"No matter what, the Nuland fleet will only be in one place, and it will never be divided into two ways."

After Liu Zunling finished speaking, Bai Huawei pondered for a while before nodding slightly.

The Nuland Navy has only six aircraft carriers in active service, one of which is undergoing major repairs at the shipyard, so only five aircraft carriers can be used.

Crucially, after the end of World War II, the Nuland Navy did not participate in a real war.

In fact, the current Nuland Navy has nothing to do with the powerful navy that fought against the Imperial Navy in the Guia Ocean more than 40 years ago.

That navy had already disappeared with the death of Nitsu and the surrender of Spu.

The current Nuland Navy was formerly known as the Sunset Fleet, and during the Second Global War, the Sunset Fleet was more like an anti-submarine group.

This characteristic was vividly reflected in the process of rebuilding the Nuland Navy.

In the case of aircraft carriers, the Nuland Navy spent almost 20 years building up technology, during which time it designed and built several less successful smaller aircraft carriers, each with only one or two ships in each class, in the same way that dreadnoughts were built before World War I. It was not until the 125th year of the new calendar that the Nuland Navy changed its mind and officially launched the construction of the "Newland" class large aircraft carrier.

Because a large number of ship engineers have been poached from the declining Newland Federation, the overall design of the "Newland" class can be said to be quite avant-garde, and in many respects it can be compared with the "Chen Bingxun" class of the Imperial Navy, and in some respects, it is even slightly better.

Interestingly, only 2 ships of the "Nuland" class were originally planned.

The reason is also very simple, the Nuland authorities do not believe that the first large aircraft carrier can be perfect, and still hold the mentality of trial production.

As a result, after the completion of the construction of the first two ships, the USS Nuland and the USS Kitty Hawk, the Nizz-class, on which the Nuland Navy had high hopes, had not yet completed its design and could not immediately begin construction, and the shipyard apparently would not pay the thousands of workers who did not do anything. In order to retain skilled workers, but also to retain the design team, the Nuland Navy procured a third "Newland" class.

This is the Kenny.

It's just that the aircraft carrier, named after the third president of the Republic of Nuland, has been unlucky since the construction stage.

At the time of construction, a very serious fire broke out in the aircraft carrier, which killed hundreds of workers.

After it was completed and delivered, a propeller broke during the fastest speed test, and it had to be returned to the factory, which took more than half a year to repair. Later, the Nuland Navy investigated the cause of the accident, the cause of the accident was that the new process of manufacturing the propellers was not up to standard, and all warships equipped with the new propellers had to be returned to the shipyard for overhaul. In total, there are more than 20 large warships, and just replacing the propellers cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

After its official commissioning, the Kenny was in terrible condition.

Although the Nuland Navy never admitted it, according to the more reliable accounts, the problems with the Kenny could not be solved by maintenance and improvement.

The reason is that this aircraft carrier cut corners when it was built.

Do not forget that the Nuland Navy originally planned to build two "Newland" class ships, and did not consider the third one, and had to purchase the third one when the design work of the "Niz" class did not keep up. After that, during the construction process, it was necessary to hurry up again so that the slipway could be freed up for the construction of the "Nix" class. Because the navy was in a hurry and used the penalty clause in the contract to talk about things, the shipyard could only do things in the invisible place.

The amount of water discharged alone is an indication of how serious the problem is.

The standard displacement of the "Nuland" and the "Kitty Hawk" at the time of delivery was about 62,000 tons, with some deviations, but within the allowable margin of error, while the standard displacement of the "Kenny" was only 59,500 tons, which was more than 2,500 tons less, far exceeding the allowable error.

In this regard, the Nuland Navy claimed that it had reduced its weight by more than 2,000 tons while maintaining performance indicators by using new equipment.

This is not the case.

According to the service performance of the "Kenny", the reduction of more than 2,000 tons is most likely due to the hull structure.

As a result, after the first three "Nitz" class ships were officially put into service, the three "Newland" class ships were transferred back to the sunset ocean one after another, and the "Kenny" was transferred from a combat unit to a reserve force after less than 15 years of service, and has been used as a training aircraft carrier ever since.

Even so, it was a minor illness in three days and a major illness in five days.

Now, lying in the dock is the "Kenny".

It can be seen that the current Nuland Navy is not the same at all.

Not to mention 3 aircraft carriers, even if 5 aircraft carriers are sent, they may not be the opponent of the 41st Task Force.

Do not forget that the Imperial Navy was never idle.

Even after the Polish-Iraqi War, when the empire entered a phase of strategic contraction, the navy maintained a global presence and frequently carried out combat and deployment missions.

