by Dale Brown
TIGER’S CLAW
DALE BROWN
DEDICATION
This novel is dedicated to my younger brother Ken, who passed away on July 31, 2011, after a long illness (you might remember the antagonist Kenneth Francis James in my third novel, Day of the Cheetah, who was named for Ken, my other brother, Jim, and my dad). Ken was my aircraft mechanic for seven years, a fellow soccer referee, a fellow volunteer for Angel Flight West, and my frequent copilot. He was a rather white-knuckle flier, especially in the bumps and clouds, but he never failed to do an Angel Flight West mission with me and was aboard every postmaintenance flight to make sure everything on the ship was okay after he was done working on it.
His short life only highlights the importance of family—not just the families we’re born into but the families we accrue throughout our lives. We all make lousy decisions and catch some bad breaks. But if we celebrate with and support our families when times are good, and aren’t afraid or ashamed to ask for help from our families when situations turn bad, we will never be alone.
Keep an eye on the family, bro, and fly safe on your new journeys.
To remind everyone: Angel Fight West is a real organization based in Santa Monica, California, that pairs needy medical patients and volunteer pilots together to provide no-charge air transportation for treatment or other necessary activities. Missions are flown by volunteer pilots and crewmembers who donate their time and the cost of their aircraft and fuel. Learn more about this worthwhile organization at www.AngelFlightWest.org.
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
CAST OF CHARACTERS
AUTHOR’S NOTES AND CHINESE WORDS
WEAPONS AND ACRONYMS
REAL-WORLD NEWS EXCERPTS
PROLOGUE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO BY DALE BROWN
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
CAST OF CHARACTERS
AMERICANS
KENNETH PHOENIX, president of the United States
ANN PAGE, vice president
WILLIAM GLENBROOK, president’s national security adviser
HERBERT KEVICH, secretary of state
FREDRICK HAYES, secretary of defense
THOMAS TORREY, CIA director
GERALD MURTH, undersecretary of defense for acquisitions
JOSEPH COLLINGSWORTH, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
DIANE M. JAMIESON, majority leader of the U.S. Senate
U.S. AIR FORCE GENERAL TIMOTHY SPELLINGS, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
ADMIRAL EDWARD FOWLER, chief of naval operations
GENERAL JASON CONAWAY, chief of staff, U.S. Air Force
DR. HELEN KADDIRI, president and chairman of the board, Sky Masters Inc.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL PATRICK MCLANAHAN, USAF (ret.), vice president and COO, Sky Masters Inc.
DR. LINUS OGLETHORPE, chief engineer and scientist, Sky Masters Inc.
ED GLEASON, XB-1 chief instructor pilot, Sky Masters Inc.
SAM JACOBS, XB-1 aircraft commander, Sky Masters Inc.
LISA MANN, XB-1 Excalibur copilot, Sky Masters Inc.
KAREN WELLS, XB-1F Excalibur ground defensive systems officer, Sky Masters Inc.
GEORGE WICKHAM, XB-1 ground offensive systems officer, Sky Masters Inc.
U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN EDWARD TAVERNA, commander, guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin
U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN RICHARD AVERY, commanding officer, Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon
U.S. NAVY LIEUTENANT COMMANDER CHRIS “NOOSE” KAHN, commander, VF-13 Fighting Saints, NAS Fallon
COMMANDER DOUGLAS SHERIDAN, commanding officer, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER EDWARD FELLS, tactical officer, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk
LIEUTENANT ED COFFEY, HH-60 Jayhawk pilot, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk
LIEUTENANT LUCY CROSS, HH-60 Jayhawk copilot, Coast Guard cutter Mohawk
U.S. NAVY ADMIRAL ROBERT LUCE, commander, U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)
U.S. AIR FORCE GENERAL GEORGE HOOD, commander, U.S. Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)
U.S. AIR FORCE COLONEL WARNER “CUTLASS” CUTHBERT, commander, First Expeditionary Bomb Wing (First EBW), Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
U.S. AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT COLONEL NASH HARTZELL, deputy wing commander, First EBW
LIEUTENANT COLONEL BRIDGET “XENA” DUTCHMAN, commander, Twentieth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-52H Stratofortress)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL FRANKLIN “WISHBONE” MCBRIDE, commander, 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-2A Spirit)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUAN “PICANTE” OROZ, commander, Ninth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (B-1B Lancer)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JIMMY “JUJU” MAILI, commander, 199th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (F-22A Raptor)
MAJOR ROBERT “BREWSKI” CARLING, F-22A Raptor pilot
U.S. AIR FORCE CAPTAIN ALICIA SPENCER, intelligence officer, First EBW
U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN Jason HARRIS, Patriot antiaircraft missile battery commander, Guam
THOMAS HOFFMAN, president, Warbirds Forever Inc.
