"Major Smith, what do you think we should do?"

Stark asked suddenly, leaving the major staff officer standing next to him a little confused.

However, Stark did not urge, handed the telegram he was holding to the major staff officer, and then picked up the coffee cup on the table.

The coffee was already cold, and he went to pour it again.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the staff officer of the major quickly scanned the message.

"Say whatever you think."

"According to the information currently available, it is imperative to join Task Force 52. The two task forces are together, and they can only deal with each other when they are attacked. ”

Stark didn't say anything, just nodded to understand what Smith meant.

"It's just that none of the intelligence on which we base our judgments can stand up to scrutiny, and it's more like a well-written script."

"Script?"

"The screenwriter and director are Liang Xiajun, and we are the villains who are bound to die."

Stark pursed his lips and said, "According to your meaning, we can't join Task Force 52?" ”

"The key to the current situation is the whereabouts of the 41st Task Force, and there are basically two situations."

"Which two?"

"The first scenario is that Task Force 41 has returned to the vicinity of the Transit Island and joined Task Force 61."

Stark glanced at Smith and told him not to sell it.

"With this as a premise, let's look at the recent actions of the Liang Xia army. The only plausible explanation is that Liang Xiajun hopes that we can retreat from the difficulties. In a situation where a decisive battle with the fleet is inevitable and we are sure that we cannot win, retreat is undoubtedly the most rational choice. ”

"What if we don't withdraw?"

"Obviously, we will definitely have to join up with Task Force 52 and then fight the Liang Xia fleet northeast of the transit island. Or let the 52nd Task Force follow and fight the Liang Xia fleet here. Either way, we're going to get the two task forces together. ”

Stark let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead vigorously.

Actually, he had already thought of this.

Whether it's for Task Force 51 to withdraw or for Task Force 52 to arrive, both task forces need to work together.

This means that it is likely to be attacked at the same time.

Obviously, whether it is in the north of the transit island or in the northwest, as long as it is hit, the outcome will be the same. A difference of several hundred kilometers, even a distance of thousands of kilometers, is not a problem at all for strategic bombers and will not have much impact on strike operations.

If this is the case, then the purpose of the Liang Xia Navy is to annihilate the two task forces of the Nuland Navy in one fell swoop.

"What about the other one?" Stark didn't think much of it and let the conversation continue.

"Task Force 41 did not return to the Transit Island, and after Task Force 53 revealed its true colors, it headed north from Jotun Island and entered the Guia Ocean east of the Howaii Islands. Now they are rushing to the attack area, preparing to sneak attack the 52nd Task Force, which is still supporting the Marine Corps. ”

Stark's brow jumped a few times, and his gaze fell on Smith.

"When we make such a judgment, the first thing we must do is to immediately join up with the 52nd Task Force and meet the Liangxia fleet that is coming from a detour."

"According to your analysis, no matter what, it needs to converge with Task Force 52."

"The question is, what if these speculations happen to be wrong?"

"Wrong?"

Smith nodded, and then said, "The point is, we don't know the whereabouts of Task Force 41, but we just speculate based on intelligence. More importantly, after the paralysis of our satellite system, the advantage that originally belonged to us has now become the advantage of the Liangxia Navy. Don't forget, there are thousands of combat aircraft on the Khowaii Islands. The strategic airlift of the previous days is also enough to prove that it is not difficult to send additional large aircraft to the front line. Just relying on shore-based aviation, the Liangxia fleet was able to detect the enemy first. ”

Stark couldn't help but smile wryly as Smith said this.

Up to now, the 51st Task Force and the 52nd Task Force are still far away from the transit island, that is, the shore-based aviation that is afraid of the Liangxia Navy.

Or rather, it is evading shore-based aviation and avoiding premature exposure of its whereabouts.

However, the key is not how far it is from the transit island.

Large anti-submarine patrol planes all have a range of more than 6,000 kilometers, and most of them can fly to a distance of 3,000 kilometers to carry out search missions, far exceeding the combat radius of carrier-based aircraft.

As for air defense interception, it is only a temporary measure.

The battle lasted for more than 10 days, and the whereabouts of the two task forces had not yet been revealed, and the key was to bomb and suppress the shore-based air base of the Liangxia Navy.

