Chapter 236

As an advanced frigate, HMSS-31 "Revenge" was equipped with various models of missiles and anti-ship weapons, capable of effectively safeguarding John Bull's maritime security.

Furthermore, it possessed outstanding firepower and defensive capabilities, allowing it to remain stable and strike enemies effectively during combat with hostile forces, making HMSS-31 "Revenge" the mainstay of the John Bull Navy.

Regrettably, however, under the sudden attack, this frigate failed to serve any purpose whatsoever.

After taking more than a dozen consecutive missile hits, it began to sink.

This vessel was also the first John Bull warship to sink in this assault.

(PS: For this new book, I beg for flowers, tips, and review votes; your support is the author's motivation!)

Although the Royal Navy of John Bull, initially stunned by the assault, had finally recovered,

and had launched a counterattack.

Massive air raid sirens blared throughout the entire base.

Previously, John Bull had been equipped with the "Rapier" (SHORAD) air defense system.

The "Rapier" was a low-altitude, short-range air defense system developed by British Aerospace and Marconi Company; development began in 1963, and the Model 1 entered service with the John Bull Army and Air Force in 1971, later spawning multiple variants.

But by now, the performance of the "Rapier" had clearly fallen behind.

Although, in an effort to keep pace with the times and enable the air defense system to engage targets beyond visual range (BVR), including enemy aircraft and air-dropped munitions, the John Bull government had once intended to develop a new generation of air defense systems,

due to budget constraints, John Bull remained equipped until now with the outdated 1970s "Rapier" (SHORAD) air defense system.

Although numerous surface-to-air missiles soared into the sky, their interception results were simply appalling.

This time, besides the PL-21 missiles Lin Yi had equipped on the J-20s,

each aircraft also carried two Yingji-18 air-launched anti-ship missiles.

This missile, which had once sunk the Ugly Nation's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier,

possessed the capability, during its terminal attack phase, to separate an independent supersonic warhead; propelled by a solid-fuel rocket engine, its speed would increase to between Mach 2.5 and Mach 3, granting it extremely strong penetration performance.

Against this kind of missile reaching three times the speed of sound in its terminal phase,

the entire world had, up to this moment, never recorded a single successful interception case.

The newest Yingji-18 anti-ship missile, capable of triple-sonic attacks, collided in the skies over John Bull with the outdated "Rapier" air defense system.

It was a clash between spear and shield.

However, it was obvious that the obsolete "Rapier" system stood no chance of intercepting the Yingji-18 missiles.

The vast number of surface-to-air missiles acted like idiots, completely unable to hit a single Yingji-18 missile.

Instead, it was the 20mm "Vulcan" Phalanx 6-barrel MK15 Close-In Weapon Systems aboard the destroyers

that managed to intercept a few Yingji-18 missiles with their dense walls of fire.

As for John Bull's other short-range air defense system, the "Stormer" SP-HVMs,

this land-mobile air defense system performed even more worryingly in terms of interception.

One could say this attack completely tore away John Bull's final fig leaf,

revealing it to be as outdated as a ninety-year-old man, even if that old man had once been a world champion who punched his way across the globe.

But as time passed, he had aged to the point of being utterly fragile.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...!! Within a short span, the entire Portsmouth Naval Base was left in complete chaos.

Numerous warships, struck by anti-ship missiles, began to list heavily.

Many naval soldiers sank along with these vessels into the icy depths of the sea.

Others, their faces filled with terror, fled desperately in a frenzy.

A John Bull soldier pinned to the ground by shattered ship parts grabbed hold of a comrade,

"Save me... Luo Luo Bote... I am William..."

He had expected his comrade to help lift the heavy debris off him and rescue him.

But the soldier named Luo Luo Bote looked with disgust at the comrade grabbing his ankle and roared:

"Let go of me..."

William watched this scene in disbelief, saying:

"Luo Luo Bote, for God's sake..."

"I said let go of me..." Seeing the hull already listing, the soldier named Luo Luo Bote wore a ferocious expression,

then lifted his leg and kicked his former comrade squarely in the face.

He then kicked wildly and furiously until William, severely injured and bleeding from his face, finally let go.

Luo Luo Bote dared not linger for even a second; without uttering another word, he sprinted away.

He cared nothing for the friend behind him with whom he had often played and laughed.

When Luo Luo Bote reached the outside, he witnessed a scene straight out of hell.

The entire sky was dark and oppressive; thick smoke billowed everywhere within the base, and countless explosions rang out every second,

while numerous warships listed heavily.

HMS Vigilant, HMS Victory, the newly commissioned S-120 Ambush, D-36 Defender, and others—

all these warships had sunk.

And although their side had launched a massive volley of surface-to-air missiles, he had witnessed with his own eyes one of their missiles

miss the enemy missile completely.

"Oh God!"

If these sights had already terrified Luo Luo Bote,

then the sight of John Bull's only remaining aircraft carrier,

the HMS Queen Elizabeth, listing severely, filled him with utter horror.

Although it could not compare to the Ugly Nation's 100,000-ton Nimitz-class carriers, as a medium-sized carrier it still displaced 70,000 tons.

Such a massive hull, yet in such a short time, it faced the danger of sinking.

In fact, precisely because of its enormous size,

it had suffered the highest number of attacks within this brief period.

In just over ten minutes, it had been struck by nearly fifteen missiles.

One must understand the destructive power of the Yingji-18 anti-ship missile;

a single hit could cripple a warship of ten thousand tons.

Even with the hull thickness of an aircraft carrier, taking more than ten direct hits caused severe damage to the vessel.

Without immediate repairs, it would very likely sink.

Just then, many Typhoon fighter jets from John Bull scrambled and flew over.

The Royal Air Force of John Bull is one of its key military forces; established in 1918,

it boasts around 32,000 personnel and approximately 800 various aircraft.

However, this was before the F-35 entered service.

Most of these fighters were outdated models, with the Typhoon serving as the mainstay.

Also known as the EF-2000, the Typhoon is a twin-engine, delta-wing, canard-configured, highly maneuverable multirole 4.5-generation fighter designed by Eurofighter GmbH, a consortium of four nations: Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Alongside France's Dassault Rafale and Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen, the Typhoon earned renown for its outstanding performance.

Together, they are hailed as the "Three Heroes of Europa."

John Bull possesses roughly over one hundred of these aircraft.

This time, only a single squadron of about twenty jets was urgently dispatched from nearby airbases.

Just as the submarine naval soldiers rejoiced at the arrival of their fighters,

they forgot that they still had no idea where the enemy missiles were coming from.

They remained clueless about the origin of such a massive missile barrage.

Moreover, what these naval soldiers did not know was that the pilots flying the Typhoons looked as if they were attending their own parents' funerals.

Many were trembling all over, drenched in cold sweat.

This was not because they were ill.

Rather, through the live broadcast, they knew exactly what they were about to face.

Compared to fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and the J-20, even the 4.5-generation Typhoon stood no chance whatsoever.

The gap between them was simply too obvious.

Both sides differed vastly across the board: stealth capabilities, radar systems, propulsion systems, and missile systems.