matched the centerline and all his instruments and instincts told him he was golden. Operating under combat conditions, there were no radio instructions or navigational aids to follow from the carrier. The landing lights were cut to low power and only the drop lights were at full intensity, giving the feel of how a combat landing would be. This was not the place for those with frail nerves as the 750 foot long deck was a challenge to land on in the best of weather during the daylight hours. That alone would leave rookie pilots’ knees knocking together for about half a cruise. At night, with seas rolling the deck through 50 feet of vertical movement ever 30 seconds, this was a life or death test of a pilot’s skill and nerve. Two pilots had already been diverted back to Volograd’s naval base, and it was obvious there would be more before the night was over. It was not just a disgrace to the pilots but also would reflect on whether or not they would be allowed to fly any carrier-based aircraft again.
Behind him, the dual Lyulka AL-37FU turbofans purred contently as the landing gear and tail hook locked into position. At two kilometers, Dimitri saw the 'meatball' was centered and he was on the optimal path to land on the pitching carrier deck. On the carrier, the LSO’s were watching Dimitri’s aircraft slowly descending towards the carrier. Victor Alda, the senior LSO, watched with experienced eyes though the night vision goggles as he ran through the landing checklist in his mind. “Stand by for a Sukhoi 37! Two Minutes!” He yelled down to the hydraulics crew while sweeping his eyes over the deck for litter as even a small rock could blow out an engine or puncture a tire. Telling the crew what size aircraft that was landing would allow them to set the correct pressure for the arrester cable. Too strong and the aircraft’s hook may be ripped from the body or the cable may snap, whipping across the deck killing anyone in its path. Too weak and the wire would not slow the aircraft enough before it played out the wire’s length. At that point the wire may be ripped from its moorings or the aircraft would have a very hard jerk which would rip the hook off or separate the airframe of the aircraft.
At a half a kilometer, the Captain dropped his flaps to the full landing setting and increased power to the engines to compensate. Victor got a call back from the hydraulics team that the pistons below deck were set. “GROOVE!” he yelled back to the hydraulics team, meaning the aircraft was seconds away from landing and to stand by. A few seconds passed and Victor yelled again, “SHORT!”. This meant everyone needed to get away from any machinery in case of failures. Just as the SU-37 screamed over the end of the carrier Victor yelled again, “RAMP!” meaning landing was imminent.
Dimitri felt the rear tires touch the deck at 160 knots, protesting their treatment and then the familiar gut-wrenching jerk of an arrested cable. A second later he was stopped just a dozen yards away from the end of the carrier. Quickly, he dropped the engine power and retracted his tailhook. The deck crews exploded into pandemonium, scrambling all over the flight deck to prepare for the next landing. One crew was setting up the cable while another was directing his aircraft to an available elevator. Still another was checking his aircraft for damage as he was moving off to Elevator #1.
Victor gave a glance over the landed aircraft and then started shouting out to the hydraulics crew to prepare for the rookie Su-33 pilot on his own approach, Stand by for a Sukhoi 33, two minutes!”
Victor spoke as though he was not under wartime conditions, coaching the pilot down even though they could not hear him. “Check your line…ok good…flaps down…hook down…great…little to the left…more…more…perfect…locked in the path”
“GROOVE…SHO…oh shit”
The aircraft was too low in the glideslope and the pilot had tried to correct by applying both throttle and stick to the problem. Unfortunately this exasperated the problem and the pilot had to cut the throttles to continue his decent, however he was too close and too high. Victor had no idea what was going through the pilot's head when he tried to push the aircraft's nose down and cut his throttle nearly off as if that would force the big aircraft to land, however the outcome was going to be horrific. He smashed down on the signaling light controller and the “meatball” flashed the wave-off signal…but the pilot did not notice or ignored it. Victor hit the crash alarm a split second before the aircraft struck the deck.
