Chapter 736: A Battle (5)
Admiral Viktor Jun of the Navy contacted Youngho to report that he would expand the Kazahkh Indian Ocean Fleet’s operational scope to the Strait of Malacca.
It was because the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet was staging a show of force near the Strait of Malacca.
It was an opportunity to catch the Chinese Navy, which had been avoiding confrontation with the Kazakh Navy.
-Your Grace. We need to get an advantageous position in the beginning. The Chinese Navy is in low spirits now. Otherwise, the opportunity will be wasted soon.
“I’m a little hesitant because it’s a risky operation. We can’t ignore the fighter jets on the Chinese fleet.”
-The Chinese Navy is no match for us. We can defeat it with fleet-to-air missiles.
“Okay, I’ll allow it if you promise not to get too close to them trusting the laser guns too much. If you judge the situation is not easy, just retreat.”
-Your Grace, we’ve been training practically as if we were in a real battle. We are confident that we will mobilize all available firepower to make sure that the Chinese military will never look down on us again.
“Alright. I’ll fully trust you on your judgments in the battle. I hope there’s no damage to our Navy.”
-Thank you. Your Highness, I’ll bring you good news soon.
“And ask for cooperation from Indian and the U.S. Navy.”
-Yes, sir. I’ll notify the Indian and the U.S. Navy in advance.
The Kazakh military small aircraft fleet included ten vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts, seven attack helicopters, and two large helicopters for troop transport.
That alone was not enough to deal with the Chinese carrier.
Liaoning-class aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of 55,000 tons could be equipped with 46 fighter jets, 4 alarms, and 18 helicopters.
Of course, it was based on the case that it was loaded fully, but anyway, it carried more aircrafts than the Kazakh Navy’s carrier.
That was why Youngho requested to cooperate with the U.S. Navy as insurance.
Naval officers of the Indian Ocean Fleet, under Admiral Jun, were determined to take this opportunity to beat China since the Chinese Navy had been trying to avoid provocations.
As Kazakhstan was already in a battle with China, it was better to attack Chinese troops first upon encounter.
No country had dared to raise its voice against China or engage in direct military action so far, no matter what kind of absurdity the Chinese government had committed.
In the Cold War era, the Soviet Union exercised its ability on the border, and in the 21st century, Kazakhstan was the only country that was directly against China.
Except for the trade war, the U.S. was also refraining from substantial armed clashes.
It was to avoid it getting expanded to world war, but the two countries were avoiding it because they had too much to protect.
Kazakhstan was breaking such unwritten rules.
It was not because It was fearless but because it could not stand it anymore.
When the Chinese naval power was suffering like now, it was Kazakhstan’s best chance to suppress China.
Since the Chinese Navy suffered massive damage in the previous explosion at sea, China would not dare to expand the battle to the border as it would be also burdensome for China to have an all-out war.
***
In the 200-kilometer high-sea waters east of Malacca, warships belonging to Kazakhstan’s Indian Ocean Fleet were sailing in two groups five kilometers away from each other.
They were moving at full speed on each side.
With the recent addition of three Aegis destroyers, the power of the Kazakh Indian Ocean Fleet had been doubled as well as its defense.
The Kazakh Navy had been in a combat deployment since an hour ago when it found that the Chinese carrier fleet was 80 kilometers ahead.
At this distance, the Chinese fleet would have already noticed the Kazakh Navy’s presence.
Currently, the Chinese fleet was receiving oil and food materials from its own supply ships. As the warships would be defenseless, the Kazakh Navy wanted to attack them at this moment.
Admiral Jun was planning a major operation to destroy the aircraft carrier fleet by pouring out all available firepower at once.
Such a massive attack on the border would lead to an all-out war, but the battle in the Indian Ocean was not too burdensome.
The combined fleet of Indian and U.S. naval forces was right behind it, making it hard to tell whether the Kazakh Navy was the one that attacked or the Indian or U.S. navies attacked the Chinese warships.
There were a total of 12 large and small targets on the radar.
Big targets would be aircraft carriers and small targets would be air defense destroyers and frigates that were escorting the aircraft carriers.
And although invisible, China’s nuclear and diesel-powered submarine might also be roaming somewhere nearby.
Taking care of the submarine would be up to the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy.
Once the submarine launched a missile, it would have to suffer from a torpedo attack by a destroyer because its location would be revealed at the moment.
As the launch order was issued from the command ship, which allocated each target, the Kazakh warships made a loud noise in unison as missiles went up to the sky at once.
