Chapter 562: Vertical Attack on the Ecliptic Plane

"This is...'Vertical Offensive Tactics on the Ecliptic'?!"

Also reacting quickly was Rear Admiral Mueller, the commander of the 24th Fleet.

From a 'God's perspective', he was also the one with the best "Naval Tactics" score among the four fleet commanders of this federal fleet when he graduated from the Federal Naval Academy.

At this time, the four commanders who found something wrong had already activated the communication channel with high priority, so the other two also reacted immediately after hearing the 'Vertical Offensive Tactics on the Ecliptic'.

However, even besides Major General Stoner, Major General Mueller, who was the first to react, frowned after saying this tactic:

"But hasn't anyone successfully used this tactic in a fleet-level battle yet?"

Hearing Major General Mueller's doubts, Major General Stoner shook his head, and then said with some self-mockery:

"Then maybe we will be 'fortunate' to be the first group of people to witness this tactic and successfully complete it in a fleet-level battle. We are just observing from the perspective of the 'enemy'."

Major General Mueller and Major General Stoner's words were not just casual remarks, but humans have not used this tactic in space battles so far, at least in recorded fleet-level battles.

If we look at it from a small-scale battle, the 'ecliptic vertical attack tactic' that sounds high-sounding is actually an attack from the enemy's zenith or nadir direction, which is a relatively common tactic. Amber has used this tactic many times before.

But at the level of fleet battles, fleet commanders need to consider more things.

First of all, the reconnaissance capabilities of an entire fleet and a few warships are completely different, so the distance to launch an attack must be relatively long, which also means that except in special celestial environments such as asteroid belts, nebulae, and ring belts, the fleet cannot launch a vertical attack at close range by ambushing in advance.

Secondly, in most cases, vertical attacks in small-scale battles are launched by the ambushers after they have lurked in advance and wait until the distance between the two sides is within 20,000 kilometers.

Therefore, the attacking warships only need to maintain their posture in advance, and then push the main propulsion array to the bottom and rush after the battle begins. The engagement distance and the entire trajectory are only this long, so the planning and calculation of the running orbit are not complicated.

But at the fleet level, as mentioned earlier, a force of this size cannot lurk within 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers of the enemy-unless the opponent is blind.

Therefore, the "vertical attack on the ecliptic plane" in naval tactical theory requires the fleet to enter a stealth action mode from a very long distance, and then maintain the attitude and keep the route by means of the "kinetic block system" and the attitude control nozzles that are not used unless necessary.

This is a huge challenge for the fleet's navigator and the shipboard control personality.

Not only do you have to calculate the "low-power maneuvering trajectory" starting from millions or even tens of millions of kilometers away, but you also have to ensure that the "landing point" of the trajectory arrives at the right place at the right time.

Because after being perpendicular to the ecliptic plane of the target planet, it will be subject to the unidirectional gravity of the stars in the galaxy, and there is no other force to counter it.

Therefore, after leaving the standard orbit, the warship needs more energy support to ensure that it is in a state perpendicular to the ecliptic plane.

If it is a short time, it is okay, but tactical maneuvers of hundreds of thousands or millions of kilometers in fleet-level battles will also be a challenge for the energy consumption of warships.

At the same time, this series of complex calculations is not for a few warships, but for more than 200 warships in an entire fleet.

Not to mention that in the covert action mode, the fleet usually maintains a compact formation with very small spacing, which makes it more difficult to calculate the orbits of each ship.

But fortunately, the Atlas combat fleet has Amber, a guy who has practiced in the previous life.

And Amber has Lilith.

So, Limen will live forever.——

10 minutes ago, the federal fleet was 150,000 kilometers away in the nadir direction.

"Attention, all fleets, we will launch an attack in the form of vertical attack on the ecliptic plane. All units are ready to execute the operation procedures under the "vertical attack" according to combat standards."

On the bridge of the "Dawn", Amber's voice was steady and firm, and it was clearly transmitted throughout the entire Atlas First Fleet through the communication system.