On the bridge of the Yovari Admiral Pulitz watched in dread as the young pilot panicked and tried to compensate for his mistake. The captain of the Yovari, Pyotr Gulva, winced as the aircraft slammed into the deck well past the arrester cables, its right wing low. There was a loud screech of metal as the landing gear buckled and the airframe shuddered upon impact. The Su 33 rolled off the side of the carrier into the black sea. A loud 'whoom' sounded out as the night turned yellow from the explosion as fuel leaking from punctured tanks in the aircraft hit the hot exhaust. Flames and debris spewed over the deck and into the night. A fire crew already was already on their way to spray down the flames. Thankfully the rookie pilot had ejected before the aircraft slid off the deck and his white parachute drifted slowly past the end of the carrier. Even before he hit the water a large Sea King rescue helicopter that was on standby alert lifted off of the deck and swung around to help the downed airman. All landing and take-offs were suspended as deck crews policed the debris, hosed down fires, cleaned up any unburned liquids and checked for damage to the fight deck. In two hours, flight operations could and would resume. Until then, the word was passed to the circling aircraft to meet with a KC-135 tanker that was going to lift off from Volograd’s naval base in 10 minutes. Later in the evening, all other aircraft were recovered without incident.
0152 local time
Pulitz presided over the nightly review of the incident. All senior officers of the ship and Air wing met in the wardroom to watch video taken from multiple angles of the crash. They watched in normal speed, slow and then frame by frame, taking notes and marking down comments they wanted to make. After 15 minutes, Pulitz shut off the video projector and raised the room lights. He gave everyone a few seconds to adjust then spoke to the gathered men.
“Comrades, nothing I have seen here contains any lessons which we have previously missed. We have seen this play out before but never to the extent that we have lost an aircraft. Thankfully the pilot has survived, however that was his fourth attempt to land. This pilot should have been ordered back to base after his third attempt. Why was he allowed to try his hand at landing again?” Pulitz’s eyes swung over the gathered men and focused on Dimitri’s.
“That decision was the senior LSO’s choice as it is standard procedure. We were also under radio silence so I was not allowed to make any radio contact with the ship nor with the pilot in question.” Dimitri replied dryly.
Pulitz waited a few moments and then nodded. “Yes, that is the normal procedure, however should it be changed? Should we revise our rules so that the wing commander or perhaps the ship’s captain can make such decisions as well?”
A few officers thought this over and nodded while Dimitri put their thoughts to words, “I think that would be acceptable. This ship has multiple redundant systems, but nothing redundant for deciding if a pilot should be sent to shore”
The Admiral grunted, “Agreed. From this moment forward, the change shall be in effect. Addendums to the various handbooks will be printed up by 0800 tomorrow and distributed to all personnel. Let us hope that we have seen enough tonight to prevent a worse incident from occurring.”
The captain of the ship spoke up, “Sir, if I may speak frankly, I wonder if we are not proceeding in training to hastily. Our crew is only six months out of training and two months into our first cruise near Karshkovian waters. Our pilots have only two months experience of carrier landings and we are now pushing them into nighttime combat landings in rough weather? We had to send back four total pilots for failure to land, some missed landings of which were no fault of their own. I believe our pilots need more regular daytime and nighttime landings before we move to combat condition landings.”
