Read Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 03 Online
Authors: Sky Masters (v1.1)
Sky
Masters
is dedicated to General Curtis E. LeMay, the “Iron Eagle” and the
“Father of Strategic Air Power,” a man who envisioned much of what
Sky Masters
is all about.
Sky
Masters
is also dedicated to the men and women who served as part of
Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. I wish to especially dedicate this
story to my brother, Second Lieutenant James D. Brown, 3-35 ARMOR, First
Armored Division, United States Army, and his wife, Leah, and all of our
military forces serving ashore, afloat, and aloft for all the sacrifices they
made in their personal and professional lives.
Acknowledgments
To my friend Lieutenant Colonel
George Peck (who was instrumental in the research for
Day of the Cheetah
and who, like Loki’s eternal fate in Norse
mythology, seems destined to be forever bothered by my insistent questions and
requests); TSgt Alan Dockery, Captain Harry G. Edwards, and the other helpful
and professional persons in the Office of Public Affairs, Headquarters,
Strategic Air Command (SAC), Offutt AFB, Nebraska, for their assistance in
gathering information on SAC conventional and maritime operations and the
Strategic Warfare Center, and for their help in reviewing the manuscript;
To all the men and women of the
Strategic Air Command and Pacific Air Forces whom I met during GIANT WARRIOR
’90, a multinational, multiservice combat strike and deployment exercise
conducted by SAC’s Fifteenth Air Force in August of 1990 at Andersen Air Force
Base on Guam. I wish to especially thank Lieutenant General Robert D. Beckel,
Fifteenth Air Force commander, for allowing me the privilege of observing his
super exercise; Brigadier General David J. Pederson, Third Air Division
commander, and Colonel Alan Cirino, Third Air Division deputy commander, and
their staff for their hospitality and helpfulness in explaining the intricacies
of Pacific theater combat operations; and to Colonel Arne Weinman,
Ninety-second Bomb Wing commander and joint air forces commander of GIANT
WARRIOR ’90;
Special thanks to Captain Cynthia
Colin, Fifteenth Air Force Public Affairs, and the other professionals at
Fifteenth Air Force Public Affairs, March AFB, California; MSgt Ron Pack,
Ninety-second Bomb Wing Public Affairs; MSgt A1 Dostal, Ninety-sixth Bomb Wing
Public Affairs; Second Lieutenant Darian “Slick” Benson, Fifty-seventh
Air Division Public Affairs; the
feared terrorist-group- tumed-media-pool known throughout the Pacific as the
Dream Team; and everyone who helped make my visit to Guam and GIANT WARRIOR ’90
a pleasure and a success;
To Brigadier General Larry Dilda, DCS/Communications
and Computer Operations, HQ SAC, for conducting a very special tour of SAC
Headquarters, where I learned much about the “new” Strategic Air Command and
its people and its new arsenal of weapons; and to Ron Silverstein, B-2 Project
Senior Engineer and Chief Spokesman, and the others at Northrop Corporation,
Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, for an amazing tour of the B-2 bomber
assembly facilities;
To Colonel Thomas A. Homung, Chief
of Public Affairs, Air Force Public Affairs-Westem Region in Los Angeles, for
his invaluable assistance throughout the making of
Sky Masters
and for arranging a spectacular tour of SAC
headquarters; and to Major Ron Fuchs, former Deputy and Chief of Media
Relations in Los Angeles, for his time in reviewing the manuscript and offering
some valuable comments;
To CDR Bruce R. Linder, commanding
officer of the guided missile frigate FFG-55 USS
Elrod,
who was extremely helpful in providing details pertaining to
naval operations in the South China Sea, Palawan Passage, and the Philippines;
To Richard Herman, famous author of
War birds
and
Force of Eagles,
for his technical knowledge on aerial combat in
the F-4E and other facets of fighter combat;
To Rockwell International for
information on the B-l bomber; also to Orbital Sciences Corporation for
information on the Pegasus air-launched space booster;
To my executive assistant, Dennis
Hall, for his hard work and support.
All
items are real-world terms except where designated with “F.”
