Day 16, Month 2
The long journey to Leifor was nearly complete for the World Union. Even if that wasn't the end of their mission, they were eager to arrive. But for the Japanese, this would be the end of the road. The original mission was still in action: help the World Union break through Gra Valkas defenses at the border and go home. During the weeklong journey up here, Captain Tamuramaro had hashed out a working plan with Mitsugi and the ASDF to make that still a viable excuse: The ASDF would provide air cover while the squadron got close enough to attack the blockading force with Type 90 SSMs, wiping it out. With anti-ship munitions depleted (the ASDF could cover them on the way back) and anti-submarine munitions almost depleted, the Japanese could honestly say it was necessary for them to withdraw.
But things had changed and now they had a new plan.
The Ministry of Defense had priority of Japan's imaging satellites for the time being, and they were keeping a close eye on the Gra Valkas Empire's mainland. They'd noticed a large fleet of ships, almost comparable to the one already faced, passing near Paganda and coming south. Five more aircraft carriers and a possible sixth light carrier were confirmed. There was a high possibility it would get to the border before the much slower World Union, and combined with the fleet already there, it would be another extremely substantial force.
The SDF was suddenly on the back foot again; even if both the ASDF and MSDF used all their available anti-ship missiles, it wouldn't destroy the entire enemy. And after the last time, they were certain the enemy wouldn't back down even after heavy casualties. More munitions wouldn't arrive in time; the SDF had already set aside more than they thought necessary and even airlifting more would take days they didn't have. All they could do was weaken the enemy and hope the rest of the World Union could finish it off. The Japanese would be leaving after this battle, but the way to Leiforia should be clear. It was hard to imagine the enemy could so quickly materialize yet another massive fleet to stop them.
"I hope most of them survive this campaign." Captain Tamuramaro admitted to his XO. Both were in the captain's quarters, eating breakfast and reviewing plans for the day ahead. Outside was still dark; the sun had yet to rise. "I know it's not up to us, but I hope." Nakashima nodded agreement; after traveling with these people for over two weeks, there was an unmistakable sense of comradery.
"The only part of this plan the World Union won't agree to is the waiting part." Nakashima got back to business. Both men were reviewing the new operation Defense Executive Mitsugi had come up with. Captain Tamuramaro's initiative to work with the Milishials during the first skirmish had gone over very well with the Ministry of Defense back in Tokyo. Further military operations against the Gra Valkas Empire were still being planned, but even this early they realized that they'd have to work with other countries. Mu, they were fairly confident about, but the Milishials were so prideful the Japanese were unsure if they'd ever agree to work with them. Things here were a good sign, and it had encouraged the SDF to plan operations including their temporary allies instead of ones only parallel to them.
Being made in the field, the plan was meant to be flexible to meet any unexpected changes. But the general purpose was to keep the two fleets from joining forces. To that end, Japan and the Holy Milishial Empire's ships would all go ahead of the rest of the World Union. Once in range of the small fleet on the border, Japan would engage it from 170km away with SSMs, sinking everything but the battleship (presumed command ship) and a destroyer. The destroyer was left alive for search and rescue, and a single missile wouldn't destroy the battleship most likely; it was better to save it and certainly destroy another destroyer or cruiser later. They expected the battleship to make a suicidal charge like the previous fleet. The Milishials would deal with it. The ASDF would have fighters loitering above the continent in case the enemy caught on early and launched planes at them or just to shoot down whatever fighters were left patrolling after Escort Squadron 6 sunk the carriers. It was also in case land-based aircraft intervened, but that was almost purely the ASDF's concern.
Then they'd wait. That other fleet was likely to arrive today, overnight, or early next morning at the latest. If the World Union went any further north, it'd be out of the ASDF's range. But waiting there, the ASDF would be close enough to fire all 80 anti-ship missiles it had at the enemy, which would dramatically shrink the fleet. Escort Squadron 6 could then fire off its remaining SSMs and hang back providing electronic jamming support while the rest of the World Union finished it off.
If it worked, it would be maximizing the resources the SDF could provide. But the World Union had to agree to play along. But they were confident. Confident about the plan and confident about the day ahead.
