by Dale Brown
“And what is the American plane doing while we do nothing?” Truznyev asked, surprise in his voice.
“They fly around, take photographs and radar images, try to record any electromagnetic emissions,” Darzov said. “It is what the Americans call a ‘photo opportunity.’ The plane will probably make a showy pass near the carrier, wag its wings, and be gone. It is all for show, sir.”
“I do not understand any of this,” Truznyev said. Then, after a short pause: “And I do not allow it. Keep that bomber away from the task force, General.”
“But, sir…this has all been agreed in advance,” Darzov said. “Our air attaché in Washington coordinates all this with their Pentagon. One plane, air-traffic control codes, a simple flyby, no overflight, no visible weapons, no open bomb doors, no supersonic flight, no electronic jamming-it is all very routine-”
“I do not care, General,” Truznyev said. “I do not like pretending we accept or allow the Americans to fly attack aircraft near our fleet. If it is confirmed as an attack plane, I want it kept away from the task force…by any means necessary.”
“Including deadly force, sir?” Darzov asked incredulously.
“Including deadly force, General,” Truznyev insisted. “What is the range of an American air-launched antiship cruise missile?”
“Uh…uh…” Darzov had to struggle to recall the information: “The American Harpoon antiship missile has a range of about one hundred kilometers when launched from low altitude-”
“Fine. If the bomber comes within two hundred kilometers, use any means necessary to chase it away.”
“But, sir, free navigation of the skies and seas never prohibits an aircraft from flying that close unless-”
“Two hundred kilometers away if it is an attack aircraft, General,” Truznyev said finally. “No nation flies near our task force with impunity. The Americans believe they can fly their spacecraft and bombers anywhere they wish and it is all just a ‘photo opportunity’? I will teach them differently.”
Just as the captain finished his logbook entries and turned to head topside, the Red Phone beeped. He snatched it up immediately. “Yes, Admiral?”
“Change in procedures, Captain,” the admiral said. “Keep weapons tight, but full tactical engagement procedures, air and surface. Repeat, full tactical engagement, weapons tight. If it is a bomber, keep it two hundred kilometers away from the task force. Advise me as soon as visual identification is made.”
“Excuse me, sir, but you want to radiate with what is probably an American bomber coming at us?” the captain asked. “If it’s a bomber, they can probably analyze our signals.”
“Orders direct from Moscow,” the admiral said. “They say they anticipated a patrol plane such as a Global Hawk. The bomber is a serious provocation, and they want to hit them with everything. Acknowledge my orders.”
“Understood, sir,” the captain said after a moment of shock. “Weapons tight, full tactical engagement air and surface, keep bomber aircraft away two hundred kilometers from the task force.” The admiral rang off, and the captain hung up. “TAO, weapons tight, full tactical engagement procedures, air and surface.”
The tactical action officer turned to the captain in complete surprise. “Sir?”
“You heard me, Commander,” the captain said. “Acknowledge and report by all stations that weapons are tight. If it is a bomber, it is to be kept at least two hundred kilometers away from the outer ships of the task force.”
The TAO swallowed, then said, “Weapons tight, full tactical engagement, air and surface, two hundred kilometers if it is a bomber,” he repeated. “All stations, all stations, this is the TAO, check weapons status and report.”
After Truznyev hung up the phone with Darzov, he dialed another number himself. When the private secure line was answered, he said without preamble or greeting, “I have just decided to twist the tiger’s tail in the Gulf of Aden, Premier Zhou. Alert your task force that there is about to be some activity out there.”
ABOARD THE EB-1C VAMPIRE BOMBER
THAT SAME TIME
A yellow triangle appeared on the nose of the Su-33’s icon on the display. “Bandit’s radiating,” Frodo said. “He’ll be locked on in three minutes.”
“American patrol aircraft, we are tracking you on radar at this time,” the Russian pilot said a few minutes later. “Be advised, you are approaching a Russian military naval task force at your twelve o’clock position. Unidentified aircraft are not permitted to fly near Russian warships. You must alter course at least thirty degrees immediately or you may be fired upon. Acknowledge.”