To put it simply, it is a repeated attack on airfields and military bases where large aircraft are deployed.

Through this suppressive action, the sortie efficiency of the Liangxia Navy's anti-submarine patrol planes and maritime patrol planes was at least 90 percent lower than the normal sortie rate.

In this, reconnaissance satellites play a crucial role.

Don't forget, the Khowaii Islands are more than 5,000 kilometers from the Nuland mainland.

If there are no reconnaissance satellites, relying only on the reconnaissance planes of the Air Force, it will not be possible to accurately grasp the situation of the shore-based aviation base of the Liangxia Navy in any case.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.

Soon, perhaps on the night of the 12th, or in the early morning of the 13th, long-range patrol planes deployed on the Khowaii Islands will be pouring out.

Even if the two task forces dispatched all the fighters, it would not be foolproof.

In one carrier-based aviation wing, there is only one fighter group, usually 20 planes, at most 24 planes, and the two task forces have a total of only 112 F-14Bs, and they lost more than 10 planes in the previous battles, but the supplementary fighters have never arrived.

The main reason is that Task Force 52 has already moved out to the northeast of the transit island, not staying behind Task Force 51, and the distance between the two task forces to the mainland of Newland exceeds the maximum transit range of the F-14B. Without Task Force 52 as a springboard, the Air Force's large tankers would have to be used. It's a pity that the Air Force is now taking care of itself, and more than 100 large tankers deployed in the West Coast region are all in the service of bombers.

In fact, even if you count the F/A-18, there are not enough fighters.

"You mean, we'll be exposed first?"

"Judging from the current situation, this is a high probability event. Besides, the Liang Xia army has made so many famous halls, just to make us mess up. ”

"According to your analysis, we will definitely lose this naval battle."

"Not necessarily."

"Do you have any good ideas?" Stark ended the pointless discussion and went straight to the point.

"No matter how you fight, you can't follow your opponent's routine. In other words, we can't join Task Force 52 just yet. ”

"Having the two task forces operate separately makes our chances even slimmer."

"It depends on how you define 'victory.'"

Stark furrowed his brow and let Smith continue.

"With the current situation, if I were the commander of the Liangxia fleet, I would definitely believe that after the military satellite system was paralyzed, we would definitely join the 52nd task force, and the two task forces would act together. However, we may not withdraw our troops from the transit island. ”

Stark nodded, knowing what he meant.

"In that case, what will the commander of the Liang Xia fleet think after discovering the 52nd Task Force?"

"You mean ......"

"Let's look at two scenarios. First of all, if Task Force 41 is to the west and has already joined Task Force 61, it will certainly not sit idly by in the next decisive battle of the fleet. As long as we can seize this opportunity, we can be sure to discover the Liangxia fleet. ”

"Attack again?"

"It's certainly not enough to rely on just the three carrier-based air wings of the 51st Task Force, but there are still dozens of bombers at our disposal on the mainland."

Stark didn't argue, it was the 40 B-1Bs he had gotten.

"The point is that when Task Force 52 is attacked, we can send carrier-based fighters to cover the bombers for a surprise attack. Even at the worst possible outcome, we ......"

Stark raised his hand to interrupt Smith and didn't let him continue.

Obviously, Smith was going to trade Task Force 52 for the two task forces of the Liangxia Navy.

If you really want to be able to exchange, Stark will definitely not hesitate.

Even if the 52nd Task Force is lost, the next few months will be able to rely on the 51st Task Force to sweep the entire Howaii Islands.

In fact, it is enough to lay down the transit island.

With no worries, Task Force 51 will be able to fully support the landing force, and it will certainly be able to wipe out the remnants of the enemy on the transit island in a matter of days.

To be said, after losing the decisive battle of the fleet, the troops guarding the transit island may not fight to the death.

Thinking of this, Stark couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Only when he calmed down did he look over at Smith.

"In the other case, it would have been better if Task Force 41 was to the east. Because it is a long-range attack, Task Force 41 may not directly launch an attack, and it is more likely to call in the support of shore-based aviation or even let the air force take action. Because the shore-based air forces deployed on the Khowaii Islands have been heavily damaged and are also responsible for search missions, they may not be able to organize an attack, so most of them will be handed over to the air force, and bombers deployed in the rear, such as the North Malaysia Islands, will be used to carry out assault missions. ”

"You mean, we sent fighter jets to cover Task Force 52?"

