carrying a Stinger or the locally manufactured and equally deadly equivalent, the
The terrain they were overflying meant they couldn’t relax for a moment. The ground was deeply fissured, steep-sided valleys running in all directions, many from east to west. That meant they were continually climbing up over the tops of hills and dropping down into valleys on the other side as they headed north. That required absolute concentration, but it gave surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns very little time to lock on to them.
That didn’t stop missiles being fired, however. Several times both Richter and Long saw the unmistakable smoke trails of SAMs arcing up towards them, but on each occasion either the Zeus worked its magic or they outran the missiles.
The Harrier GR9’s Zeus ECM system’s Radar Warning Receiver can identify over a thousand different radar emitters and automatically configure the self-defence jammer to meet the identified threat. Zeus also includes a MAW, or Missile Approach Warning, component that’s designed to detect a missile launch and activate the Bofors BOL chaff dispensers without the pilot’s intervention. It impressed the hell out of Richter.
As they headed deeper into North Korea, the Hawkeye used the Harriers’ discrete frequency to relay information the CIA and N-PIC had gleaned from the Keyhole images, data that was being flashed to the
‘There’s a small residential development at Chiha-ri, but the launch pads are separated and up to the north. The grid reference I passed you is for the launch complex, and it’s set in the hills north of the workers’ houses, and just south of a small mountain lake. The obvious approach is along the valley from the south-east, but that would take you right over the residential area and alert the air defence batteries, so command is suggesting you come in from due south. There’s a range of hills, with tops at around fourteen hundred feet, that runs north– south, and the valley to the west of that is uninhabited. Copied so far?’
‘All copied, Cobra One.’
‘Roger. That approach will bring you into the Chiha-ri valley at its widest point, but north of most of the houses. Your waypoint there is thirty-eight degrees thirty-seven decimal two four north, one two six degrees forty-one decimal zero five east, ground elevation nine hundred fifty feet. When you pass that you’ll see the valley in front of you dropping down to around eight hundred feet. Then you’ll have a short transit of one decimal four three miles on a heading of three five six true to the southern launch pads. The hills surrounding the pads top out at sixteen hundred fifty feet. Your suggested escape vector is to maintain a northerly heading, then turn hard left once you’re over the lake and continue the turn onto south. That will keep those hills between you and Chiha-ri, and hopefully below the acquisition threshold of their air defence radars.’
‘Any details of SAM types, Alpha Three?’
‘Stand by, we’re checking. OK, the data’s inconclusive, but it looks like sierra alpha type three, with the launchers located on the periphery of the complex. They’ve probably got radar-controlled anti-aircraft guns on the hills above the valley, but we can’t confirm that.’
‘Zero Six, Chunghwa. Message from command. No reports of CFC aircraft getting airborne, but two low- level high-speed contacts are reported tracking north towards Chiha-ri. They may be attempting to attack the missile complex. You are ordered to detach one combat group to intercept them. Initial heading will be one nine zero. Report when separated and in descent to three thousand five hundred metres.’
Gennadi Malakov decided his group of seven aircraft would handle the incursion, since nothing much else seemed to be happening.
‘Zero Six, acknowledged. Combat Group One, descend now to three thousand five hundred metres and turn left onto one nine zero.’
Malakov glanced left and right as he pushed his control column forwards, checking that the other pilots had begun simultaneous descents. The remaining fourteen MiG-25s would hold at altitude until required for another interception, or for recovery to refuel.
‘Chunghwa, Zero Six. What aircraft type are the Americans?’
‘Unconfirmed, but probably not American aircraft. We believe they’re British Harrier fighters.’
‘Understood. Zero Six group is in descent and accelerating.’
The fact that, according to the North Korean radar controllers, the aircraft Malakov would encounter in a few minutes weren’t American but British didn’t bother him. A target was a target, and his training throughout almost his entire military career had been geared towards air combat, a skill that he’d never, until now, been able to demonstrate for real. Unfortunately, pitting seven MiG-25s against two British Harriers was hardly fair – Malakov knew his aircraft could easily destroy a Harrier in one-to-one combat. For a brief moment he thought about disobeying Chunghwa and telling five of the pilots to return to the formation, just to make the contest slightly more even. Then he rejected this idea. He’d just make sure he personally shot down one of the attacking aircraft.
‘Ten miles to target. Prep the weapons.’
Richter clicked an acknowledgement and started preparing his two Mavericks. He was keenly aware that, between them, the two Harriers had only four Mavericks and there were six targets to hit. He was hoping that they could ignite the fuel in one of the Scuds, and that might be enough to take out a second missile. But if they were well separated – and that would be a normal precaution when handling highly volatile fuel and munitions – destroying more than one with each weapon might prove impossible. If it was, they’d have to rely on the CRV7 rocket pods.
They were only two minutes from the end of the countdown for the first Scud launch when the telephone link to Chunghwa shrilled. The sound it made was different to every other phone in the command bunker, apart from the direct line to Pyongyang, and the commanding officer ran across to his desk to answer it.
‘This is Chiha-ri.’
‘What is your launch status?’
The colonel looked across at the digital display before answering. ‘Ninety-seven seconds from first launch. As ordered, the remaining weapons will be fired at thirty-second intervals.’
‘Can you speed up the process?’
‘Negative, Chunghwa. We can pause or stop the countdown, but the launch sequence has to be followed. Why?’
‘Because our radar reports that there are two enemy aircraft heading directly towards you from the south, now about one minute away. Those missiles must be fired, Colonel.’
The commanding officer didn’t reply, simply dropped the telephone receiver on the desk, selected area broadcast and reached for the microphone.
‘Air raid warning! Air raid warning! Two enemy aircraft approaching from the south. All anti-aircraft crews stand by. Fire at will.’
His voice echoed around the firing complex from some thirty speakers. The air-defence systems were already fully manned, and had been since well before first light that morning. The chief anti-aircraft weapon at Chiha-ri was a slightly modified Russian SA-3 SAM system. To provide optimum defence against air attack, the North Koreans had installed eight permanent twin-missile turrets around the perimeter of the launch complex, making a total of sixteen Mach 3 missiles.
The SA-3 is controlled by three separate radars, all normally carried on vehicles, but at Chiha-ri they had been mounted in fixed locations on the tallest hill within the firing complex. Initial target acquisition was handled by a P-15 ‘Flat Face’ long-range C-band radar. The target’s height was determined by a PRV-11 E-band height finder known to the West as ‘Side Net’, and a ‘Low Blow’ I/D-band fire control radar provided initial guidance to the missiles.
Although an old design, the SA-3 is still very capable. In March 1999 a Yugoslav-modified version of the weapon system – having been fitted with thermal-imaging equipment and a laser range-finder – was responsible