Nonetheless, they stayed vigilant. A battlefield was never predictable.
Xand Pastall had doubted the various colonial defense fleets could work together well, but Mirkenses had made it work. Her solution for commanding so many different fleets and their commanders had been simple: cut out many of the redundant commanders. Of the eleven separate fleets, Mirkenses had ordered all but four commanders to stay on land and then formed new units around them.
Given what had happened with Japan, Mirkenses had seen fit to form two different carrier groups: three carriers, two light cruisers, and ten destroyers each. Both were trailing behind the rest of the fleet by 200km, one southwest, and the other another 150km north of it. It wasn't some bold new strategy; carrier groups were typically stationed a good distance away from the surface group. That had been how wars with Kain were fought in their old world. After they'd arrived in the New World, the Imperial Navy had stopped bothering since their enemies were so low tech. A de-evolution of tactics. Working under the assumption they were fighting a comparable enemy, they were doing things the proven old way.
Mirkenses had selected the Hercules-class battleship Ophiuchi as her flagship. It and the rest of the fleet-5 Orion-class battleships, two heavy cruisers, twelve light cruisers, and ninety-four destroyers-were on a direct heading to rendezvous with Commander Andall and the Leifor Defense Fleet. They'd arrive before noon, but their carriers would be in range to support even earlier. Military Headquarters assured her the Imperial Army could remove Japanese planes from the battlefield, but just in case she'd ordered Commander Andall to bring his fleet 500km off the coast. At that distance, land-based aircraft should have a hard time reaching them. The carriers even moreso.
But there was another issue: Guided munitions. During the voyage here, Headquarters had relayed a report from the Intelligence Bureau on "possible" Japanese weapons. The full validity of the information was still being ascertained, but they said it had a high probability of at least being likely. But the report stated that Japan's ships, previously only assumed to have a single light cruiser caliber gun, carried far more advanced weapons: an anti-ship guided weapon with a range of 170km, and anti-air guided weapons that came in a 50km short-range variant and a 120km long-range variant.
Versions of these guided weapons launched from planes were possible too. Caesar's battle report and testimony from the Combined Fleet's survivors suggested that was how Japan destroyed all their carriers with a single strike. But in that, they found a possible solution: the Japanese had only struck ships with radar. They weren't sure how, but the working assumption was that these bombs homed in on radar systems. Radio waves were a possibility too, and the only explanation they could come up with for how they could target planes. Military HQ recommended turning off their radars and radios when going into battle. It'd make things difficult, but not impossible. Furthermore, these weapons weren't powerful enough to sink battleships; the Combined Fleet only lost one and the others had pretty light damage. Lastly, Japan likely only had a small number of each weapon on their ships.
Mirkenses had that information distributed to all of her ships. The new information had created an undeniable air of unease throughout the fleet, a feeling she herself shared. She didn't want to believe it, but it was probably true. A weapon based on radar or radio waves was far more believable than flying battleships, and there was no denying the Combined Fleet had been sunk. They were going into battle no matter the enemy's weapons; it was their duty as Imperial soldiers.
"You think we'll make it, Commander?" A staff officer asked. The sun was peeking above the horizon, outlining the ships surrounding them and making them look like moving shadows. "Do what Caesar couldn't and survive?"
"We'll have to." She reminded him. Mirkenses wasn't going to tolerate defeatism. There was no more shameful way to die than fleeing from battle. "Hopefully, our methods will keep us safe from Japan's long-range weapons." She didn't have to ask to know; the only thing anyone in the whole fleet was worried about was Japan. "Without them, we outgun them massively. A Japanese ship will sink as easily as any other once we get close."
"And if they don't protect us from their long-range weapons?" It wasn't defeatism, it was just a good question. And Mirkenses knew there was only one answer to that, hard as it was to stomach.
"Then we hope they don't have enough to sink the entire fleet. If we end up with only our battleships left, then so be it." She said with conviction. "The Imperial Navy is massive, and Japan is much smaller in comparison. There's no possible way they have enough to overpower the entire Imperial Navy when it comes to defend the Leifor District."
