Tiger's Claw: A Novel (29 page)

“I think it is time to tell you everything, Mr. President,” Zu said, “and I think you will be pleased at the prospects for both of us.”

T
HE
S
OUTH
C
HINA
S
EA, SIXTY MILES SOUTH OF
K
AOHSIUNG
, R
EPUBLIC OF
C
HINA

T
WO DAYS LATER

“Incredible weather this morning for this operational tasking, sir,”
Hai Jun Da Xiao
(Lower Admiral) Weng Li-Yeh said, smiling proudly as he surveyed activity on his ship down below. Even though this was their first mission after completing trials and a shakedown cruise, his sailors appeared to be in excellent spirits and worked with fluid precision.

“It is indeed most excellent, Admiral,” Weng’s superior officer,
Hai Jun Shao Jiang
(Rear Admiral) Hu Tan-sun, replied. “You may commence launching when ready.”

“
Shì, haijun shàng jiàng,
” Weng replied. He picked up a telephone. “Operations, this is Flag. You may commence air operations as briefed, Captain.”

Slowly, activity down below began to increase in tempo. Hu and Weng were watching the activity from the flag bridge of the aircraft carrier
Zheng He,
the People’s Republic of China’s second aircraft carrier, just recently made combat-ready. Named after a world-traveling Chinese fleet admiral from the fifteenth century, the
Zheng He
was formerly the Brazilian Navy’s
Sao Paulo,
which in turn had formerly been the French Navy’s Clemenceau-class carrier
Foch
. As the
Sao Paulo
, the fifty-five-year-old carrier had been extensively upgraded and modernized, so even though it was smaller than the
Zhenyuan,
it embarked just as many aircraft, a mix of Chinese and Russian multirole fighters and helicopters. Brazil was in the process of beginning an extensive upgrade of its navy, including an indigenously built carrier, and the two carriers being built by China were experiencing some construction delays, so China gladly purchased the surplus vessel. Unlike the
Zhenyuan,
the
Zheng He
had an angled deck, which allowed for simultaneous takeoffs and landings, and it used steam catapults instead of the ski-jump ramp to launch aircraft, which allowed launching more heavily armed aircraft.

After the Harbin Z-5 rescue helicopters and Harbin Z-9 antisubmarine warfare helicopters were launched, the crew of the
Zheng He
prepared to launch one of the largest carrier-launched strike aircraft in the world from its deck: the JH-37
Fei Bào,
or Flying Leopard. The Leopard was a carrier-based version of the Russian-built Sukhoi-34 fighter-bomber, modified with folding wings and vertical stabilizer, stronger undercarriage to withstand carrier landings, and more powerful Xian WS9 turbofans. It used canards—small moving wings on either side of the nose—for extra maneuverability in dogfights, but its primary purpose was long-range strikes—it could carry almost twenty thousand pounds of a wide variety of weapons, from mines to cruise missiles. The JH-37 was also able to perform long-range electronic submarine searches, radar patrols, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance, using underwing sensor and emitter pods. On this sortie, the JH-37 was carrying six APR-3E rocket-powered torpedoes, three under each wing.

Watching a JH-37 launch was always an exciting event, and many of the off-duty crew came up on deck to watch the magnificent beast taxi up to the catapult shuttle and unfold its long wings and tall tail. There were only six JH-37s in the
Zheng He
’s complement simply because the bombers were so massive that there was no room for more. The nearly ninety-thousand-pound JH-37 took the number three catapult, its left wing hanging far over the port side—no aircraft could use any of the other catapults at the same time as the Leopard because of its enormous size, and landings had to be carefully planned because no aircraft could park on the fantail when the JH-37 came in for landing. Because of its long range and size and because getting it back on board the carrier took so much preparation, the JH-37 was often sent off to land bases until the decks could be made ready. In accordance with the carrier operations restrictions initiated by China, the number one and two waist catapults had aircraft parked on them.

After hooking up to the catapult shuttle and holdback bar, the big Xian turbofans were run up to full military power, the exhaust so powerful that it shook the heavy steel blast deflector behind it. When the catapult was fired and the breakaway holdback bar released, it always appeared as if it was impossible for the big bomber to actually accelerate quickly enough to make it down the three hundred feet of deck and become airborne before tumbling over the edge and splashing into the ocean. But, sure enough, the big bomber rumbled into the sky, shaking the deck with the blast of its big engines, and it was quickly lost from view. In its antisubmarine role, it could patrol as far as three hundred miles from the carrier and stay aloft for six hours.

After the JH-37 was away, the air defense fighters were next. Like the
Zhenyuan,
China’s first aircraft carrier, the
Zheng He
had a mix of fighters in its arsenal: two squadrons, each with fifteen JN-15 multirole fighters, China’s first domestically produced carrier-based fighter, a reverse-engineered copy of the Russian Su-33 carrier fighter; and one squadron of ten JN-20 advanced air superiority fighters. The JN-20s were definitely the “show” planes of the fleet and were rarely flown except for qualifications, proficiency, or when foreign patrol planes were in the area, so the JN-15s were used for routine patrols.

