266: Chapter 266 Dongfeng Express, Two Ships Received

The piercing wail of battle stations echoed throughout the entire carrier strike group.

But it was already too late.

At a secret missile site on the west coast of Yemen.

Five DF-21D launch vehicles had already been erected, their massive fuselages pointing straight at the firmament.

Inside the site's command center, Houssa watched the launch countdown on the screen via a video link.

Beside him were five "Technical Death Soldiers" exchanged from the system—they wore Yemen military uniforms, their expressions stoic, fingers dancing rapidly across the consoles as they reported various parameters in fluent Arabic.

“Target lock confirmed. Coordinates: 18°07' N, 41°22' E. Target speed 12 knots, heading 315.”

“Satellite data link stable. Real-time UAV image transmission normal.”

“Missile self-check complete. Seeker head power-on normal.”

“Ready for launch.”

Houssa took a deep breath.

Zhang Cheng's advice was to "exhaust all peaceful means before resorting to force." His global warning just now was the "peaceful means."

Now, it was time for the "force."

But he wouldn't hit the aircraft carrier directly.

“Change targets,” Houssa ordered. “Lock onto the two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on the periphery of the carrier strike group—the two closest to the carrier. Launch two missiles, one for each ship.”

The Technical Death Soldiers didn't question him; they immediately re-entered the parameters.

Ten seconds later.

“Targets relocked. DDG-108 and DDG-112.”

“Launch sequence initiated. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—Fire!”

In the valley, two launch vehicles jolted violently!

Blazing flames erupted from the base of the thick fuselages as immense thrust propelled the missiles off their racks and into the sky! The tail flames illuminated the pre-dawn valley, and the roar was deafening.

The two DF-21Ds climbed at a near-vertical angle, quickly punching through the cloud layer and entering exoatmospheric space.

Guided by the Soar Dragon UAV and satellite data links, their trajectories pointed precisely toward two moving targets on the Red Sea.

On the USS USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, inside the Combat Information Center (CIC).

Two high-speed targets suddenly appeared on the radar screen, climbing at an astonishing speed from the direction of the Yemen coast!

“Ballistic missiles! Two of them! Launch bearing 175, elevation 85 degrees! Speed... My God, the speed is over Mach 8 and still accelerating!” the radar operator’s voice trembled.

“Anti-missile system activated! Prepare Standard-3 for interception!” the anti-air commander roared.

“DDG-108 and DDG-112 report they are locked! The missiles' terminal guidance radars are scanning them!”

Rear Admiral Hudson stared fixedly at the screen.

After reaching their apogee, those two missiles began to dive toward the sea at a near-vertical angle!

Their terminal velocity had already exceeded Mach 10!

Standard-3 interceptors were launched from two cruisers, trailing flames as they rushed toward the sky. However, the DF-21D warheads began complex maneuvering in the final stage—it wasn't a simple parabolic trajectory, but a Specter-like trajectory that seemed to dance a dance of death!

The first Standard-3 missed.

The second one missed as well.

“It's too late! Brace for impact!”

At an altitude of less than ten thousand meters above the sea, the two DF-21D warheads suddenly split into three Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MARV). Each vehicle, equipped with its own seeker head, pounced on the two destroyers from different angles.

DDG-108's Aegis system frantically launched SM-2 interceptors, and its Phalanx CIWS roared as it spat out tongues of fire.

But against targets diving at Mach 10 and performing irregular maneuvers, all interception efforts proved futile.

The first reentry vehicle struck DDG-108 precisely behind the bridge.

The second pierced the helicopter hangar.

The third bored into the engine room.

The five-thousand-ton destroyer, amidst three consecutive violent explosions, snapped into two and sank rapidly.

DDG-112 suffered the same fate. Two reentry vehicles hit the bow and stern respectively, while the third tore a massive hole in the midsection of the hull. Seawater flooded in frantically, and the warship capsized within five minutes.

Two Arleigh Burke-class ships, the US military's most advanced destroyers, were turned into burning wreckage and floating oil slicks in the morning light of the Red Sea.

And from start to finish, neither of those two DF-21Ds had flown toward the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower itself.

This was the cruelest warning: if I can hit your escort ships, I can hit your aircraft carrier. That was just a warning shot. Next time, it's you.

One hour later.

“All ships, turn immediately! Heading 180, full speed retreat! Get at least 300 kilometers away from the Yemen coast!” Rear Admiral Hudson's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.

“But Commander, Admiral Malloy's orders were to...”

“To hell with the orders!” Hudson roared. “Do you want to see the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower become the third shipwreck?! Execute immediately!”

The massive carrier strike group, like a startled herd, turned their bows and retreated south in a panic.

All carrier-based aircraft were recalled. AWACS, anti-submarine aircraft, and patrol planes all shrunk back into the carrier's protective circle.

They didn't even dare to sail in a straight line, instead adopting a zig-zag course and releasing a large number of flares and decoys in an attempt to jam any missiles that might strike again.

Behind them, on the surface of the Red Sea, the wreckage of the two destroyers was still burning, with thick smoke billowing as if they were two floating Tombstones.

That afternoon, global headlines were made.

CNN: Yemen Possesses Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles! Two US Destroyers Sunk in the Red Sea!

BBC: The Carrier's Nightmare: DF-21D Appears in the Middle East, US Navy Suffers Heaviest Single-Day Loss Since WWII.

Al Jazeera: Houssa's Warning Comes True: Twenty-Four-Hour Ultimatum, Two Warships Sunk, Carrier Retreats in Panic.

Dragon Nation's Global Times: "Truth Only Exists Within the Range of a Missile" — Yemen Uses Action to Interpret What is Meant by "Asymmetric Deterrence."

On social media, topics like #RedSeaCrisis, #CarrierNightmare, and #DongfengExpressArrivesInMiddleEast exploded across the web.

The Pentagon held an emergency press conference, where the spokesperson, ashen-faced, admitted that "two warships encountered an unexpected attack in the Red Sea," but insisted that "the US Navy's resolve will not waver," while warning that "any attack on US warships will incur severe consequences."

But everyone knew that these words had lost their conviction.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group had already retreated to the southern Red Sea, staying at a "safe distance" of more than three hundred nautical miles from the Yemen coast.

Meanwhile, in Sana'a, Houssa held a second press conference.

This time, on the large screen behind him was footage of the DF-21D launch vehicles being covered with camouflage netting and slowly driving back into the mountain caves.

“We have demonstrated our determination and ability to defend our national sovereignty,” Houssa's tone was calm. “But we also desire peace. As long as foreign warships do not enter our territorial waters or threat zones, we will not take the initiative to attack.”

“Yemen is willing to carry out equal and mutual benefit cooperation with all countries that respect our sovereignty. Freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be built on the basis of respecting the sovereignty of coastal nations.”

“Finally, I would like to thank those friends who provided us with ‘tools for legitimate self-defense’ at the critical moment. Justice is never alone.”

He didn't mention any names.

But the whole world knew who he was talking about.

In Naypyidaw, at the Presidential Palace.

Zhang Cheng turned off the TV, picked up his teacup, and gently blew on the hot steam.

“100,000 points in exchange for two of Eagle's destroyers and a global humiliation,” he smiled. “This trade was quite a bargain.”

Old K stood to the side. “But next, Eagle's backlash might be even more crazed.”

“Let them come,” Zhang Cheng took a sip of his tea. “The carrier's nightmare has only just begun.”