At any given time, a third of aircraft carriers are deployed or on combat duty.

When Zhou Yongtao moved into the Shoufu Residence, the Imperial Navy became more active.

In the Poshawan War, the fact that five aircraft carrier battle groups could be deployed to the front in just over 10 days is enough to prove the quality of the Imperial Navy.

As for the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Navy, there is no doubt about it.

In this case, the Nuland Navy dares to underestimate the enemy?

Obviously, those 5 aircraft carriers must be together, divided into 2 aircraft carrier battle groups at most.

This means that of the 2 pieces of intelligence provided by the Air Force and MIA, 1 must be false and the other 1 is true.

It's just, which one is false information and which one is true information?

Obviously, that's the key!

If you want to say, this is also what Bai Huawei is most worried about.

From a rational point of view, Bai Huawei was more willing to believe the intelligence of the Military Intelligence Agency, and the Nuland fleet was to the east, looking for an opportunity to raid Task Force 41. However, Bai Huawei also knew that if there was a problem with the intelligence of the Military Intelligence Agency, the consequences would be unimaginable.

To put it simply, if you believe the intelligence of the Military Intelligence Agency and go east to meet the Nuland fleet that is about to be killed, or to avoid it to the west, or to move south, Task Force 41 will have to stay away from the Howaii Islands, and there will be no way to go north in time to stop the Nuland fleet rampaging in the Guia Ocean. As long as the commander of the Nuland fleet was a little bold, he would have seized this golden opportunity to attack the Aliu Islands.

This may be the strategic plan of the Nuland Navy!

What's even worse is that with good preparation, especially with enough troops and willing to bear huge casualties, the Nuland Navy can even launch an attack on the Khowaii Islands.

At this point, Bai Huawei will become a sinner through the ages.

Of course, this is just a metaphor.

Moreover, to the east, what awaits Task Force 41 may be a trap.

It is only necessary to deploy submarines in the vicinity of the pre-determined engagement area, and after the discovery of Task Force 41, the Air Force can dispatch strategic bombers to launch an attack.

If lucky, the Nuland submarine will take matters into its own hands and use torpedoes to finish off the carriers of Task Force 41.

Do not forget that the number of anti-submarine patrol aircraft deployed on the island of Yotun has been significantly reduced.

It can be seen that as long as it is determined that the Nuland fleet is in the east and acts-for-tat, it will bear a lot of risk.

It's just that the other option isn't necessarily much better.

If the information provided by the Air Force is found to be correct, and if you act on the basis of this information, and go to the Guia Ocean to find the Nuland fleet for a decisive battle, there is a high risk of a sneak attack. Even if they stay south of the Khowaii Islands and rely on shore-based aviation, they dare not guarantee that nothing will go wrong.

As long as it is attacked by surprise, the 41st Task Force will be more than lucky.

In history, especially in the decisive battle of the fleet conducted by aircraft carriers, there has never been a case of defeat turning defeat into victory after being attacked by surprise.

If anything, this is what Bai Huawei is worried about.

The 41st Fleet operated south of the Khowaii Islands, that is, to avoid a sneak attack.

On the other hand, the Nuland Navy has done so many tricks, and the ultimate goal is also to obtain or create an opportunity to sneak attack the 41st Task Force.

If you go north, you may be attacked by a sneak attack.

Alternatively, there is a risk of losing the Aliu Islands.

"No matter what, make a decision as soon as possible." After saying this, Liu Zunling sighed, he knew Bai Huawei's difficulty.

Bai Huawei still only nodded, and did not speak.

It's noon, and the refueling will be in the afternoon, so whether you want to go north or somewhere else will have to decide before the refueling is over.

There are only a few hours left for Bai Huawei.

In fact, this was the first time Bai Huawei commanded a fleet to carry out a combat mission, and it was also the first time that the Imperial Navy faced a decisive battle with a fleet in more than 40 years.

It was only at this time that Bai Huawei really understood why talented generals like Li Mingbo and Zhou Yongtao admired his father so much.

Every decision made by a commander has an impact on victory or defeat and is related to the fate of thousands of officers and soldiers.

It was so difficult to make a decision, and his father, Marshal Bai Zhizhan, the god of war of the Imperial Navy, had made countless such decisions.

And crucially, right the first time, every decision proves to be the best choice.

Otherwise, Bai Zhizhan would not be able to surpass Chen Bingxun and become the number one god of war in the Imperial Navy.

"Report!"