SONDRA EDDINGTON, chief pilot, Warbirds Forever Inc.
BRADLEY J. MCLANAHAN, instructor pilot, Warbirds Forever Inc.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
ZHOU QIANG, president of the People’s Republic of China
GAO XUDONG, vice president of China
TANG JI, foreign minister
CAO JU, defense minister
LI PEIYAN, Chinese ambassador to the United States
JIN YONGKANG, finance minister
SHÀNG JIÀNG (COLONEL GENERAL) ZU KAI, chief of the general staff, People’s Liberation Army
SHAO JIÀNG (MAJOR GENERAL) HUA ZHILUN, commander, Eleventh Tactical Rocket Division, People’s Liberation Army
SHAO JIÀNG (MAJOR GENERAL) SUN JI, deputy chief of the general staff, People’s Liberation Army
HAI JUN ZHONG JIÀNG (VICE ADMIRAL) ZHEN PENG, commander, South Sea Fleet, People’s Liberation Army Navy, Zhanjiang
HAI JUN SHAO JIÀNG (REAR ADMIRAL) HU TAN-SUN, commander, Second Carrier Battle Group (aircraft carrier Zheng He), People’s Liberation Army Navy, Juidongshan
HAI JUN DA XIAO (LOWER ADMIRAL) CHEN BOLIN, captain of the Chinese aircraft carrier Zhenyuan
HAI JUN DA XIAO (LOWER ADMIRAL) WENG LI-YEH, captain, Chinese aircraft carrier Zheng He
HAI JUN SHANG XIAO (CAPTAIN) ZHANG PEIYAN, commander of flight operations, carrier Zhenyuan
HAI JUN ZHONG XIAO (COMMANDER) HUA JI, JN-20 squadron commander, carrier Zheng He
HAI JUN SHAO XIAO (LIEUTENANT COMMANDER) WU DEK SU, JN-15 fighter pilot
KONG JUN SHANG JIANG (AIR FORCE COLONEL GENERAL) ZENG SU, chief of staff, People’s Liberation Army Air Forces
KONG JUN ZHONG JIANG (AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT GENERAL) CHEN LI, commander, First Strategic Strike Division (Xian H-6)
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
TRAN PHUONG, prime minister
Thuong tá (CAPTAIN) DANG VAN CHIEN, captain of the Gepard-class frigate Cá map (Shark)
REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN)
WU ANASTASIA, president
Zhong jiàng (VICE ADMIRAL) WU JIN-PING, commander, First Naval District South, Kaohsiung
Shàngxiào (CAPTAIN) YAO MEI-YUEH, captain of the Type 800 attack submarine Fùchóu zhe (Avenger)
Zun Khong (COMMANDER) CHEIN
SI-YAO, executive officer, attack submarine Avenger
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
MARK RUDDOCK, prime minister
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
JUSUF SALEH, president
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
PATRICIA CRUZ, president
AUTHOR’S NOTES AND CHINESE WORDS
South Sea = South China Sea
Nansha Dao = Spratly Islands
Xisha Dao = Paracel Islands
Wúsheng Léitíng— = Silent Thunder
Hu Zhao— = Tiger’s Claw
Chinese aviation assault carrier Tongyi = Reunification
CJ-20 Changjian cruise missile = Long Sword
Shenyang J-20 Tiaozhàn zhe— = Challenger
JH-37 Fei Bào = Flying Leopard
JH-37 call sign Qianfeng = striker
JN-15 call sign Ying = hawk
J-20 call sign Laoying = eagle
Xiansheng = sir
Yèying = nightingale
Baohuzhe— = Protector
Qíyú = sailfish
Fùchóu zhe = Avenger
Jia = home
Yuying = osprey
BLU-89E—Kepà debo = Terrible Wave
Lóng Dehuxi = Dragon’s Breath
ji huó = activate
Nèizài de dírén— = Enemy Within
WEAPONS AND ACRONYMS
A&P—Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
ABM—Anti Ballistic Missile
AC—Aircraft Commander
Aegis—advanced shipborne radar system
AGM-86D—Maverick TV-guided missile
AGM-88 HARM—High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile, anti-radar weapon
ALQ-293 Self-Protection Electronically Agile Reaction (SPEAR)—advanced jamming and netrusion system
AMRAAM—Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, radar guided
APR-3E—Chinese air-dropped rocket-powered torpedo
ARCP—Air Refueling Control Point, the rendezvous point for receivers and tankers
AST—Aviation Survival Technician, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer
