Spy Wars: Get the Predator equipment at the beginning

Chapter 1072 Cargo Fleet Hijacked

Zhang Yunhe, who was processing official documents, looked up when he heard the noise and asked, "What's the panic? What happened?"

After catching his breath, Gao Shang said, "Our fleet that was sent to South America for trade was intercepted and inspected by a small Japanese patrol fleet 30 nautical miles north of Ibayat Island. The fleet leader sent a telegram saying that they might be taken to Gao City Port!"

Zhang Yunhe frowned after hearing this and said, "There shouldn't be any sensitive supplies on the ship, so why did the Japanese take them to Kaohsiung? Didn't they fly the flag of a neutral country?"

"It's flying the flag of a neutral country. The ship is loaded with grains such as wheat, soybeans, and corn, as well as other daily necessities!" Gao Shang said.

Zhang Yunhe asked, "When was the telegram received?"

“Ten minutes ago!” Gao Shang replied.

Zhang Yunhe immediately got up, walked to the map, took a long ruler, first found Ibayat Island on the map, and then measured it with the ruler.

The telegram was sent 10 minutes ago. At the time the telegram was sent, the people on the ship should still be free and not completely under control, which means that the fleet is still in the waters near the northern part of that island.

"It's about 1000 nautical miles, or 1800 kilometers, from here to the northern waters of that island!"

After speaking, Zhang Yunhe thought for a moment, turned around, walked to his desk, picked up the phone, and said, "Connect me to the Air Force Command... This is Zhang Yunhe. Our cargo convoy was intercepted by a small Japanese fleet 30 nautical miles north of Ibayat Island 10 minutes ago. The convoy's last telegram said they might have been taken to Kaohsiung Port by the Japanese fleet."

"I now order an F-7 reconnaissance aircraft to take off immediately for reconnaissance. The pilot must report the location to headquarters at all times. Once the Japanese fleet and our convoy are spotted, send a telegram immediately. I await your news!"

"Yes, order received. Take off the F7 reconnaissance aircraft immediately!" came the reply from the duty officer on the phone.

The F-7 reconnaissance aircraft is a reconnaissance model modified from the B-24 bomber. It has a maximum range of 4800 kilometers and a reconnaissance combat radius of 2000 kilometers. It can be sent to the sea area where the convoy encounters the Japanese fleet for reconnaissance without worrying about not being able to fly back.

After finishing the call, Zhang Yunhe said to Gao Shang, "Go back and wait for news!"

"Yes, sir!"

After sending the plane up, Zhang Yunhe checked his watch and estimated the time it would take for the F7 reconnaissance aircraft to arrive at the incident area.

After modification, this reconnaissance aircraft can reach a maximum speed of nearly 500 km/h. Even at a speed of 400 km/h, it would take four and a half hours to reach the incident area.

It is 3:35 p.m. now. Once the reconnaissance aircraft arrives near the incident area and the distance the fleet has traveled during this period is taken into account, we should receive the reconnaissance results from the aircraft around 8 p.m.

Of course, this is under normal circumstances. If there are weather problems, or if the fleet does not head towards Kaohsiung but instead goes to the Japanese mainland or Luzon, the reconnaissance will definitely not yield any results.

Ten minutes later, an F-7 reconnaissance plane took off from the military airfield and flew eastward, soon disappearing into the horizon.

At 8:08 p.m., Zhang Yunhe received a call from the Air Force Command in his study. The reconnaissance pilot reported that a small Japanese fleet and the hijacked cargo convoy had been spotted 90 nautical miles northwest of Ibayat Island. The convoy consisted of 18 ocean-going cargo ships, the largest of which was a 1-ton bulk carrier. They were currently heading towards Kaohsiung Port at a speed of 15 knots.

The number of ships in the cargo fleet and the largest ship match up, so it can be confirmed that it is our cargo fleet.

The Japanese small fleet consisted of an old cruiser, a destroyer, two frigates, two torpedo boats, and a supply ship.

If the fleet is hijacked by the Japanese fleet and taken to Kaohsiung Port, it will definitely not be able to return. Therefore, this matter must be resolved during the voyage to Kaohsiung.

At this point, the fleet was still more than 1700 kilometers away from the port. Zhang Yunhe mentally assessed the situation of his own aircraft. Currently, only one P47N fighter jet had a combat radius that could reach this distance, but his air force only had 10 of these fighter jets.

The most effective way to deal with this small Japanese fleet is to use torpedo bombers to dive and drop bombs. One or two torpedoes can take down a cruiser of small tonnage, but the problem is that the torpedo bombers he has do not have such a long combat radius.

How to do?

After some thought, Zhang Yunhe decided to deploy B-29 strategic bombers, escorted by P-47N fighters.

He picked up the phone and called the Air Force Command: "This is Zhang Yunhe. Order all P-47N fighter and B-29 strategic bomber pilots to stand by. Order ground crew to refuel and replenish the ammunition for both types of aircraft, especially the B-29 bombers. Equip them all with 500-kilogram high-explosive armor-piercing rounds!"

"Half an hour later, all P47N fighters and B29 bombers will take off to carry out combat missions! Inform our combat personnel of the current location, course of navigation, and speed of the hijacked cargo convoy. The combat command must use precise calculations to ensure that the mission flight formation can accurately locate them!"

"Yes, sir! What is the mission?" the duty officer at the Air Force Command asked over the phone.

Zhang Yunhe said, "Destroy the Japanese small fleet and rescue our cargo fleet that has been hijacked!"

"Yes, sir!"

After ending the call, Zhang Yunhe came out of the study and said to Ai Cao, A Zhen and the others, "I've been a bit tired from work these past few days. I'll be sleeping in the study tonight. Don't knock on my door unless it's something really important!"

Hearing this, Ai Cao asked with concern, "Are you alright? If it's really serious, I'll ask a doctor to come and take a look at you."

Zhang Yunhe waved his hand and said, "I'm just tired from work, not sick. Why call a doctor? That's all, I'm going to sleep now!"

After going upstairs, Zhang Yunhe locked the door from the inside and closed it, so that it could only be opened from the outside with a key.

After closing the door, he immediately went to the bathroom on the second floor, took out the Ironblood equipment from his backpack and put it on. Then he entered stealth mode, went up to the rooftop, took out the spaceship landing craft, and piloted it eastward.

While piloting the landing craft, Zhang Yunhe used the equipment on board to search for the location of the Japanese fleet and our cargo ships. Since the general direction and location were known, the search and scanning work quickly yielded results.

A three-dimensional virtual image of the sea appeared on the control screen in the cockpit. The sea was pitch black, but large lights were flashing continuously.

Zhang Yunhe stretched out his finger and swiped around on the screen a few times. The image quickly zoomed in, and the image of the largest cargo ship could be clearly seen. It was the same cargo ship that had been sent to South America a few months ago to engage in trade and freight.