Name:
Yokai-class (Japanese, Spectre)
High-Altitude Long-Endurance Heavy Ordinance Strike System (HALE HOSS)

Ordinance:
2 Self-Guided Compact Armor Piercing Ordinance “Carrier Killers” (CAPO-1)
[OPTIONAL] 2 AGM-231 Short Range Attack Missile IV (AGM-231 SRAM IV)
2 Front-Mounted GAU-17 Equalizers

History:
March 4, 2027
Political tensions heighten as the People’s Liberation Army of China seizes several rich oil deposits in Russian-contested Siberian territory. China’s president refrains from official commentary, and their UN delegate stays similarly silent. This is the latest in a series of Chinese expansions of their northern border.

April 7, 2027
Tensions continue to rise as China’s foreign minister unveils an artificial island in the East China Sea. Though he claims it is to be a waypoint for nautical shipping routes, aerial reconnaissance confirms US suspicions that the island is most likely a military hardpoint. In conjunction with the recent shakedown of two Chinese supercarriers, China is more than prepared to seize oceanic territory north of the East China Sea. Laying every possible scenario on the table, the US fears naval conflict may be inevitable.

April 12, 2027
Negotiations between China and the US continue without merit. The President of the United States signs an executive order, positioning the Seventh Fleet in the Sea of Japan. The Chinese North Sea Fleet and East Sea Fleet practice tactical maneuvers around their new ocean hardpoint.

April 14, 2027
The US decides to revitalize their greatest Pacific advantage: Japan. The Japanese government receives a grant of 6.5 billion dollars, meant to revitalize their military development. Thus began a nearly 8-month long technological race to develop an edge that might win the US and Japan an increasing-likely Pacific War.
The results were the first two original Japanese military innovations over a decade. The unnamed HALE HOSS produced by Japan was the first of the Yokai-class. A heavily modified derivative of the USAF’s F-46, it was the cutting edge in subsonic stealth technology, able to evade most modern radar systems. It had and advanced onboard tactical computing system, and was EMP-hardened. The second innovation came from a new Japanese technology company, Asahi Weaponry. Working together with the Ministry of Defense, a missile was designed specifically for the Yokai-class. Through intense scientific and technological advancements, the new missile could burst to speeds of Mach 12.5, had an effective operating range of 3000 kilometers, and a 600 kilogram conventional warhead capable of splitting a carrier in half. Most impressively, it could penetrate up to 15 meters of solid armor plating. An onboard computer calculated fight pathing and effective striking points. Dubbed the Compact Armor Piercing Ordinance, or Asahi CAPO-1, 200 new missiles were set to be produced. However, due to the extreme cost, only 40 were produced by 2028. Hideo Itokawa, who headed the effort, states that this singular innovation could turn the tides of a possible conflict, literally overnight.

January 2, 2028
The Chinese North and East Sea Fleets converge on the Korea Strait. At 2230 hours, the outnumbered and outgunned Seventh Fleet receives orders to take up defensive formations and stand their ground. At Yokota Air Force Base, three fully operational new Yokai-class aircraft are urgently prepped for combat. The squadron is commanded by Takehiko Horiyama, one of the best of a new generation of Japanese fighter pilots. Meanwhile, Japanese advisers and engineers board the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Blue Ridge to provide operational oversight.

January 3, 2028
January 3, 2028 became a day commemorated in Japanese and Chinese history alike. At 0115 hours, Chinese naval forces commenced combat with the US Seventh Fleet. Planning to fire the CAPO-1 missiles from 20 kilometers up, a fatal error was discovered in the missiles’ onboard computer, rendering them simple “dumb bombs”. In a valiant decision, Takehiko dropped down below 1000 meters, streaking toward the Chinese supercarriers and fending off attacks from Chinese J-38s. Successfully sinking one supercarrier and disabling another, Takehiko engaged in CQC with Chinese fighter jets, downing three J-38s before succumbing to a hail of antiaircraft fire. Inspired by their commander’s noble sacrifice, the two other Yokai-class pilots engaged, sinking one battleship and three heavy cruisers. Facing heavy losses, the North Sea Fleet retreated south of the Korea Strait, while the remains of the ravaged East Sea Fleet scuttled their ships, or turned them to make a final attack against the surviving ships of the Seventh Fleet. The so-called “Eastern-Pacific War” had begun.

January 8, 2028
Several more Chinese ships are heavily damaged or sunk, and Russian forces advance over the Siberian border. With the CAPO-1 missiles’ functionality restored, several key Chinese industrial centers and military sites are attacked and destroyed. Hisao Ena, the squadron’s second-in-command, rises as a new face of the Japanese war effort, flying many successful missions and inspiring people across the nation.

February 10, 2028
With the brand-new Chinese J-40s unleashed into combat, the tides of the war turn in China’s favor, and in a rash attempt to secure a total victory, several new low-radiation nuclear warheads are launched at Russia and Japan, with the first two striking Moscow and Tokyo. 1.5 million Japanese die in the initial blast; among the dead are Takehiko’s parents and young wife. The Japanese Prime Minister and Cabinet go to ground, collaborating with the US for a preemptive counterattack.

February 11, 2028
The Yokai-class are loaded with the recently-developed AGM-231 SRAM IV, a suppressed-radiation nuclear bomb. The US responds with Minuteman V ICBMs, and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Tianjin, and Taipei are struck. Chinese civilian losses number near 10 million. Russian ground forces halt their advance, meeting a desperate resistance from PLA forces.

May 25, 2028
With the ground war at a stalemate, and major Chinese cities having been bombed, Beijing finally surrenders. Thought the war was devastating, the presence of the Yokai-class helped bring the conflict to a swift resolution. China’s military forces are disbanded or seized by the UN, and Russia takes over additional Chinese territory. Hideo Itokawa, now recognized as a prominent wartime figure, addresses the nation and travels throughout Asia, preaching a peaceful and united conglomerate of Pacific countries. Placing heavy emphasis on the near 37.5 million wartime deaths, making it the fourth worst war in recorded history, Hideo pressures international leaders to ensure a war of such caliber never happens again.

June 1, 2028
Takehiko Horiyama is given a hero’s funeral. He is awarded the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, a high honor not bestowed on military personnel since 1947. Now an international symbol for peace, his name receives media attention around the world.

August 1, 2028
The Battle of the Korean Strait Memorial is opened to the public, and in Japan, January 3 is declared National Remembrance Day. At the center of the Memorial stands a statue of Takehiko, staring into the distance, in the direction of the rising sun.

Thank you for reading! I think I tried to write a liturgical epic like World War Z or something, and failed miserably… but regardless, I hope you enjoyed!