Chapter 200
February 5th, 2021, 02:10
Tokyo, Japan’s Cabinet Emergency Situation Center
Admiral Yamamoto Genzur’s report from the Zumwalt destroyer fleet had the entire center in an uproar as if it was hosting a party.
The Japanese navy had suffered one-sided defeat against the Corean navy twice. Hearing the news about Corea’s joint fleet that had merged their 1st and 3rd fleet being defeated and retreating had the room in a celebratory mood.
“Ha ha ha, that’s the spirit! This is a testament to our navy’s skills, wouldn’t it?” Prime Minister Abe smiled contentedly and spoke to the commanders and the high-ranking government bureaucrats.
“That is right, sir. This is just the beginning,” Minister of Defense Shibasaki smiled slyly and agreed with him.
In truth, the Japanese navy was being attacked relentlessly by Corea’s joint fleet at the start of the battle and had lost 3 destroyers. It was the power of the Zumwalt destroyers under the U.S navy and its sudden railgun attacks that did the job. However, Prime Minister Abe and Minister Shibasaki only credited the Japanese navy for the battle’s victory.
After the conversation took place, a report that no one wanted to hear came through. First, Oki Island and the three surrounding islands were struck by ballistic missiles, and the entire area was covered in flames. The second was how the 8th surface-to-ship artillery regiment stationed at the Shimane prefecture had been hit as well and were annihilated by the ballistic missiles.
Everyone in the room, including Prime Minister Abe, the commanders, and the government bureaucrats all froze as if they were hit by a Siberian winter storm. Silence fell in the room. After some time had passed, the silence was broken by the shouting from the operator.
“They have detected a vessel that seems to be the Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin cruiser 157km southwest off the coast of Oki Island. They are engaging in battle, sir.”
When the word about the Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin (CG-1101) came up, Prime Minister Abe and the military commander’s faces all turned pale.
“The Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin vessel? Isn’t that the same ship that wiped out the entire 1st carrier strike group and the 3rd escorting fleet?” Prime Minister Abe asked the operator.
“We are not certain, but since its stealth capabilities are superior, it seems to be the case, sir.”
“Prime minister! There is no need to fear. We have four Zumwalt class destroyers on our side, don’t we?”
“I am sure four Zumwalt class destroyers would be more than enough to sink that ship, correct?”
“You can put your faith in us, sir! Didn’t our navy take out the Corean fleet in an instant, sir?”
“Yes, why don’t we keep watching?”
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February 5th, 2021, 02:10
The seas 15km southeast from Japan’s Oki Island (the 4th escorting fleet’s location)
From the 4th escorting fleet’s location, the mushroom cloud and flashes of light in the darkness could be faintly seen on Oki Island by the naked eye.
The 4th escorting fleet had managed to successfully intercept a few of the SM-2 cruise missiles headed towards Oki Island. When they detected five ICBMs with their radars, the Kirishima (DDG-174), Suzuki (DDG-117), and the four Zumwalt class destroyers had launched two rounds of SM-3 Block 1A missiles twice, but they only managed to intercept two of the Mjolnir-PIP ballistic missiles. The remaining three missiles landed at their targets. One had struck Oki island, while the other two hit the surrounding islands.
Right now, the 4th escorting fleet had entered the process of intercepting the Haesung A ship-to-ship missiles headed towards them.
“Damn it! What were those ballistic missiles? We launched 24 SM-3 missiles at them, and we only managed to take down two of them,” Admiral Nagano Damon, who was watching the interception of the Haesung A missiles, shouted angrily when he saw the large explosion coming from Oki Island. Captain Kawai Sunichi of the Isei (DDH-182) answered him.
“It seems that the missiles were ballistic missiles that fall at the speed of Mach 40, so that must be why our interception rates were low.”
However, Admiral Nagano Damon paid no mind and shouted into the microphone connected to the battle station.
“How is the interception of the ship-to-ship missiles going?”
“Yes, admiral! Currently, we are 20 seconds away from intercepting the missiles headed to the Suzuki, Samidare, and Sanami under the command of the Kirishima.”
“We cannot afford to lose any more of our ships! Make sure to intercept them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nine Haesung A supersonic ship-to-ship missiles were flying at Mach 3.5 above the ocean between the Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin (CG-1101) and the 4th escorting fleet. In the skies, nine SM-2 missiles seemed to have entered into the interception stage and slammed into the ocean.
The Isei’s (DDH-182) arms man who had been watching the progress of the interception through the radar, shouted once again.
“Target number 1 intercepted! Number 2 has failed! Number 3 failed! Number 4 failed, number 5 successful, ah! 6, 7, 8, and 9 have all failed!”
When the results of the first interception attempts came in, four vessels within the 4th escorting fleet entered into the second interception attempt. This time, two rounds of SM-2 interception missiles were allotted for each target, and they began to fly towards the sky while emitting flames and white smoke. Also, the four Zumwalt destroyers launched four SM-7 anti-air missiles to aid the 4th fleet.
The SM-7 anti-air missile, RIM-77 ESGM (Evolved Sea-Gull Missile) was the improved, next-generation version of the RIM-162 ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile) designed to defend against missiles that traveled over subsonic speeds. This weapon had been developed by Lockheed Martin and entered into production by late 2019. Currently, only the Zumwalt, Allyburke, and Ticonderoga class destroyers were operating them.
“What about our ship-to-ship missiles?”
“They are 210 seconds away from impact, sir.”
The ship-to-ship missiles launched by the 4th escorting fleet were subsonic, so, despite being launched first, they took longer to reach their targets.
