“I noticed something in the intel our informants sent.” Taylors was abruptly reminded of something. He went on, “That was actually a deliberate signal from Xia Lei. He mentioned that the Thunder Horse Organization was not working on only one drone model but two. From the video earlier, the drone we destroyed was the Jing Ke drone. What we are seeing now is the drone Xia Lei was very secretive about. There is not much information on it so far.”
Wilshire hummed. “That drone is truly the most advanced drone Thunder Horse Organization has put out. The earlier Jing Ke model was just a self-destructive drone. But not only did this measly drone carry regular missiles, but it was also able to transport an anti-ship missile. It was invisible to our radars, which means it can easily break past our air defence network and just appear over our heads and launch its missiles!”
The tension growing on the ship was stifling. There was only one thing that everyone could imagine. A stingray-like drone announcing its presence silently above the Seventh Fleet. The only time one could see it would be when it enters the field of vision of the optical telescope. Even then, it would be considered as an indetectable existence. The drone was essentially able to destroy the fleet whenever it wished!
However, this wasn’t the factor that brought them the most fear. What made them tremble most was if China had created tens of these or even hundreds of these. What would the outcome be like?
In the gigantic screen, the stingray-like silver unmanned aircraft suddenly launched an air-to-air missile.
“How dare it attack our F35s!” roared a Caucasian military officer.
His booming voice snapped everyone out of their daze, bringing their attention back to the screen.
In that split second, the silver air-to-air missile flew right into an F35 fighter jet. Everything happened so abruptly that the F35 couldn’t respond to the threat!
It birthed a deafening explosion, its flames rushing for the sky. The F35 worth over two and a half billion USD was reduced to debris. Then, everything was burned into charcoal with the heat and shockwaves!
“It… It really just did that!” The seething Caucasian officer stared at the screen with wide eyes, utterly dumbfounded.
It was obvious he had forgotten that the American fighter jets had fired not one but four air-to-air missiles towards the silver drone.
Despite that, the four missiles graced by the American fighter jets did not manage to scratch its surface once. On the other hand, all it took to turn the world-renowned F35 fighter jet into a ball of flames was a single air-to-air missile!
“Contact the Pentagon now!” Wilshire barked out orders. “Tell them that a Chinese drone has perished one of our F35s!”
“No…” Taylors’ voice trailed off.
On the screen, the silver drone casually completed an aerial flip before launching another air-to-air missile.
Ka-boom!
Another F35 fighter jet was turned into a fireball. It suffered the same fate as the first F35. Its pilot was not alerted of it and did not have enough time to respond appropriately.
“No, it’s two F35s…” This somewhat seemed to be words missing from Taylors’ lips.
All signs had shown that the silver drone was absolutely invisible. Even its missiles were invisible too!
Missiles of this kind would trigger no response from the radar upon locking targets. Prowling onto its target, its speed was almost six times the speed of sound. There was no way for an active anti-aircraft missile to intercept in time. At such speeds, the pilot would only be able to see it the moment he was shot!
“Commander!” The huffing Caucasian military officer turned around. “They’re attacking our fighter jets! This is a blatant declaration of war! We should launch nuclear bombs onto their country!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Wilshire, who had been dead silent the entire time, finally lost it. He turned around forcefully and yelled, “Can’t you see what just happened?! You fucking idiot! If China has tens of these drones, what are our Navy and Air Forces going to need to defeat them? Nuclear bomb my ass! Do you think we’re the only ones with nuclear bombs? China has them too! The anti-ship missile on their drone is obviously a modified version of the Eagle Claw anti-ship missile. Their altered Eagle Claws can definitely carry out nuclear loading!”
The USS George Washington fell into gloomy silence.
The Seventh Fleet soldiers had just taken a huge beating but their commander was demanding that they swallow their fury!
Displayed on the screen, the four remaining Hornet fired Sidewinder missiles again.
Nothing was different, the missiles were once again off target.
Whoosh!
The silver drone launched its very last missile, blasting one of the last Hornets into flames. The Hornet’s pilot was deprived of a chance to escape due to its insane travelling speed!
That was the silver drone’s final air-to-air missile. It was now depleted of its fighting ability.
Taylors immediately thought of something. He urgently screeched, “Knock it down! Knock it down!”
Wilshire was quick to pick up on his idea. The man spun around and yelled frantically. “For the sake of America, knock it down! We need to get a hold of it!”
