Nation: Confrontation at Camel Station

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Two superpowers prowl the Indian Ocean "We have the preponderance of power. If it were to start tomorrow, it would be over in a day." So concluded a senior Pentagon official last week, referring to a potential U.S.-Soviet naval clash in the now strategically critical Indian Ocean, where mighty armadas of the two superpowers warily stalk each other. So far, U.S. Navy Task Force 70 clearly rules the Indian Ocean's waves. Though the total number of ships fluctuates as vessels rotate in and out of Camel Station (as American sailors have nicknamed the area), the U.S. has had as many as 27 warships there simultaneously. More crucial than raw figures is the power of the U.S. force. On patrol last week were the super-carriers Nimitz (which recently replaced Kitty Hawk), Midway and Coral Sea, with their full battle groups of guided missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, oilers and other support vessels. Along with them cruised undisclosed numbers of U.S. submarines. The Navy is keeping its ships at Camel Station at highest readiness status, and there are frequent alerts. Some crews in fully armed planes are able to take off within five minutes. Others on 15-and 30-minute alerts wait in the ready room prepared to dash to their aircraft. On a typical day, each carrier's steam-propelled catapults launch 90 sorties. Some warplanes, such as the Mach 2.4 F-14 Tomcat, make combat runs, dropping practice bombs on targets towed by U.S. ships. Others, like the RF4 Phantom, fly reconnaissance missions. Confronting Task Force 70 is a Soviet flotilla of about ten guided missile cruisers, destroyers and frigates and more than a dozen support ships. At week's end the U.S. Navy was tracking 23 other Soviet ships in the South China Sea, concerned that some or all might be headed for the Indian Ocean. The Soviet ships shadow every U.S. movement. In addition, Soviet IL-38 "May" reconnaissance planes, based in Aden or Ethiopia, regularly drop to within 1,000 ft. of U.S. ships for close peeks, as do "Hormone" helicopters from Soviet vessels.

For its part, the U.S. can identify and track every Soviet ship within 300 miles of a U.S. naval formation. Since each armada is able to intercept the other's radio transmissions, all important messages are scrambled before being sent. But there have been times when the two sides have communicated with each other, usually using signal lights or flag hoists. In one exchange, a Soviet ship signaled: "Where is Kitty Hawk?" Pausing slightly, the frigate Fanning flashed back: "Kitty Hawk is a small town in North Carolina."