"What?!" Le Goff exclaimed, rushing to the radar screen with a look of surprise. On the radar, with its 750-kilometer range, countless red dots were heading straight for the combined French and South Korean fleet.
They appeared to have been launched from the Vladivostok military base, over 600 kilometers away. There were 300 tactical missiles in total, a number too high to all be intercepted. Even if just five or ten of them hit the fleet, the resulting damage would be catastrophic!
"This is outrageous! Are the Russians really doing this?!"
"Wait! Where did they get these short-range missiles? Weren't all ballistic missiles with a range over 500 kilometers destroyed?! It's not like all 300 of these are intercontinental cruise missiles, right?" Captain Le Goff quickly realized something was very wrong.
According to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russia, during the Soviet era, had joined the US in destroying all short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. So where did they get these 300 missiles with a range of over 500 kilometers?
"Did Russia secretly violate the INF Treaty? Have they been stashing medium-range missiles all this time?!" In a flash, Captain Le Goff's mind raced. They had less than 40 minutes left. The fact that Russia had unilaterally torn up the INF Treaty was a major event. He was sure the news would infuriate the Americans.
"All units, listen up! My command! Immediately change course and head southwest at full speed! As soon as these 300 missiles enter our range, open fire with everything you've got! We'll intercept as many as we can!"
"Whether we get through this attack is in God's hands..." Captain Le Goff was honestly a little panicked. He hadn't expected the Russians would be trying to start "World War III"!
Was it really necessary to go all out just because they ignored a warning and entered a restricted sea zone?
The sudden missile swarm also sent the South Korean fleet, which was sailing alongside the French, into a panic they'd never experienced before!
"Lieutenant General Min Jun-ho! What do we do now?" The first mate's face and back were drenched in cold sweat as he stared at the 270 short-range missiles on the radar. He had served in the navy for years but had never been in a real battle.
Seeing this "no-survivors" missile attack from the Russians, he felt like the world was ending...
"Didn't you hear what the French said? Immediately change course and head southwest at full speed!" Min Jun-ho yelled furiously at his subordinate. At their fleet's average speed, they could only travel 13 nautical miles, or 23.4 kilometers, in 30 minutes.
That distance was nowhere near enough to escape the guidance systems of ballistic missiles. This was due to inertial guidance, or star-inertial guidance.
Inertial guidance uses the principles of inertia to control and guide a missile to its target.
The principle is to use an inertial measurement unit to detect the missile's motion parameters, form guidance commands, and automatically guide the missile to the target area by controlling the direction, magnitude, and duration of the engine's thrust. Inertial guidance is an autonomous system that doesn't rely on external communication, so it's highly resistant to interference and has good stealth.
Simply put, once these 270 missiles were launched, they were on their own. They would self-correct their course, lock onto their targets, and perform a precision strike. Even if Russia had a change of heart, they couldn't stop them.
The news that Russia had directly launched ballistic missiles at the two nations' combined fleet quickly reached the Blue House in South Korea and Paris in France. Upon hearing the news, both presidents had the exact same stunned expression, unable to believe this was actually happening...
"What? Russia launched 300 medium-range ballistic missiles at our fleet? Are you sure? Where did they get medium-range missiles? How is that possible!?" The South Korean president was truly terrified.
At that moment, a variety of possibilities ran through his mind. According to the INF Treaty, Russia wasn't supposed to possess medium-range missiles. The number of countries that could provide them with such ballistic missiles was very small. It wouldn't take a genius to guess who might be secretly supporting them.
The French president was thinking similar thoughts. He couldn't understand the Russian mindset. All they were doing was holding a joint naval exercise near their home waters. Was it really necessary to use 300 medium-range missiles to bomb them?
If his fleet, his Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group, suffered any harm, the French president was even prepared to declare war on Russia. After all, the Russians had gone too far. Even if a conflict were to happen at sea, it wouldn't be this brutal...
As the two presidents sat stunned in their offices, the South Korean and French combined fleet watched the short-range missiles getting closer on the radar. Nearly every soldier felt a deep sense of fear. They were all completely terrified, and many started regretting ever participating in the exercise.
Just as the South Koreans and French began to lose their nerve, the 270 missiles flying toward them were now only 150 kilometers away. In less than 10 minutes, they would hit the combined fleet.
At that moment, Captain Le Goff gave the order to launch all of the ship's anti-air missiles immediately. They would intercept as many as they could.
"Listen to my command! Immediately launch all of the fleet's anti-air missiles! Also, aim the main cannons at the missile swarm and open fire without restriction!" Captain Le Goff gave the order decisively.
Anti-air missiles have an effective intercept range of only 120 kilometers. Beyond that, the intercept effect is not significant. Therefore, the interception needed to be done when the missile swarm was within 150 kilometers. Accounting for the time difference, they should be able to successfully intercept them at a distance of about 70 to 80 kilometers.
As for the main cannons, they were basically being used as anti-aircraft guns to shoot down the missiles. Their range was around 100 kilometers, and they could fire about 30 rounds per minute. Every hit counted, and with a bit of luck, they might be able to minimize casualties.
"Yes, Captain!" The combined fleet received the order and immediately opened all of their anti-air missile launch ports.
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, amphibious assault ships, Aquitaine-class destroyers, La Fayette-class frigates, Dokdo-class amphibious assault ships, Gojunbong-class tank landing ships, KDX-II-class Aegis destroyer group, and about 40 other warships all launched their anti-air missiles at the same time...