Five hundred nautical miles west of Malacca.
The United States Seventh Fleet rode at top speed towards Malacca.
Within the bridge of the USS George Was.h.i.+ngton, Wils.h.i.+re was looking at the screen of the satellite imagery. He was the commander of the Seventh Fleet.
The screen showed the Filipino s.h.i.+p sinking with several dots around it, indicating those who abandoned s.h.i.+p and were now swimming.
“This must be the top elite team of the Chinese navy,” said the Chief of Staff, Taylors.
“You think so?” said Wils.h.i.+re.
Taylors replied, “If they were terrorists, why would they attack the Philippines? And do terrorists this powerful even exist?”
“If they aren’t terrorists, then they must be Chinese. But I can’t believe the Chinese could invade a Filipino military island and sink an escort s.h.i.+p in such a short period of time.”
“I can’t believe it either but it happened,” said Taylors. “Based on the current situation, it looks like China is ready for war.”
Wils.h.i.+re said, “China is the fastest-developing country in the world with a billion people. Why would they provoke a war so hastily?”
“They aren’t trying to provoke a war, they are declaring war.”
Wils.h.i.+re huffed. “Their decision-makers must be acting rashly. All the US wants is to see China dragged into war. China has always shown restraint. The incident at the emba.s.sy of Yugoslavia is an example. Guess they cannot hold themselves back any longer. This is an opportunity given by the heavens. The European Union is in chaos, China declared war against the Philippines. If we beat China this time, then America will rule the world.”
“Sir, are we proceeding with the Tamer Project?” asked Taylors.
Wils.h.i.+re said, “Of course we are. China has declared war against the Philippines and is now in the wrong. The United Nations will stand on our side. Then we will attack Dagua Island and China will not dare touch us.”
Taylors replied, “Yes, as long as we take Dagua Island, it will be the same as p.r.i.c.king their throats with a needle. We will then control an important part of the Chinese economy.”
Wils.h.i.+re picked up the communications device and said in a low voice, “Attention everyone! The Tamer Project begins now. All military personnel, prepare for battle. We will take Dagua Island down!”
A few minutes later, on the USS George Was.h.i.+ngton, a Global Hawk lifted off from the deck and flew towards Malacca.
Then, an electronic-warfare aircraft shot into the sky. Behind it were eight Hornets escorting the Global Hawk towards Malacca.
This was the standard battle protocol for the American fleet. The Global Hawk would survey the area, the electronic aircraft would disrupt the enemy’s radars while the Hornets performed a surgical strike. It was a very clean operation
After the planes took off, the bridge entered a battle stance. Many crew members dealt with data coming from the warplanes while also viewing data which came from the satellites above them. Everything looked normal for now.
“We estimate to be able to clear the radars and anti-aircraft facilities on Dagua Island in one hour. As for the other military targets on the ground, we will have to send s.h.i.+ps to destroy them,” said Taylors.
Wils.h.i.+re said, “The Chinese have military s.h.i.+ps and submarines at this patch of the ocean but they are no match for the Seventh Fleet. How can a military without a mothers.h.i.+p fight us? And we have the F35. Their fourth-generation warplanes are only in the testing phase. They are no match for us at sea and in the air. This war will not be a difficult one, I think we can end it within two hours.
“Sir…” Taylors wanted to say something but stopped.
Wils.h.i.+re looked at Taylors. “Chief, you wanted to say something?”
“Sir, I think we are forgetting one person and his company,” said Taylors.
Wils.h.i.+re paused for a moment. Suddenly remembering something, he said, “Chief, you’re referring to Xia Lei and his Thunder Horse Group?”
Taylors nodded. “Yes, Xia Lei and the Thunder Horse Group. One week ago, the Thunder Horse group was testing their drones. Our informants asked him a few questions disguised as reporters and witnessed the entire test pilot process.”
Wils.h.i.+re laughed drily. “I know of their results. That was a complete joke. Their drones are ugly and have no impressive points at all. The most hilarious part is that they even crashed. Chief, what is the meaning of mentioning Xia Lei and his Thunder Horse Group now? Are you worried they might interfere with the Tamer Project?”