Pulitz sighed, “While I normally would agree with you, but please be aware that this accelerated training is, in my and the President’s opinion, needed. He and I are both fully aware of the strain we have put on you and your men, however as the President has stated time and time again “Pressure makes diamonds”. Our pilots are like rough coal and the pressure we put on them will either make them strong or expose a flaw that would endanger the rest of the crew when the time comes.” The Admiral dimmed the room lights and turned the projector back on, “And the time comes soon”
“The Tazhistanians are making overtures that Shiloh Island should be ‘liberated’ from Karshkovia”
The Admiral explained that Shiloh island was barely inside Karshkovia international boundaries, however the Tazhistanians had claimed the island as theirs as far back as 1100 AD. The Soviets had taken it from Tazhistan when they had taken Karshkovia and the island had remained with Karshkovia ever since. The island was a large and rocky with no indigenous life and no value to Tazhistan before the Soviets took it. Under Soviet rule, however, a naval and submarine base had been built on the island, with an air strip and multiple large-caliber coastal guns that had been the main guns from decommissioned battleships. S-300VM (SA-23)and A-213-Vympel-A sites defended the air, while the multiple gun emplacements and SS-N-9/SS-N-22/SS-N-12 anti-ship missiles defended against water assaults. Because of the improvements, the Tazhistanian Emperor had made political moves to have the island returned and a few military moves as well, though no weapons had ever been fired in either direction. The island was a tough cookie to crack however, now that Karshkovia had a fleet of ships, a trained army, navy and airforce all with new weapons and vehicles of their own, Tazhistan saw their window of opportunity to retake the island quickly closing. Intel indicated that their entire fleet, seven destroyers and two cruisers, were all in port refitting and resupplying for an attack on the island.
What Tazhistan did not know was the Yovari Battle Group had returned to Karshkovian waters months ahead of schedule. Another surprise they were not aware of was the new Montana-class battleship which had been refurbished with nuclear propulsion, new armor that was lighter and stronger than the original design, updated cannons with increased range and accuracy, new radar and computer systems, anti-aircraft/ship/missile weapons systems which the original design lacked and finally, an internal hanger for two ASW aircraft and one Harrier Jump-jet which replaced the original sea-plane designed aft deck area. The updated Montana battleship was named Borofski after the current Prime Minister, and was currently in port at Shiloh Island, ready to head into the open ocean in under five minutes.
Also in port were the three Yuanwang-class Space Tracking Ships that were part of Karshkovia’s space program. They were originally designed to track ICBM tests, however some minor adjustments gave Karshkovia a global space tracking, telemetry, and control (TT&C) network that could continuously detect, track, and control satellites and manned spacecraft in space. They also became off-shore deep-space listening and communications complexes, Coupled with the just completed Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory (50 independent radio antennae, each with a diameter of 25 meters) located on the plains of Karshkovia just east of the city of Miniski, would give Karshkovia a major jump in its space program. The ships were yet to be finished in their conversions and not sea-worthy as the move from diesel to nuclear engines was still in progress. They were considered a national priority and until they could be moved away from the hostile neighboring nation, Shiloh island was on high alert.
The Admiral finished the presentation, he raised the lights. “As you have seen, we have ample reasons to push ourselves in this training. The men are coming along fine and washouts are to be expected. Remember, we started with an over-abundance of pilots and by the time we are finished with this training period, we should have the right amount for this carrier and replacements in case of war. I know that landing a jet on a moving carrier is difficult and no one enjoys the task, however we are going to become proficient at it even if it means that we lose a few aircraft or possibly some men. As cold hearted as that sounds, if we don’t push this hard we then may lose more men and possibly ships during actual combat operations later. Shiloh Island can defend itself, however if the Tazhistanians decide to wipe out the island and rebuild, then having a carrier to defend the island will make all the difference in the world. In fact, they don’t know our level of training, nor do they know that we can strike them at night. Surprise, comrades, will be our greatest weapon should the Tazhistanians decide to go through with their strike. Now the good news: all pilots will be given a three-day pass, on rotating leaves of course so we do have some air cover. When they return to duty, it will be the last for three months. We will sail 500 nautical miles to the south of Shiloh, in the open ocean and continue our training there. No shipping lanes are in that area, which will allow our forces to remain a secret as long as possible, and possibly surprise the Tazhistan navy if they should decide to strike.”
A Half-hour later, the meeting was adjourned and the officers returned to their bunks or stations, thoughts swirling over the meeting they had be a part of and what it meant to each man.