If they could collect it as a sample and replicate the drone, America could hold its reign over the world’s sky!
The three Hornets hesitated. It couldn’t be blamed, this was something they needed to rush into heads first after all.
Wilshire further added, “The American president will personally award you your Medal of Honour!”
The Congressional Medal of Honour was awarded by the American President in the name of the Congress, hence its name. It was the highest acknowledgement an American soldier could hope to get in their career. From the founding of the country till this day, only one hundred and twenty-three soldiers were awarded it during World War I, four hundred and thirty-five soldiers during World War II, one hundred and thirty-one during the Korean War and two hundred and forty in the Vietnam War. There were only a mere nine hundred and ninety-two soldiers who could call this medal theirs!
In the face of great honour, the pilots were finally motivated. They rushed towards the silver drone from three different directions.
Without warning, the silver drone began to increase its altitude, zooming upwards to the clouds. The three Hornets pursued it, but their speeds were no match for it.
Back on the USS George Washington, a battlefield data analyst gasped out loud, “Oh god… Its speed has reached Mach 5.0!”
Everyone onboard was slack-jawed.
The maximum limit of the F35 was merely Mach 2.0 but this unassuming silver drone was able to hit Mach 5.0!
In the world of fighter jets, Mach 1.0 was subsonic and Mach 5.0 was already supersonic. These speeds were only ever heard of on missiles but this was a drone!
The Hornets quickly lost sight of it.
“Reporting to the commander. We lost the target. Requesting for return.” One of the pilots requested the flying commander.
That moment seemed to have aged Wilshire by ten years. Voice devoid of its initial vigour and strength, he replied, “Approved, you may return.”
With that, the three Hornets disappeared off-screen, replaced by a fleet of fighter jets about to cross the Straits of Malacca for Dagua Island to execute a bombing mission. Great numbers would always add to its majesticness.
While this was usually a blood-pumping scene, it elicited no joy from the Seventh Fleet soldiers. The Americans had initiated two battles and both had ended in absolute failure!
For a country that claimed to be a hegemony, the outcome was certainly hard to swallow. They had gotten used to getting things their way. It was absolutely difficult to stomach that they were just defeated!
“Lieutenant General.” Taylors placed his attention on Wilshire. “Are we still going to bomb Dagua Island?”
Wilshire’s expression was horrid, his eyes riddled with hesitation and worry.
Taylors went on, “If the Thunder Horse organization has created a certain amount of drones for China, it will be dangerous for our fighter jets to go on with the plan. We might even…”
The worry was valid. If the Chinese army had possessed a certain amount of these drones, there was a great chance that China would heighten its defences if the Seventh Fleet were to blast Dagua Island. When that happens, all of the Seventh Fleet’s fighter jets and even the air fleet carrier would perish!
Despite that, Wilshire hadn’t considered giving up just yet.
Just as Wilshire was stuck on the fence, an observer at the optical telescope suddenly exclaimed, “Incoming enemy planes!”
The group of military officers rushed to the observing window.
Above them were three approaching silver Jing Ke drones. They looked absolutely horrendous but menacing at the same time.
“Shoot them down!” One of the officers screamed.
“No!” Wilshire quickly stopped him. The man growled, “We do nothing.”
Immediately, questioning glances were focused on Wilshire. Do nothing? In that case, the three Jing Ke drones had enough power to sink a chaser ship and even damage the USS George Washington greatly!
Surprisingly, Wilshire continued on with a new set of orders. “Call all fighter jets back! We’re ditching the Tamer Project!”
“Commander, what?” A military officer couldn’t believe his ears.
Wilshire explained, “I believe that their drones are able to collect footage. We were the ones who initiated battle both times. All aftermath would fall into our responsibility. Are we going to fall for it thrice? It makes no difference if we blast Dagua Island open. The Filipinos can’t even defend that island. If we really went through with the plan, China would intensify all fighting efforts. We must not rush into a battle with China without proper intel!”
He too shared the same concern as Taylors.
Above the skies, three Jing Ke drones continued to make rounds around the Seventh Fleet without signs of hostility.
Hornets that were dispatched earlier, F35 fighter jets and all kinds of electronic fighter jets and alarm planes had returned to hover over the Seventh Fleet. Swiftly, they landed atop the USS George Washington. Those Jing Ke drones continued to share the sky with them without intent to harm.
Tonight certainly was a turning point. The era of America’s reign over the ocean and skies were over.