Red Phoenix

by Bond , Larry

  IP—Initial Point: A U.S. Air Force term that refers to the geographic location used as the start point for an approach to a target.

  ITV—Improved TOW vehicle: This converted M113 armored personnel carrier mounts a two-tube launcher on top to fire TOW antitank missiles. The launcher and its attached sight can be extended several feet into the air, allowing the vehicle to stay hidden while searching for targets.

  Jian-7: The Chinese designation for their copy of the Soviet MiG-21 fighter.

  KA-6D tanker: A modified version of the A-6 Intruder, this plane is fitted with a hose and reel. It is launched from carriers and is used to refuel the other planes in flight after they have been launched.

  KATUSA—Korean Attached to U.S. Army: Term for a South Korean soldier serving as part of an American Army unit.

  KGB—Komitet Gosudatstvennoy Sigurnost: Committee for State Security. The Soviet organization responsible for the security of the Soviet state inside and outside its own borders. It deals with subversion, espionage, intelligence gathering, and other matters.

  LAMPS—Light Airborne Multipurpose System: See SH-2F Sea Sprite.

  LAW—Light Antitank Weapon: A 66mm rocket in a fiberglass tube, this one-shot, throwaway weapon weighs about five pounds. It has a short range and limited penetrating power, but it gives the individual soldier a powerful one-time “punch” against lightly armored vehicles, bunkers, or buildings.

  LOFAR—Low Frequency Analysis: The sound signature of each submarine is subtly different, and by analyzing the sounds they make a subhunter may be able to determine the nature of his opponent. The term is also used to refer to a class of relatively inexpensive passive sonobuoys dropped from ASW aircraft to listen for enemy submarines.

  LRRPs—Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols: During the Vietnam War, small detachments of soldiers were inserted deep in enemy territory, where they operated alone for extended periods of time. Specially trained, they gathered intelligence and conducted ambushes, sabotage, or assassinations.

  M16: The standard U.S. Army infantry weapon, it is much lighter and smaller than its predecessor, the M14 rifle. The M16 weighs eight and a half pounds. It can be fired on semi or full automatic.

  M-48 tank: This vehicle was first designed in the early 1950s. Mounting a 90mm gun and with a gasoline engine, it was used by American armored units and exported widely. Obsolete since the 1960s, many have been reworked with larger 105mm guns, diesel engines, and improved fire-control systems.

  M-60 tank: The M-60 tank mounts a 105mm gun and served as the U.S. military’s main battle tank for nearly two decades. It is still in service, but is being gradually replaced in front-line units by the M-1 Abrams.

  M60 machine gun: The standard U.S. Army machine gun, it is actually derived from a World War II German design, the MG 42. It weighs 23 pounds and is normally fired from a bipod.

  M61 Vulcan: This revolutionary 20mm cannon revived the “Gatling gun” principle for use as an aircraft weapon. It has a rate of fire of over 3,000 rounds per minute. First appearing in the 1950s, this principle has since been applied to other calibers (see GAU-8).

  M-113: An armored personnel carrier first deployed in 1960, it is little more than a thinly armored box on treads. Armed only with a. 50-caliber machine gun, it remains popular and cheap—despite its inadequate protection. It is being replaced in the U.S. Army by the M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

  M-577: A heavily modified version of the M113 armored personnel carrier, it is equipped to serve as a mobile command post.

  MAC—Military Airlift Command: Part of the U.S. Air Force, it operates their fleet of transport aircraft and is responsible for ensuring the rapid air movement of U.S. troops and equipment to trouble spots around the globe.

  MAD—Magnetic Anomaly Detector: A sensor carried on Navy subhunting aircraft. It detects the distortions in the earth’s magnetic field caused by the presence of several thousand tons of steel making up a submarine’s hull.

  Mark 82: One of a series of low-drag bombs used by the United States and other countries. The Mark 82 weighs 250 pounds, the Mark 83 1,000 pounds, and the Mark 84 2,000 pounds.

  MiGs: “MiG” stands for “Mikoyan and Gureyivich,” whose aircraft designs have been produced since World War II. Other design bureaus have also produced fighter designs, but the MiG series has been the most famous and the most successful. All Russian aircraft have been assigned code names by NATO, since they do not give their aircraft names like “Falcon” or “Eagle.” Fighter code names always begin with F, bombers with B, and special-purpose aircraft with M.

  MiG-19 UTI: A twin-engine, single-seat fighter that appeared after the Korean War, the MiG-19 Farmer is an older design that is still fairly maneuverable and has shown that it can take some punishment and still survive. The “UTI” is the Soviet abbreviation for the two-seat training version.