All would agree on the same idea though: Tazhistan would rue the day it tangled with Karshkovia.
Karskovian Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier Yovari, Southern Sea
Captain of Aviation Dimitri Andropov sighed as he felt the heaviness in his arms and shoulders, the parched tongue from breathing the oxygen mixture from his mask, and the frustration of the failed prior attempts to land on the new ship. Winter had the southern sea set firmly in its teeth as evident by the low ceiling and light snowfall. Because of the windswept cloud cover the moon light was obscured and the lights of the carrier were a tiny multi-colored gem on the black satin sea. Dimitri rolled in on his final approach, confident that this landing would be 'it'. He had fumbled his first attempt and was dead-set on landing this pass, mentally envisioning the invisible glideslope he was to follow down to the carrier's deck. The first time he hit the landing squarely on the nose but the hook bounced off of the deck and over the wires, forcing a missed landing.
The big Sukhoi 37 was a dream to handle while dog fighting and performing mock bombing runs however it was sensitive to wind at low speeds which did not help in landing on the moving carrier's deck. Dimitri flicked his head to remove the beads of perspiration that dotted his forehead and then flexed the muscles in his body to help release the tension building in them. The rock-hard seat was starting to pain his backside, and the beginning of a cramp in his thigh was forming. The every pilot in the airwing was currently trying their hands at landing tonight as ordered by military command so stress was very high. There was no point in having a carrier if the pilots couldn't utilize it when they are needed, so the powers-that-be decided that every other night the entire airwing would practice their landings. Thankfully they had lost no pilots or aircraft, though there were a few bruised egos and bent landing gear to show for it.
Dimitri watched the intervals of the aircraft on their final approach and made a judgment to extend his downwind leg. This would give him slightly more time to line up the approach and as he watched as another SU-37 turned gracefully onto the base leg at 275 meters altitude. First Lieutenant Matryonan Bazhukov swung her aircraft onto the glideslope as if she was born to fly carrier traps. She had set an example to the rest of the pilots on how carrier landings were to be done and all had tried to follow her lead. She was a fine pilot and steady soldier. He was also very proud to call her his wife.
Dimitri pulled his Sukhoi into a shallow left turn at 280 knots to line up for his own approach. The Yovari's wake was a florescent green robe on the dark ocean giving the approaching pilots a good point of reference for the ship's location and if they were on the correct flight path. Ahead of him, the carrier’s lights danced in and out of visibility as intermittent grey clouds obscured his view.
Glancing around, Dimitri caught views of Karshkovia’s new 20 ship Carrier Battle Group. One of the two Ticonderoga class guided missile cruisers passed under the Su-37, most of its lights had been turned down or off. In the distance, one of the three Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers could be seen. The AoE and AoR supply/oiler ships were not visible at all, though Dimitri knew they were there. He also knew that two Spruance class destroyers and three Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates were standing a silent guard around the supercarrier. Finally, somewhere in the mercy night was an AS-39 Submarine tender ship, the four nuclear powered submarines: Two brand new SSN-774 Virginia-class attack subs, a SSN-21 Seawolf-Class attack sub, and the newly upgraded Project-971A Akula II attack sub and finally a soviet made SSV-33 Kapusta CnC ship patrolled the waters near the carrier group. It prided him to see the magnificent fleet below him and how strong his adopted country was now becoming.
The captain had nearly 3200 hours piloting aircraft of various designs from his time at the Gromov Flight Research Institute and Russian Federal Space Agency and over 150 daylight carrier traps under his belt. The problem is nearly none of the pilots, including him, had many nighttime carrier landings. Especially under low-visibility conditions such as they were now experiencing. There was no room for error and lack of concentration meant a crash or worse. Russia only had one carrier when he was in the military and even then they did not push their pilots into night landings.
