US Frigate Attacked Near Florida
USANN Correspondent Gary Schneider
August 25th, 2004
Washington
US Seahawk helicopter
prepares for anti-sub
operations
(file photo)
The on-again off-again
naval conflict between
the US and China took
an ominous turn on
Monday with the
attempted attack on US
naval forces conducting
exercises off the eastern coast of Florida.
“At approximately 8:30a.m. sonar detected a
hostile sub contact and shortly thereafter a
torpedo was launched at a US frigate,” said a
Pentagon spokesperson.
“The torpedo fell short of the target and
immediately upon detection, US anti-sub units
moved in to isolate the sub.”
According to sources, a 2-hour search ensued
with 5 US surface ships and dozens of aircraft
scouring the region but were unable to pinpoint
the attacker.
“By noon it became apparent that the sub had left
the area.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high
ranking official in the Pentagon stated that naval
intelligence is “100% certain” that the sub was a
Chinese diesel attack sub.
All questions to the White House about the
nationality of the sub were not returned however
the attack has caused great concern at the White
House in regards to commercial shipping through
the region.
Said one White House official:
“A game of cat and mouse has now become a
matter of homeland security and the US will act
to protect our shipping.”
New Bomber Sighting?
Although rumors of a new generation bomber have
been circulating for nearly a year, a mountain biker in
western Utah captured a photo of what could
potentially be the first civilian sighting of the US B-3
bomber.
Photo taken in western Utah
“There was a sonic boom and then another,” the
witness described. “And then this odd-shaped aircraft
came racing through the ravine. It was gone in
seconds. Luckily I was in the middle of photographing
a deer otherwise I’d have never reached the camera in
time because it was gone like a shot.”
The western region of Utah is frequently used to test
newly-developed, top secret aircraft which only fuels
the B-3 rumors.
The Pentagon had no official comment on the report,
however one source said, “if it were the B-3, I would
think it would be a whole new generation bomber
armed with the new JDAM-2 GPS munitions. And it
would be deadly as hell.”
News groups on the internet continually debate about
the specifications of the potential B-3 including that it
is hypersonic and potentially pilot-less.
“The military has been looking for a heavily armed
deep strike bomber for some time in order to take out
enemy surface-to-surface missiles and artillery,” said
one defense industry expert. “The B-3, if it exists,
would fulfill that need.”
