21st March 2050 03:18
Sensor boards across the ships go crazy as new contacts suddenly pop up. Intelligence soon identifies thirty-seven (37) Atago class ships and thirty-six (36) Kirishima class vessels. All are 800 tons and 50.2 million kilometres away. Thanks to their small size, they had managed to creep so close - the long-range sensors were not calibrated for such small vessels.
Rear Admiral van Gennip, surprised by the large number of enemy vessels, seventy-three in all, orders the Fleet to turn around and head back towards the JP. As the speed advantage belongs to the smaller Swarm craft, this manoeuvre will enable the missile ships maximum time for launch.
03:19
The alien ships are faster than what Intelligence had reported - they are moving solid 10,000 km/sec and have already closed the distance down to 50.1 m/km while the Fleet is trying to get its act together.
03:20
Immense frustration in all the CiC's of the various ships of the Fleet, as the Missile Fire Controls are unable to lock to the elusive vessels. MFCs are intended mainly to fight large ships - 5,000 to 6,000 tons - and are thus having difficulties with such small hostiles.
03:26
Distance between the Swarm and the Fleet had diminished down to 47 million kilometres but still the targeting computers could not get a proper lock.
Tired of waiting, I switched from 5 second increments to 5 minutes. Should have designed a sensor specifically against the 800-ton gunboat-sized Swarm bastards but oh noes, forgot to do that. This'll be fun since the meson armed little buggers will get unreasonably close.
05:06
The Swarm has closed to 7.1 million kilometres. The MFC's of the destroyers and frigates are still unable to lock on but the more sensitive anti-missile MFC of the corvettes do. CT
Fort Rowne is the first ship to fire - 10 seconds later there is a veritable horde of the tiny missiles being launched.
05:07
Each corvette targeted a different, Atago class craft and after launching two volleys, they switch targets. Though the anti-missiles being fired are tiny, the hope is that as they are very fast, most of them will hit and hopefully slow down the Swarm.
Again, after 20 seconds and two volleys, the corvettes switch targets.
Yet again, after 20 seconds and two volleys, the corvettes again switch targets. It's a target-rich environment, after all.
05:08
Another 20 seconds pass and another target change. Now, each of the Atago's has 8 missiles homing in on them, as does Kirishima 002.
05:09
The distance between the Swarm and the Fleet has shrunk to 6.1 million kilometres. Still only corvettes are able to fire. So far, only about ten Swarm craft have not been targeted. The space between the two groups is filled with missiles - 516 of them, to be exact.
05:10
The first four missiles reach the Swarm. All four hit Atago 037 but only crater its armour.
Five seconds later, another four hit the same craft but do not penetrate the armour. Ten seconds later, four more hit but fail to penetrate the armour. Ten seconds pass and the fourth salvo hits Atago 037. This time, two of the missiles hit patches of hull already damaged by previous missiles. Curiously, the ships stream fluids instead of atmosphere!
Then it's Atago 026's turn - four missiles crater its hull. At least the new AMM's, SA-N-3/1, are proven to be highly capable of intercepting high velocity targets.
Ten seconds pass and another four missiles hit Atago 026. Also, I realized a problem - the SA-N-2/1 are beginning to self-destruct. I launched them before the enemy was even close to the range, mistakenly thinking that by the time the missiles are running out of fuel, the Swarm vessels will have closed in. Not so. I think I wasted about 200-300 missiles. Oops. Good thing I turned the corvettes back to automatic fire after manually targeting most of the Swarm vessels, otherwise I would probably have wasted all of my missiles.
Ten seconds later the third salvo hits Atago 026 and that craft starts leaking fluid as well. Fourth salvo hits, ten seconds later, and now Atago 026 is heavily streaming liquid.
05:11
Then it's turn for Atago 038. Yet again, all four missiles of the first salvo hit but no armour penetration. The number two salvo faces identical fate. As does salvo three. Watching American Ninja while resolving the combat is quite amusing. Fourth salvo has two penetrations, again streaming fluid.
Thus CT
Fort Rowne, the only corvette with the longer range SA-N-3/1 missiles, shifted fire to Atago 008. First salvo, yet again, has four hits and no armour penetration. Salvo two - same thing. It's starting to look like the Atago ships have only one or two layers of armour. Which means that a single hit from the larger SS-N-3/8 or SS-N-2/8 missiles would pierce their armour and cause internal damage, possibly even destroy them. Unfortunately, the bigger missiles are both slower and infuriatingly enough, still unable to fire.
For unknown reasons,
Fort Rowne had switched targets, as the latest salvo hits on Atago 028. The second salvo against the same vessel, predictably, has same results - four hits, no penetration.
05:12
Four missiles slam into Atago 015 but cause no damage, as the armour belt holds. Second salvo hits Atago 015. The missiles have had some effect - two Atago's have completely stopped. Atago 014 gets hits by a salvo, with the usual results. As happens with the second salvo. Then Atago 013 got hit, but with no mere armour cratering. Surprisingly, the second salvo has one missile piercing the armour of Atago 013 and it begins to leak fluid. It was probably a lucky hit, as the third salvo also has only a single penetrative hit.
05:13
Atago 008 gets hit. The usual. Atago 037 gets his and this time, all four missiles penetrate, though the vessel does not explode. The next salvo on Atago 037 blows it up. UURAH! First blood to humies!
05:14
Atago 026 gets hit by four missiles, three of them damaging its internal structures. Next salvo has three missiles further cratering its armour and one penetrating. Third salvo blows the ship up. Two down, seventy-one to go!
05:15
Atago 038 gets hits and one of the missiles penetrate. Second salvo has three penetrators. Thid salvo blows it up.
There will be a pause now that all the SA-N-3/1 missiles have been launched and have struck their targets. Though not for long, the Swarm are now only 3.6 million kliks away - the range of the SA-N-2/1 missiles is 2.6 million kliks.