Using the churning wake as a guide, Dimitri was very satisfied with his approach this time around as the drop lights matched the centerline and all his instruments and instincts told him he was golden. Operating under combat conditions, there were no radio instructions or navigational aids to follow from the carrier. The landing lights were cut to low power and only the drop lights were at full intensity, giving the feel of how a combat landing would be. This was not the place for those with frail nerves as the 750 foot long deck was a challenge to land on in the best of weather during the daylight hours. That alone would leave rookie pilots’ knees knocking together for about half a cruise. At night, with seas rolling the deck through 50 feet of vertical movement ever 30 seconds, this was a life or death test of a pilot’s skill and nerve. Two pilots had already been diverted back to Volograd’s naval base, and it was obvious there would be more before the night was over. It was not just a disgrace to the pilots but also would reflect on whether or not they would be allowed to fly any carrier-based aircraft again.
Behind him, the dual Lyulka AL-37FU turbofans purred contently as the landing gear and tail hook locked into position. At two kilometers, Dimitri saw the 'meatball' was centered and he was on the optimal path to land on the pitching carrier deck. On the carrier, the LSO’s were watching Dimitri’s aircraft slowly descending towards the carrier. Victor Alda, the senior LSO, watched with experienced eyes though the night vision goggles as he ran through the landing checklist in his mind. “Stand by for a Sukhoi 37! Two Minutes!” He yelled down to the hydraulics crew while sweeping his eyes over the deck for litter as even a small rock could blow out an engine or puncture a tire. Telling the crew what size aircraft that was landing would allow them to set the correct pressure for the arrester cable. Too strong and the aircraft’s hook may be ripped from the body or the cable may snap, whipping across the deck killing anyone in its path. Too weak and the wire would not slow the aircraft enough before it played out the wire’s length. At that point the wire may be ripped from its moorings or the aircraft would have a very hard jerk which would rip the hook off or separate the airframe of the aircraft.
At a half a kilometer, the Captain dropped his flaps to the full landing setting and increased power to the engines to compensate. Victor got a call back from the hydraulics team that the pistons below deck were set. “GROOVE!” he yelled back to the hydraulics team, meaning the aircraft was seconds away from landing and to stand by. A few seconds passed and Victor yelled again, “SHORT!”. This meant everyone needed to get away from any machinery in case of failures. Just as the SU-37 screamed over the end of the carrier Victor yelled again, “RAMP!” meaning landing was imminent.
Dimitri felt the rear tires touch the deck at 160 knots, protesting their treatment and then the familiar gut-wrenching jerk of an arrested cable. A second later he was stopped just a dozen yards away from the end of the carrier. Quickly, he dropped the engine power and retracted his tailhook. The deck crews exploded into pandemonium, scrambling all over the flight deck to prepare for the next landing. One crew was setting up the cable while another was directing his aircraft to an available elevator. Still another was checking his aircraft for damage as he was moving off to Elevator #1.
Victor gave a glance over the landed aircraft and then started shouting out to the hydraulics crew to prepare for the rookie Su-33 pilot on his own approach, Stand by for a Sukhoi 33, two minutes!”
Victor spoke as though he was not under wartime conditions, coaching the pilot down even though they could not hear him. “Check your line…ok good…flaps down…hook down…great…little to the left…more…more…perfect…locked in the path”
“GROOVE…SHO…oh shit”
The aircraft was too low in the glideslope and the pilot had tried to correct by applying both throttle and stick to the problem. Unfortunately this exasperated the problem and the pilot had to cut the throttles to continue his decent, however he was too close and too high. Victor had no idea what was going through the pilot's head when he tried to push the aircraft's nose down and cut his throttle nearly off as if that would force the big aircraft to land, however the outcome was going to be horrific. He smashed down on the signaling light controller and the “meatball” flashed the wave-off signal…but the pilot did not notice or ignored it. Victor hit the crash alarm a split second before the aircraft struck the deck.
