Masters Inc., a high-tech defense contractor that developed many of the weapon systems and aircraft used at Battle Mountain. “I’m going to program this thing to send callers to voice mail when it detects my mouth full of food.”
“Breakfast was over three hours ago for most of the civilized world, Jon,” Dave said. “I want one of your DC-10s for a couple weeks. I’m planning on launching some boosters.”
“About time you guys started doing something,” Masters said. “Send me your equipment list, and I’ll load her up for you.”
“I’ll send over my list, but I’m not ready to upload yet,” Luger said. “You’ll get the go-ahead from the chief.”
“You mean you’re actually going to have a budget and I might actually get paid for my gear
“Just be ready to go ASAP, Jon,” Luger said. “It’s important.”
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Colonel Daren Mace, the deputy commander of the 111th Wing, entered Luger’s office. He noticed Luger’s stiff posture in his chair and tried not to show how sorrowful he felt that Luger had to endure that psychological burden, apparently for the rest of his life. “What’s the target, sir?” Daren asked. Dave put his computer-generated map of Russia on the wall monitor and overlaid several satellite tracks on it. “Looks like Russian ICBM bases in the south. Entire country. Are we doing a treaty-verification run? Or does this have to do with that raid on Bukhara?”
“We’re looking for Backfire bombers,” Luger responded. “We need to find out where the Backfires came from that raided Bukhara. I want a look at all the known bases.”
“Are there that many?” Mace asked. “The Russians only have seventy strategic bombers in their entire fleet.”
“Which bases are you aware of?”
“Khabarovsk in the east, Novgorod in the west, Arkhangel’sk in the northwest, and Mozdok taking over from Engels in the southwest,” Mace replied after a moment’s thought.
“So where did those Backfire bombers come from?”
“My guess would be one of those bases.”
“Patrick said not. He said AIA has checked, and there’s no evidence that any Backfires launched from known bases.”
“Well, Backfires are considered tactical bombers, not strategic ones….”
“I’d love to hear the logic the Russkies used to convince us of
“The Tupolev-22M bomber is a pig, and everyone knows it — that’s why the Russians have been deactivating them in favor of tactical fighter-bombers like the Sukhoi-35,” Mace said. Daren Mace had worked around medium bombers most of his Air Force career and, in the past few years, had worked closely with the secretary of defense and the Air Force on developing new bomber technologies. “They’d waste too many resources trying to fly one more than a thousand miles. Sure, they might be able to refuel them, but it would take one Ilyushin-76 tanker for every Backfire to make it across the pole. It’s not worth it. The Tupolev-160s and -95s already have much longer legs.”
“They have speed, and they have a big payload,” Luger pointed out. “Obviously the Russians changed their minds on the Backfires, because they’ve used them extensively recently over Chechnya, Turkmenistan, and now Uzbekistan. They could easily upgrade the engine and sacrifice a little of payload for added fuel. Screw in the air- refueling probe, reset the circuit breakers, then retrain your crews in how to do a hose-and-drogue refueling—”
“Not easy in a big mother like a Backfire.”
“But doable.”
“Sure.”
“So you agree that it’s possible to put a Backfire force together in Siberia, fly them across Central Asia to bomb Bukhara, and fly them back without anyone seeing them?” Luger asked.
“Why not? No one would ever see them coming,” Mace surmised. “The Backfires were supposed to dash across Western Europe and destroy NATO airfields with cruise missiles and NATO ships in the Baltic with big-ass antiship cruise missiles. They were forward-deployed in Warsaw Pact countries close to the frontier because they didn’t have the range of a Tupolev-95 Bear bomber; hence, they were never considered strategic weapons with the ability to threaten North America.”
“Are they a threat?” Luger asked.
“Top one off over Moscow and it can launch a cruise missile against every country in NATO — except the U.S. and Canada, of course,” Daren said. “Yes, I’d say it’s a threat. If the Russians are turning tactical jets like Backfires out as long-range strategic weapons, that shifts the balance of power significantly in their favor, especially in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. We’ve assumed that the Russians were mothballing them as they got older and they ran out of money to support them — we’d be in real trouble if it turned out they were not only rehabilitating them but giving them a much greater warfighting capability.”
Luger nodded, lost in thought for a moment. He then got up and headed to the battle-staff room to meet the others.
The BATMAN, or Battle Management area, was a large, theaterlike room with a stage flanked by sixteen large full-color computer monitors. The senior staff sat behind computer workstations in the “orchestra” section. Arrayed behind the senior staff were the support-staff members, and in two separate enclosures were the control stations for Battle Mountain’s unmanned aircraft. Hal Briggs was already waiting for Luger, and Rebecca Furness was just logging off her QF-4 drone training session. They all met at the commander’s workstation in the front row, where Dave Luger quickly ran down the situation.
“Wonder why Air Intelligence Agency won’t give Patrick satellite support?” Daren Mace asked.
“I can think of lots of reasons — none of them flattering to the general,” Rebecca Furness said. “His reputation has definitely preceded him.”
“I told Patrick that an unofficial request for support is not good enough for me — I needed the request to come from either ACC or the Pentagon,” Luger said.
“I’ll bet he was thrilled to hear you say that, sir,” Briggs quipped.
“Nonetheless, that’s how I see it,” Dave said. “I want to help, but I want the mission to be fully authorized and budgeted. I’m not going to spend money I don’t have and use assets I haven’t paid for.” Rebecca Furness made a show of clearing out her ears, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Knock it off, Rebecca. But that doesn’t mean I can’t plan a mission right now.”
He turned to his console and called up the computer images he’d been working with in his office on the “Big Board” in front of the BATMAN. “Assume I’m getting two constellations of NIRTSats aloft in the next few days, and we find something in one of the Siberian or Sakha provinces — I want a plan of action to take a closer look by the Tin Men and, if necessary, destroy the bases.”
“A secret Russian base filled with intercontinental bombers?” Furness asked. “The Russians haven’t relied on bombers to threaten North America for decades.”
“But just in the past year they’ve used heavy bombers three times, in Chechnya, Turkmenistan, and now against Uzbekistan,” Dave pointed out. “Plus, the new president of Russia is the former military chief of staff and a bomber aficionado. Patrick thinks there are too many coincidences, and I agree. Let’s build a plan that I can show to Langley right now.”
It did not take long — working together and relying on their digital catalogs of preplanned space and aircraft missions along with the computer’s real-time inventory of aircraft and weapons, the team had two preliminary plans drafted within an hour: one relying on the 111th’s bombers and special-operations transports, which were currently grounded but were ready to go on short notice; and one relying only on Sky Masters Inc.’s research-and- development aircraft and Air Force special-ops transports. Once the plans were signed off on by each element of the Air Battle Force and finally by Dave Luger himself, he spoke, “Duty Officer, get me the deputy commander of Air Combat Command, secure.”
