Was it the Coast Guard or the Navy? Why did they arrive so quickly?
"Quickly, everyone evacuate! Stop pumping oil and get out of here as soon as possible!"
The pirate leader immediately shouted over the radio.
Unlike the piracy of the Champa, which involved investing in and sharing speedboats and weapons, and then sharing profits after successful raids, Southeast Asian pirates amassed their fortunes themselves.
Amirudin's heart bled when he heard that one of his speedboats had been blown up by enemies hiding in the shadows.
"Lamodo, have you spotted the enemy's location yet?"
After switching communication channels, he contacted the lookout he had arranged. He had received the intelligence about the concentrated fire defense around dinner time, when it was just getting dark and there was only starlight on the sea.
However, given the high risks and high rewards of piracy, Amirudin was willing to invest in productivity tools. While it was a bit extravagant to have one set for each person, at least the lookouts wore night vision equipment.
The purpose is to avoid suffering heavy losses at night because we can't see.
"It was a small boat, less than a nautical mile away from us."
Ramodo, who was on deck, immediately reported this.
"They're too far for rocket launchers to reach, so we should just use anti-tank missiles to take them out and buy time for the oil tanker to evacuate."
Amirudin gave the order directly.
He knew that the coast guard ships and warships wouldn't arrive so quickly, and the advance team only had a small boat. Meanwhile, they had upgraded their equipment and imported a batch of high-quality goods from Thailand using the proceeds from their previous business venture.
Foreigners know how terrifying the lottery for military service in Thailand is. The country doesn't fight wars, but it has no shortage of border conflicts, drug trafficking, and anti-government armed groups. The mortality rate for those who carry guns and eat food is not low.
This chaos has led to rampant arms smuggling in the country, and Indian pirates who want to buy suitable equipment generally choose Thailand first.
From small handguns and AKs to large anti-tank missiles, heavy machine guns, and anti-aircraft guns, the underground arms dealers in Thailand can supply them all, as long as you bring enough US dollars.
Of course, in the early stages of starting a business, when money was tight and they couldn't afford such powerful standard equipment, the Philippines also had its own "Peshawar" workshops.
The black guns crafted by skilled artisans are praised by Americans; their untraceability alone can increase their price dozens of times.
Amirudin's team has eliminated those non-standard products.
The bullets are standard military ammunition, so they don't produce random sparks or have a high misfire rate.
The only problem is that the anti-tank missile is a bit old; it's an old TOW-2 from the last century.
The anti-tank crew on the armed oil tanker removed the tarpaulin from the missile and crouched down to aim at the Jari-USV multi-purpose unmanned combat vessel 1.3 kilometers away.
However, this scene was immediately noticed by everyone on the Focus Fire ship.
"Impressive! They even have anti-tank missiles. Take out this anti-tank unit immediately."
Xia Yu immediately said.
"Yes, boss!"
The phased array radar of unmanned combat vessels is more inclined to search than lock on, and at most guides miniature anti-ship missiles to strike targets.
Therefore, it cannot guide artillery to intercept missiles and rockets like the phased arrays on close-in weapon systems and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
However, since they were the ones who struck first this time...
"Knock knock knock"
The operator behind the screen remotely switches the ammunition path of the 30mm autocannon, and dozens of tungsten alloy steel needles fly out as if they were free.
"Puff puff puff"
The oil tanker's low railings were pierced directly, and the target locked by the photoelectric channel was also penetrated along with the bullet.
Without the aid of a high-explosive shell, the missile, locked by the safety mechanism, couldn't even detonate. The punctured warhead spilled all over the ground, mixing with red and white jelly-like substances.
That's it, it's gone silent.
Just hearing the roar of the enemy's machine guns, they couldn't even launch missiles; wouldn't that mean tens of thousands of dollars were wasted?
"Da da da"
It was clear that the pirates on the oil tanker were lying on the deck, with AKs raised over the railings, firing wildly at the unmanned combat boat.
"Quickly, let's retreat!"
Amirudin jumped onto another speedboat using a rope and told his men to start the boat immediately.
Taking advantage of the darkness and their high speed, they were absolutely able to shake off their opponent.
But what pursued them was not an ordinary warship, but a large dock landing ship.
Without the need for helicopter delivery, the Mustang hovercraft detaches from the wet dock and heads toward the target sea area at a top speed of over 50 knots.
Unmanned combat boats speed through the sea using propellers, while the Mustang carries people and armored vehicles on the sea surface.
