A chance Op-shop find...
Jack Terral, SEALS: Rolling Thunder, 2007
United States
USS Combs
Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer?
Details as per the real ships
Note: Has been modified to serve as a covert special operations command ship. The author simply refers to the ship as a 'DDG' without specifying class, however a reference to a CH-53 landing on the Combs strongly suggests it's not a Zumwalt Class.
USS Dan Daly (LHX-1)
Amphibious Assault Ship, class not specified
Length: 390ft (118.9m)
Beam: 55ft (16.8m)
Displacement: 20,000tons
Speed: 30knots
Has a floodable dock capable of handling one of the two LCM-6s the ship carries at a time.
Has internal space for 80 'vehicles' (The author does not clearly define what types of vehicles the ship can carry.)
Has deck space for 12 'helicopters'. (At the start of the novel the author mentions that three CV-22 'Osprey' tiltrotors are being carried, but no details are provided about what other aircraft are aboard.)
No other details are provided in regards, armament/sensors.
Note: Described as being "...designed and built in a concept so new and untried, the Navy couldn't decide whether to put an 'A' for general purpose or a 'D' for multipurpose on her designation." It would appear that the ship first appears in the series during the preceding novel 'SEALS: Battlecraft' which I have yet to locate a copy of.
Plot summary: The assignment to the Afghan border with Iran seemed like a make work project, but no one told the Iranian's that...
Note: This book is the fourth of a series of at least six 'gung-ho' action novels built around the US Navy SEALS. It's not clear if the author is a psudonym for someone else, but the books are copyright to the publisher rather than a specific author suggesting this may be the case. One odd thing is that the villains are treated with a bit more respect than the average reader would expect for novels of this type. The other item of note is that like Irving A. Greenfield's 'Depth Force' series each novel appears to be 'tied' to the one succeeding it. Unlike 'Depth Force', the novels storyline is completed before the hook is given. In the case of this novel the 'break point' is a natural lull in the action as both sides reinforce and lay their plans for the next round of clashes.