Along on this sortie but not part of the
Zheng He
’s complement was another aircraft orbiting around the carrier battle group at five thousand feet above the South China Sea: a Shaanxi Y-8 medium four-engine land-based turboprop transport plane, a Chinese-made copy of the Russian Antonov-12 transport, that had launched a few hours earlier. The Y-8 was configured as both an airborne early-warning aircraft and an antisubmarine warfare plane, with a fixed “Balance Beam” air search radar mounted atop the fuselage, a surface search radar on the chin, and a magnetic anomaly detector, or MAD, mounted on a long boom on the tail. The MAD sensed the change in the earth’s magnetic field when a submarine moved through it, alerting an operator to its presence. Once alerted, the Y-8 would start a search pattern, dropping sonobuoys to help track the submarine, and once located, it would drop depth charges to try to destroy the sub or vector in carrier-based antisubmarine helicopters to attack. The Y-8 was China’s first long-range surveillance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft, purpose-made for patrolling China’s long coastline.

For this special patrol, the Y-8 was armed with a special weapon, one that was designed to cement China’s claim on the inner island ring once and for all.

Normally the Y-8 would not patrol more than one or two hundred miles from Chinese mainland ports and coastal military bases, but they had special intelligence of a target that had to be located, and they were determined to do so.

Less than two hours later: “Bridge, Combat, the Y-8 has made MAD contact and is beginning its orbit, range one-thirty kilometers, bearing three-zero-zero,” the combat systems officer radioed to Admiral Weng.

The range was too great for their helicopters, Weng knew, and it would take them a couple hours to close the distance. “Have the Y-8 maintain MAD contact, but make sure it does not drop sonobuoys,” he ordered. “I do not want our friends to be alerted yet. Helm, steer three-zero-zero, best possible speed. Operations, ready a flight of Z-9s to prosecute the target when we are in range. Make sure the crew of the JH-37 is advised and tell them to be ready.”

The phone from the flag bridge beeped, and Weng picked it up immediately. “Report,” Admiral Hu ordered.

“Right where our intelligence said it would be, sir,” Weng replied. “Our intelligence agents reported that the Taiwanese intelligence-gathering submarine
Fùchóu zhe
was going to put to sea yesterday from its base in Kaohsiung and attempt a simulated missile and torpedo attack on the
Zheng He
battle group. I have ordered the Y-8 to maintain contact. The JN-15 fighters are on normal air patrols. I have ordered another flight of antisubmarine helicopters to be ready when we receive the order. The JH-37 is standing by and ready. We should be in position for helicopter and escort ASW operations in about two hours.”

“Very well, Admiral.”

“Sir, on our present course and speed, we will intercept the
Fùchóu zhe
in Taiwanese waters,” Weng said. “Am I approved to continue, sir?”

“There is no such thing as ‘Taiwanese waters,’ Admiral Weng,” Hu said, the derision thick in his voice. “Yes, you will continue. The submarine is in violation of operational restrictions on submerged submarines. An example must be made.”

R
EPUBLIC OF
C
HINA SUBMARINE
FÙCHÓU ZHE
(
A
VENGER
), S
OUTH
C
HINA
S
EA

A
SHORT TIME LATER

“We have received the latest position information on the
Zheng He
battle group, Captain,” the operations officer aboard the Taiwanese Type 800 submarine
Avenger
reported. He plotted the position on the chart in the con. “About thirty kilometers to the south.”

Captain Yao nodded. “We will be in range of their patrol helicopters soon,” he said. “Get a last GPS update for the inertial navigation system, then we will go to patrol depth and commence ultraquiet operations.”

“Yes, sir.” The submarine
Avenger
was at periscope depth now, getting radio messages and updating its position by a GPS receiver mounted on the periscope mast, but in seconds it received a final GPS update and the mast was lowered to avoid detection. The
Avenger
then commenced a steep dive to four hundred feet and began ultraquiet operations. The
Avenger
was a former Israeli Dolphin-class diesel-electric attack submarine, built in Germany, and was already one of the quietest submarines in the world, but on ultraquiet all possible means for extraneous noise was eliminated; the crew was even directed to walk carefully, not slam hatches or drop metal objects, and speak in whispers even on the intercom. Submerged speed was cut in half, which made the days that much longer, but hunting ships was a patient man’s game anyway.

Avenger
was fitted with ten torpedo tubes, six of which were larger twenty-five-inch tubes capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles. Taiwan was not currently allowed to buy any sub-launched cruise missiles from the United States, so the larger torpedo tubes were fitted with liners that allowed them to fire twenty-one-inch diameter torpedoes; it carried a total of sixteen twenty-one-inch wire-guided torpedoes.
Avenger
was also armed with a new weapon system: IDAS, or Integrated Defense and Attack System, which was a torpedo-launched laser- or infrared-guided missile capable of attacking ships, land targets, and even antisubmarine helicopters at ranges out to thirty kilometers—IDAS was the first missile in the world to attack aircraft while the launch platform was submerged. Two of
Avenger
’s torpedo tubes, one forward and one aft, each carried a magazine of four IDAS missiles.