Due to the misjudgment of Major General Stoner, most of the attention of the federal fleet was focused on the ecliptic plane of Rubion V and the high-speed approaching Comet Hyakutake.

This caused the reconnaissance intensity in the nadir direction, which was originally insufficient, to be further reduced, which also gave the First Fleet led by Amber the opportunity to quietly approach the battlefield.

When the Federation Fleet was engaged in a firefight with the Unmanned Fleet and the Third Task Force, and was fully focused on the direct battle, Amber knew that the plan for this fleet-level surprise attack was close to success.

Seeing that the Federation Fleet had finished its second round of salvos, it began to release the ship-borne HCP and readjust the battle positions of each ship. After entering a slightly chaotic period of time, Amber decisively ordered:

"All ships' attitude control nozzles are running at super power, quickly adjust the angles of the warships, and prepare to enter the final attack orbit!"

His voice was decisive and resolute, with an indomitable momentum, and as his order was issued, more than 200 Atlas warships led by the "Dawn" began to quickly adjust their axes and pointed their bows at the Federation Fleet in the battle.

"All ships maintain their attitude, the main propulsion array has maximum thrust, and move forward three!"

The plasma propulsion arrays of the entire fleet emitted a dazzling blue light at this moment. The powerful thrust caused the warship to change its course quickly and rushed to the battlefield at a tricky angle that was almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane of Rubion V.

In this process, the warship was subjected to huge inertial acceleration, and the structural frame made a slight creaking sound, as if it was groaning in pain under the squeeze of huge force.

And because the comet Hyakutake, which was "passing by", carried a lot of debris and stardust in its tail, and under the gravitational force of Rubion V, it spread towards the nearby universe.

Therefore, the outer shell of the warship also heated up and turned red due to high-speed friction and collision with these cosmic dust and micro-meteorites. The cooling system under the external main armor was fully running, and the working fluid water and coolant flowed rapidly in the pipes throughout the ship like a rushing river, trying to take away the excess heat.

Inside each warship, the crew members at each battle position felt strong vibrations, and their bodies were shaking with the bumps of the warship while bearing huge G-forces.

But all of them had already fixed themselves in their positions and injected the "anti-G agent" close to the red line dose into the cabin without hesitation.

"Current straight-line distance, 120,000 kilometers!"

"Distance 80,000 kilometers!"

"60,000 kilometers!"

"Warning, fire control radar characteristic signal detected!"

"Don't worry, it's just the opponent's outer escort formation, the whole fleet continues to attack!"

"Distance 50,000 kilometers, about to meet the enemy!"

"All fleets, attack formation deployed! The main gun of the "Dawn" is ready to illuminate!"

On the Atlas Fleet in the frontal battle zone, the Third Task Force commanded by Randall also noticed the actions of the Atlas First Fleet at the first time.

As a graduate of the Federal Naval Academy, he naturally knew the naval tactical theory of "vertical attack on the ecliptic plane", so when he saw the hope of victory rise in his heart after the First Fleet arrived at the battlefield, he was still worried about Amber's risky behavior.

At the pre-war meeting a few days ago, he and Cleves were actually a little worried - the latter was more worried than him, because Cleves was now sitting on the bridge of the Dawn with Amber.

After all, Amber, a "fleet commander" who was not a professional, had to do this "big job" that no one had ever completed in this crucial battle. No matter from which angle, it was not a reassuring thing.

However, Randall could not care so much at this time. He had only one idea in his mind, that is, to cooperate with the First Fleet to complete this battle that was destined to be remembered by the Star Sea according to the battle plan formulated at the pre-war meeting.

"All fleet broadcast! All fleet broadcast! The First Fleet has arrived as scheduled! We have been hiding behind the unmanned fleet for so long, and it's time to fight back!"

Under the effect of adrenaline, Randall, who felt a surge of blood, almost roared and issued the order that everyone in the entire fleet had been waiting for for a long time.

"The Third Combined Fleet! Start attacking according to the scheduled battle plan! The main gun of the "Infinity" is activated, ready to cooperate with the "Dawn" for cross-irradiation!"