Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 10

DALE BROWN IS A
SUPERB STORYTELLER"

           
—W.E.B. Griffin

 
          
"THE
BEST MILITARY ADVENTURE WRITER IN THE COUNTRY
TODAY."         

 
—Clive Cussler

           
"A MASTER OF MIXING TECHNOLOGY
AND ACTION. HE PUTS READERS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INFERNO."

—Larry Bond

 
          
"HIS
AIR COMBAT SCENES HAVE A SLAM-BANG ACCURACY."

—The
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution

 
 
          
Praise for Dale Brown
 
and his electrifying bestsellers

 
          
“Like
the thrillers of Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, and Larry Bond, the novels of Dale
Brown brim with violent action, detailed descriptions of sophisticated
weaponry, and political intrigue . . . His ability to bring technical weaponry
to life is
amazing.”          
—
San
Francisco
Chronicle

 
          
“Dale
Brown has an uncanny talent for putting his millions of fans into the middle of
his action stories. He keeps you glued to the page with thundering battle
scenes and his intimate knowledge of air warfare and international politics.”

 
          
—
Tulsa
World

 
          
“Brown
describes the virtually nonstop dogfights and overflights in loving, vivid
detail.”     
—
New
York
Daily News

 
          
“Nobody,
in detailing the lethal excitements of high-tech aerial combat in plausible
geopolitical contexts, does it better than
Brown.”                                    
—Kirkus Reviews

 
 
 
         
WINGS
OF FIRE

 
          
“Plenty
of
action.”                                     
—Library Journal

 
          
“Dale
Brown is the king of techno thrillers and his latest novel,
Wings of Fire,
is his best novel to
date.”

 
          
—BookBrowser

 
          
WARRIOR CLASS

 
          
“High
altitude action and adventure .. . Fasten your seat belts as the story takes
off in great style.”

 
          
—
U.K.
News quest Regional Press

 
          
And
his acclaimed new series • • •

 
          
DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND

 
          
“Few
novelists can craft an aerial battle scene more strategically than former U.S.
Air Force Captain Brown, and he and [coauthor Jim] DeFelice are in fine form
here. Set deep in the
Nevada
desert, Dreamland is the place where top minds converge to develop
cutting-edge artillery and aircraft . .. Military-thriller readers will marvel
at the fast
pace.”                                        
—Publishers Weekly

 
 
          
Titles by Dale Brown

 
WINGS OF FIRE
 
WARRIOR CLASS
 
FLIGHT OF THE OLD DOG
 
SILVER TOWER
 
DAY OF THE CHEETAH
 
HAMMERHEADS
 
SKY MASTERS
 
NIGHT OF THE HAWK
 
CHAINS OF COMMAND
 
STORMING HEAVEN
 
SHADOWS OF STEEL
 
FATAL TERRAIN
 
THE TIN MAN
 
BATTLE BORN

 
          
Titles
by Dale Brown with Jim DeFelice

 
          
DALE
BROWN’S DREAMLAND
 
DALE BROWN’S DREAMLAND: NERVE CENTER

 
          
WINGS of FIRE

Dale Brown

 
          
BERKLEY
BOOKS,
NEW YORK
 

 
          
 
 
While the author has made every effort
to provide accurate telephone numbers and
 
Internet addresses at the time of
publication, neither the publisher nor the author
 
assumes any responsibility for errors, or
for changes that occur after publication.

 
          
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents either are the
 
product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously, and any
 
resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead, business establishments,
 
events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

 
          
WINGS OF FIRE

 
          
A Berkley Book / published by
arrangement with the author
 
PRINTING HISTORY

 
          
G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition
/ July 2002
 
Berkley
mass-market edition / June 2003

 
          
Copyright © 2002 by Target Direct
Productions.

 
          
Cover design by Steve Ferlauto.

 
          
All rights reserved.

 
          
This book, or parts thereof, may not
be reproduced in any form without permission.
 
The scanning, uploading, and
distribution of this book via the Internet or via any
 
other means without the permission of
the publisher is illegal and punishable
 
by law. Please purchase only authorized
electronic editions, and do not participate
 
in or encourage electronic piracy of
copyrighted materials. Your support of the
 
author’s rights is appreciated.

 
          
For information address: The Berkley
Publishing Group,
 
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

 
          
375 Hudson Street
,
New York
,
New York
10014
.

 
          
ISBN: 0-425-19065-X

 
          
BERKLEY®

 
          
Berkley Books are published by The
Berkley Publishing Group,
 
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

 
          
375 Hudson Street
,
New York
,
New York
10014
.

 
          
BERKLEY
and the “B” design
 
are trademarks belonging to Penguin
Group (USA) Inc.

 
          
PRINTED IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 
10 987654321
 

 
          
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

 
          
Thanks
to all the folks I met and spoke with at the Air Force Research Laboratory
Directed Energy Directorate and Airborne Laser Special Projects Office,
Kirtland Air Force Base,
Albuquerque
,
New Mexico
. Special thanks to my old friend Colonel
Ellen Pawlikowski, ABL SPO commander, for inviting me to visit her incredible
staff and facilities; Lieutenant Colonel Joel Olsen, Lieutenant Colonel Mark
Neice, Major Steve Smiley, Captain Carey Johnson, Captain Barrett McCann, Captain
Dave Edwards, Captain Lynn Anderson, and Tim Foley, ABL SPO; and Rich Garcia,
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Alley, Captain Eric Moomey, Conrad Dziewalski, Dr. Bob
Fugate, Mike Connor, and Dr. Kip Kendrick of the Directed Energy Directorate.

 
          
Special
thanks to Ken Englade, AFRL/ABL SPO public affairs, for all his hard work in
setting up a great tour of all the facilities at Kirtland.

 
          
Thanks
to David and Cheryl Duffield, Susan Bailey, Dean and Meredith Meiling, Sandy
Scarcella, and Ed Bolecky for their extraordinary generosity.

 
          
Thanks
to Robert Gottlieb, Neil Nyren, and Suzanne Tarantino for their help and
support.

 
          
As
always, To Diane for her love and support.