Blackmail

78 ARABIAN SEA

Captain Sites watched in dismay as the blue icons representing the MH-60Rs vanished from his display. The attack was sudden, with the approaching Russian jets lost in the sea clutter as they kept close to the ocean waves. As the Russian fighters turned outbound, chased by eighteen F/A-18s, Sites listened to the speaker as the ASW Commander dealt with the carnage. Almost every airborne MH-60R had been shot down, with only a half-dozen lucky survivors having successfully jammed the incoming missiles. The only other MH-60Rs available were those refueling or rearming aboard the aircraft carriers and destroyers; not enough to cover each sector in the Bravo tier.

With his crew at Combat Stations, Captain First Rank Dmitri Pavlov stood in the Central Command Post of his guided missile submarine, surveying his men at their watch stations. Their orders and reports remained calm and professional, although they’d been unable to suppress the surge of pride and excitement when they sent the American fast attack submarine opposing them to the bottom less than thirty minutes ago.

As Pavlov’s submarine crept into the next tier of America’s ASW barrier, they’d been detected again, this time by ASW aircraft. Hydroacoustic reported rotary wing contacts headed their way — the helicopter rotor wash on the ocean surface was detectable as they approached. But then, suddenly, the contacts disappeared, accompanied by nearby splashes. Pavlov smiled. Vilyuchinsk was safe, at least for the time being.

Vilyuchinsk was at one hundred meters, proceeding at ten knots toward the third tier of the American task force’s ASW screen. Unlike Russian attack submarines, Vilyuchinsk didn’t need to penetrate the screen; his weapons had a far greater range than torpedoes. However, he’d need to get close enough to the American surface combatants to eliminate their ability to react, which would place his submarine dangerously close. Additionally, he wouldn’t have the advantage of surprise he’d had several weeks ago, when he’d attacked the Roosevelt carrier strike group and damaged its aircraft carrier.

Pavlov had returned to port following the successful mission, for which ship and individual awards would be forthcoming. In the meantime, Vilyuchinsk had reloaded all twenty-four silos with replacement P-700 Granit missiles and was back at sea, ready to add to its recent glory. After checking the two fire control consoles, displaying the positions of the American ships they were approaching, Pavlov decided they were close enough.

He announced, “All stations, Command Post. Proceeding to periscope depth.”

Vilyuchinsk tilted upward, rising toward the ocean’s surface as Pavlov kept his face pressed to the attack periscope. Despite the crowded Central Command Post, it was quiet as the submarine rose from the deep toward periscope depth. Pavlov couldn’t keep the periscope raised for long; Vilyuchinsk was close to the American destroyers and cruisers, and their periscope detection radars would identify a scope if it remained up for too long.

Pavlov announced, “Periscope clear,” as Vilyuchinsk settled out at periscope depth at a speed of five knots to minimize the wake created by their periscope. After several sweeps to verify there were no combatants close enough to pose an immediate threat, Pavlov searched the horizon for his targets, pressing the red button on the periscope handle twice, sending the bearings to fire control.

Pavlov lowered the scope, announcing, “No close contacts.”

Close was a relative term, as the American surface combatants were a few thousand meters to the southeast. In the distance, Pavlov had detected two gray specks on the horizon. Two of the American aircraft carriers. The other two carriers were farther back, undetectable visually at this range. However, two targets would suffice.

Pavlov checked the bearing to the two aircraft carriers, then announced, “Prepare to fire, full missile salvo, twelve missiles to each contact. Set arming range at ten thousand meters.” Pavlov needed to ensure the Granit missiles enabled after they passed over the American cruisers and destroyers, not before.

The Missile Officer acknowledged and prepared to launch Vilyuchinsk’s surface attack missiles, each one armed with a warhead weighing almost one ton. It wouldn’t take many hits to seriously damage the American aircraft carriers.

“All missiles are energized,” reported a watchstander seated at one of the fire control consoles. A moment later, he added, “All missiles have accepted target bearing.”

“Open all missile hatches,” Pavlov ordered.

The hatches lining the submarine’s port and starboard sides retracted.

The Missile Officer reported, “All missile hatches are open. Ready to fire, full missile salvo.”

Pavlov surveyed the tactical situation and the readiness of his submarine one final time, then gave the order.

“Fire.”

Red icons appeared on Captain Sites’s display, almost on top of the task force’s cruiser and destroyer screen. As the red icons moved swiftly toward the center of the American task force, he realized there was insufficient time for the cruisers and destroyers to target and launch their SM-2 missiles and destroy the inbound weapons before they reached Truman. As the icons moved across the screen, they split into two groups, twelve missiles targeting Reagan and twelve heading toward Truman. Sites turned to his Tactical Action Officer.

“Shift SSDS to auto.”

The TAO acknowledged, then shifted Truman’s SSDS — Ship Self Defense System — to automatic. The SSDS would assign contacts to their Sea Sparrow and Rolling Airframe missiles, then target any leakers with their CIWS Gatling guns. It was out of Sites’s hands. All he could do was watch.

The TAO called out, “Inbound missiles. Brace for impact!”

Sites reached up and grabbed on to an I-beam, watching as the SSDS automatically targeted the inbound missiles. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Sea Sparrow and Rolling Airframe missiles were launched in succession, taking out six of the inbound missiles, and the CIWS system engaged next, taking out three more.

Three missiles made it through and Sites felt the ship shudder when the missiles hit. On the damage control status board, red symbols on the carrier’s port side marked each missile impact and damage radius. Thankfully, the Hangar Deck hadn’t been penetrated, nor was the carrier’s Island superstructure damaged. Fires raged in three compartments, but Truman had survived the missile onslaught relatively unscathed.

Reagan, however, didn’t fare as well. One of the screens on the Video Wall switched to a real-time feed from one of the F/A-18 tankers refueling the task force’s combat air patrol. In the darkness, flames leapt skyward from USS Ronald Reagan, illuminating the water’s surface an orange hue.

It wasn’t long before the TAO announced, “Reagan has terminated flight ops.”

Sites wasn’t surprised. Reagan’s crew would have their hands full for a while, battling to get the fires under control. In the meantime, things would get busier aboard Truman and the other two carriers, with Reagan’s aircraft aloft looking for a new home.

Sites returned his attention to the Common Operational Picture on his display, fusing all sensor data. More red U-shaped icons, representing Russian submarines, had appeared in the Bravo ASW tier. If they were guided missile submarines, the remaining MH-60Rs would arrive too late to prevent them from launching. The situation was deteriorating rapidly.

The ASW Commander reached the same conclusion, and Sites listened to his orders over the speaker as he called in the cavalry.