The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

'Reuters reports a nuclear detonation in the Central United States. The Denver,
Colorahdo' – the Brits have trouble pronouncing some American state names –
'television station, KOLD, broadcast via satellite a picture of a mushroom cloud
over Denver, along with a voice report of a massive explosion. Station KOLD is
now off the air, and attempts to reach Denver by telephone have not yet been
successful. There has as yet been no official comment whatever on this
incident.'
'Holy Christ,' someone said for all of them. Captain Richards looked around the
room at his staff.
'Well, now we know why we're at DEFCON-TWO. Let's get some more fighters up.
F-18s forward of us, -14s aft. I want four A-6s loaded with B-61s and briefed on
SIOP targets. One squadron of -18s loaded with anti-ship missiles, and start
planning an Alpha Strike on the Kuznetzov battlegroup.'
'Captain,' a talker called. 'Falcon reports four inbound tactical aircraft.'
Richards had only to turn around to see the main tactical display, a radar scope
fully three feet across. The four new contacts showed up as inverted V-shapes
with course vectors. Closest point of approach was less than twenty miles,
easily within range of air-to-surface missiles.
'Have Spade ID those bandits right now!'
***
'. . . close and identify,' was the order from the Hawkeye control aircraft.
'Roger,' Jackson acknowledged. 'Bud, go loose.'
'Roger.' Commander Sanchez eased his stick to the left to open the distance
between his fighter and Jackson's. Called the 'Loose Deuce,' the formation
enabled the aircraft to be mutually supporting and also impossible to attack
simultaneously. As he split off, both aircraft tipped down and dove at full dry
power. In a few seconds, they were through Mach-One.
'Boresighted,' Shredder told his driver. 'I'm activating the TV system.'
The Tomcat was built with a simple identification device. It was a television
camera with a ten-power telescopic lens that worked equally well in daylight and
darkness. Lieutenant Walters was able to slave the TV into the radar system, and
in a few seconds he had four dots that grew rapidly as the Tomcats overtook
them. 'Twin rudder configuration.'
'Falcon, this is Spade. Inform Stick we have visual but no ID, and we are
closing.'
***
Major Pyotr Arabov was no tenser than usual. An instructor pilot, he was
teaching three Libyans the intricacies of night over-water navigation. They'd
turned over the Italian island of Pantelleria thirty minutes earlier, and were
now inbound for Tripoli and home. Formation flying at night was difficult for
the three Libyans, though each had over three hundred hours in type, and
over-water flying was the most dangerous of all. Fortunately, they had picked a
good night for it. The star-filled sky gave them a good horizon reference.
Better to learn the easy way first, Arabov thought, and at this altitude. A true
tactical profile, at one hundred meters and higher speed on a cloudy night could
be exceedingly dangerous. He was not any more impressed with the airmanship of
these Libyans than the U.S. Navy had been on several occasions, but they did