"Then, that's it then." The staff officer remarked. That was really all there was to it. They were at the borders of their Empire. It was victory or death.
It's a magnificent sight. Colonel Erfan thought. The chilly morning air touched his face, but he hardly noticed. The sun was fully illuminating nearly two hundred aircraft either parked on the runway or lined up next to it. Antares fighters, Sirius dive-bombers, and Vega bombers. The full might of the 14th Air Wing was being readied to bring its full force down on a single target. 81 fighters, 66 dive-bombers, and 40 bombers.
"The Japanese are going to wish they'd stayed in the Third Civilization." The operations officer said.
"Oh, certainly." Colonel Erfan agreed. A single Imperial Army air wing was powerful enough to support the invasion of any barbarian country. Against one base? It'd be overkill even against an equal opponent, which Japan might've been.
Neither men were aware of Japan's weapons like the Navy. The Imperial Army was carefully reviewing the intelligence report from Leifor, but they hadn't warned their troops in the region, even the ones about to target Japan. It wasn't viewed as absolutely necessary yet. They were thinking similarly to the Navy: As long as they outnumbered Japan, a few advanced weapons couldn't turn the tide. Besides, the Imperial Army had an advantage the Navy didn't: all they had to do was bomb the airfield, they didn't actually have to win in battle against Japan's fighters. Colonel Erfan and his staff were confident that no matter how fast the enemy's fighters, the dive bombers and bombers would be able to slip past.
The colonel examined his watch. 0729. The 16th Air Wing was launching its attack at 0800. They'd be bombing border posts and the Sonal Kingdom's capital to instill fear and draw any enemy power that way. The 14th Air Wing would be launching at 0830. The Vega had a cruising speed of 380km/h. It would take just over three hours to reach the air base in the Nigrat Union. Assuming Japan took the bait and sent its fighters to the Sonal Kingdom, it'd take them two hours to get there and back to their base at their purported speed, and another 30 minutes to rearm their fighters. They'd only get one sortie to intercept the 14th Air Wing, maybe a second as they descended upon their base. It wouldn't be enough to take out almost 200 planes.
By the end of the day, the Gra Valkas Empire's position in the Second Civilization Area would be secure. As long as the Navy did its job, anyway.
At the airfield in the Nigrat Union, the scene was much like it'd been on the 5th: the E-2C and YS-11EB were taxiing to the runway while the hangers containing the F-15Js were being opened. For the first stage of this operation, they were just launching the F-15Js, each with auxiliary fuel tanks that could allow them to loiter in the northern Nigrat Union while the MSDF engaged the fleet at the border. After that fleet was destroyed, every plane would return and land until either noon or the enemy's other fleet showed up; if it hadn't by noon, the E-2C would launch again and stay on station for 4 hours to keep watch. That was the main cause for stress right now-the AWACS couldn't be up the entire day, but the enemy reinforcements could show up at any point.
Colonel Yuudai sipped his coffee while he looked at the printed satellite photos with his officers. This fleet seemed to have as many destroyers as the last, but nowhere near as many cruisers or capital ships. Curiously, there weren't any supply ships with them either. That was concerning in its own way-by not bringing a means to get home, was the enemy intending to fight to the death here?
Defense Executive Mitsugi came into the command room then, nursing his own cup of coffee. He looked a little rougher from this extended stay overseas than the SDF officials, but otherwise brisk and determined for this important day to get over with. In his left hand were more documents.
"More intelligence?" At the question, he shook his head.
"Ah, no." Mitsugi explained. "Just a follow up on the documents the MSDF collected last week." As the World Union and Milishial fleet headed north, they'd come across the floating wrecks of four Gra Valkan cruisers that bore a resemblance to the IJN's Takao-class heavy cruisers. By the severed ropes and chains, it was assumed the retreating forces had been towing them and abandoned the wrecks to run away faster. The rest of the World Union showed no interest, but Escort Squadron 6 had stopped to send armed boarding parties. The Gra Valkan battleships were too damaged to board even if they stayed miraculously afloat, and there might be some intelligence to scavenge.