The special edition with concentrated firepower upgrades the ship's firepower to a large-caliber Gatling gun.
On the other side of the cockpit, three 14.5mm heavy gun barrels were arranged in an equilateral triangle. At sea, a 12.7mm caliber was still too small.
As for the quantity of only three barrels, which is less than six or seven, you have no doubt about its rate of fire and power.
"Calling the mothership, we have located the target merchant ship, and a ghost ship is also fleeing."
Before they even got close, the captain of the Mustang contacted Xia Yudao.
"Leave a small squad aboard to search, while you continue tracking the ghost ship."
"Yes, boss!"
The hovercraft's front flap opened, and a motorboat carrying a six-person combat team detached from the sea and headed towards the target merchant ship, while the Mustang continued to pursue the ghost oil tanker.
The unmanned combat boat, in conjunction with the ScanEagle, lurked far behind the speedboat, following the clues to find their hideout.
With its numerous islands, Indah boasts a coastline of 54,000 kilometers, longer than the equator. Pirates could easily slip in from international waters, making unmanned operations the best option in such situations.
The last group of sea rats came from Malaya, and Xia Yu can basically conclude that this group of pirates comes from India.
To capture them all in one fell swoop, some planning is definitely necessary.
"Splash splash"
The group boarded a helicopter and arrived at the merchant ship.
"Thank you so much, Captain Sherlock."
The captain, emerging from the safe room, grasped Xia Yu's hands and expressed his heartfelt gratitude.
"Let's thank the Singapore government! They paid for it."
Xia Yu didn't take credit for himself; he directly introduced the client.
If no one pays the bills, Focus Fire Defense can't fight pirates for free.
"Thank you, Premier Li, for helping us drive away the pirates."
The person on the boat was quite remarkable. After going ashore and giving a media interview, the hundreds of millions lost in Tongxian County could very well have a multi-billion dollar impact.
But to eradicate evil completely, Xia Yu and his men were determined to wipe out this gang of pirates in one fell swoop. "Beep beep beep"
A barrage of gunfire, several times more intense than that of the BTR-80 turret, erupted as the CS/LM16 large-caliber rotary machine gun on the Mustang began to roar.
The machine gunner aimed the thermal imaging sight at the sea in front of the ghost oil tanker and pressed the firing button. As a series of water columns rose up, the armed oil tanker that had been chased down was so frightened that it immediately stopped.
They didn't want to stop, but there was nothing they could do. They had been bombarded by 30mm machine guns in the previous battle, and all their weapons that could retaliate had been destroyed.
Apart from a few AKs whose range couldn't reach the enemy, this armed oil tanker had been deweaponized. It originally planned to use the familiar uninhabited islands and reefs around it to get rid of the enemy, but the hovercraft didn't care about that and just ignored the terrain!
Indeed, the Mustang was even better suited than the unmanned combat boat for intercepting captured pirates.
The captain steered the boat closer and ordered everyone on board to surrender. The second combat team boarded the boat and captured all eight pirates.
There were originally 14 people on board, but 6 of them were killed by a 30mm machine gun. Those who survived were lucky.
"Okay, bring them all back!"
"Back on the Jihuo ship, Xia Yu said over the radio."
These eight people were only the first batch of prisoners; the second batch would have at least double digits.
Less than an hour later, the Mustang returned, towing the ghost oil tanker, and a frigate from the nearby Kui County Navy was also brought there by the Mustang.
Without concentrated fire support, the other side was left to deal with this pirate attack, but even with the deployment of helicopters, they couldn't catch the pirates.
All that awaited them at the scene were merchant ships whose fuel had been drained and crew members whose personal belongings had been looted.
The good news is that the situation has changed, and they deserve half the credit for the concentrated fire defense.
"...That's it. You escort this merchant ship, the armed oil tanker, and the prisoners back to Singapore, while we continue our pursuit."
Xia Yu said to the other ship's captain.
"Then we'll have to trouble Mr. Sherlock. This is our head chef; he speaks Hindi and can stay and help you."
There are many people in Kuo County who can speak the Indigenous language. The old squad leader left behind by the other side was actually a special envoy who served as a translator. They needed to grasp the extent to which the fight against pirates would affect their neighbors.
It's also a chance to observe and learn, to see how concentrated fire defense actually operates.
Xia Yu readily agreed to the client's request for assistance, especially since none of his employees spoke Hindi, which would come in handy when communication was required.
