sense to him, because he’d already been told that the ‘warhead’ was a fake, filled with scrap metal.
But when he read the last instruction from Pyongyang, he finally grasped the totality of the part of the operation in which he was personally involved, and its simplicity and elegance made him smile.
Normally the main briefing room door was left open, but when Richter arrived at just before four that morning, the door was closed and a burly 800 Squadron chief petty officer was standing outside.
‘Commander Richter? You’re the last one, sir.’ He opened the door and ushered Richter inside, then closed it behind him.
‘Come in, Paul,’ said Roger Black. He was standing at the front of the room, the three other pilots, all wearing flying overalls, sitting in the front row of seats directly facing him. Off to the right-hand side were several whiteboards, and at the back of the room a flight planning desk with dedicated computers, none of which would be used during this briefing.
Usually Harrier pilots are briefed by an intel officer who would use a Powerpoint presentation delivered on a secret computer known as CSS. This is a remarkably useful system that enables secure planning, encrypted messaging, the storage and display of classified documents and mapping, combined with real-time intelligence information. But Richter had no idea how to use the system, and in any case the signal from Simpson had been absolutely specific: no details of any aspect of the mission were to be entered on any data storage device, and all planning materials were to be destroyed as soon as the briefing was completed.
‘I’ve been explaining the substance of the mission to these three,’ Black said, ‘but despite that, they still seem keen to go with you.’
Richter nodded to them and sat down at the end of the row. ‘I’m very grateful. I think you’re all mad to volunteer, but I do appreciate it.’
‘As you’re all aware, this mission has not been authorized by our controlling authority,’ Black began. ‘The intention was that Paul Richter would carry out a solo sortie into North Korea, and we all know how futile that would probably have been. For this to work, we’ll need a minimum of four aircraft – two pairs – on the mission. The captain is aware of what’s going on, and has given it his full support, but nobody outside this room is to be told anything about this operation, whether it succeeds or fails. As far as the rest of the ship’s company is concerned, you’re going up as two pairs of CAP aircraft to practise one-on-one air combat under South Korean control.
‘I’ve had a met brief, and the weather’s going to continue pretty much the same as it’s been for the last week. That means clear skies, light winds, and zero precipitation. Now, Paul’s done all the mission-planning, so I’ll hand over to him.’
As Black sat down in the front row, Richter walked over to the lectern, selected a map and switched on the overhead projector. On the screen behind him a detailed map of North Korea sprang to life. He turned to check that it was in focus, then back to face the men sitting in front of him.
‘Good morning, gentlemen. This briefing is classified Top Secret and is extremely sensitive, to put it mildly. We’re about to commit an act of war against a country that in no way threatens, or has ever threatened, the United Kingdom. We’re acting as proxies for the Americans, much as we’ve already done in Iraq, but this time I personally think the action is justified.
‘My first point is not directly connected with the mission, but needs emphasizing. You must be fully aware of the likely consequences if you get shot down. The North Koreans’ human rights record is dismal, to say the least. The best you can hope for is that they’ll simply shoot you, but it’s more likely you’ll spend a considerable length of time in one of their concentration camps, and finally be killed in some kind of medical “experiment”. The worst is probably Camp 22, up in the north-east corner of the country, near Haengyong. That establishment holds about fifty thousand prisoners, most of whom will end up gassed or poisoned in Pyongyang’s experimental biological and chemical warfare programme. You need to be in absolutely no doubt about this. The North Koreans have pulled off a difficult trick: they’ve managed to make the Nazis’ concentration camps look relatively humane.’
Richter paused and looked at the impassive faces staring back at him.
‘All four of us will be carrying Walther PPK pistols with one full magazine. This weapon is not intended for you to fight your way out of North Korea. It’s so you can put the barrel against the side of your head and pull the trigger, if you do end up on the ground. That, I assure you, may be your last resort but by far your best option. Do you all fully understand that?’
The three pilots nodded, and Richter shook his head.
