TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
calm your self Shah, This is fiction. Fiction is fiction.
Once Upon a Maritime in the Western Pacific by Jeff Head
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
It's a fictional novel, Shahryar...written in a nation that enjoys freedom of the press.
state of Iran , china or othersClearly it is not about me wanting "more war, more dead humans, or Armageddon." Any such assertion is ridiculous and patently false on its face, and will not be tolerated here.
If you do not like the book, or the comments about it...simply do not read it.
I am posting it here on SD as a courtesy to numerous members on SD who have asked about my future writings, who have read and enjoyed them in the past...and also to make available to SD members a free ebook version of it.
If you do not like the genre, or feel that the writing is something you are against...simply do not read it.
As to your request that I stop...respectfully, and for the reasons I have posted, no.
ShahryarHedayat, you must stop making baseless, personal accusations, attacks and liable comments.
This forum does not allow such. If you have an issue with someone personally...PM or email them. Do not bring such things to the forum.
You are being warned. Any more such behavior will lead to suspensions.
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION
This forum does not allow such. If you have an issue with someone personally...PM or email them. Do not bring such things to the forum.
You are being warned. Any more such behavior will lead to suspensions.
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
by the way, Jeff is there a year you have in mind for this one?
Meaning what year it occurs?
Not going to be specific. I learned that lesson in my 1st issue of the first coupe of DFS books. I took the specific years off in a follow on edition and later volumes...and also in the large book which included all five volumes.
This book is set in the relative near future, but at least two admins away...and I am not saying how far into the third admin it is.
Could be anywhere up from 10 to 24 years in the future.
If the question is about what year I am going to publish it...then I hope late this year, like the 3rd quarter.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
I was looking for setting of the story year which you answered basically so some time around 2027 as a rough as you list a "Enterprise" Meaning CVN 80
Yes...this shows CVN-80 having been commissioned and going out on its first deployment. So that does give some idea...though the current actual schedule is still somewhat "iffy" IMHO.
Last edited:
Blackstone
Brigadier
I will post a good part of the preface here soon and see what SD members think about it.
PROLOG (Draft)
May 24,05:35 hours local
East China Sea
USS Michael Monsoor, DDG-1001
110 nautical miles North-Northeast of Kuma-shima Island
“Captain on the bridge!”
The officer of the deck and other personnel on the bridge snapped to attention as Captain Henry Stevenson stepped onto the bridge.
It was not that much of surprise.
Throughout this deployment, and in the year and three months since he had taken command, the officers and personnel had discovered through their own experience that he was an early riser, and apt to step onto the bridge at almost any hour of the night or day…or into engineering, or into the Ship’s Mission Center (SMC), or the hanger, or about anywhere on the ship for that matter.
This morning was no exception.
“At ease, folks,” the Captain said.
“Jeremy, what’s the current status?”
Lt. Jeremy Long was this morning’s Officer of the deck, and a Surface Warfare Officer on the Monsoor. He had joined the USS Michael Monsoor five months earlier and been involved in the work up to this deployment, which had started two months earlier. He had been on duty since 2400 hours.
“Sir, all is well at the current time. The Izumo group is 185 nautical miles to the east-northeast of our position. The George Washington and her group are almost 300 miles to our east.
“We have a Triton aircraft circling at 50,000 just off to our north.
“The Jackson and the Billings are on station, 25 nautical miles to our north and northwest respectively, and the Illinois is on station and checked in at 04:45, on schedule.
“We have an HV-22 COD aircraft due in at 07:30 from the Enterprise and she is currently 350 nautical miles to our west with her group.”
Captain Stevenson listened to these reports, considered them briefly, and then asked.
“And what of our Chinese friends?”
Jeremy had known that the Captain was going to ask this question in some form or another whenever he came to the bridge. The captain always expected his duty officers and personnel to have succinct, informative, and accurate information regarding their responsibilities while on duty. When he entered any space, he may or may not ask for it, but Jeremy somehow knew he would ask for it this morning as soon as he had seen him step onto the bridge.
So he had been prepared.
The Monsoor, the Jackson and the Billings, accompanied by the Virginia class nuclear attack submarine, Illinois, comprised Task Force 21, and were deployed to this very area around the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyu Islands as they were known to the Chinese) specifically to prompt some form of a response from the Chinese and their Navy, the PLAN, and then attempt to gauge it, electronically capture it, and then maintain their presence according to international law..
The problem was that the Japanese and the Chinese both claimed the Islands, and there had been numerous incidents that involved either the Chinese Maritime Services, Coast Guard and Navy (PLAN) on one side, and the Japanese Coast Guard and JMSDF on the other, over the years.