On the bridge of the Yovari Admiral Pulitz watched in dread as the young pilot panicked and tried to compensate for his mistake. The captain of the Yovari, Pyotr Gulva, winced as the aircraft slammed into the deck well past the arrester cables, its right wing low. There was a loud screech of metal as the landing gear buckled and the airframe shuddered upon impact. The Su 33 rolled off the side of the carrier into the black sea. A loud 'whoom' sounded out as the night turned yellow from the explosion as fuel leaking from punctured tanks in the aircraft hit the hot exhaust. Flames and debris spewed over the deck and into the night. A fire crew already was already on their way to spray down the flames. Thankfully the rookie pilot had ejected before the aircraft slid off the deck and his white parachute drifted slowly past the end of the carrier. Even before he hit the water a large Sea King rescue helicopter that was on standby alert lifted off of the deck and swung around to help the downed airman. All landing and take-offs were suspended as deck crews policed the debris, hosed down fires, cleaned up any unburned liquids and checked for damage to the fight deck. In two hours, flight operations could and would resume. Until then, the word was passed to the circling aircraft to meet with a KC-135 tanker that was going to lift off from Volograd’s naval base in 10 minutes. Later in the evening, all other aircraft were recovered without incident.
0152 local time
Pulitz presided over the nightly review of the incident. All senior officers of the ship and Air wing met in the wardroom to watch video taken from multiple angles of the crash. They watched in normal speed, slow and then frame by frame, taking notes and marking down comments they wanted to make. After 15 minutes, Pulitz shut off the video projector and raised the room lights. He gave everyone a few seconds to adjust then spoke to the gathered men.
“Comrades, nothing I have seen here contains any lessons which we have previously missed. We have seen this play out before but never to the extent that we have lost an aircraft. Thankfully the pilot has survived, however that was his fourth attempt to land. This pilot should have been ordered back to base after his third attempt. Why was he allowed to try his hand at landing again?” Pulitz’s eyes swung over the gathered men and focused on Dimitri’s.
“That decision was the senior LSO’s choice as it is standard procedure. We were also under radio silence so I was not allowed to make any radio contact with the ship nor with the pilot in question.” Dimitri replied dryly.
Pulitz waited a few moments and then nodded. “Yes, that is the normal procedure, however should it be changed? Should we revise our rules so that the wing commander or perhaps the ship’s captain can make such decisions as well?”
A few officers thought this over and nodded while Dimitri put their thoughts to words, “I think that would be acceptable. This ship has multiple redundant systems, but nothing redundant for deciding if a pilot should be sent to shore”
The Admiral grunted, “Agreed. From this moment forward, the change shall be in effect. Addendums to the various handbooks will be printed up by 0800 tomorrow and distributed to all personnel. Let us hope that we have seen enough tonight to prevent a worse incident from occurring.”
The captain of the ship spoke up, “Sir, if I may speak frankly, I wonder if we are not proceeding in training to hastily. Our crew is only six months out of training and two months into our first cruise near Karshkovian waters. Our pilots have only two months experience of carrier landings and we are now pushing them into nighttime combat landings in rough weather? We had to send back four total pilots for failure to land, some missed landings of which were no fault of their own. I believe our pilots need more regular daytime and nighttime landings before we move to combat condition landings.”
