Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 139 War Begins

While waiting for the first strike, Bai Jin saw the Changkong-23 and Changkong-25 hypersonic anti-ship missiles waiting in the silo. Looking at their thermobaric warheads, Bai Jin couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Commander, aren't thermobaric warheads ineffective against individual enemy targets?"

Platinum pointed to the two types of hypersonic anti-ship missiles waiting in the launch silo and asked.

"Any behavior that focuses solely on toxicity without considering dosage is simply irresponsible."

"Moreover, Cleveland's assessment was based on our existing weapons. That's why they said thermobaric weapons couldn't cause effective damage."

Lorraine shrugged; he had already verified this with Cleveland.

Seeing the enemy's extremely slow advance, Lorraine estimated that it would take them more than half an hour to enter the operational range of the first and third airdrop teams.

Time ticked by, and a little sweat appeared on Lorraine's hands as he watched as the enemy was about to enter the combat range of Group 1 and Group 3.

When faced with the enemy's relatively loose formation advancing in a straight line, he did not issue combat orders immediately. Instead, he mobilized some combat units from Group 1 and Group 3 to move to the flank of the enemy's formation.

Prepare to flank and eliminate the small and medium-sized individuals in the center of the enemy formation, attempting to decapitate these command-capable units as soon as possible.

"Airdrop a group of personnel into position."

"The three airdrop teams are in position."

The order to fire was issued from the naval base, transmitted via a directional antenna to the command aircraft in the air, and then sent down via data link to all combat units in the first and third airdrop groups.

In an instant, fires erupted on the positions where the first and third groups of airdrops landed, as 120mm tandem armor-piercing rounds, 120mm multi-purpose rounds, and 80mm assault rockets penetrated the enemy's lines from different angles.

Several 120mm tandem armor-piercing rounds launched from the left and right sides struck two medium-sized individuals in the center of the formation. The scorching metal jets easily pierced their bodies, followed by several 120mm multi-purpose rounds that exploded on their bodies.

The steel balls fired from the multi-purpose projectile instantly riddled several small individuals nearby with holes, rendering them completely incapacitated.

Once the smoke cleared, the unmanned combat units positioned on the left and right flanks of the enemy formation quickly used their Gauss rifles to suppress the heavily wounded medium-sized enemy units.

On the main battlefield, several 40mm high-explosive grenades exploded in a cluster of small enemy units, turning more than ten small units into fragments.

The crossfire, composed of dozens of Gauss rifles, was like a scythe, frantically reaping the lives of the enemy's charging small and medium-sized individuals and small individuals.

Moments later, the 120mm rocket launchers on the left and right sides of the enemy formation were loaded, and several multi-purpose rockets exploded on the bodies of the medium-sized enemy soldiers, successfully ending the lives of the two wounded enemy soldiers.

Subsequently, precision strike units on both sides, in conjunction with Gauss rifles, began to eliminate the remaining surviving individuals at the rear of the enemy formation.

The entire battle went even more smoothly than expected. From the outbreak of the battle to the decapitation and the cleanup of the battlefield, it took a total of 23 minutes to eliminate these 68 enemy individuals.

The unmanned combat group that engaged in the frontal assault only lost a small number of Gauss rifles, while all of its heavy firepower remained intact.

After confirming that the two combat teams had begun their transfer, Lorraine adjusted the view on the central screen of the command center to the perspective of the airborne command aircraft.

However, to Lorraine's surprise, the enemy did not immediately deploy a large number of troops. Instead, the enemy's large units climbed to the outside of the mine and began to use their large-caliber electromagnetic cannons on their backs to attack the abandoned positions of the first and third groups of airdropped units.

Large-caliber kinetic energy fragmentation shells exploded on the position, kicking up handfuls of dirt and tearing cracks in the ground until the entire position was shattered before the shelling stopped.

Then, a large number of enemy units crawled out from behind him and moved quickly forward.

After being analyzed by Cleveland, the transmitted images were used to determine the exact number of enemy troops involved in the attack.

The enemy attack deployed 10 medium-sized individuals, 30 medium-sized individuals, and 300 small individuals.

Based on the enemy's movements, these 10 medium-sized individuals will be divided into two teams, one chasing one group of airdropped enemies and the other chasing one group of airdropped enemies. They are expected to engage the enemy in 25 minutes.

Since the enemy had mobilized almost its entire force, Lorraine used a directional antenna to issue orders for mobile warfare to the forward troops.

Three minutes after the radio command was issued, Lorraine detected unusual activity from a large enemy unit through the command aircraft's view. Subsequently, a 200mm iron shell flew toward the naval base.

490 seconds later, an unidentified object flying at high speed flew over the naval base.

"Wow, the enemy's electromagnetic cannon has a pretty long firing range."