A few officers laughed. The Seventh Fleet could easily destroy a medium-sized country’s anti-aircraft facilities and important military bases, even a.s.sa.s.sinating their leader if needed. How could Xia Lei and the Thunder Horse Group stop them? Let alone their Tamer Project.
“Sir, I suggest you watch the recording our informants provided,” said Taylors.
Wils.h.i.+re smiled. “Alright, no problem. I can watch Thunder Horse make a joke out of themselves again.”
Under Taylors’ instruction, a technician quickly opened the file with the video.
On a large screen was a simple, ugly drone flying in the sky. It looked ugly without any elegance in its design. It was not flying fast, just a little faster than a helicopter. It did not have any mounts for weapons so it could not carry any bombs.
This was the Thunder Horse Group’s drone, Jing Ke.
“Haha!” laughed one officer. “What is that for? To waste our bombs?”
“Using a missile to fire at it would be a waste,” said another with a grin. “It’s so slow and does not carry any bombs. My machine gun will take it down instantly.”
Amidst the laughter, Jing Ke suddenly fell from the sky.
“Hahaha…” Wils.h.i.+re guffawed. “This is the funniest drone I’ve ever seen. This belongs to the circus, not the battlefield.”
Just as he spoke, the Jing Ke drone crashed into the ground with a loud rumble. The camera shook and the video was filled with a blinding white light followed by a shockwave. It was powerful enough to knock the informant with the camera over!
A few seconds later, everything returned to normal. The informant zoomed in on the camera and a crater could be seen. This crater was enough to hold one trunk.
At this moment, no one was laughing.
The soldiers standing there were all seasoned military men. They were not idiots. Anyone could see that it was a ‘suicide’ plane. It did not carry any bombs because it was the weapon itself!
Taylors said, “Actually, I just received news that our specialists found Thunder Horse Group’s Jing Ke drone to be a self-destructing drone. It is as powerful as several Tomahawk missiles strapped together. Our experts suspect that Jing Ke can also be equipped with atomic bombs. This means it’s no longer a drone, it’s an atomic bomb!
Wils.h.i.+re said, “Chief, are you worried that Thunder Horse will attack us with these drones?”
Taylors replied, “Yes, I am concerned. Commander, think about it. China has shown restraint for decades without declaring war. Why have they suddenly got the guts to do it? And they knew we were coming with our Seventh Fleet, yet they still did this anyway.”
“Chief, you are right to be worried but I don’t think it will be a problem for us. This drone is too slow to approach us.”
“This is bad!” said a messenger suddenly. “Our pilots say they have encountered Chinese planes!”
“What?” Wils.h.i.+re’s jaw dropped.
The news fell like a bomb on the bridge. No one could believe it because no one had received any alerts of nearby enemy planes!
“No, it’s a drone!” came the messenger’s voice. “A drone without any markings! Please look at the recording from our electronic aircraft!”
A live stream appeared on the screen.
Four simple drones were heading towards Malacca from the South. They flew in a horizontal row, each drone about two hundred meters apart and in a straight line. This was a crystal clear live feed from the Global Hawk. They were a mere few kilometres away from the Seventh Fleet.
“They’re Jing Ke drones from Thunder Horse!” someone recognised, as they had all just watched the video of the Jing Ke drones cras.h.i.+ng.
“How is that possible? Our radars did not even pick them up?” gasped the crew manning the radars.
Taylors’ eyes were fixed on the four drones on the screen, his brows tightly furrowed. He could no longer suppress his fears. The radars could not pick them up but their eyes could. However, this situation in modern warfare only meant certain defeat!
“What are they trying to do?”
“Does China want to chase us back with four drones?”
“Self-destructing drones like these are very powerful. Since they fly so slowly, we can shoot them down once they get close with our automatic anti-aircraft weapons!”
The bridge erupted in a discussion.
Wils.h.i.+re suddenly said, “Fire at them using our electronic warfare aircraft. Bring them back!”
The command was quickly issued to the respective people.