"Now, follow my command. The main forward naval gun, prepare to fire. Adjust azimuth… distance…"
"Countdown: 5 seconds. 5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"Fire!"
As the captain's voice faded, the 130mm main naval gun installed at the bow suddenly adjusted its barrel direction and elevation. Then, with a loud "boom!" it fired! The powerful recoil caused the gun to jolt backward.
At the same time, two massive shells shot out of the barrel at an incredible speed, too fast for the naked eye to track.
The tremendous recoil made everyone inside the captain's cabin feel the entire destroyer tremble slightly.
The two shells left behind a trail of smoke as they streaked through the sky, carving elegant arcs before hurtling mercilessly toward the four Haiyan-class frigates ahead!
"Boom! Boom!"
Almost simultaneously, the shells struck one of the frigates with pinpoint accuracy.
The powerful explosions instantly tore through the steel plating on the portside deck. Thick black smoke began billowing from the ship, signaling a perfect hit.
Seeing that the first shot had landed on target, the Ukrainian Navy personnel inside the captain's cabin erupted in cheers. In a large-scale joint military exercise like this, missing the "enemy ship" would be extremely embarrassing—especially when the target was stationary and just sitting there, waiting to be hit.
If they had missed, it would have been a disgrace on the international stage...
"Well done!" the captain praised the soldiers operating the main gun over the intercom.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other three Sovremenny-class destroyers adjusted their gun barrels and unleashed a fierce barrage on the Haiyan-class frigates ahead!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Standing in the captain's cabin, Mavi watched through the windows as the battlefield turned into a scene of chaos. 130mm shells rained down relentlessly, some striking their targets and causing devastating damage, while others splashed into the sea, sending towering waves into the air.
Fish within the blast radius were instantly killed, their bodies floating belly-up. Although Mavi couldn't see it himself, he could easily imagine the scene.
After the intense naval bombardment, the destroyer's deck was filled with lingering smoke. Meanwhile, the four Haiyan-class frigates, one kilometer away, were left in utter ruins, barely holding on before they would inevitably sink to the ocean floor.
Elder Yuan Kaimin and the other naval officers stood in awe, visibly shaken by the spectacle before them. As expected, the Sovremenny-class destroyers of Ukraine and Russia had truly terrifying firepower. Even if the shells missed their targets, the sheer force of the explosions and the towering waves they created were a sight to behold…
"Elder Yuan Kaimin, what do you think of our destroyer's main gun firepower?" Mavi asked the Chinese Navy officers with a smile.
"Quite impressive," Elder Yuan Kaimin replied, uttering only those four words. But his meaning was clear—he was highly impressed by the Type 956 destroyer.
"Thank you for your praise. In addition to the two main naval guns at the bow and stern, our Sovremenny-class destroyers are also equipped with two sets of dual-purpose torpedo launch tubes, capable of engaging both submarines and surface ships. These torpedoes have a caliber of 533mm and are highly effective in close-range naval combat, easily penetrating enemy submarines or warships..."
Dual-purpose anti-submarine and anti-ship torpedoes were standard equipment on Soviet destroyers. Although modern warfare had gradually replaced them with other weapons, such as long-range precision-guided anti-ship missiles, veteran naval officers like Yuan Kaimin still held torpedoes in high regard.
"533mm dual-purpose torpedoes?" Elder Yuan Kaimin asked with great interest.
A 533mm torpedo is classified as a heavyweight torpedo, far more powerful than 324mm or 400mm torpedoes. If it hits its target, it can easily sink a 10,000-ton destroyer. A 6,000-ton warship is as fragile as paper against such a torpedo—it would be split in half instantly...
During World War II, both the USS Yorktown and the Japanese battleship Yamato were sunk by torpedoes. These weapons either miss entirely or, if they hit, inflict devastating destruction on any ship or submarine.
"Yes, a 533mm heavy torpedo," Mavi confirmed. To be honest, he had never actually seen a torpedo launch before. He had only seen special effects in movies, but the real thing was yet to be witnessed.
In a past life, Russia even developed a massive 1,550mm nuclear torpedo with a range of 10,000 kilometers—capable of destroying an entire city like New York with a single strike and triggering a massive tsunami…
As Mavi was explaining, a massive Kirov-class nuclear-powered battlecruiser—an 1144-class warship—was slowly being towed past their fleet by two tugboats.
The Kirov-class cruiser, with a full-load displacement of over 25,000 tons, is the largest cruiser in the world and also nuclear-powered. It can carry over 400 missiles, with more than 200 missile launch silos, earning it the nickname "arsenal ship"—a true behemoth of naval warfare.
As Elder Yuan Kaimin and the naval officers behind him saw this oceanic giant, which was three times the size of the Sovremenny-class destroyer, being slowly dragged in front of their fleet,
For the first time, a look of shock crossed Elder Yuan Kaimin's face.
"Is that a Kirov-class nuclear-powered missile cruiser? Are they seriously planning to sink it with heavy torpedoes?" Elder Yuan Kaimin asked Mavi in astonishment.
If even he was this shaken, then the officers behind him were in utter disbelief. Their shocked expressions spoke volumes as they murmured among themselves.
"Are the Russian and Ukrainian navies really going to sink that nuclear-powered cruiser? This exercise is absolutely insane!"
"I don't think I've ever heard of any country conducting a naval exercise that involves sinking a nuclear-powered battlecruiser! Not even the Americans would dare do this!"
Mavi listened to their discussions and then responded, "Yes, Elder Yuan Kaimin. The ship you see in front of you is a decommissioned Kirov-class nuclear-powered missile cruiser—the final target of this joint exercise."
Rather than calling it "decommissioned," it would be more accurate to say its nuclear reactor had failed, and due to lack of funds for repairs, it had been left to rot in port for years... That was the real reason for its decommissioning.
Of course, before towing it here, the nuclear reactor had already been removed, so there was no risk of a nuclear explosion or radiation leakage.
After hearing Mavi's explanation, Elder Yuan Kaimin and the surrounding naval officers stood in stunned silence for a long time, unable to say a word…
(End of Chapter)