The communications staff officer suddenly shouted, not to mention Bai Huawei, even Liu Zunling was so frightened that he trembled a few times.

However, before Liu Zunling could get angry, an alarm sounded.

Fast and urgent, it's an anti-submarine alarm!

"What's going on!?"

"There are suspicious targets in the southeast direction that are suspected of being submarine snorkels!"

Liu Zunling didn't ask much, and immediately walked towards the porthole on the right.

The fleet sailed north, while southeast was in the right rear.

Bai Huawei also walked over, and a staff officer also sent the telescope.

Behind the right of the aircraft carrier, about 10 kilometers away, an ocean-going frigate has opened fire, using anti-submarine missiles, that is, rocket-boosted torpedoes.

There were 2 noticeable traces of smoke in the air, 2 missiles were fired at once!

Farther above the sea, there is 1 moving object.

That's not an anti-ship missile launched from a submarine, but 1 anti-submarine helicopter loitering in that direction.

However, the helicopter may not be able to arrive in time.

The range of anti-submarine missiles is only 20 kilometers, and even if the range of light anti-submarine torpedoes is included, they can only attack submarines more than 20 kilometers away at most.

This distance is already within the effective range of heavy torpedoes!

If there was 1 attack submarine on the Nuland Sea over there, it must have fired a torpedo at this time.

The ocean-going frigate, before launching the anti-submarine missile, had already turned, except that instead of accelerating to catch up with the carrier, it followed behind the carrier's ass.

This is not a battle with enemy submarines, but the protection of aircraft carriers.

This tactic is actually aimed at wake self-guided torpedoes.

This kind of torpedo uses the wake generated by the ship's navigation for self-guided control, and can attack the most valuable warship according to the characteristics of the wake.

Because the wake of a battleship is basically impossible to imitate, it is difficult to make the wake self-guided torpedo miss by jamming.

To date, there are no effective means of jamming against wake homing torpedoes.

As for intercepting incoming torpedoes, it is even more unreliable.

In response to this problem, the Imperial Navy could only adopt the most primitive and tragic means: arranging personal bodyguards for the aircraft carrier to block torpedoes.

That's right, ocean-going frigates.

To put it simply, when an aircraft carrier is attacked by a wake homing torpedo, the frigate, which is responsible for close anti-submarine cover, has to maneuver to the rear of the aircraft carrier.

In this way, the wake self-guided torpedo, before hitting the aircraft carrier, will hit the frigate.

It can be seen that it is to let the frigate block the torpedoes fired at the aircraft carrier.

Although after being hit by a heavy torpedo, a frigate with only a few thousand tons will definitely be more than lucky, or even ten dead, but compared with the aircraft carrier being attacked and losing its combat effectiveness, the loss of one frigate is nothing at all, at least the fleet will not lose its combat effectiveness because of this.

It is precisely because of this that in any 1 aircraft carrier battle group, at least 1 ocean-going frigate accompanies the aircraft carrier, ensuring that it can stand up when needed.

Of course, this also means that aircraft carriers are equally likely to be attacked.

Thinking of this, Liu Zunling turned his head and looked at the staff officer who began to shout the report.

The staff officer was still holding the communication microphone, and after Liu Zunling looked at it, he did not hurry to speak, and listened for a while before letting out a long breath.

Seeing his expression, Liu Zunling also sighed.

Subsequently, the staff officer reported on the situation.

The alert has been lifted, and the frigate and anti-submarine helicopters have searched the area where the suspicious object has appeared using active sonar, but no submarines have been found.

Perhaps, it was just a bottle floating on the surface of the sea.

It could also be a jet of water spewed out by a humpback whale or a sperm whale.

In fact, similar false alarms are not uncommon when fighting. In previous years' fleet confrontation exercises, dozens of similar situations occurred almost every day. If it is on the battlefield, it means that dozens, if not hundreds, of anti-submarine torpedoes will be used. After all, for the captain of a frigate, it is better to believe in it than to believe in it. Even a single negligence can cause irreparable damage.

A few minutes later, the staff officer in charge of electronic warfare sent the latest report, which proved that the alarm that had begun was not unfounded.

Just as the frigate sounded the anti-submarine alarm, several nearby warships intercepted an unidentified radio signal, and it was an encrypted signal.

Crucially, the source of the signal is in the area where the suspicious target is located.

Apparently, it was a communication buoy launched by a submarine. Because of the shortwave transmitted, the satellite communication channel used, so the buoy is a disposable consumable and there is no need for recycling. The point is that the launch can be set a few hours later, and the submarine has slipped away long before that.

To start, there really is a Newland submarine around here!