Cyber Warfare and the New World Order: World War III Series: Book IV

by James Rosone

  Plotting Revenge

  Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

  Joint Chinese / Japanese Naval Headquarters

  The remnants of Admiral Tomohisa Kawano’s fleet had limped into port alongside their PLAN counterparts two weeks ago. By the time their engineers and computer specialists could get their power and engine systems operational again, the Americans had nearly wiped them out. Admiral Kawano was able to escape with just two of his five carriers and about a quarter of his support ships. The battle had been a bloody disaster; not since the battle of Midway had the Japanese lost so many ships and sailors in a single battle.

  After the battle, Admiral Xi had been recalled to China and replaced by Admiral Ye Shengli, a young, energetic naval officer who was eager to prove his mettle against the Americans. When Admiral Kawano explained the missile swarm plan, Admiral Shengli had become extremely excited to move forward with the attack. After nearly a week of preparation, both fleets had been refitted with anti-ship cruise missiles, and their drones and fighters had received anti-ship missiles as well. It was now time to launch the next assault against the American fleet and return control of the Pacific back to China and Japan.

  While the two fleets had been regrouping and preparing themselves, the American fleet had moved up the West Coast and caused complete havoc. Many of the transports bringing troops and supplies to the ground forces had to be rerouted back to Hawaii until the sea lanes could be secured. The situation on the ground for their troops was becoming increasingly perilous as they ran through supplies and failed to bring in more troops. The American Third Army had now surrounded the three invasion sites and was slowly tightening the noose. The Japanese and Chinese needed to regain control of the sea or their invasion force would be doomed.

  With little time to spare, the combined fleet left Hawaii and embarked on what they hoped would be the final battle for the Pacific.

  Showdown Looming

  12 January 2042

  6 Miles Off the Coast of Los Angeles

  Admiral Stonebridge had been elated when their battle group had finally been able to choke off the enemy supply ships from feeding the invasion forces. Their ships were now providing direct support to the ground forces, and with the fleet’s cruise missiles, they had destroyed the enemy airfields and any remaining aircraft they had. The Allies now had complete air superiority. It had been touch-and-go at first; the PLAAF had mounted a concerted attack against his fleet as they approached San Diego. However, although they had sustained damage, they had been able to beat back the attackers while inflicting significant losses.

  As Captain Baker approached Admiral Stonebridge to bring him the latest images of the enemy fleet, he saw him signal one of the yeomen for a refill of his coffee. “Admiral, the satellites are showing the enemy fleet has put to sea and is heading towards us. What are your orders?” he asked. Baker was hoping that they would leave the coast and head to meet the enemy head on as soon as possible. He desperately wanted to finish off the enemy fleet and avenge his fallen comrades.

  Admiral Stonebridge smiled at Captain Baker, and began to examine the images on his tablet. He zoomed in to see the fleet composition. It appeared the entire Japanese/Chinese fleet had set sail. “So, it looks like they want to have one final battle for supremacy of the Pacific,” the Admiral remarked.

  He didn’t respond to the question right away; instead, he gazed out the window of the bridge, contemplating the situation. Off in the distance, he could see the sky filled with smoke from numerous fires; aircraft and Razorbacks darted back and forth, attacking ground targets in the city. LA had been a beautiful city prior to the invasion. They had been in the process of building numerous highspeed rail networks linking San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas together. It was truly disappointing to see the city now being systematically destroyed through the fighting. Thousands of civilians were being killed daily, caught between the two fighting armies with nowhere to go, cut off from food, water and electricity.

  Stonebridge broke free of his thoughts and turned back to face Captain Baker, “Order the fleet to prepare to head towards Hawaii; we are going to finish this fight. Get the airwings ready and let’s begin preparations.”

  During the past week while the fleet had been on station off the coast, they had received several new squadrons of F38A and F38B drones (now that air superiority had been achieved, they would not be needed in LA). The navy would need the additional aircraft for the upcoming battles. Fortunately, the Air Force, Navy and Marines operated the same type of drones, so transferring them from one service to the other was not as challenging as one might think.

  Looking over the maps one more time, Admiral Stonebridge noted there was a lone Seawolf class submarine not far from Hawaii. He sent a quick order to the ship directing them to position themselves between the two fleets and then lie in wait for the enemy fleet to sail directly over them before engaging the enemy carriers. If they could damage the carriers or even sink one, that would definitely improve his own fleet’s odds.

  As the two fleets converged on each other, the tension between those who commanded these great naval armadas continued to grow.

  Heading Towards the Midnight Zone

  12 January 2042

  100 Miles East of Hawaii

  Captain Thompson had taken over command of the Seawolf shortly after the war had started. The Seawolf and many Virginia class attack submarines had been slated for decommissioning as the Navy was moving towards a new more versatile attack submarine and underwater drones. However, when the war broke out, the decommissioning of all submarines was placed on hold, and emergency retrofitting and upgrading began in earnest. The US only had three Seawolf class submarines, and they had already served nearly fifty years. They were good submarines, but they had served their purposes. With the destruction of the Fifth and Seventh Fleets, even the older submarines were once again in great demand.

