In a certain sea area of the Guia Ocean, the flagship of the 51st Task Force "Niz".

When the F-14B, which had only 1 engine still working, stopped, the firefighters guarding the front end of the beveled deck immediately rushed forward.

In the blink of an eye, the fighter was covered in foam from dozens of fire extinguishers.

Because it was the peak time for recovery, the flight deck was full of returning carrier-based aircraft, so it was impossible to use fire trucks.

Fortunately, the fire was not large and was quickly brought under control.

Just before it started, about 1 hour or more to be exact. In order to intercept the anti-submarine patrol plane that suddenly appeared and was flying towards the fleet, the F-14B of the 113th Group took off urgently, flew thousands of kilometers at a sprint speed, and then used the AIM-54B "Immortal Bird" long-range air-to-air missile to shoot down the patrol plane that was still flying at an ultra-low altitude and felt that it could cross the sea in secret.

This is a very typical anti-aircraft volley, there is not much to say.

The point is that the F-14B has been dispatched twice today and three times yesterday, during which time it has not had time to carry out overhaul and maintenance. Not only because the orderly staff was too busy, but also because the hangar was filled with spare carrier-based aircraft and all kinds of spare parts.

Due to this limitation, only two carrier-based aircraft can be sent to the maintenance area of the hangar at a time, and the efficiency of maintenance operations is only one-third of that under normal conditions.

As a result, more than half of the F-14Bs do not receive the necessary maintenance.

On the way back to the fleet, the F-14B's engine No. 2 failed. Although the commander of the task force, the captain of the "Niz", and the officer in charge of aviation operations all gave orders for the pilots to parachute to escape and avoid posing a threat to the aircraft carrier, the pilots did not give up and flew back the fighter with only one engine left, and landed on the aircraft carrier.

Very brave, with a fearless spirit all over his body.

It's just that, in Stark's eyes, this move is very stupid.

There are dozens of carrier-based planes parked on the flight deck, and many of them have missiles that have not had time to be unloaded, and the fighters in the take-off area are even more ready to go, carrying not only air-to-air missiles, but also full of fuel. It only takes one accident for these dozens of carrier-based aircraft to turn into dozens of bombshells in the blink of an eye.

It is not uncommon for aircraft carriers to be damaged due to landing accidents.

After the Second Global War, there were hundreds of accidents in the Liangxia Navy alone, the most serious of which was when a heavy attack aircraft landed on the ship, because the pilot had a visual error, and failed to find that the landing channel had been seriously low, and as a result, it directly hit the tail end of the aircraft carrier's flight deck, and the debris of the carrier-based aircraft swept half of the flight deck, leaking several tons of aviation fuel. In the end, the accident resulted in nearly 300 casualties, the burning of more than 20 carrier-based aircraft, and the direct loss of more than 500 million gold yuan.

In fact, a similar accident occurred in the Nuland Navy, but it was not so serious.

In peacetime, that's just an accident.

In times of war, it could be the beginning of a fiasco!

Compared with an aircraft carrier, what is a carrier-based fighter?

In order to accomplish this combat mission, the "Nix" carried an additional heavy fighter group, and the number of carrier-based aircraft increased to 112 units.

In other words, even if 1 F-14B is lost due to an accident, there will be 19 more!

With an additional 20 heavy fighters, it was an option.

The Nuland Navy has only 6 aircraft carriers in total, and the "Kenny" has not been in very good condition, and only 5 can really be used.

The opponent, the powerful Liangxia Navy, has 15 active aircraft carriers!

The key is that the Liangxia Navy also has more than 20 mothballed large aircraft carriers, in addition to hundreds of overseas military bases, and there are dozens of large military ports alone.

To defeat this formidable opponent, it is necessary to bring into full play the combat effectiveness of each combat unit.

Undoubtedly, the main ones are 3 supercarriers of the "Nix" class.

These three aircraft carriers are the backbone of the Nuland Navy, but they are far from perfect.

Although the "pedigree" of the "Nix" class is very positive, its predecessor was the "Newland" class with a near-perfect design, and by expanding the displacement, some problems of the "Newland" class were solved, but "perfect" is actually a relative concept that will fade over time.

This is exactly what the "Nix" class is facing.

At the design stage, because the F-14 had not yet been put into service, and even the project had not yet been officially established, the Nuland Navy was still counting on the fighter jointly developed with the Air Force, that is, the carrier-based version of the F-111A, so the Navy's requirements for the "Nitz" class were still aimed at third-generation carrier-based aircraft such as the F-4.