The Gra Valkans had been thorough on three of the ships-the MSDF found burn piles and the remnants of many documents and maps. All they found were a few personal journals in the crew quarters, some adorned the pictures of presumed sweethearts. They took them anyway; Japan had no data on the Gra Valkas Empire's written language (only speech seemed magically translated in this world) and anything to start forming a basis would be nice.
But one of the ships was a proverbial jackpot. The bridge had been destroyed, which presumably killed the captain and a lot of the other officers. They found another burn pile, so the surviving officers hadn't been stupid. But none of them had thought to clean up the captain's quarters. The Japanese found bonafide military documents, typed out and stamped with red ink. Flipping through the contents, they found pages with the naval ensigns of various countries, including their own, with paragraphs under them presumably describing capabilities. It was always valuable to know what an enemy thought of you.
The assembled ASDF officers got to work. The Milishials had agreed to the SDF's plan. Their fleet and Escort Squadron 6 had gone ahead and were about 200km from the maritime border. In an hour, they'd be in range to fire SSMs. The F-15Js would be taking off momentarily to be on station in the northern Nigrat Union.
"The enemy fleet moved further out to sea…" Mitsugi murmured. They also didn't have any fighter planes patrolling around it anymore. The Gra Valkans weren't stupid. The ASDF already needed auxiliary fuel tanks to reach that far out. The F-2s wouldn't be able to go much further. If this enemy had checked their arrogance already, then the SDF might have to pull out sooner than expected. The MSDF absolutely could not deploy where air cover was unavailable. The MSDF would be conducting jamming for the duration of the Milishials sinking that final battleship, but they were leaving a single destroyer alive too. If it got out of range of the jamming and alerted the rest of the fleet, they might not sail close enough to be engaged. The enemy might launch planes at them still. Weakening their airpower would be something, at least.
The worries never ceased. As the E-2C and YS-11EB settled into a holding pattern 100km off the coast of the Mu continent, Mitsugi never took his eyes off the display. The enemy reinforcements weren't within 190km of the other fleet. That was good, he thought, they had time.
But as the Japanese had feared, battlefields were unpredictable.
As the minutes to Escort Squadron 6 launching its attack ticked near, one of the Nigrat Union officers burst into the room, quickly running over to his compatriot also in the command room. Having been quiet observers this whole time, it was suddenly alarming to see one looking so panicked.
"Emergency transmission over the manacomms!" He panted. "The Gra Valkans are bombing the Sonal Kingdom with planes! They're requesting reinforcement from the rest of the World Union. Please!"
"What?!" Mitsugi exclaimed. Colonel Yuudai quickly scanned the radar feed.
"There's only two air bases on the border. One of them is on our scope, but there's no planes in the air around it. The enemy stopped all patrols last night…" He suddenly knew what was going on. "Rearm the F-2 squadron for air-to-air interception!" He ordered.
If it wasn't that airbase attacking the Sonal Kingdom, it had to be the other. Mitsugi knew it was northwest of the Sonal Kingdom's capital. A little over 2000km away from this airbase.
"Can the F-15Js redeploy?" He asked. They had only just reached the designated point and had external fuel tanks, so there was a good chance.
"They can." Colonel Yuudai confirmed.
"Then do it!" Defense Executive Mitsugi commanded. If the Gra Valkas Empire intimidated other nations into either surrendering or staying neutral, it would make things harder down the line. The SDF, as much as it could, had to show it could protect other nations willing to work with them.
The order was given. The F-15Js were sent on a new heading and the AWACS and EI planes were ordered to reposition themselves above the continent to give better coverage of the western half of the Sonal Kingdom. Mitsugi radioed the MSDF and explained the situation, telling them to carry out their attack and then pull back as already instructed until the ASDF regained control of the situation.
Colonel Yuudai's premonition ended up being correct. Less than 15 minutes later, the E-2C picked up air contacts above the Gra Valkas airbase far to the north. One by one, planes were taking off and forming up in a formation that circled the base. Once the F-2 squadron was airborne, they were going to head north directly and intercept it. By the time the formation of nearly 200 enemy aircraft finally broke out of its holding pattern and headed south, the F-2s had taken off and were speeding north.
