autopilot. The computer also ejected bundles of chaff—thin slivers of metal that would create huge radar-reflective clouds in the sky and hopefully decoy the Hawk radar—and also sequenced the ECM (electronic countermeasures) track breakers’ jamming signals to allow computer-controlled jammer-free “corridors” that would “point the way” for the Grumble’s radar to lock on to the cloud of chaff.
As the SA-10 missile rose through the sky toward the B-2A bomber, the next and most high-tech aspect of the MAWS system activated—MAWS shot high-powered laser beams at the approaching missile, blinding its seeker head and overheating the missile’s guidance electronics. In less than three seconds, the Grumble was deaf and blind, flew harmlessly behind the B-2A, and then self-destructed as it began its death plunge toward the Persian Gulf.
“Good connectivity on all missiles,” McLanahan reported. “Good signal … I’ve got flight-control surface deployment on all missiles, good guidance. They’re on their way.”
In thirty seconds, the first attack was over—and Jamieson realized he hadn’t done a thing, hadn’t even touched the throttles, and his right hand was resting only lightly on the control stick. They’d needed no evasive maneuvers, no threading their way around terrain trying to hug the ground to hide from enemy radar, no coordinated defensive maneuvers.
It was so sterile, so robotic—almost inhuman. Shadows of steel, death from nowhere, from everywhere …
But it didn’t stay quiet for long. Seconds later, the searchradar signal had changed, and Jamieson saw a bright yellow arc on the threat scope, aimed very close to the B-2A, slowly becoming narrower and narrower until it was a line. Fortunately, the line also began to offset behind the center of the scope, meaning that it was not locked onto the B-2A. “Height finder active again,” McLanahan said. “Looks like they’re locked on to one of the JSOWS. JSOWs have responded … looks like missile number two is tracking.”
The missiles McLanahan and Jamieson released were called AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons, or JSOWS. They were small, lifting-body cruise missiles that could be fitted with a variety of warheads, payloads, avionics, sensors, guidance packages, or propulsion units, so they could mix a number of these missiles on the bomber and perform many different missions. These JSOWs had special Disruptor payloads on board called “screamers” that would transmit high-frequency, high-powered jamming signals across the entire frequency spectrum and completely overload any antenna system within range. The JSOW missiles would orbit over the air defense missile and radar sites, broadcasting high-intensity “screamer” signals, blanking out radar scopes and overloading radio networks for as long as sixty-minutes—plenty of time for the Intelligence Support Agency teams to enter the area.
The B-2A crew again heard a slow, low pitched Deedle … deedle …
deedle … warning tone in their headsets, and saw the “10” symbol with a diamond around it: “SA-10 acquisition radar at Bandar Abbas … cruise missiles one and three locked on …” As each antiaircraft missile system came up, the JSOW missile’s seeker head would lock on, plot the emitter’s location, and reprogram its internal autopilot to fly to that point and destroy the radar.
Another warning tone, this time with an “H” symbol: “Hawk system acquisition radar … missile four tracking … looks like the Iranians already got another Hawk set up on Abu Musa Island. They didn’t waste any time.”
“Forget the commentary, McLanahan,” Jamieson said. “Just make sure none of those sites locks on to us.”
“Our track breakers are in standby, search radars only sweeping us,” McLanahan reported. He typed on his keyboard, and the bomber turned slightly south. “I’m heading a bit more to the right to stay away from that Hawk on Abu Musa,” McLanahan said. “If they sneaked an SA-10 on that island, too, I want to stay far away from it. The screamers should activate in a few seconds.”
The effect was frightening and surprising at the same time—as if on cue, every Iranian air defense site within fifty, miles opened fire. Eight SA-10, four Hawk, at least a dozen Rapier, and a handful of ZSU-23/4 and ZSU-57/2 sites appeared to be firing guns or launching missiles.
