A few years ago, the Military Intelligence Agency issued a warning.

The Nuland Navy obtained several documents on the "HMX" project through secret channels, and on this basis, research work on a similar project was launched.

This "HMX" project is the internal name of the "quasi-aircraft carrier project" proposed by He Jingteng.

At that time, the matter also caused an uproar within the navy.

If it weren't for Zhou Yongtao presiding over the overall situation at the Shoufu Residence, and the construction of the "Xue Yuanzheng" class was progressing smoothly, and the third batch of construction plans was also approved, I am afraid that the senior generals of the Imperial Navy would take this opportunity to let the "HMX" project start again. It's not good, it's still possible to do the same thing as back then, and wait until the raw rice is cooked into cooked rice, and then go to the big man of the two houses to comment.

If this is the case, I am afraid that many generals will be unlucky.

Two years later, the Military Intelligence Agency provided another piece of information.

Due to technical limitations, especially the complexity of the structure of the steam catapult, the Nuland Navy made the same choice as the Imperial Navy after in-depth research.

Instead of spending resources on building "quasi-aircraft carriers" that look good and are not easy to use, it is better to build a few more aircraft carriers.

Besides, the Nuland Navy has been building aircraft carriers, there is still a lot of room for improvement, and the number of aircraft carriers is not limited by law.

Fundamentally, there are still technical limitations, especially the complexity of the steam catapult.

The Reich Navy, after detailed demonstrations, shelved the "HMX" project, the main reason being that the simplification of the ejection system never made a breakthrough.

It is not impossible to install a steam catapult on a modified "flat-topped ship", but it is very troublesome.

If nothing else, the high-pressure pipes that transport the steam are enough to deter designers and engineers. The only way to reduce the difficulty of design and construction is to reduce the performance indicators of the catapult, which leads to insufficient power to catapult heavy carrier-based aircraft.

Obviously, for the Nuland Navy, this problem is more prominent.

The point is that the steam catapult of the Nuland Navy was already worse.

For example, the steam catapult used by the Imperial Navy on the "Xue Yuanzheng" class can accelerate a 40-ton carrier-based aircraft to 350 kilometers per hour at a distance of 90 meters; The steam catapult of the "Nitz" class of the Nuland Navy can only accelerate a 35-ton carrier-based aircraft to 185 knots at a distance of about 100 meters. In terms of service life, reliability, steam consumption, maintainability, etc., the Empire's steam catapults have no small advantages.

If nothing else, the Imperial Navy's "Attack-5" and "Battle-9" are both 40-ton heavy carrier-based aircraft, and theoretically, they can support 45-ton carrier-based aircraft. The A-6 and F-14 of the Nuland Navy are both 35-ton heavy carrier-based aircraft, and the upper limit of what can be supported is only 40 tons. The Nuland Navy once jointly developed the F-111 fighter with the Air Force, but because it was overweight, it had to start from scratch and develop the F-14.

The catapult is not good enough, and the construction of a "quasi-aircraft carrier" is even more than worth the loss.

It's just that there is one thing that no one can deny.

The Republic of Nuland has the largest shipbuilding industry in the world, and more than 10 years ago, it surpassed the Liangxia Empire to become the world's largest shipbuilding country.

Of course, there has always been a debate about who is the world's largest shipbuilder.

The main thing is the statistical method.

According to the statistical method adopted by the Nuland authorities, only local shipbuilders are calculated, excluding foreign shipbuilders, making the Newland Republic the world's first.

The Empire's statistical standards include foreign shipbuilding enterprises.

The reason is also very simple, about one-third of the empire's shipbuilding share belongs to overseas shipbuilding enterprises, such as naval shipyards scattered in various overseas bases.

These shipyards, with the title of "Navy", also undertake the construction of civilian ships in peacetime.

In fact, 70% of the orders of naval shipyards belong to civilian ships.

There is no way to do this, and it is necessary to reduce the cost of maintaining shipbuilding capacity by building civilian ships, so that the naval shipyards can remain viable enough, especially in peacetime, to maintain a large shipbuilding team, especially ship engineers and skilled workers.

If only the construction of military ships were undertaken, most of the naval shipyards would go bankrupt and close down in the event of a downsizing fleet.

Although after the end of the war, the imperial authorities have been transfusing blood to naval shipyards through policy support and other means to help naval shipyards participate in market competition, but over the past few decades, more than half of the naval shipyards have gone bankrupt and closed, and the rest are only surviving.

All in all, the Republic of Nuland has one of the best shipbuilding capabilities in the world.

Over the past few years, the Republic of Nuland has built thousands of merchant ships, many of which are container ships with a speed of more than 20 knots and a displacement of more than 50,000 tons.