Pulitz sighed, “While I normally would agree with you, but please be aware that this accelerated training is, in my and the President’s opinion, needed. He and I are both fully aware of the strain we have put on you and your men, however as the President has stated time and time again “Pressure makes diamonds”. Our pilots are like rough coal and the pressure we put on them will either make them strong or expose a flaw that would endanger the rest of the crew when the time comes.” The Admiral dimmed the room lights and turned the projector back on, “And the time comes soon”
“The Tazhistanians are making overtures that Shiloh Island should be ‘liberated’ from Karshkovia”
The Admiral explained that Shiloh island was barely inside Karshkovia international boundaries, however the Tazhistanians had claimed the island as theirs as far back as 1100 AD. The Soviets had taken it from Tazhistan when they had taken Karshkovia and the island had remained with Karshkovia ever since. The island was a large and rocky with no indigenous life and no value to Tazhistan before the Soviets took it. Under Soviet rule, however, a naval and submarine base had been built on the island, with an air strip and multiple large-caliber coastal guns that had been the main guns from decommissioned battleships. S-300VM (SA-23)and A-213-Vympel-A sites defended the air, while the multiple gun emplacements and SS-N-9/SS-N-22/SS-N-12 anti-ship missiles defended against water assaults. Because of the improvements, the Tazhistanian Emperor had made political moves to have the island returned and a few military moves as well, though no weapons had ever been fired in either direction. The island was a tough cookie to crack however, now that Karshkovia had a fleet of ships, a trained army, navy and airforce all with new weapons and vehicles of their own, Tazhistan saw their window of opportunity to retake the island quickly closing. Intel indicated that their entire fleet, seven destroyers and two cruisers, were all in port refitting and resupplying for an attack on the island.
What Tazhistan did not know was the Yovari Battle Group had returned to Karshkovian waters months ahead of schedule. Another surprise they were not aware of was the new Montana-class battleship which had been refurbished with nuclear propulsion, new armor that was lighter and stronger than the original design, updated cannons with increased range and accuracy, new radar and computer systems, anti-aircraft/ship/missile weapons systems which the original design lacked and finally, an internal hanger for two ASW aircraft and one Harrier Jump-jet which replaced the original sea-plane designed aft deck area. The updated Montana battleship was named Borofski after the current Prime Minister, and was currently in port at Shiloh Island, ready to head into the open ocean in under five minutes.
Also in port were the three Yuanwang-class Space Tracking Ships that were part of Karshkovia’s space program. They were originally designed to track ICBM tests, however some minor adjustments gave Karshkovia a global space tracking, telemetry, and control (TT&C) network that could continuously detect, track, and control satellites and manned spacecraft in space. They also became off-shore deep-space listening and communications complexes, Coupled with the just completed Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory (50 independent radio antennae, each with a diameter of 25 meters) located on the plains of Karshkovia just east of the city of Miniski, would give Karshkovia a major jump in its space program. The ships were yet to be finished in their conversions and not sea-worthy as the move from diesel to nuclear engines was still in progress. They were considered a national priority and until they could be moved away from the hostile neighboring nation, Shiloh island was on high alert.
The Admiral finished the presentation, he raised the lights. “As you have seen, we have ample reasons to push ourselves in this training. The men are coming along fine and washouts are to be expected. Remember, we started with an over-abundance of pilots and by the time we are finished with this training period, we should have the right amount for this carrier and replacements in case of war. I know that landing a jet on a moving carrier is difficult and no one enjoys the task, however we are going to become proficient at it even if it means that we lose a few aircraft or possibly some men. As cold hearted as that sounds, if we don’t push this hard we then may lose more men and possibly ships during actual combat operations later. Shiloh Island can defend itself, however if the Tazhistanians decide to wipe out the island and rebuild, then having a carrier to defend the island will make all the difference in the world. In fact, they don’t know our level of training, nor do they know that we can strike them at night. Surprise, comrades, will be our greatest weapon should the Tazhistanians decide to go through with their strike. Now the good news: all pilots will be given a three-day pass, on rotating leaves of course so we do have some air cover. When they return to duty, it will be the last for three months. We will sail 500 nautical miles to the south of Shiloh, in the open ocean and continue our training there. No shipping lanes are in that area, which will allow our forces to remain a secret as long as possible, and possibly surprise the Tazhistan navy if they should decide to strike.”
A Half-hour later, the meeting was adjourned and the officers returned to their bunks or stations, thoughts swirling over the meeting they had be a part of and what it meant to each man.
All would agree on the same idea though: Tazhistan would rue the day it tangled with Karshkovia.