Watching the formidable-class frigate, manufactured in Germany, escort the two ships, one large and one small, away, Xia Yu quickly returned to the bridge.
"How's the speedboat doing?"
He asked the ScanEagle crew.
It's already 11 PM. The other party has been on the run for several hours; they should have returned to their hideout by now.
"During their escape, the target retrieved buried fuel on an uninhabited island for resupply. Now it seems they are circling at sea, trying to shake off any potential pursuers."
The crew members analyzed.
"They're quite cautious, but their combat effectiveness is terrible. The drones will continue to track them, while the unmanned combat boats will be used for recovery and resupply."
"Yes, boss!"
The Mustang air-cushioned landing craft boarded the ship from the stern into the wet dock to refuel, while the Jari-USV multi-purpose unmanned combat vessel was towed into the dry dock through the bow tongue.
No missiles were fired, but machine gun ammunition was used up. After being resupplyed along with fuel, the two surface units, Jihuo, began to wait for their next sortie.
The ScanEagle, which had been circling the target speedboat all night, finally discovered the pirates' hideout at dawn.
This is a relatively remote natural harbor, with six or seven fishing boats bobbing on the waves.
Goodness, a fisherman by day and a pirate by night, huh?
The drone descended to a lower altitude, and the photoelectric turret magnified the view in detail to observe the deployment in the fishing village.
The crew quickly discovered two concealed machine gun positions, and there was also a young man who got up earlier than the chickens, trying to stay awake while tidying up the fishing nets.
These are observation posts, one at each of several locations. They all look like reserve pirates!
The young people have no education and have all been corrupted by the pirate leader. As long as they don't pick up AKs and point their guns at the wrong people, the concentrated fire defense will not harm them.
After all, civilized times value procedural justice and the importance of reform and redemption, and Xia Yu is willing to give those who can be saved a chance.
"Continue to monitor this fishing village. We'll move out at night. Those who need to catch up on sleep, catch up on food."
"Yes, boss!"
Amirudin returned home in fear and unease; their armed oil tanker had not returned.
It was sunk.
He was captured by them.
He quickly turned on the TV and kept changing channels to see if there was any news.
The television channels in Inner Mongolia and Malaya were calm, but when we switched to the Malay-language channel in Koh County, the host suddenly interrupted the broadcast with a news report about a pirate attack.
He didn't listen carefully to the content, but the video footage that was played repeatedly happened to show their armed oil tanker.
Well, the anxiety finally died down, and Amirudin breathed a sigh of relief.
Because they were captured in Kuo County, it meant they couldn't track them down to the village. The people on the boat would take the blame, and the authorities would only superficially cooperate with them.
In the past, Amirudin's judgment was accurate; however, after Jihuo Defense established its Asian branch, everything changed.
Xia Yu said that if you uproot it completely, you won't be able to hand over any branches and vines as compensation.
From the moment they launched their attack last night, the gears of fate began to turn into a predetermined program: either they would be killed or put on trial.
The ringleader will be executed by lethal injection, while the accomplices will not only go to jail but also be whipped a few times, which is quite a rare experience.
"Lamodo, give each family a share of this money, and you can deliver it to them!"
Amirudin opened the safe, took out 36 stacks of Franklin, and handed them to his men.
Of the 14 men on the armed oil tanker, the 2 men left on yacht number 2, and the 2 men killed on the merchant ship, he lost 18 skilled men on this deal.
He gave each family $20,000 as compensation, helped raise children, and helped send off the elderly. Only in this way could the pirate gangs that had developed from the fishing village not fall apart.
"Yes, Chief."
Even the most clever member, Lamodo, was no longer as active as before. This was not the first time someone had died in the team, but it was the one with the most deaths.
However, if you choose to be a pirate, you should be prepared to perish at sea.
After delivering the money to each family, none of the pirates' families who had died, been wounded, or been captured regretted their actions, except for a little sadness.
Because if they continued to be fishermen, they would not only have to endure poverty, but also face the risk of not being able to return with their boats. It would be better to become pirates and have a chance to make a fortune.
However, poverty is not an excuse for crime, especially for the entire population of 270 million in Indigenous, who are not just a small minority forced to the brink of despair by life.
To grow something to this extent can only be explained by inner greed, and one should be prepared to bear even more serious consequences, especially on the night one thinks the matter is over.
"Buzz"
The ScanEagle, running out of fuel, crashed into the arresting cable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com