  MiG-21 “Fishbed”: The MiG-21 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter designed by the Soviets but widely distributed to their allies. Though an older design, it is still a fairly maneuverable aircraft and a dangerous opponent in a close-in dogfight. It carries a primitive radar and radar-guided missiles in addition to heat-seekers and a cannon.

  MiG-23 “Flogger”: The MiG-23 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter also distributed by the Soviets. Very fast, it is a notoriously poor dogfighter. It does have a fairly effective radar and radar-guided missiles to take advantage of that fact.

  MiG-29 “Fulcrum”: A brand-new Soviet fighter that has been heavily exported to their allies. While not quite as good as current U.S. designs, the twin-engined MiG-29 is too close for comfort. It is equipped with a good radar and missile armament.

  MLR—Main Line of Resistance: Term for a line defining the forward edge of a military unit’s main defensive position.

  MRE—Meals Ready to Eat: The modern replacement for the legendary “C” rations, an MRE is a series of plastic pouches filled with freeze-dried foods. While individual opinions vary, on the whole they are seen as a vast improvement over their predecessors.

  NSP—National Security Planning Agency: The new name for the KCIA, or Korean Central Intelligence Agency. This organization is responsible for stopping espionage and subversion threatening the Republic of Korea.

  OP—Observation Post: A small, often concealed, position occupied by one or two men whose mission is to provide early warning of enemy movement.

  OV-10D Bronco: A twin-turboprop observation plane, it was designed during Vietnam to serve as a forward air controller. It has a crew of two and carries a small weapons load of its own.

  P-3C Orion: A four-engine turboprop, this successful design is based on the Lockheed Electra airliner. Instead of passengers, the fuselage carries many different sensors, computers, and a bomb bay full of sonobuoys and homing torpedoes.

  PFC: Private First Class.

  PMP—Pontonno-Mostovoi Park: The name for a type of Russian pontoon bridge.

  Radar-Guided Missiles: All air-to-air missiles have some sort of guidance mechanism to help them find the target. The two most common types are infrared, or heat-seeking, systems, such as the AIM-9L Sidewinder, and radar-guided systems, such as the AIM-7M Sparrow. Essentially, radar-guided missiles home in on a target “painted” by a friendly radar. They are longer-ranged than heat-seeking missiles and can usually attack a target from any angle. They are also more complex and cost more to build.

  RF-5A: A reconnaissance variant of the F-5A Freedom Fighter. It is a small, simple, twin-engine fighter with the armament removed and cameras installed in the nose. Its only defense is speed.

  RIO—Radar Intercept Officer: The U.S. Navy term for the flight officer in the backseat of a two-seat fighter, such as the F-14 Tomcat or F-4 Phantom II. While the pilot flies the aircraft, the RIO operates the plane’s complex weapons systems.

  ROK—Republic of Korea: South Korea.

  RORSAT—Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite: A Russian radar satellite that searches for ships. It can transmit information
back to naval headquarters in the Soviet Union or even provide targeting data directly to surface ships or subs with long-range weapons.

  RPG—Rocket-Propelled Grenade: Russian designation for a series of simple antitank weapons. The most common is the RPG-7, which is a shoulder-fired weapon with a short range.

  RPK: A Russian designation for a light machine gun of mediocre performance, especially when compared to the U.S. M60 machine gun. It weighs a little over 12 pounds.

  R.S.F.S.R.—Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic: The largest of the fifteen republics making up the Soviet Union. The R.S.F.S.R. contains more than half the Soviet population and three-quarters of the nation’s territory. It stretches from the Baltic Sea in the west to the shores of the Pacific Ocean in the east—including all of Siberia.

  RTO—Radio Telephone Operator: Any soldier assigned to carry and operate a unit’s radio. He is usually found near the officers.

  S-60: The designation for a Russian-designed twin 57mm antiaircraft gun. They are normally deployed in batteries of six or regiments of twenty-four. The guns are radar-guided.

  SA-2 Guideline: An elderly Soviet antiaircraft missile. The “SA” stands for “surface to air.” It is designed to engage high-altitude targets.

  SA-7 Grail: A small, shoulder-fired missile with a heat-seeker. It can engage low-altitude targets at close range. A later version, the SA-14 Gremlin, has improved performance.

  SA-8 Gecko: A newer, mobile antiaircraft missile, it can engage aircraft at low and medium altitude. It is completely self-sufficient, with the radar and missiles mounted on an amphibious wheeled vehicle.

  SA-N-8: A naval version of the shoulder-fired SA-14 Gremlin, it is a short-range, heat-seeking antiaircraft missile.

  Sabot: Technically the French word for “shoe,” it is also the name for an armor-piercing tank shell. A small superheavy tungsten alloy or depleted-uranium penetrator is fixed to a larger boot, the sabot, which is the same size as the tank’s main gun barrel. When the round is fired, the boot falls away as it leaves the barrel, freeing the penetrator for its fight to the target.

