23 Jun 2000, 0040LT (22 Jun, 1740Z)
As SAN FRANSICO neared the launch point, the 1MC blared “Man Battle Stations Missile for TLAM Strike!” followed by the “Gong, gong, gong” of the General Alarm. The announcement and alarm were anticlimactic. Nearly everyone was already at their battle station making the preparations to launch the Tomahawks.
A quick trip to periscope depth ensured that no one was around to see or interfere with the launch. A careful search for any sonar contacts further ensured they were alone in this particular part of the ocean. The sound of the underwater launch transients, especially the ignition of the booster rocket, carried for many miles and was unmistakable. To add to the risk of detection, once the booster was airborne, it left a smoky arrow pointing back down at the sub. It was important to make very sure that they were alone in this part of the Java Sea.
The launch sequence began. Hunter ordered the missiles in tubes one and two made ready in all respects. A final check of the mission data loaded in those missiles verified all was loaded and functioning correctly.
Jeff Miller reported, "Tubes one and two ready in all respects."
Hunter immediately ordered, “Shoot tube one.”
Miller flung the large brass firing lever to 'standby' and shouted, “Stand by,” and then flung the lever to 'shoot', shouting “Launch permissive” to the people in the control room.
There was no hint of activity for about forty-five seconds as the gyros in the missile silently came up to speed and the missile performed a series of internal checks. When the checks were all completed, a series of electrical interlocks made contact, porting torpedo tube firing air to the torpedo tube flushing cylinder. The 1500-psi air forced the flushing piston down the cylinder, pushing high-pressure water through a series of passages, up into the after part of the torpedo tube. Meanwhile, in the torpedo tube, the missile canister had opened a series of ports around its after part. The high-pressure water literally flushed the missile out of the canister and torpedo tube. The missile accelerated rapidly out of the tube and clear of the submarine. A lanyard attached to both the missile and the canister yanked taut, igniting the rocket motor attached to the tail of the missile. The missile roared up, out of the water and into the sky.
As the rocket engine burnt out and dropped away, a sequence of events began that transformed the missile into a small robot airplane. An air scoop dropped open beneath the missile. Two small, stubby wings scissored out from inside the missile’s body. The turbo-fan engine, now supplied with air from the scoop and ignited by a small explosive squid, came up to speed to give the missile power. The bird then dropped down to wave-top height and flew to the North, beginning its pre-programmed flight.
In rapid succession, three more missiles joined the first one flying over the Java Sea; each one on a flight pattern designed to have them all reach Nusa Funata at the same time. Receiving encrypted Global Positioning System fixes from a constellation of NAVSTAR satellites, the missiles were constantly updating and refining their positions. With each missile having a radar cross-section about the size of a hummingbird, and with the four missiles approaching from four different directions, the terrorists on Nusa Funata did not have a chance of detecting the attack.
23 Jun 2000, 0052LT (22 Jun, 1752Z)
The last canister swung over and landed on the helo deck. The handling crew was still busy lashing it down as the Commander Balewegal ordered all lines cast off. The quicker he got SAWAL away from this God-forsaken island, the better. And the sooner he got rid of those three gas canisters, the sooner he could breathe again.
It was an easy trip, really. Admiral Suluvana had assured him. Just run out to Nusa Funata and load three canisters of the NX toxin. Then deliver the stuff to the Jakarta piers. From there, the stuff would be loaded into shipping containers and join the vast stream of cargo heading across the Pacific. One night’s work and he would be a hero of the revolution. His grand-children would repeat the tales of how he wielded the terrible sword that brought Allah’s victory to Indonesia.
The FFG’s screw churned up muddy brown-green water as it headed away from the rickety pier and out of the tiny harbor.
22 Jun 2000, 0800LT (1800Z)
The ugly black bird started its take off roll out. There was nothing sleek or sexy about this plane. It was designed for only one purpose, to fly to a well-defended target without being seen and deliver a nuclear weapon. The B-2 Stealth bomber, with its crew of two, headed down the 12,000 foot long runway and used nearly every inch before it lumbered into the morning sky.
Even though it was fully loaded with fuel and carried a relatively light bomb load, the big bomber would rendezvous with four different KC-10 tankers on the long outbound flight and three more on the return trip. Resting in the onboard rotary launcher were two air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM’s). Each contained a single W-88 nuclear warhead capable of a “dial a yield” detonation of from 20 to 200 kilotons.
The bomber gradually gained altitude until it was well above the commercial aircraft traffic. It headed out over the cold gray North Pacific and toward a launch point 500 miles North East of Nusa Funata.
As it went “feet wet” over the Gulf of Alaska, the stealth bomber disappeared from all air traffic radars. The pilot merely switched off the IFF and the bird was invisible. The copilot shifted the radio transceivers over to special National Command frequencies reserved for just this mission. They would not acknowledge