“Russian patrol aircraft, this is a routine patrol mission,” Boxer said, shaking her head in confusion. “We intend to do a visual inspection of your ships in international waters. We’re complying with your communications requirements.”
“Fracture, Armstrong,” Gonzo reported from Armstrong Space Station, “bandits are speeding up, five hundred…six hundred…seven hundred knots…going supersonic. Intercept in about three minutes.”
“They’re going supersonic?” Frodo asked nervously. “What’s going on?”
“It’s all for show,” Boxer said. “At that speed, they’ll have us in sight for about two seconds, they’ll waste fifty miles turning around to chase us, and they’ll be burning gas like crazy.”
“But…but that must mean that-”
“Fracture, Armstrong, we’ve got two more lifting off from the carrier,” Gonzo reported.
“-that they’ll have to launch more planes after us,” Frodo said, finishing his thought with a slight crack in his voice. At that moment a separate window opened up on Frodo’s large supercockpit display, and it showed two more Sukhoi-33 fighters taxiing onto the aircraft carrier Vladimir Putin’s forward catapults, with two more behind the blast deflectors, getting ready to hook up to the catapults as well. It was the data being passed down from the space station. “Is that happening right now?”
“Now it’s starting to get interesting,” Boxer said, and suddenly she didn’t feel like cracking jokes anymore. “We’re getting your imagery, Armstrong,” she radioed.
“We’ll have that satellite feed for only about sixty seconds, Fracture, and after that our sensor coverage will be spotty for the next thirty minutes,” Gonzo said. “You really stirred them up. You might want to think about getting out of there. Your tanker is at your five o’clock, three hundred ninety miles in the refueling anchor.”
“Not quite yet, Armstrong,” Boxer said. “I think we somehow hurt their feelings-I want to see what they’re going to do about it.”
“X-band radar in high-PRF lock-on,” Frodo reported as he watched the intercept on his passive electromagnetic threat detector. The high-PRF, or pulse-rate frequency, meant that the Sukhoi-33’s radar was solidly locked onto the Vampire. “Passing off to the left. Why are they locking us up, Boxer?”
“Fracture, first formation will be passing below and to your left…now.” Boxer didn’t see anything. The threat detectors depicted the two Russian carrier jets streak past them, and moments later they felt two sharp burbles as the twin supersonic shock waves passed.
“Christ, that was close,” Frodo breathed.
“Fracture, second formation is closing at six hundred knots, two hundred miles,” Gonzo reported. “Third formation is on the catapults. We’re losing full-time coverage.”
“Copy, Armstrong,” Boxer said. “Frodo, let’s set the LADAR to intermittent.”
“LADAR radiating,” Frodo said, trying to keep his voice steady. In “Intermittent” mode, the Vampire’s laser radar would broadcast for a second or two every ten to fifteen seconds to get a better picture of the intercept, but avoid being tracked by the Russians in case they had laser detectors. The supercockpit display clearly showed all the players now, even tracking the fighters behind the Vampire and identifying the aircraft on the Putin’s deck getting ready to launch and the rescue helicopters hovering beside the carrier in case of an emergency.
“Admiral, it is an American B-1 bomber,” the captain of the Putin said on the direct line to the flag bridge. “They are on the fleet reserve frequency and are transmitting air-traffic codes as directed by our controllers, as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding.”
“I do not want an American bomber anywhere near this task force, Captain!” the admiral shouted. “Get him away from here!”
“But, sir, are they not permitted free navigation over international waters? How can we-”
“I told you, Captain, I do not want that plane anywhere near this task force,” the admiral said. “They might decide to shoot a cruise missile in our direction, like the damned Chinese did to the Americans. Get it away from here, now!”
“We’re approaching two hundred miles to the carrier, Boxer,” Frodo said, “and one-ninety to the first escort. We-”
And at that moment they heard, “Caution, caution, target tracking mode, Sukhoi-33, five o’clock, nineteen miles.”