  SACEUR—Supreme Allied Commander in Europe: A NATO command, the billet is occupied by a four-star general who would command all NATO forces in Europe in wartime.

  SAM—Surface-to-Air Missile: A general term applied to any missile used to shoot at aircraft.

  SAR—Search and Rescue: The use of aircraft and specialized rescue teams to search for and recover aircrews downed behind enemy lines.

  SH-2F Sea Sprite: A small twin-engine helicopter with a crew of three. It can land and take off from the fantail of a small warship and search for ships or chase down sonar contacts. It can carry torpedoes or depth charges for use against enemy subs. It is also called the LAMPS Mark I, for “Light Airborne Multipurpose System.”

  SH-60B Seahawk: A twin-engine helicopter designed to replace the SH-2F Sea Sprite. Equipped with powerful engines and advanced electronics, the Seahawk is also called the LAMPS Mark III. It can search for surface ships or submarines and attack both types of targets.

  SIGINT—Signals Intelligence: Similar to ELINT, it encompasses both the collection of enemy electronic emissions and the later analysis of those emissions.

  SMG: Submachine gun.

  Sonobuoys: Small, air-droppable sonar devices used to detect submarines. They may be either active pinging sonars or passive listening devices. ASW aircraft and helicopters usually carry large numbers of sonobuoys.

  SOP—Standard Operating Procedure: Standardized instructions covering the optimum procedures for many different types of operations—for everything from forming a convoy to attacking a bunker. Because it is supposed to be “standard” Army-wide, it allows different units to cooperate more efficiently.

  Soviet submarine designations: The Soviets do not reveal their names or designations for their submarines. NATO has thus designated each class of Soviet subs with a letter of the phonetic alphabet—Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, and so on. They are not designated in sequence, so that the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines actually appeared after the Tango class.

  SQS-56 sonar: A medium-frequency sonar carried on the U.S. O.H. Perry-class frigate. While not as powerful as other American sonar designs, it is more effective in shallow water.

  SS-N-2C Styx: A Soviet-designed surface-to-surface missile. With a range of roughly 46 miles, the Styx is intended to give even small naval vessels a powerful punch. The missile has been fired in anger in a number of conflicts around the world, and it has sunk a number of warships and merchantmen. However, the Styx has proven ineffective against newer, more sophisticated missile defenses.

  Su-7 Fitter: Produced by the Sukhoi design bureau, this thirty-year-old design is a single-engine, single-seat attack aircraft. It has poor range and can carry only a mediocre payload.

  Su-27 Flanker: A new twin-engine, single-seat Soviet fighter. Roughly equal to the U.S. F-15 in performance, it carries a large number of radar-guided missiles.

  T-55: An older Soviet tank with a relatively weak 100mm gun and many design flaws. Among other things, the ammunition is poorly protected, so that any solid hit on the tank is likely to detonate the shells.

  T-62A: The successor to the T-55 tank, the T-62A first appeared in the 1960s. It mounts a 115mm gun and improved fire-control system. It has thicker armor but compares poorly with its U.S. equivalent, the M60 tank.

  T-72 tank: A modern Russian design, the T-72 mounts a 125mm gun and improved armor. It has several flaws, notably its fire-control system and a cranky automatic loader. Nevertheless, the T-72’s heavy armor is still hard to penetrate, especially from the front.

  TACCO—Tactical Coordinator: A Navy term for the officer on an ASW plane who controls the attack. He must coordinate the use of his plane’s weapons and sensors, and possibly those of other units as well.

  TOW—Tube-launched, Optical Wire-guided missile: A large, long-range antitank missile that first saw service in Vietnam and was a spectacular success. Since then it has been improved and is now the standard U.S. heavy antitank weapon. It has a range of 3,750 meters.

  Tu-16 Badger F: The Tu-16 Badger is a 1950s-vintage twin-jet bomber. It has been used in many different roles since its introduction. The “F” model is loaded with electronic sensors designed to record information on enemy transmissions.

  Voyska PVO: The Soviet name for their air defense forces, which are organized into a separate military service. The PVO consists of an array of early warning radars, surface-to-air missiles, and interceptors.

  XO—Executive Officer: A Navy term for the officer who is second-in-command of a naval vessel. He is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the ship, while the captain keeps track of the big picture.

  Z: Slang for DMZ or Demilitarized Zone.

  ZSU-23-4 Shilka: A Soviet tracked antiaircraft vehicle, it carries four 23mm antiaircraft cannon. It has an onboard radar and is considered a dangerous opponent.

  ZU-23: A Russian twin 23mm cannon on a ground mounting, it has a limited effect but the advantage of being cheap and numerous.