variety of weapons available, but they are loaded only as the situation dictates. Their real value in this scenario would be as a rapid-reaction forward presence.”
“Saber-rattling, General?” Kevich intoned. “I thought we were all beyond that.”
“The Chinese have been saber-rattling with their new aircraft carrier all over the South China Sea for months,” Glenbrook pointed out. “They’ve harassed every military or military-related vessel that cruises within two hundred miles of their shoreline.”
“I don’t think that’s a good reason to elevate tensions in the area by sending in bombers,” Kevich said. “Armed or not, the bombers are a clear provocation. I would be against sending in the aircraft carriers except if they would participate in the search, rescue, and recovery.”
“All the bombers have excellent radar, and the B-52s and B-1 bombers have low-light TV and infrared sensors that can transmit images back here to us,” Spellings said. “They wouldn’t be there just to saber-rattle, Mr. Secretary.”
“Have Pacific Command send a warning notice to Guam, advising the bomber wing of the situation and to stand by in case they’re needed,” the president said. “But for now, we’ll keep them away from the South China Sea. So, how do we proceed with the other assets we have on hand, General?”
“Until the
“A Coast Guard cutter? That’s the best we have?”
“For a search-and-rescue mission at sea, they’re the experts, sir,” Spellings said. “We’re lucky to have one so close. We could see if there are any commercial vessels in the area, but I don’t have direct access to that information. Besides, the Poseidon carried classified equipment and documents, so I think we’d want to keep all civilians and foreigners away, not just the Chinese.”
“I’m thinking about the worst-case scenario—our ships tangling with that Chinese aircraft carrier or its escorts,” the president said. He thought for a moment; then: “Get the cutter moving to the crash site as well, but find out if there are any Taiwanese, Japanese, or Filipino navy vessels available to assist. Get the sub moving and the Global Hawk airborne, General.”
“Yes, sir.” Spellings picked up a telephone to issue the orders.
Turning to his national security adviser, the president said, “Bill, I want a detailed analysis of the transmissions—and lack thereof—from that P-8 as soon as possible. The sudden loss of communications indicates some sort of electromagnetic interference—jamming. I want to know if any other ships or aircraft in the area were affected. I also want to know if we have any information that the Chinese are working on any sort of electromagnetic weapons that could have been used on the P-8. I know we’ll know more once we recover evidence from the crash site, but I want a list of questions that need to be answered as this thing moves forward.”
“Yes, Mr. President.” He moved toward another telephone to issue orders, but instead pulled out a vibrating cell phone, looked at the display, and punched in unlock codes for the secure line. “Glenbrook, secure,” he spoke. He listened for a few moments. He said, “I’ll pass the word. We’ll need an order of battle assembled as soon as possible,” then hung up.
“What is it, Bill?” Phoenix asked.
“Radio transmissions picked up by commercial vessels in the South China Sea, sir,” Glenbrook replied. “Helicopters from the Chinese carrier are headed north toward the suspected crash site, and the carrier itself is also heading north. It appears the Chinese navy is ordering other ships and aircraft out of the area and setting up a search at the crash site.”
BATTLE STAFF ROOM, FIRST EXPEDITIONARY BOMB WING, ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM
A SHORT TIME LATER
The other staff members were already in the Battle Staff Room when Colonel Warner “Cutlass” Cuthbert entered. “Room, ten-hut,” someone in the darkness ordered.
“Take seats,” Cuthbert said immediately. “We will suspend military formalities, here and everywhere else on base until the situation is back to normal.” He looked at the others seated at the conference table. Three were in green Nomex flight suits; the rest were in desert-gray battle dress uniforms. “Looks like we might have ourselves our first real-world operation, boys and girls. Captain, please proceed.”
“Yes, sir,” Air Force Captain Alicia Spencer, the wing intelligence officer from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, responded. She went to the head of the conference table. “Ladies and gentlemen, about ten minutes ago we received an advisory notice from Pacific Air Forces about a situation in the South China Sea. Although the wing has not been issued a warning order, Colonel Cuthbert suggested we respond as if one will be issued soon. We will receive regular updates from PACAF, but we won’t be tied into the regular Pacific Command battle network until we are issued a warning order.
“Here is what we know so far: less than an hour ago a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon intelligence aircraft went down over the South China Sea. The reason is unknown. Despite requests to remain clear, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy has sent helicopters into the crash area, along with their
“That’s about it, guys,” Cuthbert said. “PACAF says that the White House is afraid that sending bombers would escalate tensions, so we’re not going anywhere yet, but I want to be ready. So I requested that we take one BUFF, one Bone, and one Beak, load them with weapons and fuel for what we think we might use if we were alerted, and have them stand by. That’ll leave one B-52 and one B-1 unloaded and prepped. I recommended JASSMs all around, with the Bone and the BUFF carrying some Mk-62s.” The JASSM, or Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, was a cruise missile designed to attack heavily defended targets from as far as two hundred miles, well outside most enemy defenses; the Mk-62 was a five-hundred-pound general-purpose bomb fitted with a Quickstrike fuze, turning it into a shallow-water antiship mine. “Not sure if we’ll get permission, but that was my recommendation. Thoughts?”
“The South China Sea might be too deep for Mk-62s,” said Lieutenant Colonel Bridget “Xena” Dutchman, commander of the Twentieth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, leading the flight of two B-52H Stratofortress bombers at Andersen. “Depends on where the targets are.”
“If we can’t use Mk-62s, what else do you suggest, Xena?”
“Harpoons,” Dutchman said. The AGM-84 Harpoon was a subsonic air-launched antiship missile with a five- hundred-pound high-explosive penetrating warhead; fired in the direction of enemy ships from as far as sixty miles, it would skim the surface of the ocean, detect a target with its on-board radar, and attack. The Harpoon was much older than the JASSM and had about half the high-explosive punch, but it was still a fearsome weapon against most ships. The B-52 could carry as many as twelve on underwing pylons.
“I’ll add that to the order of battle,” Cuthbert said. “Anything else?”
“The more JASSMs, the better,” said Lieutenant Colonel Juan “Picante” Oroz. Oroz commanded the B-1B Lancer bombers of the Ninth Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. “Wish we had the extended-range ones though.”
“Maybe we’ll get them if this thing escalates,” Cuthbert said. He turned to the third lieutenant colonel. “Wishbone? Anything?”
“The loadout sounds good to me, sir,” said Lieutenant Colonel Franklin “Wishbone” McBride, commander of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Since the American Holocaust and the destruction of many of the American bomber bases in the northern half of the country, all the surviving B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit bombers had been headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base but frequently dispersed