Crucially, the shipyard, run by the Nuland Navy, was also involved in the construction of container ships.

Like the Liangxia Empire, the Nuland Republic also needed to keep the naval shipyards alive in peacetime, ensuring that warships could be quickly put into construction in wartime.

So, who can guarantee that these container ships are not left redundant in order to transform into aircraft carriers in the future?

Also, who can guarantee that these container ships were not secretly converted into carrier-based aircraft carriers before the Nuland Republic entered the war?

If so, the Nuland Navy will definitely be able to use more than five aircraft carriers now.

Of course, this is just Bai Huawei's speculation.

Don't talk about Liu Zunling, even he himself finds it unbelievable.

The reason is simple, this kind of renovation work must be carried out in the dock or slipway, and it is impossible to keep it absolutely secret, let alone have multiple freighters renovate at the same time.

"I'm just worried, and if that were the case, the MIA would have found out a long time ago."

"If you want me to say, it's really possible." Liu Zunling was obviously more worried than Bai Huawei, because he was the commander of the 41st Task Force. Even if Bai Huawei bears the main responsibility, he, the chief of staff of the fleet, is also duty-bound, at least it is impossible to shirk it.

Bai Huawei was stunned for a moment, and looked at Liu Zunling with a serious face not quite understanding.

"I don't know if you noticed that during the daytime fighting, whether it was east of the Howaii Islands or on the side of the Aliu Islands, F-14s appeared."

"What does that mean?"

"The Nuland aircraft carrier carries more than fighters, and the F-14 has a shorter combat radius than the A-6. Since the F-14s are capable of flying near the Aliu Islands to compete for air supremacy with fighters deployed at the Ebony base, why not use the A-6 instead of strategic bombers? ”

Hearing Liu Zunling say this, Bai Huawei immediately understood.

According to the intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Agency, that's 5 aircraft carriers!

Normally, each of the five Nuland aircraft carriers will carry 20 A-6 heavy attack aircraft from one squadron, and 48 A-7 light attack aircraft or F/A-18 fighter-attack aircraft from two squadrons, with a total of 340 attack aircraft, and only more than 100 F-14 fighters specializing in air supremacy.

Obviously, there is no reason to send only F-14s and leave more than 300 attack aircraft above the flight deck to bask in the sun.

Crucially, the Nuland Air Force did not completely bomb the Aliu Islands during the day on the 4th, and neither Ebony Air Base nor Keith Naval Air Base completely lost their sortie capability. By night, the Imperial Air Force had also launched a strategic counterattack on Nuland mainland with the help of the Ebony base.

If there are 5 aircraft carriers involved in the combat operation to attack the Aliu Islands, all carrier-based aircraft should be used!

Even if you suffer losses in battle, there will be no negative consequences.

To put it bluntly, there are simply not so many carrier-based attack aircraft needed to deal with Task Force 41.

Even if needed, it can be easily replenished, that is, the distance between the Nuland fleet and the mainland does not exceed the transfer flight distance of heavy carrier-based aircraft.

Well, it's not 5 aircraft carriers operating in the Guia?

Thinking of this, Bai Huawei didn't say much about it, and immediately asked the communications staff officer to send over the information he received yesterday, to be precise, the satellite photos provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

There are more than a dozen, but none of them are clear.

The photographs were taken by reconnaissance satellites launched by the Supplementary Network, using improvised optical lenses and deployed in relatively high orbits to avoid destruction by enemy anti-satellite systems. As a result, the resolution of the photographs is far inferior to that of the "Hawkeye" series of reconnaissance satellites, which is 5 meters in the east-west direction and 8 meters in the north-south direction, which can only make a basic distinction between large warships.

For ease of use, the MIA's intelligence analysts also marked the photos.

However, this did not solve a problem.

Even the best intelligence analysts can only make a rough judgment about the size and class of a ship based on the size and silhouette of the ship they photograph.

For example, if the ship is more than 330 meters long, it must be a "Nix" class supercarrier. If it is only 320 meters, it is quite possible that it will be a large aircraft carrier of the "Newland" class. As for the silhouettes of the two types of aircraft carriers, because they both use beveled decks, and the "Nitz" class itself is developed from the "Newland" class, which is almost an enlarged version of the "Newland" class, so there is no significant difference in appearance between the two.

On an enlarged photo, intelligence analysts have made a special interpretation.

The flight decks of the "Newland" class and the "Nitz" class are basically the same in layout, both are 4-seat lifts and 4 catapults, and they are all in the same relative position.

To say the difference, the main thing is that the ship island of the "Niz" class is slightly behind, and there is 1 radar mast behind the ship island.

