Doomsday: I Build a Space Fleet

Chapter 170 Practical Exercises

After leaving the dock, the flagship began to accelerate slowly.

At a distance of ten nautical miles from the pier, the flagship reached its top speed of 35 knots.

After maintaining a speed of 35 knots for 10 minutes, the demonstrator aircraft loaded with iron targets took off, and at the same time, the self-defense system on the flagship was activated.

After reaching an altitude of 2 kilometers, the demonstrator aircraft cruised around the flagship at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour.

"Begin deploying the iron targets."

Seconds later, two iron targets were launched by the verification machine. Two flashes of light followed as the disposable propellant on the iron targets burned out, propelling the targets into erratic flight.

"Snap"

The two laser interceptor weapons on the port side locked onto their respective targets, and two red spots of light suddenly appeared above the sea, followed by two small fireworks exploding on the sea surface.

Subsequently, the two unmanned combat vessels that accompanied the take-off and landing launched four exercise torpedoes at the flagship.

Once the sonar detects an approaching torpedo, the underwater acoustic countermeasures system and the fire control system simultaneously enter full-load operation.

Subsequently, more iron targets were launched by the test aircraft. When the number of iron targets in the air exceeded the interception capability of the laser weapon, the Type 1130 close-in weapon systems on both sides fired two short bursts, and five or six fireworks suddenly lit up the sky.

Fifteen minutes later, the last firework exploded in the sky, marking the successful completion of the test flight mission.

The flagship began to change direction and head towards the base.

Once the flagship reached the vicinity of the berth, its speed had decreased to 5 knots. The transverse thrusters were activated, and under Lorraine's control, the flagship successfully completed the nighttime berthing guided by the tugboat.

The following morning, Lorraine called Yao Guang and instructed him to begin transporting heavy torpedoes to the flagship.

With the help of a robotic arm inside the ship, 120 heavy torpedoes with a caliber of 533 mm were neatly fixed on the garage deck.

Cleveland then controlled the robotic arm to load all 10 unmanned torpedo boats onto the flagship.

Once all supplies were loaded, Lorraine controlled the spider robots on the other three destroyers to start them up.

Cleveland then took control of the three destroyers via a remote control terminal onboard.

Along with the four warships, 30 unmanned combat boats also left the port.

Subsequently, the 34 warships headed straight for the waters south of the hegemon's warning zone.

After cruising at 30 knots for an hour, the fleet arrived at the area where the exercise was to be conducted.

The hydrological conditions in this sea area are similar to those of the Overlord's territory, so Lorraine plans to conduct a simulated hunting exercise for the Overlord here.

Upon reaching the designated sea area, the flagship's electronic warfare system went into full power operation, setting up an electronic fence in this sea area that was the same size as the Overlord's warning circle, and also setting up a fully enhanced Overlord model.

With Lorraine's command, the exercise officially began.

Thirty unmanned combat vessels began operations first, following the tactics practiced in previous simulated battles.

Three destroyers followed closely behind, while the flagship at the rear of the fleet opened the well deck at the stern and released the unmanned torpedo boats fully loaded with weapons.

After moving backwards 500 meters from the stern hatch of the flagship, the first two unmanned torpedo boats switched to forward mode, bypassed the flagship from the left and right sides, and headed straight for the battlefield.

The entire exercise lasted two hours. Although the hegemon was successfully eliminated, it came at a much heavier cost.

Lorraine then summoned Yaoguang, and together with Cleveland, they began to analyze the information about the exercise.

Ten minutes later, the exercise resumed. This time, Lorraine, Yaoguang, and Cleveland closely monitored the development of the exercise.

One hour and forty minutes later, the exercise ended, and the number of casualties was effectively controlled.

Twenty minutes later, the third exercise began. In this exercise, Yao Guang was the first to notice the anomaly.

The unmanned torpedo boat she designed did not achieve the expected combat effectiveness in actual combat.

After a torpedo is launched, the torpedo boat's weight decreases, making it prone to capsizing when traveling at top speed.

Meanwhile, the launch angle of the four torpedoes carried on the unmanned combat boat is temporarily fixed in the middle of the hull. When the torpedoes are launched, the unmanned combat boat needs to maintain its course for a short period of time.

This launch method affects both the maneuverability of the unmanned combat vessel and the flexibility of torpedo attacks.

The problem has been identified. The flagship retrieved all the torpedo boats and then led the fleet slowly back to the dock.

Before arriving at the dock, the 30 unmanned combat boats changed course and entered the submarine base hidden inside the mountain from the northeast of the island.

Upon arrival at the dock, all 10 torpedo boats were transported through an underground passage next to the dock to the underground base for modification work.

Due to the limited time available, Yao Guang did not spend much effort on the torpedo boat's shape. Instead, it simply and crudely added three sliding rails and six 300mm depth charges to the center of the hull.

This ensures that the torpedo boat can maintain its center of gravity after launching torpedoes, and also enhances its anti-submarine capabilities. The only cost of this modification is the loss of a maximum speed of 5 knots.

The modification of unmanned combat boats is somewhat complicated.

Yao Guang removed the aft deck of these 30 unmanned combat boats and installed a triple 533mm torpedo launcher.

To enhance the flexibility of torpedo launching, an arc-shaped track was installed below the torpedo launcher, enabling it to launch torpedoes from three directions: port, starboard, and stern.

Meanwhile, Yaoguang also installed a triple-launcher self-propelled underwater acoustic decoy launcher on each of the left and right sides of the unmanned combat vessel.

In Yao Guang's calculations, 180 self-propelled acoustic decoys would be enough to interfere with the sea monster's ability to distinguish objects.

After all, the cost of these 180 self-propelled acoustic decoys is barely enough to cover the manufacturing cost of an unmanned combat vessel.

Amidst the fervent preparations, the intelligence system showed that the countdown had reached 24 hours.

At this time, Yao Guang had completed all maintenance work on the amphibious assault group, and the fleet carrying out anti-submarine operations had gained an additional Type 93A replenishment ship.

When Lorraine and the others entered the flagship's cockpit, the last remaining amphibious assault ship had already been moored in the dry dock, and its internal equipment vehicles had been transported to the underground base for storage.

With a blast of the ship's horn, the flagship was the first to leave its berth and head towards the sea area where the dominant power resided.

Forty minutes later, the fleet had traveled 20 nautical miles. Lorraine opened the intelligence system to reconfirm the Overlord's detailed coordinates.

[1. At 321 degrees northwest, 447 nautical miles away, lies a large deep-water port, containing unexpected surprises.]