Colonel Erfan's math had had a fatal flaw in it: assuming that 1000km/h was the top speed of Japanese aircraft. That was not the top speed of Japan's aircraft. At high altitude, both the F-15J and F-2A could reach speeds of over 2000km/h. Of course, weapon and fuel tanks weighed them down somewhat, but even with that added weight they could still travel far faster than the Gra Valkas Imperial Army expected.
The F-15Js received a drip feed of information as they flew northeast, roaring through the sky and alarming Sonal citizens on the ground.
"Numerous towns along the border have been bombed."
"The Sonal Kingdom reports that all the wyverns it kept in its homeland for defense have been shot down."
"There's still a formation heading for the capital. Believed to be bombers."
"World Union wyverns have taken off in the Nigrat Union and are heading for the Sonal Kingdom."
The skies were clear of friendly forces, and they had full permission to engage with Beyond Visual Range weapons. The 48 medium ranged AAM-4s mounted under each fighter were armed and ready. The enemy had executed their countrymen, and now they were bombing civilian population centers. They'd do the same to Japanese cities if given the chance. It couldn't come to that. It wouldn't come to that.
In the skies above the Sonal Kingdom, Antares pilot Martin was watching the ground below, glad to finally be taking the fight to their enemy. The officers had constantly kept the pilots on a short leash, telling them that the Imperial Army was going to invade Mu first and that the Sonal Kingdom would probably surrender without need for an invasion. But after two years of being there, they finally had an excuse to fight.
Martin's squadron was part of the 63 Antares fighters escorting 44 Vega bombers to the capital of the Sonal Kingdom to bomb it to dust. The other fighters in the wing had cleared the skies of what little remained after the enemy sent its forces to battle the Navy down south and the dive-bombers had already strafed the border guards and towns to hell. But for the capital? That deserved the full might of the Imperial Army's twin-engine bombers.
He turned his attention back to the sky around him. They'd been warned Japanese fighters might appear to intercept them, fighters that boasted an absurd performance. None of them really believed anything could be superior to the Antares though. Maybe a close equal, but all of them were battle-hardened pilots. Just like the Navy, the Imperial Army had pulled back a lot of veteran air wings right before transfer. Not one man in the sky right now was green. That would give them an edge against an equal fighter. Martin was confident. All of them were confident.
Then everything went to hell.
Martin's flight leader was ahead of him on his right, constantly in his peripheral vision. Martin saw his plane explode out of the corner of his eye and experience caused him to pull up and out of the way before he even fully realized what he'd seen. Once the risk of collision was avoided, he jerked his head to get a proper look at the flaming wreck. But it wasn't just his flight leader's plane- many other Antares fighters were flying out of the sky in flames. When Martin turned his head to look the other way, a handful of Vegas were falling from the sky too. It had to be at least three dozen planes, maybe more. The radio roared with confused voices.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Incoming!"
"Incoming what?!"
"The squadron leader is down." Martin recognized that voice from a comrade in another flight; his flight leader and squadron leader were down.
"Attack! Attack! Attack!" Someone sent out the unnecessary warning. It was obvious they were under attack. But from who? Where? Martin looked around frantically for foreign looking planes and saw nothing. And for another three minutes, he couldn't find anything.
"To the right! Planes!" Someone called. Martin immediately pulled his Antares to the right, ready to face down a potential attacker. But he'd barely got on his new heading when several things zoomed past at a baffling speed and with a sound he'd never heard before. He hadn't even got a good look. As he brought his plane around once again, he saw two more bombers falling from the sky, having been strafed with what looked like cannon fire.
A majority of the Antares fighters broke off to try and chase them, Martin among them, while others stayed with the surviving bombers. He could only barely see them, climbing into the sky and to the left. The blips stopped going left and started growing in size; they were heading right for the Gra Valkan fighters from a high angle.