Smith nodded, and continued, "The main purpose of this is to allow Task Force 52 to concentrate on the attack from Task Force 41. The point is, we're still going to use those bombers to launch a surprise attack on Task Force 41 and try to catch it all. ”

"If that's the case, Task Force 61 will definitely retreat."

"It's a real problem, but it's certainly better than nothing." Smith pursed his lips and said, "Besides, after the destruction of the 41st Task Force, the Liang Xia Navy will definitely make adjustments and become more cautious, and will not let the 61st Task Force take risks." The impact on us is actually to spend more time taking the Transit Island. So far, it's the best we can achieve. ”

"No chance of ambushing Task Force 61?"

"Although from a tactical point of view, after the 41st Task Force launches a surprise attack, the 61st Task Force will take action to the west to distract us, there is reason to believe that the commander of the Liangxia Fleet will make full use of the Air Force's bombers." Smith paused slightly, and after Stark looked over, he said, "If we want to ambush Task Force 61, we have to stay here and move up to 500 kilometers to the northeast. Too far away, there is a high probability that the combat radius of the carrier-based aircraft will be exceeded. ”

"You're saying we'll be the first to be attacked?"

After saying this, Stark also sighed.

The point is that the area where Task Force 51 is now located is on the route from the North Malaysia Islands to the Khowaii Islands, which is a must for bombers.

In fact, the 51st Task Force came here to intercept the bombers of the Liangxia Air Force.

As a result, there is a high chance that bombers that go to deal with Task Force 52 will spot Task Force 51 in the middle of the flight.

"We have to move to the rear, to the north of Task Force 52 to be exact."

Stark didn't answer, he certainly understood what Smith meant.

This move is to use the 52nd Task Force as bait.

From the point of view of deployment, in fact, the 51st Task Force and the 52nd Task Force have switched positions, from the original cover of the 52nd Task Force to the front.

If anything, Stark didn't care if Task Force 52 lived or died.

Don't forget that Task Force 52 was originally part of the Sunset Fleet, and had little to do with the Guia Fleet, to which Task Force 51 belonged.

Strictly speaking, the two fleets have always been at odds.

The reason is also very simple: in World War II, the Guia Fleet defected to the federal authorities, while the Sunset Fleet was at the behest of the Hwaseong authorities.

Even after the war, the Guia Fleet was a maverick.

Most notably, under the impetus of many admirals who returned after the war, the Hwaseong authorities had to make a compromise and named the first class supercarrier after the "Nitz", and the first three ships were named after the famous generals of the Guia Fleet.

Don't forget that to the Hwaseong authorities, these people are traitors!

This matter was also regarded as a laughing stock.

As a result, before the construction of the second batch began, the Hwaseong authorities passed a very targeted law stipulating that only the aircraft carrier could be named after the president. Obviously, the bill is aimed at the conservative faction in the navy, so as not to make a similar joke again.

Stark comes from the Guia Fleet, and while he is not conservative, he certainly cares more about the Guia Fleet.

What he was thinking about now was actually whether he could rely on one task force to achieve a more significant victory even if he had won the 52nd Task Force after sacrificing the 52nd Task Force. Even if you don't want to seize the entire Khowaii Islands, you need to at least ensure that you will conquer the transit islands in the near future.

If not, what's the point of sacrificing Task Force 52?

In fact, in the long run, sacrificing Task Force 52 will certainly do more harm than good.

If nothing else, it is not the Liangxia Navy that lacks aircraft carriers, it is the Nuland Navy. If you really want to fight for attrition, the Nuland Navy will die a very ugly death.

But the question is, is there any other option?

Smith said it very thoroughly, after all, compared to Stark, he is a bystander, so he can see more clearly and thoroughly.

While Smith was doing his analysis, Stark was also thinking.

After thinking about it, he had to admit it. In the current situation, there are simply no good options. Not to mention a complete victory, it is not easy to ensure that you are undefeated.

The combat operation has gone wrong, can it still be retreated?

If sacrifices had to be made, it would be much better to sacrifice Task Force 52 than to sacrifice Task Force 51!