He activated the two air-to-air sidewinder missiles that hung under each
wing-tip, and immediately heard the soft electronic tone cycling in his
earphones. That tone indicated that the missiles were dormant, they had
not yet detected an infra-red source to excite them. When they did they
would increase the volume and rate of cycle, growling with anticipation,
claniouring like hunting dogs on the leash. He turned them down so he
could no longer hear them.
Now he selected his cannon switch, readying the twin 30-men. weapons in
their pods just below his seat. The trigger flicked forward out of its
recess in the head of the joystick and he curled his forefinger about it
to familiarize himself with the feel of it.
Two, this is leader. I am commencing visual. It was a warning to
Joe to concentrate all his attention on the screen and feed David with
directional data.
Target is now ten o'clock high, range figures two seven nautical miles.
David searched carefully, raking the billowing walls of blinding white,
breaking off the search to look away at a ground point or a pinnacle of
cloud to prevent his eyes focusing short, and to sweep the blind spot
behind them, lest the hunters become the hunted.
Then he saw them. There were five of them, and they appeared suddenly
out of cloud high above and were immediately outlined against it like
tiny black fleas on a newly ironed bedsheet. just then Joe called the
range again.
Figures one three nautical miles, but the targets were outlined so
crisply against their background that David could make out the
delta-winged dart shape, and the high tail plane that identified them
beyond all doubt as IUG 2i J.
I have target visual, he told Joe. Five MIG 2i's J. His tone was flat
and neutral, but it was a lie, for now at last his anger had something
on which to fasten, and it changed its shape and colour, it was no
longer black and aching but cold and bright and keen as a rapier's
blade.
Target is still hostile, Joe confirmed that they were within Israeli
territory, but his tone was not as well guarded as David's. David could
detect the huskiness in it, and knew that Joe was feeling that anger
also.
It would be another fifteen seconds before they had completed their turn
across the enemy's stern, and David assessed the relative positions and
saw that so far it had been a perfect approach. The formation sailed on
serenely, unaware of the enemy beneath their tail, creeping up in the
blind spot where the forward scanning radar could not discover them and
rapidly moving into a position up sun. Once there, David would go to
attack speed and climb steeply up into a position of superior height and
tactical advantage over the enemy formation.
Looking ahead now, he realized that chance had given him an added bonus;
one of the huge tower blocks of cloud was perfectly placed to screen his
climb into the sun. He would use it to cover his stalk, the way the
Boer huntsman of Africa stalked wild buffalo from behind a herd of
domestic oxen.
Target is altering course to starboard, Joe warned him, the AUGs were