But things had been ratcheted up to a much higher degree recently.
In a direct response to ever increasing Chinese reclamation efforts in disputed areas of the South China Sea, Japan had recently begun building facilities of its own, including an airfield, on the principle Senkaku Island. This had been greeted with a stern rebuke by the PRC…and a warning. Japan had been directed to stop the construction and move off of the island or face the consequences. This in turn had led to the US Navy deciding, in consultation with the Japanese, who had a large task force in the area centered on their VTOL carrier, Izumo, to conduct this mission.
“Sir, based on real time satellite info, SIGINT we are receiving from the Triton, and upon a P-8 recon patrol from around midnight, we’re tracking a PLAN surface action group (SAG) approaching from the West-Southwest, about 200 nautical miles away just coming out of the Taiwan Straits.
“We have also had PLAN aircraft regularly approaching within 15-20 miles of our position for the last four hours…every 30 minutes or so.
“They’ve got an AEW&C aircraft orbiting over the East China Sea, 100 miles to the west.”
Captain Stevenson interjected…seeking more detail.
“What’s the specifics on the PLAN group?…and what type of aircraft are conducting the recon?”
The fact was, Lt. Long had been about to share that very information with the Captain and so continued without missing a beat.
“We have identified a Type 052D destroyer, one of their older Sovremenny destroyers, two Type 054A frigates, and three Type 056 light frigates, sir, though we do not have the specific pennants at this time.. Seven surface combatants in all.
“Intel did indicate about 3 AM that there is a better than even chance that they also have at least one…maybe two…of their Type 095 SSNs in the vicinity, though the Illinois and both LCS have indicated this morning that they have not picked up anything and we have not heard a peep ourselves.”
Stevenson considered this information.
“What about the Fujan group?”
“Sir, they are apparently doing some work ups right off the coast, off of Shanghai. No indication at this point of any movement in our direction.”
“Well, let’s hope it stays that way…though I suppose that is one of the reasons the Izumo group is up there.”
“Hmm,” he thought to himself, “so that approaching group, which we are definitely going to be dealing with, has seven vessels altogether. That means at least twenty-eight long range surface to surface missiles on the frigates, eight on the Sov, with probably at least eight more on the VLS tubes of the destroyer…maybe more. We’ll call it a total of 46 to be safe.”
…and what were his own anti-surface capabilities?
“Well,” he thought, “both LCS received their SSC armament upgrades a few years back and carry eight NSM anti-surface missiles each. The Monsoor has a battery of sixteen of the new Long Range Anti-Shipping Missiles (LRASMs) in her Peripheral Vertical Launch system (PVLS) cells.”
He also knew that he had the Illinois which herself carried six LRASMs in her launchers for this mission.
“That’s total of 38 long range anti-shipping missiles,” he thought, “we’re outgunned.”
“If it comes down to a missile engagement, it could get really ugly…especially for the LCS out front,” thought the Captain.
The Captain also knew that all of the ships in both groups also carried main guns for shore and surface bombardment.
Each LCS had a 57mm main gun. But those small caliber guns had a range of only about nine nautical miles. They were effective against small surface contacts, but their range and impact were very limited against major surface combatants like a destroyer, or a frigate.
Each of the Chinese vessels, on the other hand, carried much larger and longer range weapons. The destroyers had 130mm main guns. Those guns, with some of the Chinese new extended range munitions, were going to be effective out to 30 or 35 nautical miles. The Chinese frigates all carried their advanced 76mm guns, which had a range, with extended munitions, of over 20 nautical miles.
“But this Zumwalt destroyer comes with something special,” the Captain thought. “Weapons that will make a significant difference in any naval gun fire engagement.”
The USS Michael Monsoor, DDG-1001, was one of six Zumwalt class destroyers in the US Navy inventory. She had one Advanced Gun System (AGM), which was a 155mm main gun that shot extended range munitions, capable of precision guidance out to 80 nautical miles.
The Monsoor had two of these 155mm AGMs. But later, after the LBJ became the first US comnat vessel to be launched with an advanced Rail Gun, the Monsoor had been retrofitted, five years later. That removed one of her 155mm AGS and replacd it with a 155mm rial gun.
The rail gun operated off of the ships own large electrical capacity and used electrical energy to fire a 155mm projectile. No gun powder was involved. The rail gun accelerated its projectile up to a hyper-velocity muzzle exit speed…near Mach 6. This allowed those precision guided munitions to be affective out to 125 nautical miles. And she could fire those projectiles at a rate of over 30 per minute if necessary. If it came down to a naval gun fire engagement, the US Navy group was going to have a decided advantage.
