Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 157



Only Krnovel

Episode 157 – Shaheed

American society, if not the entire world, was shocked.

This was because, in public memory, there had been no case of US forces being hit preemptively since the Pacific War.

There was a bombing of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, but it was not regular warfare.

It was a regular war, and an American aircraft carrier was directly hit.

I continued my conversation with Director Lee while watching CNN news.

“Sir, how did Iran manage to stockpile so many drones?”

“It seems like they have been preparing for a long time. It’s like Egypt won the Fourth Middle East War after much thought.”

“How could the CIA not know that, even so?”

“It seems that they have developed a combat doctrine to overcome the technological gap with the United States and Israel.”

“ah ···.”

“Hamas and Hezbollah have been using smartphones and the Internet for propaganda purposes since the Fifth Middle East War.”

“…”

“They have been using communications networks that bypass Western information technology, such as old-fashioned wired communications and messengers.”

“So that’s why OSSIA also had no information on the floating Middle East.”

“Yes. Even in North Korea, there is a certain degree of informatization through its own communications network, so a considerable amount of information can be obtained through internal information assets, but ···.”

“By the way, are those intelligence assets inside North Korea still valid?”

“Yes, that’s right. If it weren’t for that, I would have stopped the things you’ve been doing.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Anyway, Hamas and Hezbollah aside, the Iranian military is a national regular army. Is it possible to operate it as a guerrilla organization?”

“…”

“An army of over 1.5 million men?”

“I guess it was possible because it was a dual military system divided into the regular army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

“…”

“It appears that the Revolutionary Guards continued their covert operations while maintaining their usual military methods.”

“So now America is in a new quagmire.”

“For now, it seems difficult to prevent Iran from taking over Iraq.”

“I guess so.”

“And the Iraqi government forces also appear lukewarm in their resistance. Some groups of Shiite officers may even defect to Iran.”

“…”

Even while on the phone, I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV.

The screen continued to show images of a US aircraft carrier being attacked by a suicide drone in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

[ CNN Breaking News ···. This is new news.

Information has come in about Iran launching suicide drones to attack the U.S. 5th Fleet’s aircraft carrier strike group.

It is said that at least 6,000 of them, including the Shahed-136 and an as-yet-unknown new type of suicide drone and decoy drone, were launched simultaneously.

The Shahed-136 developed by Iran is known to have a total weight of 200 kg and an operational radius of over 2,000 km.

The Shahed-136 is a long-range suicide drone that appears to be an improved version of the Iranian version, using a JATO launch assist device.

Iran appears to have developed a carrier strike tactic that takes advantage of the long-range suicide drones.

By simultaneously launching a large number of suicide drone attacks across the Iranian mainland and using drone ships converted from oil tankers.

This is a method to exhaust the air defense capabilities of a carrier battle group, or in other words, to deplete the ammunition of air defense weapons.

This is analyzed to have been done by first launching a significant number of decoy drones to paralyze interceptor missiles and CIWS systems, and then continuously launching suicide drone attacks.

According to the US Navy, about half of the drones launched by Iran fell into the sea or were intercepted in advance, and more than 70% of the suicide drones that approached the US carrier strike group were intercepted.

However, because so many suicide drones flew in at once, the deck of the aircraft carrier was severely damaged and the aircraft on the deck exploded.

Currently, no ships have been sunk in the 5th Fleet, but they appear to be out of combat for repairs······.]

– JATO (Jet-Assisted Take Off): A rocket booster, jet-type takeoff assistance device that generally assists the takeoff and landing of an aircraft.

Life is so tricky.

When the words ‘surely, never, never’ took hold and were about to be forgotten, something unexpected would happen.

“Boss!”

“Yes, sir. I am listening.”

“I think we will have to prepare for a situation where Israel is occupied and the Strait of Hormuz is blocked.”

“Do you see it that way, sir?”

“It seems possible. Israel almost disappeared during the Fourth Middle East War, the Yom Kippur War…”

“ah ···.”

“The negotiations were to hand over the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Repeated victories breed complacency, and complacency is the seed of complacency.”

“If the Strait of Hormuz is closed… 20% of crude oil passes through there….”

“There was already pressure from the United States to allocate a quota for crude oil imports from the Far Eastern Republic.”

“Already?”

“The US has asked for ESSO as a backup option. I don’t know what the US will do to avoid ending up like Britain did in World War II.”

“No matter what, America…”

“You never know what’s going on in the world. The United States has so much, so they’ll be more determined to protect it. OSSIA activities are important. Please do your best, Director.”

“all right.”

After talking to Manager Lee, I started to worry more about what would happen next.

The news was telling us that the economy, which is more sensitive than anyone else in a world going crazy, was fluctuating.

News screens showed the New York futures market in a frenzy, with futures brokers holding phones in both hands and shouting madly.