"Shit." Martin muttered at his disadvantageous position. The distance was closing unbelievably fast too. How fast were these planes? Were these the Japanese they'd been warned about?! He only counted twelve. At the last second, the enemy planes dodged past the Antares formation with blistering speed. Growing in frustration, Martin brought his Antares around for a third time, just in time to witness the enemy fighters strafe the bomber formation again. Martin thought he saw streaks of smoke from some of the enemy fighters, but he couldn't be sure. Even more bombers and two escorting Antares started falling from the sky.
"Red roundel on the wings! These are Japanese fighters!" Martin hadn't seen it, but someone apparently did. He couldn't even fathom how fast they were going. They were outrunning the escorts and attacking the bombers with impunity. What the hell was the Imperial Army meant to fight something like this?! The enemy planes weren't only fast but maneuverable too. Before the intercepting Antareses had even passed the bomber formation again, the Japanese planes had turned around and were now attacking from behind. This time, Martin saw something launch from the plane and hit a Vega before it exploded.
An unguided rocket? How are they so good at aiming when they fly so fast? Martin wondered. These Japanese pilots must be highly skilled themselves.
Using their absurd speed and turning, the Japanese squadron strafed the bomber formation two more times before turning southwest and speeding away. Some pilots gave chase, but Martin wasn't one of them; he knew better.
Miraculously, more than 30 of the Antares pilots survived. Faced with the hard choice of having more enemies than ammunition, the Japanese had focused on taking out as many bombers as they could, leaving only two alive and most of their escorts with them. The 16th Air Wing successfully carried out a bombing raid on the Sonal Kingdom's capital, although the damage was very minimal. They were lucky for today; the Japanese had other things to worry about.
At nearly the same time the F-15Js were intercepting the bombers above the Sonal Kingdom, the F-2A squadron was nearing the interception point with the 14th Air Wing. This formation hadn't bombed the Sonal Kingdom-it had flown right over it and into the Nigrat Union's northern airspace. The heading pointed to only one viable target: the SDF's base. There were nearly 200 contacts. The JGSDF only had nine HAWK missile launchers, each carrying three anti-air missiles. If the ASDF weakened the formation enough, then they should be enough. But it relied on quickly rearming the F-15Js when they returned and making sure every missile hit a target. It started with the support fighters.
Most of the Gra Valkan fighters were at the head of the formation, with two groups of nine hanging back to stay with the dive-bomber and bomber formations. Those forward fighters took the entirety of the AAM-4 salvo, knocking their numbers from 63 down 23 in seemingly an instant. Disorganized and frantic, they were unprepared for when the 10 F-2As dived under and came up behind the formation, tearing it apart with short ranged heat-seeking missiles and guns.
The frantic radio communications brought the 9 Antares fighters escorting the dive-bombers racing ahead to provide aid. By then, only a few of the F-2As had any cannon ammo left but the entire forward group had been wiped out. The two sides tussled for a bit and only a few of the reinforcing Antares were shot down because the Japanese raced back south.
By this point, the 14th Air wing was out of range to radio their home airfield, so it was up to them to decide whether to keep going or go back risking insubordination charges. Ultimately, they continued on. Figuring those had been Japan's only fighters, they didn't think the enemy would be able to launch another interception mission before they reached the base. The F-15Js and F-2As were racing back to base to prove them wrong.
At the same time the intense air battle above the continent was raging, Escort Squadron 6 had finally gotten within 170km of the Gra Valkas fleet on the border. The enemy didn't know it right now, but they were locked onto by a weapon system years ahead of their comprehension.
"Confirm with the Milishial commander that they're ready." Captain Tamuramaro asked Lieutenant Degarmo. The Japanese wanted to get this over with quickly and fall back; with the ASDF tied up, getting into contact with a large fleet would be dangerous. It would still take roughly four hours for the Milishial fleet to close in and finish off the final battleship. The ASDF should have regained control of the situation by then. But if the enemy showed up before then… But sitting around doing nothing wasn't an option, so here they were.
