As the carrier group moved through the international shipping lanes, the tactical situation began to shift from surveillance to confrontation. By 11:15 AM, the Roosevelt’s electronic warfare suite detected a surge in activity. Iranian coastal radar stations weren’t just observing; they were “painting” the American ships, a process of locking on that typically precedes a weapon launch. Captain James Chen, a seasoned officer with decades of experience navigating these volatile waters, monitored the situation from the bridge. While Iranian fast-attack boats often buzzed the edges of American formations, the intensity of the radar locks today felt different—more purposeful, more aggressive.
At 2:18 PM, the situation moved from the digital realm to the physical. Coastal missile batteries along the Iranian shoreline surged to life, their electronic signatures screaming hostile intent as they prepared to fire anti-ship cruise missiles. Captain Chen didn’t hesitate. He ordered the ship to General Quarters. Throughout the four-and-a-half-acre flight deck and down into the labyrinthine engine rooms, the deafening blare of the battle stations alarm echoed. Sailors who had been eating lunch or resting in their bunks were suddenly sprinting through narrow passageways, donning flash gear and securing watertight hatches. The Roosevelt was no longer a transit vessel; it was a combatant.
The strike group, consisting of five advanced warships and three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, immediately formed a defensive perimeter. These destroyers, equipped with the Aegis Combat System, acted as the carrier’s shield, their SPY-1 radars scanning the horizon for the first sign of an incoming threat. The tension on the bridge was palpable. In the Combat Direction Center (CDC), technical specialists stared at glowing blue screens, fingers hovering over launch buttons for the ship’s Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), the latter known as the “last ditch” defense capable of firing 4,500 rounds per minute to shred incoming projectiles.
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