‘And you still want to go on this mission? Well, I think you’re all certifiable.’
The Senior Pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Dick ‘Shorty’ Long, laughed briefly. ‘If you go, we go,’ he said. ‘It’s as simple as that, Paul, so stop trying to talk us out of it.’
‘OK, it’s your funeral – metaphorically speaking, I hope. Right, now, the mission.’ Richter turned his attention back to the map and used a pen as a pointer. ‘These are our targets. From the north: Hochon, No-dong, Mayang Island and Ok’pyong. The highest priority is Ok’pyong, partly because of statements made by a North Korean defector.
‘In August nineteen ninety-three a thirty-year-old lieutenant named Im Young-Sun, who’d been employed in the North Korean Military Construction Bureau, defected to the South. He was extensively debriefed by the Americans and, amongst other things, claimed that missiles based at Ok’pyong were normally targeted at Japanese cities and US bases in Japan.
‘According to the Americans, their satellites, mainly KH-12 birds, have detected an unusual kind of truck at Ok’pyong, a vehicle they believe has been specially modified for the carriage of nuclear weapons. From this they inferred that the No-dong missile now sitting on the launch pad at Ok’pyong is carrying a nuclear payload, and the reason we’ve been asked to hit the other three bases is because identical trucks have been spotted at them as well. And at Mayang, here, one satellite image actually shows a warhead being mounted on the missile.’
Richter paused for a few moments, studying the map showing the locations of those four missile bases. Something was nagging at him about this mission, something that wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. It would, he hoped, come to him eventually.
‘OK, there are four targets and we have four aircraft and, as Wings has said, the optimum tactics are to fly as two pairs, and each pair will take out two targets. The geographical separation of the bases means that one pair will attack Hochon and No-dong, and the other two will hit Ok’pyong and Mayang. I’m volunteering myself for the two southerly bases, because Ok’pyong’s the highest priority.’
Almost before he’d finished speaking, Dick Long turned slightly in his seat to address the other two pilots. ‘I’ll take Ok’pyong and Mayang with Paul. Your targets will be the other two.’
‘The mission callsigns will be Cobra and Viper,’ Richter said. ‘Splot and I will be Cobra; you two are Viper. Now, the weapons. In an ideal world, we’d get airborne, climb to about ten grand, pop off a bunch of Storm Shadows, and land back on board in time for breakfast. Unfortunately, we don’t have that particular missile available, for reasons we’re all aware of – like the fact that it doesn’t actually work with the GR9 – so we’re left with Mavericks, Brimstone, CRV7 rockets, Sidewinders, and bombs various.
‘I’ve been over this with both Dick and Wings. Our targets are No-dong missiles, actually waiting on the launch pads. These are highly dangerous but comparatively fragile and, more importantly, liquid-fuelled. The fuel is TM-185, which is basically a mixture of twenty per cent petrol and eighty per cent kerosene, plus an oxidizer known as AK-27I, making a highly explosive combination. The fact that satellite imagery shows them on the pads suggests that they’ve been fuelled already. Normal operating procedure is that the tanks would be left empty until the missile’s mounted on the gantry, because moving a rocket full of liquid propellant is highly dangerous.’
Richter exchanged the map for a photograph of the missile base at Mayang and pointed out the gantry and No-dong standing on the pad, then he showed satellite images of the other three bases.
‘There’s no point in hitting these weapons with a Brimstone anti-tank missile because the warhead wouldn’t detonate. But we do need to hit them hard and accurately, so the best option is probably the Maverick with a proximity fuse and electro-optical guidance. The maintainers have loaded one pair on each Harrier so we’ll have two shots at each target. For the scatter-gun option, each aircraft also has two operational pods of CRV7s, so that’s an additional thirty-eight rockets. If you hit one of the missiles and get its fuel to detonate, that will almost certainly destroy anything else above ground in the vicinity.’
‘So once you’ve targeted the Maverick you need to watch out for the fallout from the explosion,’ Dick Long
