Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (30 page)

 
          
“Be
silent, damn you,” Yi shouted. “Have Missile Attack Squadron One move forward
in the group and attack the Nationalist frigate using optronic sensors. That should
keep it busy so it cannot launch any more missiles against us, and maybe we
will get lucky and destroy it. I want every ship in this fleet to go on the
attack and destroy that rebel frigate immediately!”

 
          
Those
small missiles must have been launched by a submarine or stealth aircraft,
Admiral Yi thought. His long-range radars were not the best, but if there were
any normal aircraft within a hundred kilometers or any subs within five
kilometers, they would have detected them. That means that
Taiwan
was getting assistance—and with weapons
that sophisticated, that assistance had to be from the
United States
.

 
          
“Any
word from
Beijing
?” Yi asked.

 
          
“
Beijing
advises that a message is being relayed
through the Army Air Force and Navy to provide support so that we may have some
coverage in case
Taiwan
launches attack aircraft.”

 
          
Yi
swore again, then said, “I want whatever air support the PLA can provide out to
support us
immediately
,” Admiral Yi
shouted. “Is that clear? Patrol aircraft, helicopters, gliders, I do not care!
Tell
Beijing
in the strongest possible way to get us
some air support! What about our fighters?”

 
          
“Interceptor
One is ready to launch, sir.” Yi looked out toward the flight deck. They had
modified the takeoff positions on the carrier to allow up to three fighters to
take off nearly simultaneously: the first fighter started at the holdback
position farthest to port on the 195-meter launch point; another waited at the
number two holdback launch position on the 210-meter spot at the port fantail;
and a third fighter was being steered into position at the number three launch
position at the starboard fantail position. The first Su-33 ran its engines up
to full afterburner power, the steel wheel chocks retracted into the deck, and
the fighter accelerated down the flight deck, then up onto the “ski jump” and
into the sky. Once the first fighter cleared the bow, the second fighter began
its takeoff run. The first fighter disappeared from view for a few moments as
its momentum carried it down, but seconds later it could be seen gracefully
arcing through the sky. Ten seconds later, the second Sukhoi-33 was airborne,
chasing its leader.

 
          
“Get
Interceptor Two up on deck and ready to go as soon as Interceptor One finds
that American bomber,” Yi ordered. “Find that American stealth bomber! ”

ABOARD THE EB-52 MEGAFORTRESS

THAT SAME TIME

           
The NIRTSat radar satellite
reconnaissance system used six low-orbiting satellites, with as many as three
taking high-resolution “snapshots” of the desired target area simultaneously,
then combining them electronically into a three-dimensional picture. But taking
and processing these high-tech snapshots took time, sometimes as long as two
minutes. McLanahan s supercockpit display system could predict the movement of
ships and aircraft based on their previous position, heading, and speed, but in
the heat of battle, two minutes was a very long time to be without up-to- date
information.

 
          
As
soon as the newest hi-res photo came in, McLanahan was on the interphone. “The
carrier is launching fighters,” he reported excitedly. “I’m picking up two
heading north and climbing fast, passing five thousand feet. And I’ve got
several small escorts overtaking the northern destroyer. Looks like they might
be geting into launch position. Stand by, crew, radar coming on.” He moved the
cursor on the supercockpit display, designated all of the vessels closest to
the Taiwanese frigate, then hit the computer command button: “Identify.”

 
          
WARNING,
ATTACK RADAR SWITCHING TO RADIATE . . . WARNING, ATTACK RADAR RADIATING . . .
ATTACK RADAR SWITCHING TO STANDBY, the computer reported. In three seconds, the
powerful Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar on the EB-52 Megafortress measured
each vessel in three dimensions with six-inch accuracy. It took another twenty
seconds for the computer to compare each ship’s measurements to the data in its
memory files and identify each ship, along with its primary weapon and
electronic fit.

 
          
The computer read off its search results:
target six is jiangwei- CLASS frigate, it announced in a very human-sounding
female voice. ANTIAIR HQ-61 FOG LAMP, 100-MILLIMETER RICE LAMP DIRECTOR,
30-MILLIMETER ROUND BALL. ANTI-SHIP EIGHT EACH
YJ-1
SQUARE
TIE, 100-MILLIMETER SUN
VISOR, 30-MILLIMETER SUN VISOR. TARGETS THREE, FOUR, SEVEN, NINE,
HUANGFENG-CLASS GUIDED-MISSILE BOATS. ANTIAIR, 30-MILLIMETER, ROUND BALL
FIRE-CONTROL RADAR. ANTI-SHIP FOUR EACH HY-1, 30-millimeter, target five and
eight, houku-class missile boats, antiair 25-MILLIMETER. ANTI-SHIP, TWO EACH
HY-1.

           
“That middle frigate is a real
threat for us,” McLanahan said. “We could easily be within range of that
HQ-61.”

 
          
“The
range of a Hong Qian-61 is only six miles, sir,” Vikram said. “I heard of an
improved version with triple that range,” McLanahan offered. “That frigate might
be carrying it.”

           
“An improved HQ-61? I never heard
about that.”

 
          
“And
what if it’s really a Crotale SAM system?”

           
“Crotale has a max range of eight
miles,” Vikram said. “We’re twenty- six miles from the PLAN fleet.”