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February 5th, 2021, 02:15
The seas 200km east from Ulsan (Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin’s (CG-1101) location)
The Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin (CG-1101) had stopped its Scithe cannon attacks after the Mjolnir-PIP ballistic missiles had hit Oki Island and its two surrounding ones. Then they struck down all 12 surface-to-ship missiles that headed towards them with the Haegung missiles.
The operator’s report of successfully intercepting the 4th escorting fleet’s four subsonic ship-to-ship harpoon missiles and eight type-90 anti-ship missiles rang across the battle station.
“We have successfully intercepted all eight ship-to-ship missiles, sir.”
“What about our Haesung A missiles?”
“Currently three out of our nine missiles have been intercepted. The remaining six are flying towards their targets. 19 seconds from impact.”
The interception operator checked the radar again from the arms man’s questions and continued his report.
“Four rounds were intercepted in total. The remaining two are 12 seconds away from impact! The enemy is entering into the terminal phase of interception.”
The crew inside the battle station all turned their heads towards the interception operator.
Only three of the Haesung A supersonic missiles survived and reached the terminal phase area of the 4th escorting fleet. Soon the missiles shot up into the sky by using the pop-up maneuver and flew down at frightening speeds.
“A direct hit! A direct hit on the bridge and tail of the Sazanami! A direct hit on starboard of the Samidare!”
The operator’s report of a direct hit did not brighten up Captain Ahn Youn-joon’s face. These missiles were supersonic missiles that could reach speeds of Mach 3.5, but six out of their nine missiles had been intercepted. Captain Ahn Youn-joon directly gave his order to the operator instead of relaying it through the arms man.
“Can we detect the enemy ships with our radars?”
“Yes, sir. We are detecting five destroyers.”
“Then, arms man! We transition into Scithe cannon attacks.”
“Yes, sir, transitioning into the cannon fire.”
The arms man moved towards the operator of the cannon, but turned back and spoke in a dark tone.
“Apologies, captain. We cannot set a proper angle for the cannons due to the surrounding islands along Oki Island.”
“I guess we have no choice. Prepare the avarice missiles! Launch two for each destroyer, and three for the Isei.”
“Understood.”
From the 36 cell K-VLS-IVB (vertical launchpad), seven SSM-1000K avarice missiles (ship-to-ship hypersonic cruise missile) shot up into the sky.
Woosh~! Woosh~! Woosh~! Woosh~!
When the avarice missiles reached a certain altitude, they made a few adjusting maneuvers, then used its powerful plasma thrusters to fly at the speed of Mach 8.
“All seven avarice missiles have been successfully launched! 48 seconds from impact!”
The distance between the targets and the missiles were at 132km, but it only took 50 seconds for the missiles to reach their targets since they flew at Mach 8. Meanwhile, the 4th escorting fleet’s vessels that were not damaged launched 21 rounds of their SM-2 anti-air missiles. Then, the Zumwalt destroyer fleet also launched seven rounds of the SM-7 anti-air missiles.
The avarice missiles flew across at 5m above the ocean surface, and their thrusters created a pillar of water as they flew at Mach 8. A moment later, the 4th escorting fleet’s SM-2 missiles attempted to move towards the avarice missile’s vicinity, but they failed and exploded after slamming into the ocean’s surface. Meanwhile, the seven rounds of SM-7 missiles launched by the Zumwalt destroyers sprayed thousands of shrapnel across the sky to create a net of fire.
As the shrapnel spread across the area the avarice missiles were flying towards, they formed a net-like structure, but only one missile exploded from the impact. The remaining six avarice missiles struck the 4th escorting fleet’s aegis destroyers and the Isei (DDH-182).
The two avarice missiles that took the lead did not use the pop-up maneuver and crashed into the Kirishima’s (DDG-174) portside and front.
The momentum and explosion from the avarice missile had caused the Kirishima’s (DDG-174) entire body to bend to the left like toffee and explode. The explosion was so powerful that the ship’s rear and sides all split, while a firestorm tore through the walls and raged within the vessel.
Woosh~ Bang~ Woosh~
The crew within the vessel were engulfed by the flames and vaporized, and the secondary firestorm had torn the outer walls of the ship and exposed flames. The Kirishima had been torn to three pieces and began to sink slowly into the sea.
The sub-aegis destroyer the Suzuki (DDG-117) was struck on the center of their port side, and the explosion had caused the vessel to bend like a bow before splitting in half. Usually, torpedo attack on the keel would cause vessels to be torn in two, but having a ship-to-ship missile doing so while hitting the side of the ship was rare. This was a testament to how powerful the avarice missile’s momentum and explosive powers were.
Finally, the Isei (DDH-182) had met the same fate as the other two vessels. The Isei had been hit at its portside by missiles repeatedly. Then, an enormous explosion occurred, causing the Isei with a load of 18,000 tons to lean starboard by 40 degrees before returning to its previous position. However, the fate of the Isei was sealed afterward.
The firestorm that had raged within the interior of the ship had caused the numerous gunpowder and explosives to go off as well, and the blast had caused the outer flight deck to be torn also. Between the cracks, heat, and flames that resembled lava began to pour out. The Isei’s island had its walls torn from the blast and flames were dancing around.
Admiral Nagano Damon had flown to the port side of the bridge from the first shockwave and broke four ribs. Then, he was tossed to the other side and hit his head on the console. He covered his head and winced from the severe pain. However, the flames that engulfed the bridge had caused 4th-degree burns on his body, and soon his entire body had turned black like soot.
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