At 20:00, a satellite updated the position of the Washington Strike Group, now only 180 miles north of Guam, and a solitary ship was seen south of Palau. That gave the two J-20’s out of Zamboanga the scent, and they were moved forward. But first, they thought they would ambush the American AEW plane with their long range PL-15’s. They were able to get into firing range before they were finally spotted on radar, with missiles in the air. That was when the two escorting F-35’s on CAP saw them, and vectored in to attack.
The enemy fighters were already close enough to paint Carrier Strike Group Enterprise with their radars, and so now they turned to run north, but the pilots had been too eager in their hunt for that Hawkeye. They had used a 1000 knot rush to close quickly into firing range, and now they saw their fuel reserves too low to maintain that speed and escape from the American fighters.
Both would die that hour, but the missiles they had fired at the Hawkeye would exact revenge, destroying that plane as well. Admiral Cook did not like that news one bit.
“Gentlemen, these damn J-20’s are proving to be more stealthy than we would like. So it’s double CAP rotations from here on out. That was one valuable plane and crew we just lost out there, and it damn well better not happen again. Reinforce CAP—now!”
It was the first use of the new JASSM-ER cruise missile in the war, a mission flown by all six B-2 Spirit Bombers that had been stationed at Anderson AFB on Guam. The plan was a simple one, as Admiral Cook had briefed his crews. They were going to revisit their old roost at Clark, now called Beiying, the Northern Star in this theater, and they were going to catch the big fat geese in their hangars as they were gorging themselves with fresh ordnance.
JASSM was the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, and this was the extended range version, a stealthy subsonic missile that was both difficult to see on radar and difficult to track and kill. Lockheed Martin had designed the beast, and the B-2’s carried it all of 1000 miles to their release point east of Manila, completely undetected. It was a big missile, 14 feet long, with wings that would deploy to a span of nearly eight feet, and it weighed 2,250 pounds, with 1000 of those being the penetrating warhead it brought to the fight. It could use both GPS and inertial navigation to make its way to the assigned target, with terminal infrared homing, and a computer brain pre-programmed to automatically recognize its target.
That was easy work for the mission tasking teams. The Americans knew every inch of Clark AFB, so it was like coming home from a hunting trip to find a burglar in your cabin. You knew exactly how and where to shoot.
The missiles came in just 30 feet over the water, and they had reached the east coast of Luzon without being seen on any radars, in spite of a big KJ-2000 AEW plane orbiting 40,000 feet above them. Their path then took them directly past a Chinese HQ-9A SAM site, which finally woke up and managed to fire off 32 missiles at very close ranges to get a good number of kills, but the great mass of the strike just rolled right on by, and the base was going to take a terrible pounding minutes later.
The base was a main operational hub for the Chinese, with a lot of munitions stockpiled, and the grounds replete with aircraft. There were 18 J-20’s, another 18 Flying Leopards, and of course those 36 big H-6 bombers. As the missiles rained in, one explosion after another rocked the base, striking hangars, tarmacs, taxiways, and open parking. Planes started exploding all over the field, and before the attack was over, all 18 JH-7B Flying leopards were left in ruins, along with half the J-20 fighters, and eight of the big H-6 Bombers. Beyond that, the control tower was destroyed, both terminals hit, a fuel pumping station damaged, and many hangars raging with fire.
Those six B-2’s had done to Clark what all 36 H-6 bombers had been unable to do to Anderson in two large attacks. What was the difference? The US had strong naval assets that could interdict the flight path of a significant number of the enemy missiles, and a robust fighter defense aloft to fall on the lumbering subsonic Vampires like hawks. The naval units had served as good forward radar pickets, that gave the US early notice the base was being attacked when combined with airborne AEW assets. That is what had enabled those fighters to scramble and do their work.
In the attack against Clark, the stealthy US missiles had flown right under the nose of the Chinese AEW plane, hugging the sea and ground all the way in until the HQ-9 battery 20 miles east of the airfield suddenly saw the missiles coming, and began firing. Two other SAM sites saw crews rushing to activate radars and prep their systems, but they never got off a shot. All told, the single battery that fired was able to kill a baker’s dozen, but there had been 96 missiles in that attack, and the rest surged on through like a wild herd of buffalo and just trampled those tarmacs, leaving the base ravaged and burning. Communications equipment was destroyed, radars smashed, ammo bunkers damaged, and for all purposes the base was out of commission.
The shock of the attack jarred Admiral Wu, and went all the way to Beijing, a dark omen in their minds. The Air force sent orders that as soon as any bomber was ready to fly and could take off, they were to return to the Chinese mainland at once. An exception was made for planes that had already loaded ordnance to some degree. They would be made available to complete one more strike if possible, which amounted to 18 planes. Ten others were simply ordered to rig for the air ferry ride home, but it would be some time before even that would be possible.
It had been bad enough that the two strikes had both failed to inflict any significant damage on the American bases. Now the loss of eight bombers and a full heavy squadron of Flying Leopards was a severe blow. It darkened the Admiral’s mood, sending his mind in circles as he looked for a way to generate mass and concentration when he faced the American fleet for a surface action.
They are going after the bases, he thought, preparing the battlefield. A radar site near Jolo was also reported hit and destroyed, so they are going to try and blind me and destroy my air support capabilities by hammering these bases. What was wrong with the Air Force? Did they think the Northern Star was so far off that they had no risk of attack? The fools! They should have had round the clock combat air patrols there. The damage to Clark could be near fatal. At the very least, it will take days, or possibly weeks to repair. I must count Beiying as a dead asset now.
Alright, I still have 20 Flying Leopards at Davao, and six more at Miri, west of the American carriers. They can carry the YJ-12, with a 215 mile range, and the plane could fly as far as 320 miles to a release point with that loadout. Adding the 215 mile range of the missile, that gives them a maximum strike radius of 535 miles, and the Enterprise group can be reached from either airfield.
And here I stand on an aircraft carrier! Time to start fighting like a carrier commander. Zhendong has 24 J-31’s for excellent defense, but only 12 J-15 Flying Sharks. Their only strike ordnance in this situation would be a pair of YJ-83K, with a 135 mile range. Taifeng has 36 J-31’s and yes, 12 more J-15’s. So I can send 48 missiles at the Enterprise with my carriers—not much, but at least something. Those planes will be easily seen on radar, so I must fly with a heavy escort. That combines with all 32 remaining Flying Leopards for my air strike, and with it, I will send my long range YJ-100’s.
I have the air power to do this now. I can saturate the skies with every J-20 and J-31 I have. They have destroyed the Northern Star with impunity, but now I will make them pay.