ASW—Anti Submarine Warfare
ATP—Airline Transport Rating
AWACS—Airborne Warning and Control System
Beak—nickname for the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber
bold-print items—items in a checklist that must be committed to memory
Bone—nickname for the B-1B Lancer bomber (B-One)
BUFF—nickname for the B-52 bomber (Big Ugly Fat F**ker)
C-182—Cessna 182 light single-engine airplane
CAP—Civil Air Patrol
CFI—Certified Flight Instructor
CFI-I—Certified Flight Instructor-Instruments
CJ-20—long-range air-launched cruise missile
CJCS—chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
CNO—Chief of Naval Operations
COO—Chief Operating Officer
DEFCON—Defense Readiness Condition
DFAC—Dining Facility
DoD—Department of Defense
Dolphin-class—Israeli submarine
E-3C Sentry—airborne radar plane
Eagle Eye—unmanned remotely piloted reconnaissance plane
EEZ—Economic Exclusion Zone
EGT—Exhaust Gas Temperature
F-15C Eagle—American-made air superiority fighter
F-22 Raptor—fifth-generation American air superiority fighter
FPCON—Force Protection Condition
GDP—Gross Domestic Product
HARM—High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile
IDAS—Interactive Defense and Attack System, sub-launched attack missile
JASSM—Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, medium-range cruise missile
JH-37 Fei bào—Chinese carrier-based fighter-bomber
Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS)—advanced military data-sharing system
KC-10 Extender—third-generation U.S. Air Force air refueling tanker and cargo plane
KC-135 Stratotanker—second-generation Air Force air refueling tanker
KC-46A Provider—fourth-generation Air Force air refueling tanker
long legs—able to fly long distances
LORAN—Long Range Navigation, ground-based long-range radio navigation system
MAD—magnetic anomaly detector, a system to locate submarines by aircraft
Mjollnr—space-based land or sea attack system
Nansha Dao—Chinese name for the Spratly Islands
netrusion—injecting false code or viruses electronically into an enemy radar
NVG—night-vision goggles
OTH-B—over-the-horizon backscatter ultra-long-range radar
PACAF—Pacific Air Forces
PL-9C—Chinese short-range heat-seeking air-to-air missile
Preppie—cadet entering the Air Force Academy who needs academic assistance
RQ-4 Global Hawk—long-range high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft
RTB—return to base
SAM—surface-to-air missile
SAT—Scholastic Aptitude Test
SBIRS—Space-Based Infrared Surveillance, new missile launch detection and tracking system
Shaanxi Y-8—Chinese medium turboprop transport plane modified for ASW patrol
shapes—inert practice bomb with the same size, weight, and shape of a real bomb
Shenyang J-20 Tiaozhàn—fifth-generation Chinese jet fighter
sonobuoy—floating air-dropped sensor to detect submarines
StealthHawk—stealthy long-range attack cruise missile
Tank—nickname of the Joint Chiefs of Staff conference room
Thor’s Hammer—space-based land and sea attack weapon
Tomahawk—long-range ship- or sub-launched attack cruise missile
UNCLOS—United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNR—University of Nevada–Reno
Wilco—will comply
XB-1F Excalibur—refurbished B-1B Lancer bomber
XF-111 SuperVark—refurbished F-111 Aardvark bomber
Xisha Dao—Chinese name for the Paracel Islands
Zhongnanhai—Chinese government building complex in Beijing
REAL-WORLD NEWS EXCERPTS
PACIFIC POWER MAY SHIFT WITH NEW CHINESE WEAPON—(The Washington Times, August 6, 2010): Nothing projects U.S. global air and sea power more vividly than supercarriers. Bristling with fighter jets that can reach deep into even landlocked trouble zones, America’s virtually invincible carrier fleet has long enforced its dominance of the high seas.