According to the requirements of the time, a carrier-based aircraft wing with 92 to 96 combat aircraft was carried on board, and the hangar could accommodate at least two-thirds of the carrier-based aircraft.

With the quantity, as well as the main models targeted, it is also possible to determine the size of the hangar.

When designing an aircraft carrier, in fact, the size of the hangar is first determined according to the requirements of the carrier aircraft, and then the size and displacement of the aircraft carrier are determined by the size of the hangar.

As a result, it was not until the construction of the "Niz" began and the design of the first three ships was finalized that the Nuland Navy suddenly discovered that if the F-14 was to replace the F-4, it would be impossible to put two-thirds of the combat aircraft in a carrier-based aircraft wing into the hangar anyway.

Affected by this, carrying a full carrier-based aircraft wing, at least 40 carrier-based aircraft must be placed on the flight deck.

In peacetime, the "Nix" class usually carries less than 1 group, at least 1 and a half squadrons of light attack aircraft, or multi-role fighters.

The biggest advantage of this is that it actually improves the efficiency of the original work on the flight deck, which is equivalent to increasing the sortie rate.

If necessary, for example, in wartime, the "Nix" class is also capable of carrying a full squadron of carrier-based aircraft, that is, at least 92 carrier-based aircraft.

It is not so easy to expand the size of the carrier-based aircraft wing.

Undoubtedly, this is a problem that the commander of the fleet cannot avoid and must face.

To give a very simple example, because the standard number of aircraft on board is only 84, that is, a squadron of 8 heavy attack aircraft less than the "Nix" class, the "Nuland" class can carry more than 10 additional carrier-based aircraft by sacrificing the operational efficiency of the flight deck when necessary.

This feature gives fleet commanders more choices when making tactical arrangements.

If it's the "Nix" class, it's quite troublesome.

With an additional 1 brigade, that is, 20 F-14Bs, the deck efficiency of the "Nix" class is only one-third of the usual.

Let's be clear.

Before the first batch of carrier-based aircraft was dispatched, only two catapults at the nose of the beveled deck could be used, because the take-off area was completely occupied by carrier-based aircraft. To achieve the maximum size of the sortie, at least 12 F-14Bs must be flown first, and then the pre-sortie preparations should be completed within three hours. Next, because the returning fighters had to be recovered, it was certainly not possible to immediately organize a second wave of attacks.

Crucially, this will significantly increase the workload of aviation crews.

To say, the problem of personnel is easy to solve.

In the 3 aircraft carrier battle groups of the 51st Task Force, each has one fast combat support ship, and each of them carries more than 500 officers and men of the aviation department. According to Stark's deployment, rotation is carried out every night, and helicopters are responsible for the transportation of personnel.

There is really no way to solve it, that is, the flight deck is too crowded.

If there were still a few aircraft carriers, Stark wouldn't have arranged it that way.

With only 3 aircraft carriers and a strategic mission to decide the fate of the Newland Republic, Stark had no other choice.

In fact, the previous two days of fighting have proved that the additional 20 fighters on board have played an extremely crucial and irreplaceable role.

Without these fighters, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The point is that Task Force 51 is not on the side of the Reviahikhdo Islands, but in the Northern Easteast, and just south of the Aliu Islands.

Previously, those F-14B fighters that intercepted Liang Xia's combat planes were all from the 51st Task Force!

If anything, only three "Nix"-class supercarriers can support an air defense network covering almost half of the Beidong.

The key, in fact, is a more powerful aviation combat capability.

Even though the flight deck is mostly occupied, and the efficiency of sorties is affected, the impact is not very prominent when performing a simple air supremacy mission.

To put it simply, just using fighter jets placed on the flight deck, more than 200 sorties can be made every day.

If it is the "Newland" class, even in an ideal state, the daily momentum will not exceed 180 sorties.

The key point is that the main thing that has been dispatched to carry out missions in the past two days is the additional 20 fighters on board, so the actual combat effectiveness of the carrier-based aviation wing has not been affected. With the transfer of additional fighters, Task Force 51 was able to immediately get into top condition.

In fact, this is the key reason why Stark is willing to take risks.

In his words, each Nyx-class aircraft carrying an additional 20 fighters is equivalent to giving Task Force 51 the value of two task forces.

It's an exaggeration, but that's exactly what it is.

