The Bin Laden Plot

Wilson realized they were in a serious predicament. Both torpedoes were closing fast, and he couldn’t outrun them. They were MK 48 heavyweight versions, carrying much more fuel than lightweight torpedoes. He also couldn’t turn away, as either a left or right maneuver would turn into the path of one of the torpedoes.

Sonar announced, “Torpedo to starboard is range-gating. Torpedo is homing!”

One of the mother ship’s torpedoes had detected Michigan and verified it was a valid target, increasing the frequency of its sonar pings. It was now refining its target solution, adjusting its course and increasing speed as it closed the remaining distance.

“Conn, Sonar. Second torpedo is range-gating!”

The second torpedo was also homing.

“Eject countermeasures!” Wilson ordered.

Lieutenant Resor ejected a torpedo decoy, which would hopefully distract both torpedoes, plus a broadband jammer, which would mask Michigan’s sonar signature as it sped away. White scalloped icons appeared on the Control Room displays.

Wilson watched the bearings to both torpedoes intently as they approached Michigan’s countermeasures. Both torpedoes blew past them without even circling for a sniff. These torpedoes clearly had the most advanced version of the MK 48 operational software, able to discern between the large submarines they were designed to sink and the small decoys that emulated them.

He glanced at the nautical chart. Thankfully, they were in relatively shallow water — above crush depth — so his crew could survive if Michigan was sunk, assuming a rescue submersible arrived in time. At the moment, it looked like that was the likeliest scenario.

“Conn, Sonar. Both torpedoes are at one thousand yards and closing!”

Things looked hopeless for Michigan, but Wilson decided to order Firing Point Procedures. If Michigan was going down, they’d take the mother ship with them. The next several reports, however, delayed his plan.

“Conn. Sonar. Torpedo to port has turned away.” A few seconds later, Sonar followed up. “Torpedo to starboard has turned away.”

As Wilson contemplated the unexpected reports, another announcement emanated from the speakers.

“Conn, Sonar. Both torpedoes have shut down.”

The behavior of the two torpedoes was puzzling. Both had gained contact on Michigan and were homing to detonation. Outrunning a torpedo was always a strategy, but it appeared they hadn’t run out of fuel; they had turned away for some reason, then shut down. Perhaps there was a bug in the mother ship’s artificial intelligence or in the software loaded into the torpedoes it carried. Either issue was quite fortuitous, and Michigan had benefited.

As Wilson pondered the unusual torpedo behavior and a plan to reengage the mother ship, the next Sonar report added to Wilson’s confusion.

“Conn, Sonar. Regain of Master one on the towed array, bearing three-four-five. Contact is closing.”

Wilson checked the speed display in the Control Room. Michigan was still traveling at maximum speed, and not only had the mother ship maintained contact, tracking Michigan’s movements, but it had closed the distance. Built from leftover Seawolf propulsion components, the mother ship clearly had Seawolf speed.

The mother ship hadn’t fired additional torpedoes, so Wilson wondered what it was up to. Why would it close on Michigan? Typically, in submarine fights, a goal was to remain as far away as possible while still maintaining contact, providing valuable distance — and time — to respond to counterfire, and also reduce the probability the target would alert upon torpedo launch.

Perhaps the mother ship wasn’t as smart as Wilson initially thought. Its bizarre behavior had presented an unexpected opportunity.

Wilson announced, “Firing Point Procedures, Master one, tube One.”

As Michigan’s crew prepared to launch another torpedo, Sonar made another perplexing report.

“Conn, Sonar. Receiving underwater comms from Master one.”

The mother ship was attempting to communicate acoustically with another vehicle nearby.

“Sonar, Conn. Report all contacts.”

“Conn, Sonar. Hold only Master one.”

Wilson checked the nearest combat control console display. The mother ship was still gaining ground, paralleling Michigan’s track, and there was no indication that one of its UUVs was in the area. Was it possible the mother ship was attempting to communicate with Michigan? Did it think Wilson’s submarine was one of its UUVs or perhaps another mother ship?

Wilson ordered, “Sonar, Conn. Put the underwater comms on speaker.”

The warbly sound of verbal underwater communications emanated from the Control Room speakers, but the words were unintelligible. Michigan was traveling too fast, and the flow noise past the submarine’s sensors was distorting the sound.