On station with Shazbotdom Frigate Group
Destroyer Group 8, Defensor Carrier Strike Group, Marasalian Naval Security Forces
The ship rendezvoused with the Shazbotdom Frigate group, and prepared to make its journey into the Strait of Gibraltar, which had been militarily conquered by Phenyzia on 6/17, but already had a suprisingly significant garrison, at least according to intelligence satellites and radar returns from the destroyer.
The destroyer was more than prepared for a mass attack, carrying no fewer than 100 anti-aircraft missiles, significant electronic warfare capability, and the ability to tap into long range radar returns as provided from the Defensor carrier group. Additionally, with the 8 additional radar platforms provided by the frigate group, it was unlikely the ship would be caught lacking. Still though, no stops were held back. As the ship approached, it dropped sonar/radar decoy buoys, attempting to make it appear to the enemy that it was in fact multiple ships, in an attempt to prevent an engagement by a likely tired armed forces.
As it dropped the buoys, it also had its search/track radar and targeting radar working, as well as its sonar. All of this information was being looped into the Castelo air defense software, that allowed the ship to perform emergency air defense autonomously, This software was active but on standby, relying on an immediate activation if the ship's crew detected a "vampire".
On top of all of this, the reconnaissance drone on the ship would be shadowing the ship, flying high above to take a peak deep into the Iberian peninsula, which was occupied by Phenyzia. This, ideally, would alert the ship to any potential threats coming deep within the Iberian peninsula long before radar detection were plausible. Tácito Belo was not looking for a war, but it was ready for one if it needed.
As the ships prepared to approach the straight, a call was made by the ship to all communication frequencies:
MNS Defensor
239 nautical miles from the Tácito Belo
Defensor Carrier Strike Group, Marasalian Naval Security Forces
On the deck of the carrier, three planes prepared to take off: a long range strategic recon drone which could identify launch signatures from 300km away, as well as run ELINT and SIGINT, tactics which should be fine to deal with the heavily dated military equipment in use by Phenyzia. Additionally, two manned AWACs craft prepared to take off, to give a full AW coverage of the AO. These aircraft would stay quite the distance though, to prevent the Phenyzians from being able to get shots on target one, and to hopefully also to keep them from panicking and attacking the 9 ships entering the strait.