It's just that on the photos taken by the reconnaissance satellites, these features are very blurry.

Don't say that the specific model of the aircraft carrier is determined, and it is not even possible to determine that this is an aircraft carrier!

Not an aircraft carrier!?

To say, Bai Huawei and Liu Zunling are no strangers to this.

In previous fleet confrontation exercises, both sides have tried to conceal their own whereabouts and deceive their opponents through camouflage.

The most typical method is to disguise large ships as aircraft carriers.

Of course, it's not complicated to do.

Tankers with open decks are usually used, first with steel pipes to form a frame, laid wooden planks on top of them, and put together to look like a flight deck, and then painted with the same dark gray paint as the aircraft carrier. If you want to make it more realistic, you can also build a ship island. If the funds are sufficient, we may even consider demolishing the unsightly bridge. After the transformation is completed, in addition to the speed is not fast enough, it can almost be fake.

In addition, radar camouflage and infrared camouflage were later added.

It's just as simple, though.

In terms of radar camouflage, paint doped with metal powder is mainly used, and after being brushed, the deck made of wooden planks can produce a reflection signal similar to that of the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. If necessary, you can also nail a pre-prepared white iron sheet on top of the wooden deck.

Infrared camouflage, in fact, is to install electric heating devices in chimneys, catapults and elevators, as well as remote warning radars.

As for carrier-based aircraft parked above the flight deck, it is much easier to solve.

However, these disguises still do not solve the most critical problems.

No freighter can reach speeds of up to 30 knots!

After running, it is clear whether it is true or false.

In addition, almost all cargo ships are single-axle and single-pulp, and aircraft carriers are almost all four-axle and four-pulp, so there is a clear difference in the wake generated by the two when sailing.

As for noise, it goes without saying.

It is precisely for this reason that the camouflage of aircraft carriers is mainly aimed at reconnaissance planes in the air and reconnaissance satellites in space, and they are basically powerless against submarines in the sea.

In past confrontation exercises, submarines have been the main reconnaissance force.

Of course, through confrontation exercises that are highly close to actual combat, the navies of the United States have also mastered some methods for distinguishing aircraft carriers.

If anything, the main thing is the maximum speed that can be achieved, as well as the wake that occurs when traveling at high speeds.

Bai Huawei carefully looked at more than 10 photos and found that the wake of the five "aircraft carriers" photographed was very short, indicating that the speed of the voyage was not fast.

Just a coincidence?

"When were these pictures taken?"

"Between 9 and 9:15 yesterday morning."

Bai Huawei rubbed his forehead and said, "If I remember correctly, the battle began before 9 o'clock, and the main area of engagement is in the northeast of the Khowaii Islands. ”

"It's about 2,500 kilometers from the Nuland fleet." Liu Zunling added.

"If the first air refueling was provided by large tankers of the Air Force, then the second air refueling, which was carried out on the way back to the fleet, must definitely be provided by carrier-based aircraft."

"This ......"

"Don't forget, only a few KC-135s in the Nuland Air Force are equipped with hose refueling systems."

"About 40."

"The Air Force was also responsible for bombing the Khowaii and Aliu Islands, dispatching dozens of bombers and launching a second strike in the afternoon." Bai Huawei let out a long breath, and after turning his gaze to Liu Zunling, he asked: "How many tanker planes can the Nuland Air Force dispatch to support the Navy's carrier-based aircraft operations?" ”

Liu Zunling didn't answer.

"If it is necessary to arrange for carrier-based attack aircraft to carry out refueling tasks, then at this time, that is, around 9 o'clock, the aircraft carrier should be allowed to speed up."

"Maybe it's because the wind is fast, and you can get enough deck wind speed by sailing against the wind."

Bai Huawei nodded slightly, and turned his gaze to the staff officers around him.

The staff officer in charge of the weather immediately understood. "According to the weather forecast for the Aliu Islands, the wind speed reached 6 yesterday morning, and the conversion is ......"

"Where's the wind?"

"It's a north wind, about 15 degrees west."

Bai Huawei didn't ask much, flipped out a photo and handed it to Liu Zunling.

In that photo, there are 3 "aircraft carriers", and the course marked is 210 degrees, that is, all 3 aircraft carriers are sailing in a southwesterly direction.

Not sail against the wind, but with a tailwind!

Obviously, even the "Niz"-class aircraft carrier, in the case of a downwind voyage, could not make the A-6E fully loaded, with auxiliary fuel tanks and partner refueling pods in the air!

This time, Bai Huawei did not wait for Liu Zunling to express his opinion, and directly called the operational staff officer over.

If the Nuland fleet didn't go to the Guia, then where did it go?