"They're ready." The Mu liaison confirmed. Captain Tamuramaro took a deep breath. All four destroyers checked again to make sure they were targeting exactly what they intended. "Fire." He gave the order. From behind the behemoth battleships of the Holy Milishial Empire, Escort squadron 6 launched 18 Type 90 SSMs. The Milishial sailors watched in amazement as smoke enveloped most of the Japanese ships before multiple things launched into the sky at immense speed, quickly disappearing into the horizon.
In spite of everything-the destruction of the Combined Fleet, the death of Caesar, and the encroaching hundreds of barbarian ships-Leifor Defense Fleet commander Andall stayed confident. When he'd been chosen to form the new Leifor Defense Fleet, he'd handpicked virtually every ship and crew from the home fleet, taking only the best. He fully believed that with men like that under his command, he couldn't lose. Mirkenses and a huge portion of the home fleet would be reinforcing him soon. Once they did, the World Union wouldn't have a chance of getting past them.
He was also eager for her to show up so they could stop these hiding games. Andall didn't buy a word of this talk of guided munitions. Sci-fi weapons like that couldn't exist. And even if they did, the country that had them would be a hegemonic superpower. Japan was bluffing to cover its weaknesses. But Mirkenses had ordered it, so here they were, radars and radios powered down, scanning the horizon with just their eyes. They were only allowed to turn the radios back on at hourly intervals to send a brief report and then shut them right back down. It was embarrassing. The Gra Valkas Empire had the most advanced technology in this world, and they weren't even using it over some ghost story.
Then a lookout shouted. "Southeast! Something-" Andall had turned and was already lifting his binoculars when the sound of an explosion interrupted the action. To his left-which was the southeast-a light cruiser was suddenly engulfed in flames. He tried to raise his binoculars again, but another explosion interrupted him again. Andall didn't try again. He just watched in horror as one after another, the ships in his detachment were engulfed in explosions. But he saw things hit his ships right before the explosions. Bombs that were hitting his ships without fail.
"Guided munitions are real?!" He couldn't believe it, even though it was right in front of his eyes. His ships, including the fleet's two aircraft carriers Ryusei and Dollago, were being hit one after another in rapid succession without fail. It was too brutal and quick for any type of naval warfare. When it was over, all that remained was a single destroyer and Andall's flagship, the Hercules-class battleship Marzelan.
"Grr…" The fleet commander ground out, aghast. The detachment had taken so many losses it was virtually useless now. But the attack was over. Apparently, they couldn't sink battleships just like the intelligence claimed, which was good for him, but the rest of the ships… "Turn the radar and radios back on!" He ordered. "Contact Mirkenses and tell her what happened! And try and find the Japanese ships!" Gra Valkas air radar could see out to 200km. Its surface radar could only see a quarter of that distance, since it wasn't advanced enough to see over the horizon (Japan's surface radars achieved this by "bouncing" the radar waves off the atmosphere to see beyond the horizon). It wouldn't have mattered anyway.
"Both radars are down!" Their operators cried.
"Radios are giving nothing but static. We can't even contact the other destroyer!" The news from the communication section of the bridge was the same. They'd turned off their radar and radios to avoid Japan's guided weapons, but it had failed. Now they could even use their radar and radios despite wanting too. The Leifor Defense Fleet detachment was stuck here, alone.
In an optimal situation, planes that completed a sortie could land and be immediately powered down for maintenance, and the pilot could be debriefed and sent for rest to prepare for their next mission. But Japan was not in an optimal position. An enemy was bearing down on them, and they had to be defeated before they inflicted casualties.
In aerial warfare, refueling and rearming a plane while its engine was running was called doing it "hot". It was possible, just more hectic. But the Japanese didn't have a choice. The F-15Js were rearmed like that while all the F-2As landed and all but 4 taxied back to their hangers; there weren't enough fuel trucks to do the same for them, but those 4 would be rearmed and refueled as soon as the F-15Js were off. After that, the GSDF should have it under control.