“Do you want countermeasures?” Frodo asked excitedly.
“Not yet,” Boxer said after just a moment’s consideration. “Let ’em come in. Standard play is one on each side so they can take pictures of each other with the big bad American bomber. These guys will be low on gas anyway-they’ll get their hero shot, then leave and let the second and third formations take over.”
A few minutes later, that’s exactly what happened: The first pair of bright blue Sukhoi-33 fighters moved in, one on each side of the bomber, about a hundred feet away. Boxer and Frodo didn’t see any cameras.
“American bomber aircraft, this is the Russian Southern Fleet aircraft carrier Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on fleet reserve channel,” a new voice announced. “You are three hundred kilometers from this task force. Combat aircraft are not permitted to approach this group. Alter course immediately and stay at least two hundred kilometers away or you may be fired upon without warning.”
“Second formation of fighters are fifty miles away, slowing,” Frodo said. Suddenly they heard another warning tone. “Fighter locked onto us!”
“Carrier Putin, this is Fracture Two-One,” Boxer radioed. “Do not lock your fire control radars on us. Flying near your ships is not a hostile action, but locking missile radars on us is!”
“This is your last warning, American bomber aircraft,” the controller radioed. “Do not approach! We will take immediate action.”
“What do we do, Boxer?” Frodo asked. “Do these guys want to take a shot at us?”
“This is bull,” Boxer said. “I thought this was just a photo op and nice peaceful flyby.”
The second formation of Sukhoi-33 fighters approached, one on either side, much slower than the first formation, close enough to see fuselage lights winking on and off…
…until Boxer and Frodo heard the fast-paced drumming on the cockpit canopy and realized that they weren’t lights, but cannons opening fire on them! The shells missed, but they came so close that Boxer and Frodo could feel their shock waves on the fuselage. “Holy shit!” Frodo shouted. “They’re shooting at us! Let’s get out of here!”
“You bastards want to play-let’s play,” Boxer shouted. “Get ready to go low, Frodo. Kill the freq and the transponder, get us into ‘COMBAT’ mode.” She hit a button on her control stick and spoke: “Terrain-follow, clearance plane two hundred, hard ride.”
“Terrain-follow, clearance plane two hundred, hard ride,” the flight control computer responded. Boxer watched the computer’s automatic control inputs on her supercockpit display as it readjusted settings for an overwater letdown, then spoke: “Stand by for descent, now.” The EB-1C Vampire pitched over and started a twenty-thousand-foot-per-minute descent, rapid enough for bits of loose dirt to float to the top of the cockpit. Normally the bomber would automatically sweep the wings back to their maximum sixty-seven degree setting in the high-speed descent, but the Vampire’s wings were permanently set to the full swept-wing position-lift and drag were controlled by mission-adaptive technology, where thousands of tiny actuators on the bomber’s fuselage controlled the shape of the plane, so every square inch of the surface could be a lift or drag device.
“Fighters are staying high, twelve o’clock, twenty miles…no, here they come, one is heading down,” Frodo reported. “Still locked on. ‘COMBAT’ mode engaged, full countermeasures active.”
“C’mon down here, boys,” Boxer said. In less than two minutes, the Vampire bomber leveled off at two hundred feet above the Gulf of Aden. Boxer watched the computer perform a self-test of the flight control system, then checked the electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic subsystems herself.
“American B-1 bomber, this is the carrier Putin on GUARD channel, you are flying at an extreme low altitude and are heading directly for the Russian task-force ships,” the Russian controller radioed. “This is considered a hostile action. You appear to be on an antiship cruise-missile attack. Alter or reverse course immediately. This is your final warning.”
“You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet, Comrade,” Boxer said, pushing the throttles up until they were flying at six hundred nautical miles an hour.
“One hundred miles to the first escort,” Frodo said. “Search and height-finders from the ships, and fast-PRF search from the fighters, not locked on. The third formation is supersonic, heading this way fast.”
“Armstrong has you again, Fracture,” Gonzo reported. “Now I know what a game of ‘chicken’ looks like.”