“Let’s pray to God that it does not come down to that,” thought the Captain.
It took Captain Stevenson all of 10 seconds or so to assess all of this in his mind. At that point, he broke what had seemed like a pregnant pause to the Lt.
“…and the aircraft?”
Jeremy was prepared…although the pause had caused him a bit of consternation.
“Sir, they are alternating between flybys with Be-220 Maritime Patrol aircraft, followed a half hour later by two of their J-11BH fighters.
“The MPA is conducting radar sweeps, but the fighters are not going active at all and have not painted us…but they have not tried to hide their presence either.”
“Very well, Jeremy. Good report.
“Make sure anti-air ops remains on their toes. They could be sensitizing us to those regular flybys in an effort to sneak something in closer.
“Contact Commander Lee on the Billings, and Commander Boswell on the Jacskon. Let them know that I will video conference with them at 06:30 on the data link.
“Call me at 06:20 before that meeting.
“Good job folks…carry on.”
Copyright, 2015, Jeff Head
May 24,05:35 hours local
East China Sea
USS Michael Monsoor, DDG-1001
110 nautical miles North-Northeast of Kuma-shima Island
“Captain on the bridge!”
The officer of the deck and other personnel on the bridge snapped to attention as Captain Henry Stevenson stepped onto the bridge.
It was not that much of surprise.
Throughout this deployment, and in the year and three months since he had taken command, the officers and personnel had discovered through their own experience that he was an early riser, and apt to step onto the bridge at almost any hour of the night or day…or into engineering, or into the Ship’s Mission Center (SMC), or the hanger, or about anywhere on the ship for that matter.
This morning was no exception.
“At ease, folks,” the Captain said.
“Jeremy, what’s the current status?”
Lt. Jeremy Long was this morning’s Officer of the deck, and a Surface Warfare Officer on the Monsoor. He had joined the USS Michael Monsoor five months earlier and been involved in the work up to this deployment, which had started two months earlier. He had been on duty since 2400 hours.
“Sir, all is well at the current time. The Izumo group is 185 nautical miles to the east-northeast of our position. The George Washington and her group are almost 300 miles to our east.
“We have a Triton aircraft circling at 50,000 just off to our north.
“The Jackson and the Billings are on station, 25 nautical miles to our north and northwest respectively, and the Illinois is on station and checked in at 04:45, on schedule.
“We have an HV-22 COD aircraft due in at 07:30 from the Enterprise and she is currently 350 nautical miles to our west with her group.”
Captain Stevenson listened to these reports, considered them briefly, and then asked.
“And what of our Chinese friends?”
Jeremy had known that the Captain was going to ask this question in some form or another whenever he came to the bridge. The captain always expected his duty officers and personnel to have succinct, informative, and accurate information regarding their responsibilities while on duty. When he entered any space, he may or may not ask for it, but Jeremy somehow knew he would ask for it this morning as soon as he had seen him step onto the bridge.
So he had been prepared.
The Monsoor, the Jackson and the Billings, accompanied by the Virginia class nuclear attack submarine, Illinois, comprised Task Force 21, and were deployed to this very area around the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyu Islands as they were known to the Chinese) specifically to prompt some form of a response from the Chinese and their Navy, the PLAN, and then attempt to gauge it, electronically capture it, and then maintain their presence according to international law..
The problem was that the Japanese and the Chinese both claimed the Islands, and there had been numerous incidents that involved either the Chinese Maritime Services, Coast Guard and Navy (PLAN) on one side, and the Japanese Coast Guard and JMSDF on the other, over the years.
But things had been ratcheted up to a much higher degree recently.
In a direct response to ever increasing Chinese reclamation efforts in disputed areas of the South China Sea, Japan had recently begun building facilities of its own, including an airfield, on the principle Senkaku Island. This had been greeted with a stern rebuke by the PRC…and a warning. Japan had been directed to stop the construction and move off of the island or face the consequences. This in turn had led to the US Navy deciding, in consultation with the Japanese, who had a large task force in the area centered on their VTOL carrier, Izumo, to conduct this mission.
“Sir, based on real time satellite info, SIGINT we are receiving from the Triton, and upon a P-8 recon patrol from around midnight, we’re tracking a PLAN surface action group (SAG) approaching from the West-Southwest, about 200 nautical miles away just coming out of the Taiwan Straits.
“We have also had PLAN aircraft regularly approaching within 15-20 miles of our position for the last four hours…every 30 minutes or so.
“They’ve got an AEW&C aircraft orbiting over the East China Sea, 100 miles to the west.”