The second interception was only 300km north of the air base; less than an hour flight time for the attacking bombers. The formation of Sirius dive-bombers took the brunt of this attack. Of the 66, only less than 20 survived the swarm of AAM-4 missiles that took out their last few fighter escorts. The nine 9 fighters left in the entire 14th Air Wing broke off from the bombers and raced ahead to support them as the F-15Js closed it to dogfighting distance. It didn't help. Soon, the skies were clear except for the 40 Vega twin-engine bombers.
At this point, all of the bomber crews were on the verge of total panic. But they pressed on anyway. They knew if they turned around, the enemy planes would likely rearm and chase them down before they got back to base. The only hope they had of living through this day involved completing their mission and rendering the air base unable to launch more planes. They pressed on, swearing, sweating, and praying. When the four F-2As arrived and reduced their formation to only 13 planes, they saw it as a blessing and a curse. The enemy must be running out of steam to keep intercepting them. They could still make it. They were only about 50km away judging by their maps.
50km was the max range at which a HAWK surface-to-air missile could engage aircraft. Each battery consisted of a command vehicle, three types of radar to track and illuminate targets, and three launchers equipped with three missiles each. Trucks carrying more missiles for quick reloads were parked nearby. As the bomber formation came into range, they were quickly acquired by the ground-based radars. The fire control was quickly calculated and fed to the launchers. One by one, each launcher fired off one missile. Each trailed a path across the sky until they made contact with a bomber, bringing it down. Not long after, the second and third batteries tracked and fired on the incoming information. Before they reached the SDF base, the last 13 bombers were shot down with the meticulous efficiency of modern war.
The SDF confirmed the skies were clear except for the World Union's wyverns still flying to the Sonal Kingdom. All the planes were finally powered down for proper maintenance and debrief. Missiles were unloaded from the trucks and the anti-air batteries were rearmed. The E-2C and YS-11EB were recalled to land and refuel.
The SDF would reorganize and get back to the naval battle.
"The Gra Valkan battleship still hasn't moved." A magical technician reported. The Gra Valkan battleship was only returning a faint signature on their magic radar, but still enough to be tracked 150km away. "Small shi-err 'destroyer' is still circling the general area." After the Japanese had warned them about the type of Gra Valkas ship that carried torpedoes, Lettal Kauran had made sure every crew across the Combined Fleet knew the importance of correctly tracking them.
As they closed the still more than 100km gap between them and the last battleship, the Milishial fleet commander was only paying half a mind to it. He was thinking about how he was going to phrase his report when he sent it back to Runepolis. Magic-electric radar, underwater bombs, and now guided light munitions…Japan is full of surprises. He'd thought he'd captured the unusualness of Japan fairly well in his first report. Then he saw them use guided weapons to strike the Gra Valkas ships from more than 150km away, something the Holy Milishial Empire had been trying to reverse engineer for a long time. They'd given non-committal answers when he asked if they had an anti-air version, which in his short experience talking with them meant they probably did.
Japan's destroyers (although they still were big enough to be cruisers in his eyes) were powerful. A handful could take down any one of the three fleets that made up Lettal Kauran's combined fleet. If all 50 or so warships Japan possessed were pitted against the more than 250 of the Milishial Navy…His country might still win, but not without tremendous casualties, since apparently their version of light guided munitions couldn't destroy battleships. That was the first instance Lettal Kauran saw their science-based weapons be weaker than magic based ones. He supposed they didn't even have battleships in their old world; why build an expensive battleship that can only hit things 36km out when you could build several smaller ships and use a weapon with a range 5 times that?
He mused again how different warfare was going to be because of Japan and the Gra Valkas Empire's influence.
"Sir!" A magical technician addressed Captain Tagus, and the urgency snatched Lettal Kauran's attention too.
"The magic sensors are picking new signals west of the enemy. A LOT of signals."
"Radar contacts! Heading 278-290. Altitude 2,000 meters. Speed: 500km/h." Escort Squadron 6 was picking them up too. On the bridge of the Kirishima, Tamuramaro and Nakshima watched the screens with stiff postures and a cold sensation creeping down their backs.
At this critical moment, when the ASDF needed time to reorganize and the MSDF was on its own, the enemy was launching an air attack. But that wasn't what hit them the hardest.
"Estimated 300 units."