[ … It wasn’t just Israel and the US Navy that were bombed. It seemed like the international oil price and energy futures markets were bombed.

The price of crude oil, based on Brent crude from the North Sea, has surpassed $130 per barrel.

This reflects the situation in which significant disruption to the supply of crude oil will occur if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz.

…

I was anxious as to why that was happening.

The Middle East war was a distant story, except for oil, and we had secured the Sakhalin oil fields in the Far Eastern Republic, so we were not too worried.

This was because an extremely favorable environment was being created for Russia and China to do business.

He gave instructions to the OSS Black Sea Fleet (3rd Strike Group) and the Crimean Corps stationed on the Crimean Peninsula to thoroughly prepare and strengthen supply support.

After taking over Georgia and Azerbaijan, Russia’s next move was obviously to reinvade Ukraine.

If that happens, a third Russian-Ukrainian war will break out.

Next, it seemed likely that China would cross the nine-dash line in the South China Sea. Vietnam or the Philippines would be the target.

Our new camp was located exactly below that location.

– Nine-dash line: A maritime boundary line unilaterally established by China in 1947. China claims the entire South China Sea, including the waters off Vietnam and the Philippines, as its territorial waters.

What was able to calm my anxious mind a little was the news that the fourth joint firepower ship, Arsenal Ship Shingijeon 4, had been launched.

And the amphibious assault ships, Arleigh Burke-class Aegis ships, and submarines that the United States had promised to provide began arriving one after another.

We took this into account and organized a total of five training groups.

The aircraft carrier Gaius was assigned to the 1st Strike Group, and the 5th Strike Group was created.

The 1st and 2nd assault groups were deployed in the Sulawesi Sea and the southern part of the South China Sea, where the new camp was located. The 3rd assault group was in the Black Sea with the Black Sea Fleet.

The 4th Assault Group used Nampo, North Korea, at the northern end of the Yellow Sea, or West Sea of ​​South Korea, as its base to check China.

The 5th Assault Group defended the Far Eastern Republic using Vladivostok and Hakodate, Hokkaido as bases.

The East China Sea was under the jurisdiction of the ESSO Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, a party of interest.

And the 2nd Strike Fleet made Danang, Vietnam their port of call. This was a measure to check the naval base in Hainan Province, China.

It was aimed squarely at China, drawing a semicircle through the Indochina Peninsula, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the West Sea.

When the OSS fleet docked in Danang, Vietnam, China reacted sensitively.

** Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China **

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over the large-scale port call of the OSS fleet in Da Nang, Vietnam.

China attaches great importance to peace and stability in the South China Sea and opposes any action that escalates military tensions in the region.

The OSS fleet’s port call in Da Nang threatens regional stability and heightens international tensions. It is an unnecessary challenge to China.

We strongly urge the relevant countries to make wise decisions and take action.

* * * * *

As Chairman of PATA, I have instructed that a statement be issued in response to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement.

** PATA Statement **

…China is the only country in the world that recognizes China’s nine-dash line in the South China Sea, and PATA cannot recognize it.

Military tensions in the South China Sea are being created by China, and the only way to resolve them is to withdraw their claims on the nine-dash line in the South China Sea.

Additionally, if any one of the PATA member countries is subjected to a military threat, there will be a military response from PATA as a whole.

This response includes not only member states but also OSS, PATA’s cooperative mechanism.

I sincerely hope that the Chinese authorities will not make the mistake of misjudging.

* * * * * *

To sum it up in one word, it was a polite way of saying, ‘If you have another thought, you die.’

After taking care of urgent matters, I returned to my accommodation. Hyein greeted me with a happy face. However, the tangled thoughts were not leaving my head.

As I was going out the door in search of cigarettes, Hyein called out to me.

“Oppa~”

“Oh, yeah!”

“It’s still chilly, so let’s light it inside.”

“Uh… Really?”

“Yes, just today! Hohoho.”

“Are you okay?”

“yes yes!”

Hyein smiled faintly.

I sat down on the sofa and lit a cigarette, and Hyein brought me a makeshift ashtray with some water in a paper cup and a can of beer.

“Haha, I’m sorry about that. Thank you.”

“These days, when I see my brother ···.”

“If you look?”

“What should I say? It’s like he’s carrying world peace on his back.”

“No, I don’t have any sense of mission or anything like that···.”

“brother is ···.”

“…”

“Because it’s a robot that’s so, so human-like···.”

“Because I’m a robot?”

“I can’t compromise. Most people tend to compromise when they’re pressed for something or in a difficult situation…”

“Come to think of it···.”

“My brother is a robot, so there is no compromise. Hahaha.”

“ha ha ha”

While Hyein and I were laughing and chatting, the TV screen was changing.

[ CNN breaking news ······.

The Russian-Belarusian coalition invaded Poland. ······ ]