China may soon put an end to that.
U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China—an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 900 miles.
. . . The weapon, a version of which was displayed last year in a Chinese military parade, could revolutionize China’s role in the Pacific balance of power, seriously weakening Washington’s ability to intervene in any potential conflict over Taiwan or North Korea. It also could deny U.S. ships safe access to international waters near China’s 11,200-mile-long coastline . . .
THE SIMMERING STRATEGIC CLASH IN U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS—(Stratfor.com, January 20, 2011): . . . Beijing is compelled by its economic development to seek military tools to secure its vital supply lines and defend its coasts, the historic weak point where foreign states have invaded. With each Chinese move to push out from its narrow geographical confines, the United States perceives a military force gaining in ability to block or interfere with U.S. commercial and military passage and access in the region. This violates a core American strategic need—command of the seas and global reach.
But China cannot simply reverse course—it cannot and will not simply halt its economic ascent, or leave its economic and social stability vulnerabl
e to external events that it cannot control. Hence we have an unresolvable strategic clash; tempers are simmering, giving rise to occasional bursts of admonition and threat. Yet unresolvable does not mean immediate, and both sides continue to find ways to delay the inevitable and inevitably unpleasant, whether economic or military in nature, confrontation.
LEANING FORWARD, BUT NOT OVERREACHING—(AirForce-Magazine.com, January 27, 2011): Air Force will design its new long-range bomber by leveraging the best of today’s technology and not trying to incorporate exceedingly risky approaches, USAF Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Philip Breedlove told lawmakers Wednesday. “One of the cost-savings approaches we have for this bomber is to not lean forward into technology that’s not proven, but bring our aircraft up to the current day’s standards,” he testified before the House Armed Services Committee. For instance, Breedlove said stealth technology has advanced much since the B-2 bomber came along through subsequent work on the F-22 and F-35. “So the new bomber will have better stealth capability, but not [by] making leaps forward that we can’t count on,” he explained. This same mind-set applies for the bomber’s avionics, information-gathering systems, and so on . . .
MORE FOR LESS—(AirForce-Magazine.com, March 3, 2011): Air Force scientists aim to demonstrate a 2,000-pound-class penetrating weapon that packs the same wallop as one of today’s 5,000-pound-class bunker busters, said Stephen Walker, who oversees USAF’s science and technology activities. This work, occurring under the new High Velocity Penetrating Weapon initiative, is meant “to reduce the technical risk for a new generation of penetrating weapons to defeat difficult hard targets,” Walker told House lawmakers Tuesday in prepared remarks. This weapon “will use a higher velocity impact to increase warhead penetration capability,” he explained. “Advanced technologies,” he continued, “will enhance weapon kinematics, ensure precision guidance in contested environments, and dramatically reduce the size of the overall weapon.” In fact, as a result, future fighters “will be able to deliver bunker-busting capabilities currently associated only with the bomber fleet,” he said . . .