“They screwed with the wrong broad, Armstrong,” Boxer said.
“We’ve got the bandit on your six, ten thousand above you, closing to twenty miles,” Gonzo said. “His wingman is descending slower. The third formation is maneuvering, looks like they’re staying high for now. We’ve reported to Central Command.”
“Thanks, Armstrong,” Boxer radioed back.
“First escort is fifty miles,” Frodo said. “Udaloy-1-class destroyer. He’s got search radar…now searching with a height-finder, not locked on.
“Coming up on thirty…hey, the fighters are peeling off!” Frodo said. “They’re all climbing.”
“Can’t stand the heat, eh, boys?” Boxer said. “Too bad. It’s fun down here.” She peeked at Frodo and saw his eyes as big as saucers behind his clear visor. “How’s it going, Frodo?”
“I’m worried about those fighters,” he said. “Why are they…?” He paused, then shouted, “Golf-band target acquisition radar from the Udaloy, SA-N-9 system! Not locked on.”
“Well, well, they’re turning on everything today,” Boxer said. “If they want to play hardball, I’m ready to go to bat. Pushing ’ em up.” She nudged the throttles up until they were supersonic-the highly modified EB-1C Vampire was the only model of the nearly 500,000-pound B-1 bomber that was able to go supersonic at low altitude. “Come and get us now, suckers.”
The captain of the Putin snatched up the Red Phone. “Admiral, the American bomber has descended to less than one hundred meters’ altitude and is approaching the task force at supersonic speed!”
The admiral swore into the phone, then ordered, “Continue full tactical engagement, weapons tight.”
“Acknowledged, full tactical engagement, weapons tight.”
“Is he radiating at all?”
“No radars, but strong electronic countermeasures.”
“Use the signal generators on him and see if he reacts,” the admiral ordered, “and advise me when he reaches the task force.” And he hung up before the captain could acknowledge.
“What in hell is going on here?” the captain muttered. “What in hell is going on?” He turned to the TAO. “Full-spectrum signal generators, weapons tight, full tactical engagement.”
“Echo-Fox band target-acquisition radar, twelve o’clock, forty miles, not locked on,” Frodo said. “S-300 missile, probably on the cruiser escort…now Golf-band target-tracking radar from the destroyer, eleven o’
clock, fifteen miles, not locked on.”
“American attack bomber, this is your final warning!” the Russian controller radioed. “Alter course immediately or you will be fired upon! Respond immediately!”
“I see the destroyer!” Frodo said. They were going to pass up the starboard side; Boxer nudged the stick left. It looked to Frodo as if they were going to fly right over it! Suddenly he saw puffs of smoke shooting from each side of the vessel. “Guns…!”
“Close-in weapon system!” Boxer shouted. “Think you can catch us, Comrades? Think again.”
“Jesus…!” It looked as if they were going to fly right through the smoke from the cannons’ muzzles! Suddenly a fast-paced beepbeepbeepbepp sounded. “Missile guidance!”
“It’s a false signal, Frodo,” Boxer said. He couldn’t believe how calm she sounded. “No warning from the computer. It’s a false missile-guidance signal, trying to provoke us to do something. Time for our close-up, Mr. DeMille.” Just as they passed the destroyer, Boxer rolled the Vampire bomber into a ninety-degree bank left turn, darting just ahead of the destroyer. Frodo thought for sure the left wingtip was going to drag the water! Boxer strained to look out the left cockpit window and managed to catch a glimpse of the vapor cloud created by the supersonic shock wave roll over the destroyer’s bow. “Have a face wash, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force,” she crowed happily.
“Golf-band radar…Echo-Fox radar, not locked on,” Frodo reported. Boxer rolled wings-level, then started a turn toward the aircraft carrier itself. “Why are they shooting at us? I thought this was all for show.”
“Someone obviously didn’t get the memo, Frodo,” Boxer said. “But I’m not going to let the Russkies push us around. I think we’ll take this pass down the port side of the carrier. Any helicopters up?”