Tom Clancy SSN by Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg

Author:Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, War & Military, Thrillers, Military, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2000-02-01T05:32:18+00:00

has been ordered to close to within aircraft range of the

Chinese task force. Once her aircraft are within range, they wil

begin a preemptive attack on the Chinese fleet. Our job then wil

be to assist in the ASW efforts." The executive officer spoke up

then. "Wil we have other submarine assets in the area?" he

asked. "Yes," Mack said. "We wil be assisted in our operations

by our sister ships USS Columbia (SSN 771) and USS

Bremerton (SSN 698). Columbia is currently operating with the

Independence group. Bremerton wil be running at flank speed

and wil be joining us from the Indian Ocean, where she had

been sent to check on an unidentified submarine contact

been sent to check on an unidentified submarine contact

reported by the Australians." There were no further questions,

and Mack dismissed his officers. They al had a lot of work to

do before Cheyenne arrived on station. This was not the first

time Independence had been targeted by the Chinese, but

Mack knew that this was by far the most serious threat yet.

Several weeks earlier, Independence had come under heavy air

attack by the Chinese air force. At that time, however.

Independence had been operating at ranges far in excess of

most Chinese tactical aircraft and had escaped unscathed.

This time the Chinese would have learned their lessons and

would be sending both surface and submarine forces to attack

the carrier. Cheyenne was running deep at flank speed in an

attempt to reach Independence before the shooting started.

Mack knew that the Battle Group commander would not just sit

and wait for the Chinese task force to steam closer and closer

to them. That was not the American style of fighting. Mack knew

that Independence would take the initiative and attack as soon

as the moment was right. He just hoped that he would be able

to get Cheyenne there in time. Hours later, Cheyenne

proceeded to communications depth to receive the latest

intel igence on the Chinese task force. The fleet was heading

south in the direction of the Spral y Islands. The latest reports,

which came from Independence herself, indicated that the

Chinese task force was making every effort to close on the

Independence Battle Group, but they were not very wel

organized. As the sixty-odd Chinese surface and submarines

sped south toward Independence, there was as close to zero

coordination as a fleet could attain. Each Chinese ship was

operating at what their captain felt was the optimal speed for

his ship, with no attempt to maintain order or grouping with the

other ships in die task force. The fleet consisted of nearly every

type of vessel known to be operational within the Chinese navy,

from fast attack craft to destroyers, and from reserve Romeo

diesel submarines to the newly acquired Akula SSNs. This

battle plan was something of a desperation move on the part of

the Chinese. The Americans were accustomed to more orderly

warfare, but the Chinese group had not planned on attacking

the Americans in an organized fashion. Instead, their orders

were for each ship to slowly approach the Spratlys, refuel, and

then head for Independence without waiting for support. As

soon as any given ship was within maximum range of the Battle

Group, it would fire its weapons. Obviously, the Chinese were

expecting to take terrific losses.

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