In the conference room of the Pentagon, there were no empty seats at the conference table. The people sitting here at this moment were almost the core of the UA power class.
Not only senior officials of the Department of Defense, but politicians from the Capitol also rarely visited this conference room. From the left side of Ashton Carter, the Secretary of Defense, it was President Hill, her Chief of Staff, and the National Security Advisor.
The atmosphere at the conference table was depressing, and everyone's expression was gloomy.
At this time, the door of the conference room was pushed open, and a young man in a suit with a thick stack of documents in his hand strode in.
"Morrell, you're late," Ashton Carter said with dissatisfaction.
"Sorry, it took some time to print these materials … Where is my seat?"
"There are a lot of people today." Mr. Carter sighed and looked at the assistant standing next to him. "Bring a chair for Mr. Morrell."
"Okay." The assistant nodded and walked out the door.
Hill exchanged glances with her Chief of Staff, then looked at Ashton.
"Since everyone is here, can we start?"
"Of course." Ashton nodded and looked at Morrell. "Then, let's get started. Start from the page on the Guam military base."
"Okay, boss." Morrell immediately turned the document to the page on the Guam military base report. He didn't care if there was no chair as he stood at the table and began to read. "At three o 'clock in the morning on July 24th, Celestial Trade's Dolphin-10 ballistic missile was launched from a missile silo in the Western Pacific Ocean. When the missile rose to the stratosphere, it briefly appeared on the THAAD anti-missile system deployed at the Guam military base …"
"Briefly appeared?" Hill's eyebrows raised. Her pen gently tapped on the notebook and interrupted Morrell's speech. "I want to know how many minutes is this brief?"
When Morrell heard this question, his expression suddenly became awkward, and he subtly glanced at his boss, Ashton.
However, the latter didn't understand and just said impatiently.
"The president is asking you a question, don't waste our time."
"Yes …"
Morrel hurriedly nodded and looked at Hilary. After hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind to tell the truth to everyone present.
"Two seconds."
The conference room became quiet.
Although it had always been quiet, Morrel felt a deathly stillness at this moment.
"… Thank you." Taking the chair from his assistant, Morrel let out a sigh of relief. He thanked the assistant softly and sat on the chair.
He really didn't want to endure the feeling of being focused on for another second.
The silence lasted for a while before Hill broke the silence and looked at Ashton.
"If the budget of the Department of Defense is not enough, you can tell me. There is no need to play tricks in this kind of meeting."
Ashton, on the other hand, had a dumbfounded look on his face. He had yet to recover from the fact that two seconds had passed.
Two seconds?
How was this possible?
During the Moro War of Independence, Celestial Trade used intercontinental missiles to force the UA to make concessions, and the UA strengthened its anti-missile deployment at the Guam military base. Not only did they deploy the most advanced THAAD system in the Guam military base, but they also updated the radar of the original Patriot 3 air defense system …
But now, the person in charge of the Guam military base was telling him that they had only observed it for two seconds?
Furthermore, the missile was most easily captured by radar and was most easily intercepted during the propulsion and acceleration phase from the launch point to the low orbit!
Seeing that his boss didn't speak for a long time, Morrel thought it was necessary to help his boss out, so he continued.
"No, this has nothing to do with the budget … Dolphin-10's anti-detection capabilities are very high. Not only us, but our ally Nippon didn't even detect Celestial Trade's use of ballistic missiles … "
"What are you doing with a budget of 600 billion US Dollar every year! Why can't you even catch a missile from a small country? "A Rainbow House official couldn't help but curse.
"You can't blame us for this! We are developing anti-missile technology, and they are also upgrading their ballistic missile technology! "
"Haha, explain it to the taxpayers!"
"…"
The conference table turned into a mess, and Hill, who spoke first, fell into silence.
Using an intercontinental missile to attack a neighboring country only a few hundred kilometers away was no different than using a cannon to kill a mosquito. Obviously, Celestial Trade had an ulterior motive. On the surface, they were targeting Country F, but in fact, they were challenging the detection capabilities of the THAAD system.
If they couldn't even find the traces of missiles, then there was no way they could use anti-missile technology.
Hill suddenly pessimistically discovered that whether it was EMP or missile technology, Celestial Trade seemed to be ahead of the UA.
The tragedy in City M already proved the terrifying lethality of EMP weapons to modern civilization.
The entire city returned to the Stone Age overnight, and from traffic to social order, everything was destroyed. There was no pollution residue, and people wouldn't even die, but the consequences were more terrifying than killing tens of thousands of people.
If the EMP detonated over Los Santos, Boston, or even the Capital …
Hill couldn't imagine it, but one thing was certain.
The entire world's economy would decline for at least two decades.
Since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the UA's national security situation had never been so severe …
"Immediately increase the research and development budget for anti-EMP technology! I don't want to wait until the EMP strike comes to us, and the entire country only has tanks and armored vehicles left. And anti-missile system! If THAAD doesn't work, then we'll replace THAAD! Within five months, I'll ask the Capital to come up with a solution! If it doesn't work, then we'll replace them. "Hill stared at Ashton and said in a serious tone.
The latter held his breath and nodded with a stiff neck.
"I promise."
"Then, today's meeting is over." Hill stood up.
Seeing that Hill was about to leave, Morrel, who hadn't finished his report, hurriedly said.
"Wait, there are also network security issues! Regarding Celestial Trade's network attack on Country F, we sent network security experts to remotely assist the Country F government's defense- "
"And lost, right?" Hill looked at Morrel with a fake smile, and her wrinkles and narrowed eyes became a line. "I don't want to listen to your report on your incompetence. I hope you can come up with a solution as soon as possible!"
"Yes …" Morrel swallowed his saliva and nodded stiffly.
Then, Hill looked at her chief of staff.
"Help me adjust the schedule. Cancel all the activities in the afternoon and evening, and leave the rest of the day free. I have to go to the United Nations in a while. EMP weapons must be restricted. I'll go to the CIB later and ask Naomi Madden to wait for me in the office. "
"Okay." The chief of staff nodded.
"In addition, send John Kerry to City M, we must talk to Jiang Chen."
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