Captain Stevenson interjected…seeking more detail.
“What’s the specifics on the PLAN group?…and what type of aircraft are conducting the recon?”
The fact was, Lt. Long had been about to share that very information with the Captain and so continued without missing a beat.
“We have identified a Type 052D destroyer, one of their older Sovremenny destroyers, two Type 054A frigates, and three Type 056 light frigates, sir, though we do not have the specific pennants at this time.. Seven surface combatants in all.
“Intel did indicate about 3 AM that there is a better than even chance that they also have at least one…maybe two…of their Type 095 SSNs in the vicinity, though the Illinois and both LCS have indicated this morning that they have not picked up anything and we have not heard a peep ourselves.”
Stevenson considered this information.
“What about the Fujan group?”
“Sir, they are apparently doing some work ups right off the coast, off of Shanghai. No indication at this point of any movement in our direction.”
“Well, let’s hope it stays that way…though I suppose that is one of the reasons the Izumo group is up there.”
“Hmm,” he thought to himself, “so that approaching group, which we are definitely going to be dealing with, has seven vessels altogether. That means at least twenty-eight long range surface to surface missiles on the frigates, eight on the Sov, with probably at least eight more on the VLS tubes of the destroyer…maybe more. We’ll call it a total of 46 to be safe.”
…and what were his own anti-surface capabilities?
“Well,” he thought, “both LCS received their SSC armament upgrades a few years back and carry eight NSM anti-surface missiles each. The Monsoor has a battery of sixteen of the new Long Range Anti-Shipping Missiles (LRASMs) in her Peripheral Vertical Launch system (PVLS) cells.”
He also knew that he had the Illinois which herself carried six LRASMs in her launchers for this mission.
“That’s total of 38 long range anti-shipping missiles,” he thought, “we’re outgunned.”
“If it comes down to a missile engagement, it could get really ugly…especially for the LCS out front,” thought the Captain.
The Captain also knew that all of the ships in both groups also carried main guns for shore and surface bombardment.
Each LCS had a 57mm main gun. But those small caliber guns had a range of only about nine nautical miles. They were effective against small surface contacts, but their range and impact were very limited against major surface combatants like a destroyer, or a frigate.
Each of the Chinese vessels, on the other hand, carried much larger and longer range weapons. The destroyers had 130mm main guns. Those guns, with some of the Chinese new extended range munitions, were going to be effective out to 30 or 35 nautical miles. The Chinese frigates all carried their advanced 76mm guns, which had a range, with extended munitions, of over 20 nautical miles.
“But this Zumwalt destroyer comes with something special,” the Captain thought. “Weapons that will make a significant difference in any naval gun fire engagement.”
The USS Michael Monsoor, DDG-1001, was one of six Zumwalt class destroyers in the US Navy inventory. She had one Advanced Gun System (AGM), which was a 155mm main gun that shot extended range munitions, capable of precision guidance out to 80 nautical miles.
The Monsoor had two of these 155mm AGMs. But later, after the LBJ became the first US comnat vessel to be launched with an advanced Rail Gun, the Monsoor had been retrofitted, five years later. That removed one of her 155mm AGS and replacd it with a 155mm rial gun.
The rail gun operated off of the ships own large electrical capacity and used electrical energy to fire a 155mm projectile. No gun powder was involved. The rail gun accelerated its projectile up to a hyper-velocity muzzle exit speed…near Mach 6. This allowed those precision guided munitions to be affective out to 125 nautical miles. And she could fire those projectiles at a rate of over 30 per minute if necessary. If it came down to a naval gun fire engagement, the US Navy group was going to have a decided advantage.
“Let’s pray to God that it does not come down to that,” thought the Captain.
It took Captain Stevenson all of 10 seconds or so to assess all of this in his mind. At that point, he broke what had seemed like a pregnant pause to the Lt.
“…and the aircraft?”
Jeremy was prepared…although the pause had caused him a bit of consternation.
“Sir, they are alternating between flybys with Be-220 Maritime Patrol aircraft, followed a half hour later by two of their J-11BH fighters.
“The MPA is conducting radar sweeps, but the fighters are not going active at all and have not painted us…but they have not tried to hide their presence either.”
“Very well, Jeremy. Good report.
“Make sure anti-air ops remains on their toes. They could be sensitizing us to those regular flybys in an effort to sneak something in closer.
“Contact Commander Lee on the Billings, and Commander Boswell on the Jacskon. Let them know that I will video conference with them at 06:30 on the data link.
“Call me at 06:20 before that meeting.
“Good job folks…carry on.”
Copyright, 2015, Jeff Head