Meilof’s hands flew across her controls. “All right, people. Time to see if eighteen months of development was worth the taxpayers’ money.” She pulled up a three-dimensional display. “I’ve got our units configured for demonstration pattern Alpha — defensive screen transitioning to offensive sweep once OPFOR shows hostile intent.”
“Very well. And our OPFOR composition — what are we looking at?” asked Trammell as he leaned forward to get a better look.
“Oh, Dutch Harbor’s throwing us a real party, sir. They’re simulating a reinforced PLA Navy surface action group. Two Type 055 destroyers, three Type 054A frigates, and six Type 056A corvettes. Subsurface picture shows two Type 039C AIP boats,” Meilof confirmed.
Thompson whistled low. “That’s a lot of metal.”
“That’s the point, Senior Chief,” Meilof replied. “If we can’t handle this with three Stormwatchers and two Seekers, the whole concept’s dead in the water.”
Trammell rose from his seat, moving to stand beside Meilof at the command console. Through the holographic display, he could see his task group’s electronic nervous system — data streams flowing between platforms at light speed, decision trees branching and pruning in nanoseconds.
“How’s Dutch Harbor managing their side?” he asked, curious how they were going to handle their set of ACVs.
“They’ve got a mirror setup to ours. Lieutenant Rodriguez and his team, plus contractors from the same companies are going to push the boundaries of our system.” Meilof highlighted the OPFOR control node on her display. “They’re using the HYDRA-AI. It’s basically GIDEON’s evil twin. Same base architecture, different tactical libraries and approach to learning.”
The countdown timer steadily moved toward zero, now sixty seconds out.
Trammell keyed the 1MC. “All stations, this is the captain. Exercise Kodiak-33 will commence in one minute. This is it, everyone. We are about to prove that autonomous warfare isn’t science fiction. It’s science fact, and it’s here.”
He turned to Meilof. “Lieutenant Commander, you have my authorization to activate GIDEON. Weapons free under exercise parameters.”
Meilof’s expression hardened with concentration. “Aye, sir.” Her fingers moved across the haptic interface with practiced precision. “GIDEON, this is Intrepid. Authentication Zulu-Nine-Whiskey. Execute demonstration package Alpha. Autonomous operations authorized.”
The transformation was immediate but subtle. Every display in the CIC seemed to sharpen, as if coming into focus. Data streams reorganized themselves, inefficiencies vanishing as GIDEON optimized every connection. The AI’s presence was felt rather than seen — a vast intelligence spreading across the quantum-encrypted links between platforms.
“GIDEON online,” Meilof reported. “Establishing tactical mesh… confirmed. All platforms report ready for autonomous operations.”
On the main display, Trammell watched his Stormwatchers adjust their formation. The movements were small — a few degrees of heading change, minor speed adjustments — but the effect was dramatic. What had been a standard escort formation became something organic, breathing with the rhythm of the storm. Twenty minutes into the exercise, the first signs of the enemy appeared.
“Contact,” Thompson called. “Confirmed, OPFOR units going active. Detecting search radars consistent with PLA Navy Type 364 and Type 382 systems.”
“GIDEON’s responding,” Meilof reported. “Stormwatchers are… interesting.”
The three Stormwatchers had begun what looked like random course changes. But Trammell recognized the pattern from his study of the system. They were creating electromagnetic ghosts, using the storm’s interference to multiply their apparent numbers. To the OPFOR’s sensors, three vessels would look like nine.
“Vampire, vampire,” Thompson announced with clinical calm. “The lead Stormwatcher just detected an OPFOR missile barrage.”
“Don’t tease me, Senior Chief, give me numbers and types of inbounds,” quizzed Meilof as Trammell watched her take control of the situation.
Senior Chief Thompson swiftly answered. “Aye, ma’am, it’s coming in now. First wave consists of twenty-four YJ-18s. Time to impact four minutes. Second wave is larger, thirty-six YJ-18s, impact in seven minutes. Oh wow, damn, Stormwatcher just detected a third wave. The OPFOR is launching twelve YJ-21s, time to impact five minutes.”
Captain Trammell’s pulse quickened as the threat profile came through — an onslaught of inbound Chinese missiles, each a flying stick of death. At the top of the list was the YJ-21, a hypersonic antiship ballistic missile developed to punch through even the most advanced AEGIS defenses. Capable of reaching terminal speeds above Mach 10, it was designed to kill or cripple capital ships with a combination of kinetic impact and deep-penetration warhead detonation. Alongside it were salvos of YJ-18s, China’s primary sea-skimming cruise missile, notorious for its subsonic approach and terminal sprint at Mach 3. It was the classic saturation tactic naval warfighters had feared for years — a multivector, multispeed assault aimed at overwhelming layered defenses through sheer volume and complexity. The OPFOR wasn’t just probing; they were trying to break the shield.
“Whoa, that’s a hell of a barrage. How is GIDEON responding?” Trammell asked Meilof.
“GIDEON’s initiated full battle group defense,” Meilof replied, eyes locked on her console. “All three Stormwatchers have fanned into intercept arcs — SM-6s are already in flight, prioritizing YJ-21s by predicted impact vector. Secondaries are tracking the cruise wave; SeaRAMs and lasers are holding fire for leakers in the sprint phase. Sidewinder turrets are on standby, slaved to shared targeting data. GIDEON’s adjusting posture every second — this is a live fire net, not a picket line.”
Trammell watched in fascination as the Stormwatchers transformed their scattered formation into something he’d only seen once in a simulation. Instead of each ship creating its own defensive bubble, they merged their sensor pictures and weapons employment zones into a single integrated defense. The lead Stormwatcher’s radar painted targets while the trailing units remained silent, their missiles guided by their sister ship’s data while their ship kept its radars off, preventing them from being quickly identified.
The holographic battle space flared with dozens of red arcs, all converging on the task group in staggered waves. Twenty-four YJ-18s came in low, sea-skimming just above the wave tops. Behind them, thirty-six more broke over the horizon in a second volley. Higher still, twelve YJ-21s screamed in from the stratosphere, their trajectories sharp and fast — maneuvering ballistic arcs with hypersonic velocity profiles.
“Splash twenty-two,” Senior Chief Thompson exclaimed excitedly. “Two leakers from the first wave — heading straight for Stormwatcher-2 and Stormwatcher-3!”
The Stormwatcher-class unmanned surface vessels (USVs) shifted formation instantly. The GIDEON-AI had already predicted the surviving missile paths, retasking additional interceptors before Thompson had finished speaking.
Trammell watched on the display as the SeaRAMs roared virtually to life, digital missile tracks reaching out for the incoming sea-skimmers still bearing down on them. Intermixed with the missiles were precision laser bursts from the vessel’s cobalt beam turrets, which zapped targets as they crisscrossed the simulated sky. The last two YJ-18s blinked out seconds later, the defenses holding.
“Heads up, here comes the second wave. They’re entering Stormwatcher-2 and Stormwatcher-3 laser envelope now,” announced Meilof as calmly as one could with dozens of incoming missiles. She continued, “Thirty-six YJ-18s inbound. Hang on, it looks like GIDEON is overclocking its targeting cycles. It’s moving to rotate Sidewinder packs for full quadrant saturation.”