  The Seawolf had spent the better part of a year being upgraded with new electronics and the Navy’s new Hammerhead torpedoes. After a few false starts, the ship was finally ready for combat duty. Captain Thompson and the Seawolf had spent the better part of the past year patrolling the waters of the South Pacific and Indonesia. They had gotten lucky a couple of times and managed to sink several Chinese transports and two destroyers. When the Navy moved CSG12 into the Pacific to engage the joint Chinese and Japanese fleets, they had been ordered to head to Hawaii to standby for further orders.

  They arrived on station just after CSG12 had won the first battle and had carefully monitored the enemy fleet as it returned to the Hawaiian waters. Captain Thompson wanted to get his ship into the action and attack the enemy ships, but he continued to hold his position until he received further orders. Now Admiral Stonebridge had finally given them a new directive, positioning themselves between Hawaii and the path of the approaching CSG12 to lie in wait for the approaching Japanese and Chinese ships. Once they converged on their location, they were to strike at will. Thompson was high on the rush of adrenaline. He couldn’t wait until those carriers traveled over their position so that he could spring the trap on them.

  Difference of Opinion

  12 January 2042

  Tokyo, Japan

  It had been a little over three weeks since the Chinese Japanese fleet had been nearly wiped out by the new American super weapons. Following the near annihilation of the combined fleet, the support ships and carriers that had survived escaped and returned to the safety of the Hawaiian Islands. In the subsequent days after their return, Admiral Tomohisa Kawano of the Japanese Navy and Admiral Hong Xi of the People’s Liberation Army Navy had been ordered back to Japan to review a new battle plan being proposed by their superiors.

  At first, Admiral Kawano was not sure if the new plan, which called for an enormous missile swarm attack, could work. Admiral Xi, on the other hand, whole-heartedly supported the scheme. He sternly insisted, “If enough aircraft and ships can fire the same number of anti-ship missiles as we used during the first
naval battle, we can overwhelm the American missile defenses, especially considering the number of American support ships that we already destroyed.”

  Admiral Kawano, still not confident in the chance of success, proposed, “We should also consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons or nuclear-armed torpedoes.”

  PM Hata was aghast that a Japanese Naval Officer would even suggest the use of such a weapon, but the Chinese appeared to be willing to consider it. Hoping to get ahead of this before disaster struck Hata argued, “We cannot seriously be considering this idea. Any use of nuclear weapons would result in a swift and overwhelming response by President Stein. The American leader has already shown that he has no qualms about unleashing the United States’ nuclear arsenal on anyone that uses these weapons against them. Are you all forgetting the holocaust of the Middle East and North Africa? I cannot believe that anyone’s memory could be so short-sighted.”

  A rather nerdy-looking junior Japanese officer dared to address the group. “May I suggest that we incorporate the new micro-drones we have been secretly developing over the last several years?”

  All eyes turned towards this unknown officer, and Admiral Kawano shot back, “Please elaborate.”

  “We have been creating micro-drones for use in our naval operations. Originally, they were intended to counter the PLAN, but now that we are allies, they could obviously be used against the Americans.”

  “Ok, but how do they work?” asked Kawano, irritated.

  “One of our drone bombers would drop the micro-drone pod; once in freefall, it would open to release ten micro-drones. Those drones would then begin to race towards their pre-programmed targets, exploding once their proximity sensors indicated that they were close enough to their mark.”

  Everyone in the room sat there silently thinking for a moment before one of the PLAN officers inquired, “How many of these micro-drone pods does Japan have right now?”

  The young officer replied, “We have 50 of them built right now, so that would give us 500 of these micro-drones. I should also note; the drones can be programmed to emit the same electronic signature as either an aircraft or just about any type of missile. We could set them to appear to be much larger anti-ship cruise missiles, which would trick the American defenses into thinking they pose a greater threat than they actually do. The Americans’ targeting AI would automatically assign the micro-drones a higher priority for engagement, causing them to expend limited resources on a red herring instead of destroying the actual missiles.”

  Following this revelation, the group quickly agreed that the micro-drones would be used in the missile swarm attack. The JDF and PLAN also agreed to send as many additional aircraft to Hawaii as they could to aid in launching the anti-ship cruise missiles. They also began the process of moving as many cruise missiles as possible. They had no idea when the American fleet would move on Hawaii, so time was not on their side. If they did not move quickly, then they might lose control of the Pacific.

  Heavy Burden

  14 January 2042

  Near the coast of San Diego, California

  Admiral Michael Stonebridge was being hailed an American hero for the near destruction of the joint Japanese and Chinese fleets, but what people had quickly forgotten was that nearly 1,100 American sailors had also died during the battle, making it one of the costliest naval engagements of the war. Stonebridge hadn’t forgotten though, the weight of every sailor lost hung on him each day.

  The Admiral tried to suppress thoughts of depression by burying himself in his work; the only way to get through each day was to put one foot in front of the other. While Stonebridge was drinking his coffee in the CIC, an intelligence officer walked up to him, handing him an intelligence intercept from the NSA. As he read the report, his eyes grew wide with alarm.

