Vengeance

55 K-328 LEOPARD

Captain Second Rank Maksim Sidorov, seated in the Captain’s chair in the submarine’s Central Command Post, listened intently to Hydroacoustic’s report.

“Command Post, Hydroacoustic. Hold a new contact on the towed array, a sixty-point-two Hertz tonal, designated Hydroacoustic two-five, ambiguous bearings one-one-zero and two-five-zero. Sixty-point-two Hertz frequency correlates to American nuclear-powered submarine.”

Interesting, Sidorov thought.

The commanding officer of Leopard, a second flight Akula nuclear attack submarine, and his crew had waited patiently at their assigned station just west of the minefield stretching across the Strait of Hormuz. The explosive barrier had done its job thus far, preventing additional American warships from entering the Persian Gulf to assist the Theodore Roosevelt strike group, helping to ensure that the preeminent symbol of U.S. naval power — the potent aircraft carrier — did not escape its doomed fate.

Sidorov’s assignment was less glamorous than that of the other four Russian submarines hunting the aircraft carrier. Leopard’s task was to assist in keeping the minefield in place, sinking mine-clearing ships that attempted to clear the obstacles. What he hadn’t expected was the arrival of the lone American submarine in the gulf. Why was it headed toward the strait instead of protecting the aircraft carrier?

The next report Sidorov received was even more perplexing. “Command Post, Hydroacoustic. Contact tonals correlate to American ballistic missile submarine, Ohio class.”

The report confused Sidorov. What was a ballistic missile submarine doing in the Persian Gulf? They normally prowled the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, far away from the busy shipping lanes, hiding during their months-long patrols. Then he realized the new contact wasn’t a ballistic missile submarine at all. It was one of America’s four guided missile submarines — Ohio-class submarines converted to carry Tomahawk missiles and a SEAL detachment.

During the recent engagement with the Theodore Roosevelt strike group, two submarine escorts had been detected. The lead submarine had been sunk, but the second had faded from the sensor screens as it accompanied the evading aircraft carrier. That submarine had now been located, approaching the strait for some reason. The American submarine’s mission was unclear, but its fate was not.

“Man Combat Stations silently,” he ordered.

The two Command Post Messengers sped through the submarine, and three minutes later, Leopard’s Central Command Post was fully manned.

“This is the Captain,” Sidorov announced, capturing the attention of the Command Post watchstanders. “I have the Conn and Captain Lieutenant Yegorov retains the Watch. The target of interest is Hydroacoustic two-five, an American guided missile submarine. Track Hydroacoustic two-five.”

As his crew set to their initial task — determining their target’s course, speed, and range — Sidorov knew he had the advantage over his adversary, even if Leopard had been detected.

The contact had been gained on the towed array, but even though two ambiguous bearings had been reported, Sidorov already knew which one was the true one and which one was false. With the minefield barrier on Leopard’s starboard side, the approaching American submarine was clearly to port, bearing two-five-zero. No maneuver would be required to resolve the bearing ambiguity.

Additionally, Sidorov’s crew already had a rough target course to work with, since the Persian Gulf slanted northeast as it met the Strait of Hormuz. It would not take long to lock down a firing solution for the approaching American submarine. A single maneuver should provide Leopard’s fire control algorithms with the information necessary.

Sidorov ordered, “Steersman. Ahead standard. Left full rudder, steady course one-nine-zero.”