If this is not the case, then Task Force 52, which has two Newland-class ships, will have to be involved in the operation in order for Task Force 51 to maintain sufficient attack force. In the case of early participation in combat operations, the combat effectiveness of the 52nd task force will definitely decrease.

Do not forget that the "Newland" class itself is inferior to the "Nitz" class, and there are only 2 ships.

Stark's biggest fear is that something happens during the operation.

At the beginning, it can be said that there is no danger.

It's just that Stark knows very well that if similar situations occur frequently, it will definitely cause a catastrophe.

What's the key?

That's right, it's the time it lasts.

This is also the most prominent uncertain factor in the entire operation.

According to Stark's judgment, the first phase of this combat operation can last up to 5 days, and it is best to control it within 3 days.

Not only because the longer it lasts, the greater the probability that the whereabouts of Task Force 51 will be exposed, but also because it is related to the state of the officers and men.

It's only been 2 days, and the problem is already prominent.

So, can you achieve your goal in 3 days?

Thinking of this question, Stark's heart was very heavy.

Although as a Newland soldier and a newly promoted commodore general, Stark's mission is to lead the fleet into battle and defeat all the enemies he encounters, but if he has to choose personally, he will definitely not challenge the Liang Xia Navy, especially the Liang Xia Navy's Guia Fleet, in the first battle.

This fleet, which has been galloping across the Guia Ocean for decades, must be an invincible presence on this blue planet, or at least on the ocean.

In addition, she was commanded by a general surnamed Bai.

The last general, surnamed Bai, buried the Nuland Federal Navy with his own hands and sent the Liang Xia Navy to the throne of the global overlord.

In comparison, the current Nuland Navy is not an opponent of the same level at all.

What the Nuland Navy lacks most is not aircraft carriers or other warships, but more valuable experience than warships, as well as experienced officers and men.

It's like a novice driver who has just gotten his license to race the world champion of an F1 Grand Prix.

Of course, these are just Stark's complaints.

After receiving the news that Bai Huawei had gone to the Fourth Fleet and was directly in command of the 41st Task Force, Stark knew that something was wrong.

The reason is also very simple, Bai Huawei's command style is not much similar to his father, that is, the naval god of war Bai Zhizhan, but is closer to another powerful existence, Liu Xiangzhen, who is the same era as Bai Zhizhan and is also an outstanding commander of the Liang Xia Navy.

To put it bluntly, it tends to be conservative.

In fact, this is also a major feature of the Liangxia Navy after the war, especially after the Polish-Iraqi War.

As for the reason, Stark saw it very clearly.

After the Polish-Iranian War, the Liangxia Empire went from prosperity to decline, and the Liangxia navy began to decline, requiring more energy to protect vested interests.

Under this general trend, Admiral Liang Xia's thinking has become conservative, which seems to be normal.

Of course, under the overall strategy, it is not a bad thing that a well-established navy tends to be conservative in tactical thinking.

The key is that the strategic thinking of the Liang Xia Navy is not conservative at all, it is still very avant-garde, and it always insists on attacking in order to give full play to the value of the navy.

For any challenger, the biggest problem is actually how to break through the iron wall of the Liangxia Navy.

If a radical general, such as Vice Admiral Tian Zihao, the commander of the Fourth Fleet, is asked to use more threatening tactics after the outbreak of the war, such as letting the 41st Task Force go to the Guia Ocean, lay an ambush there, and wait for the Nuland Navy to attack the Howaii Islands, outflank it from the north, and strive to annihilate the Nuland Guia Fleet, so as to achieve the goal of deciding the outcome in one fell swoop.

However, with a more conservative commander, the situation becomes complicated.

As long as it remains hidden, it will be a threat to any target within the fleet's strike range.

It is precisely because of this, a few days ago, that is, before officially entering the war, Stark revised the battle plan that had been drawn up and handed over to the Admiralty, the Ministry of Defense and the Gray House, and clearly mentioned that it was mainly a surprise attack, and it must not officially declare war on the Liangxia Empire before the start of the war.

This move is not to achieve the purpose of surprise attack, but to confuse the opponent.

To put it bluntly, it is to convince the opponent through surprise attacks that the Nuland Navy has drawn up a very large set of battle plans that need to be completed through surprise attacks, so that the commander of Liang Xia's fleet feels that the Nuland Navy is likely to come out of the nest in the first wave of attacks.

As long as this judgment is made, then no matter how conservative the fleet commander is, he will actively look for opportunities for a decisive battle.

The attitude becomes positive, and the tactics naturally tend to be proactive.