319: Chapter 319 The Fire of Hormuz

Two days later, in the Gulf of Oman, six thousand kilometers away.

At 3:00 AM, the sea was pitch black.

A fifty-thousand-ton cargo ship, the "North Star," was sailing through the night.

Its hull was dark gray, blending into the night.

The Russian tricolor flag hanging at the stern snapped in the sea breeze.

On the deck, shipping containers were arranged neatly.

Each container was marked with "Mechanical Parts" in Chinese, Russian, and English.

But inside the containers were the first batch of weapons delivered by Xingchen Defense to Iran:

Ten sets of Peregrine S-15 air defense systems

Two hundred matching air defense missiles

One hundred comet air-to-air missiles

Total value: 750 million US dollars.

The captain of the North Star, Ivanov, stood in the cockpit, staring at the radar screen.

The fifty-eight-year-old Ivanov was a retired captain from the Russian Northern Fleet who had spent twenty years sailing the Arctic Ocean.

He had seen storms, seen ice, and seen US warships flaunting their power at Russia's doorstep.

But tonight, his nerves were tighter than ever before.

Because the Strait of Hormuz was right ahead.

And there, the US Fifth Fleet's carrier strike group was stationed.

At 4:30 AM, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Multiple light spots appeared on the radar screen.

Identification signal: US Navy.

The "Bush" carrier strike group was patrolling the entrance of the strait.

The destroyer "Lassen" was in the middle of the channel, like a hound blocking the way.

English came over the radio with an American accent: "North Star, this is the US Navy ship Lassen. Please report your cargo and destination."

Ivanov picked up the radio, his voice steady: "Lassen, this is the Russian merchant ship North Star. The cargo is industrial equipment, and the destination is Bandar Abbas. According to international law, you have no right to intercept civilian merchant ships."

The Lassen was silent for three seconds.

Then it replied: "North Star, you have entered a US Navy exercise zone. It is advised to detour to avoid any accidents."

Ivanov smiled.

He said into the radio: "Lassen, this is international water. Russian merchant ships have the right to free navigation. Thank you for your 'advice,' but we will continue to sail as planned."

He cut the radio and said to the first mate beside him: "Have the 'peter the great' move closer."

Five nautical miles away, a massive warship was cutting through the waves.

That was the pride of the Russian Northern Fleet—the nuclear-powered cruiser "peter the great."

A 25,000-ton steel behemoth, fully loaded with P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles, it was one of the opponents the US carrier fleet feared the most.

A huge light spot simultaneously appeared on the Lassen's radar screen.

Identification signal: Russian Navy, peter the great.

The captain of the Lassen's expression changed.

He picked up the radio, hesitated for a moment, and put it back down.

The North Star continued forward, with the peter the great escorting it from five nautical miles away.

The US warships remained motionless.

At 7:00 AM, Bandar Abbas.

The North Star slowly docked.

On the pier, Jafari, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, was there to meet them in person.

The sixty-year-old Jafari was a veteran of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, having experienced the Iran-Iraq War, US sanctions, and countless assassination threats.

There was a deep scar on his face, a mark left by shrapnel thirty years ago.

The containers were opened one by one.

The silver-gray missile launch tubes glinted coldly in the morning light.

Jafari walked to the nearest launch container, reached out, and touched the cold metal surface.

"The Americans thought sanctions could suffocate us," he said to the people around him, his voice raspy but firm. "Now, we have a sword."

At 2:00 PM on June 28, over the Strait of Hormuz.

A US Navy "Global Hawk" improved drone was conducting a reconnaissance mission at an altitude of 18,000 meters.

Its flight path deviated from international airspace, penetrating 12 nautical miles into Iranian airspace.

In the Iranian Revolutionary Guard air defense command center, a light spot on the radar screen was flickering.

Commander Hassan Zadeh stared at the light spot and asked the radar operator beside him: "Is the intrusion confirmed?"

"Confirmed. It has entered our airspace by 12 nautical miles. The course is stable, and there are no signs of leaving."

Zadeh was silent for three seconds.

The fifty-five-year-old Zadeh was a veteran of the Iranian air defense forces, having fought in the "Tanker War" of the 1980s and seen US aircraft probing the edges of Iranian airspace.

But this time, it was different.

This time, he had the Peregrine Falcon.

He picked up the walkie-talkie: "Fire authorized. Target: Intruder drone."

A crisp reply came from the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Understood."

At 2:07 PM, on the north shore of the Strait of Hormuz.

A Peregrine S-15 launch vehicle slowly drove out from under a camouflage net.

Four operators took their positions.

The radar locked onto the target. The fire control computer calculated the firing parameters.

The launch tubes slowly raised, pointing to a spot at an altitude of 18,000 meters.

"Launch."

A muffled sound.

A Peregrine Falcon missile, trailing an orange-red tail flame, shot out of the launch tube.

It traced an arc in the sky, its speed increasing until it quickly became a small dot.

Thirty seconds later.

At an altitude of 18,000 meters, a blinding flash of light occurred.

The wreckage of the Global Hawk, trailing thick smoke, plummeted into the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington, White House Situation Room.

Around the oval table sat seven people: the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, National Security Advisor Hawk, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of the CIA, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

On the big screen was the final footage of the Global Hawk being shot down.

The Secretary of Defense said in a heavy voice: "Mr. President, this is an act of war."

Hawk shook his head.

The fifty-eight-year-old Hawk was the calmest person in the room.

He looked at the flames on the screen, his eyes devoid of anger, only calculation.

"No, this is a probe. Iran is using Xingchen Defense's weapons to test our bottom line."

The President asked: "Where is our aircraft carrier?"

The Secretary of Defense pulled up the map: "The Bush is at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz. The Lincoln is on its way from the Mediterranean and is expected to arrive in forty-eight hours. Airbases in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have entered combat readiness."

The President was silent for ten seconds.

"Issue a warning. If a similar incident occurs again, we will take retaliatory action."