“Jesus H. Christ, I don’t believe it!” Jamieson muttered. Out the cockpit windows, McLanahan and Jamieson could see the sky below ablaze with missiles flying aimlessly through the sky, and boiling red and yellow from the clouds of antiaircraft artillery shells sweeping the skies.
The screamers” had activated all of the Iranian air defense site’s attack response systems, and the sites had reacted as if a massive air invasion were under way. In seconds, every missile on its launcher was in the sky, and every shell had been fired …
and they had hit nothing but empty air. Several warships docked at Bandar Abbas had also opened fire, and they even detected an anti-ship missile launch from one of the docked ships—where that missile was headed, McLanahan had no idea. Jamieson could not believe the concentration of antiaircraft systems active right now: they were flying less than forty miles south of that massive concentration of weaponry.
The scene looked much the same ahead as they continued eastward toward the Khomeini battle group in the Gulf of Oman—the carrier was lit up like a Christmas tree with threat radars, and the destroyer Zhanjiang, several miles farther southeast, was radiating as well. The threat scope clearly outlined the defensive box around the carrier: smaller vessels with short-range antiaircraft systems were surrounding the carrier, and the long-range systems of the larger escorts overlapped those of the carrier itself, forming several layers of antiaircraft protection for Iran’s prized possession.
“We’ve got four ‘screamer’ JSOW missiles programmed for the Khomeini group, with two in reserve,” McLanahan summarized. “I’m getting ready for the SAR exposure.”
Jamieson was still in shock at the reaction from the Disruptor fly-over. “I can’t believe it—they all opened up, all at once … it’ll take them two days to rearm those air defense sites!”
“Maybe not two days,” McLanahan said, “but they’ll have to reload all those sites, maybe replace some overheated gun barrels and burned-out launchers. But just about the time they’re ready to fire again, the ‘screamers’ will reactivate, and maybe they’ll launch against them again and waste some more missiles and ammunition. Eventually the JSOWs will get hit or run out of fuel and crash somewhere, but we hope not before our guys get in, poke around, and get out again. And if we’re lucky, the ‘screamers’ caused enough overload damage to take out a few older Hawk or Zeus-23 sites. It just increases their chances of penetrating those air defenses.
Now, let’s see if we can do it to their carrier and that Chinese destroyer.”
Jamieson had at first distrusted McLanahan’s Disruptor weapons—he’d wanted to see a pretty big blast if they’d had to fly all this way!—but even he had to admit that this next attack, if it worked, was going to nail the Iranians really good.
“I’ve got the final launch point fixed in,” McLanahan continued.
“Stand by for missile launch … ready … doors coming open …
missile one away …” One by one, McLanahan counted down the weapon releases until four missiles had left the two internal rotary launchers. With two missiles still in the bomb bays in reserve, the B-2A bomber banked hard right and headed back toward the safety of UAE airspace, away from the Iranian fleet and their deadly antiaircraft weapons.
Following McLanahan’s programmed flight plan, the four missiles arced north of the Iranian battle group, then turned south-southeast toward the Gulf of Oman, roughly following each other in trail 500 yards apart. The “screamer” missiles began their orbits just six miles east and west of the carrier group.
The four missiles did appear on the Iranian’s radars, but they were so small and flew so slowly that they were electronically squelched from the displays as non-hostiles.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAiH KHOMEINI THAT SAME TIME “Sir, Bandar Abbas air defense sector reports unidentified aircraft inbound, bearing two-five-zero eastbound at five hundred knots!” the combat information center intercom suddenly blared.
“Bearing now two-three-zero, last reported range from us eighty-five kilometers and closing …”
“What!” Pasdaran Major Admiral Akbar Tufayli shouted. That jarring pain was suddenly back in his jaw, tripled in intensity.
The newcomers were over the Trudal Coast—from the direction of the United Arab Emirates! Was this another GCC attack? “What speed, what altitude?”
“Multiple contacts … three, perhaps four formations, speed five hundred, altitude ten K meters and descending.”