  He looked up at the young officer and asked, “Do we have any of the specifics on this new micro-drone weapon?”

  The young officer shook his head, “No, Sir, but I suspect their designs are probably based off our own micro-drone project. I have asked several of the weapons officers to research the issue so they can provide a brief on what these weapons may be like and how we can prepare to deal with them.”

  The Admiral thought to himself, “Now this is a sharp officer; we need more forward thinkers like him in the Navy.”

  Aloud, he replied, “Lieutenant, that is a great idea. Thank you for taking the initiative in getting this going. Please let the Captain and the other officers know, and we will have a briefing about this tomorrow during Commander’s Call. Tell the weapons officers they have until then to finalize the brief.” Then he dismissed the young officer so he could finish his coffee and draft a personal email to his wife.

  He missed his wife severely; the past few years had been incredibly hard for him. Besides all of the sailors that he had just lost, he was still mourning the loss of all his old friends that he had gone through the Academy with in his youth. Beyond that, his eldest son had also been wounded while serving on occupation duty in Saudi Arabia last month. His son, who had managed to become a captain and a company commander in the Marines, had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been traveling from one city to another when his vehicle had been hit by an Improvised Explosive Device, killing two of the four people with him. Fortunately, it looked like his son would fully recuperate from his wounds, but for the time being, he was on a long road to recovery. The Admiral was having a hard time not being able to see his son while he was in the hospital and then at a skilled nursing facility; the urgency of their deployment had prevented him from being able to see him.

  Captain Mason could see that Admiral Stonebridge was deep in thought as he approached him. “Admiral, I am sorry to interrupt. General Gardner would like to know if we can stay on station for another two weeks while the rest of the Third Army continues to arrive in the area--on the other side of things, Admiral Juliano and General Branson from DC want to know how soon we can begin to sail on Hawaii and finish off the enemy fleet there. How would you like to proceed?”

  Admiral Stonebridge sighed before responding, “Thank you for breaking me from my thoughts…we do need to make this decision soon. How many aircraft is the fleet short of right now? Also, what are your thoughts on our ability to effectively defend against a missile swarm attack?” He wanted a better idea of their defensive capability before he made the decision.

  The captain looked through some files on his tablet before responding, “Sir, we are short 48 manned aircraft and 143 drones. We can probably get replacements from the forces in California prior to our leaving. As to the drone swarms, that is a good question. With the loss of nine of our support ships, I am not sure we could effectively defend against another major missile swarm. I think we would take a lot of hits.”

  “That is a bit of a problem then. I’m sure you saw that NSA intercept. The enemy is planning a nice little welcoming party for us when we get closer to Hawaii. What are your thoughts on how we can overcome this?” asked Stonebridge, looking for ideas.

  “Sir, we could request F41 support for this specific engagement. Also, the President has not changed our directive with regards to the use of nuclear torpedoes. We have a Seawolf class submarine off the coast of Hawaii, conducting surveillance. We could order them to use a nuclear torpedo against the enemy carriers once they have left the harbor and move to engage us. With more of the enemy carriers and support ships out of the picture, the number of anti-ship missiles they will be able to launch will be significantly reduced,” Mason suggested.

  Admiral Stonebridge shot Captain Mason a very icy look with his already blue eyes. “No!” he exclaimed. “We will not use nuclear weapons. Our situation is not that desperate that we need to use a nuclear torpedo or weapon to win. I want a message sent to Captain Thompson, the CG of the Seawolf, asking them to engage in a second attack using conventional torpedoes. Tell him that he is to do anything he can to damage the enemy carriers. I will make the case to the President that we need the F
41s for this mission. We will rely on them and their laser weapons systems to help us defeat the enemy drone swarms. Unless directed by the President, I will not use nuclear weapons.”

  Stonebridge was visibly angry; you could see his blood pulsating through a vein on his forehead that was suddenly very noticeable. He had seen what those weapons could do up close and in person. His ship had survived a nuclear attack, but so many of his friends had died because of them. He would not be party to the use of such a brutal weapon.

  “I did not mean to overstep,” Captain Mason said, trying to calm the Admiral down.

  Stonebridge took a deep breath. “No, it’s OK. You are only looking for ways to protect our fleet. There are just some lines we should not cross. Nuclear weapons have been used enough in this war, I do not want to be the reason for why additional nukes are used.” As he spoke, he realized he might have over-reacted a bit. The vein near his temple slowly became a bit less obvious. “I will make the call to the President now; have everyone ready for the Commander’s Call tomorrow and we’ll discuss our plan in detail.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Captain Mason replied. With his orders issued, he turned to leave.

  *******

  The following four days were busy for the fleet. Admiral Stonebridge did obtain permission to use the only remaining squadron of F41s for the attack. The F41s would fly off from the carriers, so they could be brought to bear immediately. They would loiter high above the fleet and be used for the sole purpose of engaging enemy missiles heading towards the fleet. Their added firepower would greatly increase the survivability of the fleet. Their effort, along with the additional attack from the Seawolf, should make enough of a difference to turn the tide in their favor.