Lorraine complained, but cold sweat broke out on her back.

But not long after, Lorraine received a message from Ouyang Nian.

"Commander, the improved communication relay version of the Cormorant UAV is ready for deployment, with an estimated endurance of ten hours, and can take off at any time."

"Take off immediately, activate data link, and prepare to integrate into the command link."

[The drone has taken off, data link connection is complete, and it has been integrated into the command and control system.]

[Commander, you can now issue orders at any time without being detected by the enemy.]

"Phew~"

Lorraine slumped halfway down in the chair and let out a long sigh.

After a short rest, Lorraine roused himself, sat up straight, and dispatched eight more Shadow II loitering munitions, awaiting battle reports from the unmanned combat group.

At this moment, two Shadow II loitering munitions and two Cormorant UAVs carrying out air strike missions have arrived over the unmanned combat cluster and are ready to begin air strike missions at any time.

After the enemy combat group split into two teams, the enemy formation did not change at all, with five medium-sized individuals distributed in various positions within the combat group.

The enemy's overall formation resembles a wedge formation, but it is actually a large triangle with two small wings, with three medium-sized individuals distributed at the three ends of the triangle.

The remaining two medium-sized individuals each led five small and medium-sized individuals to maneuver on the left and right sides of the triangle, protecting the left and right wings of the triangle.

"Tsk"

Although the enemy's deployment of troops was not beyond Lorraine's expectations, the even tougher "bone" to crack still made him unhappy.

"Groups 1 and 3 will begin harassment operations; Groups 2 and 4 will prepare to provide support; Group 5 will launch drones to provide aerial vision for Groups 1 and 2."

"The air strike group is assembling in one direction, ready to carry out ground attack missions."

A series of orders were issued, and each group began to move, making the hilly area chosen as the battlefield even more dangerous.

Large numbers of unmanned combat units broke into smaller groups and, under the cover of the forest, launched attacks on the enemy formation from all directions. Rockets, steel spikes, and 40mm grenades flew into the enemy camp at different times and from different angles.

For a time, the enemy units responsible for flank protection could only keep attacking areas where there might be unmanned combat units.

These dispersed unmanned combat units perfectly executed Lorraine's plan. The enemy's formation was disrupted by sniper fire from all directions, and the medium-sized units serving as command units gradually became separated from the main force.

"Begin to drive away and lure out small enemy units; deploy the aerial smoke screen system forward to provide cover for the air strike."

[Priority Target: Medium-sized enemy units]

Upon receiving the order, most of the unmanned combat units were dispersed around the enemy's likely route, while a small number were set up with traps and temporary blocking positions in front of the enemy's likely route.

Unmanned combat units that were injured and rendered incapacitated in battle were dispersed and deployed along the flanks of a route the enemy was sure to take, with the help of logistical units, in preparation to suppress the main enemy force as it passed by.

At this moment, the aerial smoke-deploying vehicles that were originally waiting in the rear also arrived behind the blocking position, ready to cover the air combat group that was about to launch an attack.

Five minutes later, the enemy made contact with the forward squad. After a brief exchange of fire, the squad's three unmanned combat units killed two small enemy individuals and then retreated unscathed.

However, the further the enemy advanced, the more harassment teams they encountered at the same time. Just as they were about to pass the enemy's flank fire positions, the enemy was attacked by four harassment teams at the same time.

Before the enemy could regroup, they were all exposed to the enemy's flanks. Before they could even fire, they were pinned down by the dense barrage of 8mm steel spikes.

Just as they were about to retaliate, a large number of harassment teams began to strike the enemy in batches and continuously, and 40mm grenades fired from blocking positions would fly in from time to time.

Seeing that the enemy was under pressure, Lorraine decisively ordered the unmanned combat group to begin its attack.

Two Cormorant UAVs, fully loaded with munitions, began their dive from an altitude of 7 kilometers. When they reached an altitude of 5 kilometers, the bottom hatch of the cargo hold was opened, revealing loitering munitions mounted on composite racks in the cargo hold.

At this moment, the two Shadow III loitering munitions high in the sky also began to dive in sync.

When they reach an altitude of 4 meters, they have reached a maximum speed of 400 kilometers per hour and begin to release anti-tank loitering munitions.

The launched anti-tank loitering munitions began their high-speed dive. Of the 72 loitering munitions launched simultaneously, 12 briefly deployed their speed brakes, placing themselves in the second echelon to cover the Shadow II loitering munitions as they engaged the enemy.

At this moment, the enemy units that were being suppressed by fire also noticed the danger in the air. They began to try to stand up and quickly suppress the fire positions.

Upon detecting unusual activity from enemy units, the harassment team relayed this information to support units at the blocking position. Subsequently, the grenade firing rate from the blocking position increased instantly, suppressing the enemy once again.