 
          
“Emitter,
if you ever want to make captain someday,”
Cheshire
suggested, “just nod and say, ‘Yes, sir.’ ”

 
          
“Yes,
sir,” Vikram complied.

 
          
“Good
boy,”
Cheshire
said. McLanahan gave his DSO a thumbs-up.

 
          
“I
don’t think the Tacit Rainbow attack deterred them,” Elliott said, with a
smile. “I think we’re still an item of interest. Let ’em have the Wolverines.”

 
          
“Agreed,”
McLanahan said. “Stand by for pylon missile launch, crew.” His fingers were
flying over his touch-screen supercockpit display, designating nine vessels as
targets. He then armed four of the attack- configured AGM-177 cruise missiles
and programmed all four with all nine possible targets. The cruise missiles
would attack the target list in order. If a target was not destroyed, it would
attack; if missed, it would reattack; if destroyed, it v/ould move to the next
target in the list. “Stand by for pylon missile launch, crew. Wings level.”
McLanahan then hit the voice command button: “Launch commit Wolverines.”

 
          
WARNING,
LAUNCH COMMIT PYLON LAUNCH ATTACK WOLVERINE MISSILES, the computer responded on
interphone, then entered an automatic launch hold.

 
          
“Launch,”
McLanahan ordered, canceling the launch hold. The Megafortress crew felt a
slight shudder as the tiny bomb bays on the wing pylon weapons pods opened and
four missiles were ejected into the slipstream. “Center up on the steering bug,
pilot, heading zero-two-five to the refueling anchor point, and let’s get out
of here.”

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA
PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY HEADQUARTERS,
BEIJING
,
CHINA

THAT SAME TIME

           
Admiral Sun Ji Guoming’s executive
officer did not wait for a reply before hastily knocking on his superior’s
office door and rushing in. The first deputy chief of staff was studying a
large map of
Taiwan
and the east coast of
China
that had updated positions of several
Chinese and Taiwanese military units depicted on it, including intelligence
estimates of their size and strength. The aide bowed as Sun turned angrily
toward him and said, “Sir!”

 
          
“I
asked not to be disturbed!”

 
          
“Message
sent here directly from East Fleet headquarters for the chief of staff,” the
aide went on. “The commander of the carrier
Mao
is requesting assistance.”

 
          
“Assistance?
Where is it? What’s happening?”

 
          
“In
the
Formosa Strait
, fifty kilometers south of
Quemoy
Island
. The admiral informs us that the
Mao
and its escorts have been ordered to
halt and submit to an inspection by a frigate of the Taiwanese navy ...”

           
“What?”
Sun shouted, leaping to his feet in absolute shock and surprise. The carrier
battle group was still at least a day from its attack staging position near the
Nationalist-held
island
of
Quemoy
—it should still be well inside
Chinese
waters. The attack on
Quemoy
was not supposed to start for another week
at the earliest! “You say they are being confronted by the Nationalist navy?”

 
          
“.
. . and they are being supported by what they believe is an American
stealth bomber
firing cruise missiles! ”

 
          
Sun’s
head snapped back to his aide as if he had heard a gunshot right behind him. “A
stealth bomber
? How do they know?
Have they seen it?” “Intermittent radar contacts, but shortly thereafter a
series of devastating anti-radar missile attacks,” the aide replied. “The
weather is clear, their radars are operational, but they cannot detect the
aircraft attacking them. The captain said he had no choice but to shut down all
radar systems after he and one of his escorts, the
Kang,
were hit by antiradar cruise missiles that came out of
nowhere.”

 
          
“Follow
me,” Sun ordered, and he and his aide ran out of the office and onto the private
elevator that took them down to the chief of staff’s underground command
center. The command center was little more than a large radio shack, manned
around the clock with communications specialists broken into four sections,
representing the army, navy, air forces, and Second Artillery Corps, which
controlled the land-based nuclear ballistic missiles. Except for exercises, it
was rarely visited by anyone much above field grade rank, so it created quite a
stir when Deputy Chief of Staff Admiral Sun Ji Guoming burst into the chamber
and over to the chief of staff’s seat. “Senior controller! ” Sun shouted, as he
put on his headset.

 
          
“Sir!
” a voice responded. “This is Major Dai, senior duty controller.”

           
“I want to speak with the commanding
officer of the carrier
Mao Zedong
right now,” Sun ordered. “And put up a chart with locations of naval air units
in the Quemoy area and unit resource report data on our Sukhoi- 27 wing.”

 
          
“Yes,
sir,” Dai replied. In moments, a hastily sketched map of the Formosa Strait
region went up on a rear-projection screen in front of Sun. “Sir, naval air
units in current mission-ready status in the Quemoy region include the
Nineteenth Air Wing at Quanzhou, with thirty J-6 fighter- attack planes, and
the Seventh Air Wing at Juidongshan, with twenty- two J-6 fighters. In
addition, the Fifty-first Air Wing at
Fuzhou
is operational with nineteen H-6 bombers.”

 
          
“I
want all three wings put on immediate combat alert,” Sun said. “Any units on
ready alert right now?”

 
          
Another
long wait; then: “Negative, sir.”