Dozens of missiles flying toward the Chinese aircraft fleet beyond the horizon were simply spectacular, and two more rounds of missiles were fired in unison.
Enemies were also prepared for the existence of a close-range defense system.
If they were lucky, they would survive.
The Kazakh warships, which launched three attacks, left the scene without delay.
The rest was for the Indian and U.S. navies to check.
This was because if they dallied around in the field, they would be exposed to attack by the Chinese submarine.
Even though he was curious whether the attack was successful, Admiral Jun did not look back and ordered the entire fleet to sail away at full speed.
China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier was not expected to be neutralized by this level of attack.
If the flight deck was not damaged, the Chinese Navy would fly fighter jets.
No matter how great the Kazakh warships’ defense system was, the attack power of fighter jets was not to be underestimated as they could damage the Kazakh vessels.
Such concerns turned out to be a reality.
Several ship-to-ship missiles fired from China’s aircraft carrier fleet flew in.
When the Kazakh Navy fired a counter-missile and entered an evasive maneuver, this time, a China’s fighter jet approached.
It would have been a fighter jet that left the aircraft carrier for routine guard duty before the missile launch.
A fleet-to-air missile was fired at the jet. It would not even be able to come near the fleet as it would be stuck in the water soon.
Given a series of circumstances, it might mean that the missile attack on the Chinese carrier fleet failed to have a major blow.
However, Admiral Jun was not too disappointed.
There was no way that all 80 missiles fired could have failed.
***
News of the destruction of the Chinese carrier fleet hit the globe.
The Liaoning fleet, a member of China’s South Sea Fleet, was unable to sail except for an aircraft carrier and two air defense destroyers.
Even though the aircraft carrier and the air defense destroyer survived, it was not that they remained intact.
The aircraft carrier was directly hit by missiles on the flight deck and side, while the air defense destroyer was also hit on the rear side and the middle deck.
Fortunately, only the steering and engine rooms were fine.
The attack on the carrier fleet was not a failure as Admiral Jun was worried about, but it was a success.
The Chinese aircraft carrier fleet sent to bring their captured destroyers back from the Indian Navy had to be towed back to China without even making any significant attacks.
In this naval battle, the Chinese Navy was regarded as a small force as it lost horribly in this battle.
Even though it was a sudden attack, it was true that the Chinese Navy was not prepared for such a situation.
The Lanzhou-class warship, which boasted of being the latest Aegis destroyer, was proven to be just a warship not equal to an Aegis destroyer.
From this incident, it was later revealed that some Southeast Asian countries that tried to purchase Chinese air defense destroyers had come to withdraw their contracts.
Admiral Jun and other captains below him each received a congratulatory phone call from the Duke of Kazakhstan in a row and were flattered.
“Chief Commander, the Duke must be very excited. He’s congratulating us one by one.”
“No wonder. He has put so much affection for the Royal Navy and it defeated China. It’s also not burdensome to have a battle at sea rather than on land.”
Youngho was so happy to hear that his strategy to confront China at sea worked.
This was because China, whose pride had been hurt, would be obsessed with winning at sea in the future to avenge the defeat of the carrier fleet.
Also, maritime battles had little possibility of escalating into a war as it only took place in international waters. There was no need to worry about expansion.
“Then it’s no exaggeration to say that this dispute will be won at sea.”
“You got it right. I’m sorry to say this to you, but keep in mind that our navy must be the main force of the war if the mainland’s borders are to be quiet.”
Admiral Jun, who was well aware of the concerns of the Duke, expressed his intention to continue the operation even if there was a sacrifice.
“I’m glad we’re the main players of the war. It will hurt our pride if we don’t get to use our great naval power. The soldiers’ morale is very high in this battle, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
The Kazakh Navy’s morale was skyrocketing at the moment.
“Remember that the Chinese warships we will meet in the future are different from what we have seen so far. They know that preemptive strikes are a shortcut to victory. Don’t let your guard down for a moment.”
“Don’t worry, sir. We are confident that we will find them before they find us.”
What Admiral Jun was concerned about was that unlike the Kazakh Navy, the Chinese Navy operated an early warning aircraft.
Of course, the Kazakh Aegis destroyers had a three-dimensional phased array radar, capable of tracking hundreds of targets at the same time, but the early warning aircraft could monitor a wider range, which could affect oceanic battle’s success to a degree.
“Okay. From now on, we’ll reorganize the unit into three fleets. Two Aegis destroyers and three frigates will be assigned to a fleet, and only one Aegis destroyer and two frigates will follow the command ship. Sink every Chinese vessel. The Duke said he would be held responsible with every action.”