About an hour later the sonar operator whispered on intercom: “Captain, sonar contact, bearing two-five-zero, aircraft, sounds like a patrol helicopter.” The passive sonar could pick up any sounds traveling through the water, and computers analyzed the sounds and took an educated guess at what it might be.

“Slow to five knots, turn left heading one-six-zero,” Yao ordered. A patrol helicopter’s dipping sonar was probably one of the submarine’s most dreaded adversaries other than another submarine, and the only way to avoid being detected by its active sonar signal was to get as far away from it as quickly as possible while not being detected. It became a cat-and-mouse game as the helicopter transmitted its signal then moved, and the submarine had to respond with its own move.

“Let us try a simulated IDAS attack on this helicopter,” Captain Yao said. “Periscope depth, half standard rate. Stand by on IDAS, simulated attack on airborne target. Flood tube three.” The
Avenger
rose ever so slowly to a depth of sixty feet. “Bearing to helicopter?”

“Bearing to helicopter three-five-two.”

Yao turned the periscope until the lens was pointing toward three-five-two degrees, then slowly raised it above the surface. He immediately saw the helicopter, moving away from them. He locked onto the helicopter and hit the laser rangefinder. “Mark.”

“Range three thousand two hundred meters.”

“Simulate fire two IDAS.”

“Simulate fire IDAS . . . one away . . . two away.” Had they actually launched the wire-guided missiles, they would take steering cues from the periscope and laser marker to home in on its target.

“Good job,” Yao said. “Down periscope. Steady up on two-two-zero, simulate reloading tube three with IDAS. How far until the first escort?”

“Approximately ten kilometers, sir.”

Well within the active sonar range of a medium- or large-size escort vessel, Yao knew, but outside their own passive sonar detection range. Stealth was very important now. They made temperature measurements as they ascended and descended, which improved the computer models for determining thermoclines—marked bands of different temperatures through the water that might deflect sound or sonar—so they could pick the proper depth to head toward the target, but it was all educated guesswork. It was akin to a bowhunter stepping quietly through a forest toward where he thought the deer would be, using everything possible—wind direction, foliage, silence—to close in undetected. In the end, it usually came down to patience and luck.

Just then: “Single sonar ping, sir, bearing two-four-zero.”

The Communists had made a mistake—he used his active sonar to try to get a fix on them, which instead gave away his own location. “Getting a little anxious, are we?” Yao said under his breath. “Now, it would really help if you . . .”

“Second single ping!” the sonar operator reported, his voice still muted but noticeably excited. “Bearing two-four-seven, heading one-zero-zero, approximate range eight kilometers!”

“Up periscope,” Yao ordered. He turned the periscope tube to the proper bearing, then slowly raised it. A few clicks of magnification and he had the destroyer in his crosshairs. “You are mine,
pigu,
” he said in a low voice. He took several photos. “Down periscope,” he quietly ordered. “Stand by for simulated torpedo attack, crew,” he spoke on the intercom. “Flood tubes two and five, keep the outer doors closed, acknowledge.”

“All outer torpedo doors closed and verified, sir.”

“Very well. Simulated only, match bearings . . . simulate fire one . . . simulate fire two.” The WS-2A5 torpedoes were the standard Taiwanese torpedoes, designed and built in Taiwan but designed after the American Mk-48 torpedo. They were wire guided, with passive sonar detection as primary terminal guidance and active sonar guidance if the wire was cut and for a final range and bearing to the target. The wire transmission was two-way, so not only could the torpedo operator on the sub steer the torpedo through the wire, but the torpedo could send sonar signals back to the sub as it closed on its target. The torpedo swam as fast as fifty-five knots, slowed to forty knots to take a terminal active sonar fix, then sped up again to close in for the kill.

“Make your course two-one-zero,” Yao ordered. He turned to his executive officer,
Zun Khong
(Commander) Chein Si-yao. “Now we go after their carrier, Si-yao.”

“It is risky, sir,” Chein said. Chein Si-yao was far younger and less experienced than Yao, on his first extended cruise aboard the
Avenger.
“The battle group is only eight kilometers away, and several helicopters are airborne. If they start hammering away with their active sonars, they can swarm us.”

“We will let them sail past, and then try to come up behind the
Zheng He
for a shot,” Yao said. “I am not going to let this opportunity pass. The Communists expect everyone to run away with fear when they sail their big carrier battle group around—they will not expect anyone to pursue them.”

“Simulated strikes on Communist destroyer complete, sir,” Chein said as the seconds ticked past on his watch. “Successful engagement. Congratulations, sir.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Yao said, “but I want that carrier next. Continue scan for the
Zheng He.
Range and bearing as quickly as possible.”