AAA—Anti Aircraft Artillery
Advanced Missile Warning System—next
generation of satellites that detect enemy missile launches Aegis—advanced
naval air defense radar system AGM-84E SLAM—modified Harpoon long-range cruise
missile with TV and satellite navigation system guidance AGM-130
Striker—rocket-boosted two-thousand-pound glide bomb; range ten to fifteen
miles AIM-7—Sparrow radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile
AIM-9—Sidewinder infrared (heat) guided short-range air-to-air missile
AIM-54—
Phoenix
radar-guided long-range air-to-air missile
AIM-120—Scorpion radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile ALARM—(F) Air
Launched Alert Response Missile; aircraft- launched space booster
AMRAAM—AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range
Air-to-Air Missile; next generation of “launch-and-leave” guided missiles
AMWS—Advanced Missile Warning
System, next-generation radar/laser system to warn pilots of incoming
antiaircraft missiles
ASEAN—Association of South East
Asian Nations, cooperative council of nations, generally aligned to counter
growing influence of
China
:
Philippines
,
Singapore
,
Malaysia
,
Brunei
,
Thailand
,
Vietnam
,
Indonesia
ASIS—(F) Attack Systems Integration
Station, the mission commander’s area (right seat) of a B-2 stealth bomber, responsible
for navigation and attack
ASROC—nuclear-tipped antisubmarine
rocket torpedoes, launched by Navy ships
ASTAB—automated status board
monitors, part of AEGIS radar system
AWACS—Airbome Warning and Control
System, the E-3 radar plane that can detect, track, identify, and control air
targets at long range
AWG-9—long-range, high-powered
attack radar on Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters
BGAAWC—Battle Group Anti-Aircraft
Warfare Center, the control center for all antiaircraft warfare in a Navy
battle group
Bhangmeters—nuclear detonation
detection system on satellites; detects and measures the flash of a nuclear
detonation and estimates the strength of the warhead
BLU-96—fuel-air explosive bomb, a
weapon that disperses a fuel oil into the air; many times more powerful than a
conventional bomb of similar size because it does not carry its own chemical
oxidizers
BMEWS—Ballistic Missile Early
Warning System, a radar system used to detect launch of submarine-launched
ballistic missiles
BNS—Bombing and Navigation System
BUFF—Big Ugly Fat Fellow, nickname
for the B-52 bomber C101—long-range ship- or land-launched antiship missile
built by
China
; Silkworm
C601—long-range air-launched
antiship missile built by China C801—medium-range Chinese antiship missile
CAP—Combat Air Patrol, layers of
fighters set up in an area to search for enemy attackers
CIC—Combat Information Center, the
central communications and control area on board naval vessels
CINCSAC—Commander in Chief,
Strategic Air Command, the four-star Air Force officer responsible for
strategic bombers, land-based strategic ballistic missiles, and long-range
communications and reconnaissance aircraft
CINCSPACECOM—Commander in Chief,
Space Command; the four-star Air Force officer responsible for all North
American space activity including space surveillance, satellites, and rocket
launches
COBRA DANE—long-range radar system
designed to provide technical information on Soviet and Chinese ballistic
missiles, especially impact points of warheads
COMSUBFLT—Commander, Submarine
Fleet, the four-star Navy officer responsible for all American submarines
DARPA—Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, an office of the Department of Defense responsible for new
weapon and aircraft research
DC-10—wide-body cargo and passenger
carrier made by McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co.
DCI—Director of Central
Intelligence, responsible for all intelligence-gathering activities in the
U.S.
DEFCON—Defense Condition; ranges
from 5 (peace, no advanced readiness) to 1 (all-out war); denotes worldwide
readiness of
U.S.
military forces
Defense
Satellite Program (DSP)
—name of agency that operates all military
reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering satellites
DF
—direction-finder, a radio beacon that allows other DF- equipped
units to locate it
DR
—dead
reckoning; estimating position by best-known heading and speed information
Dreamland
—unclassified
nickname for military research area in south-central
Nevada
DSCS
—Defense
Satellite Communications System, a network of voice and data satellites to
connect military and civilian defense agencies all over the world
Durandal
—French-made
runway-cratering bomb that uses a rocket engine to burrow deep under a runway
surface before detonating its high-explosive warhead
E-2
Hawkeye
—naval carrier-based airborne radar plane used to monitor
friendly aircraft and search for enemy aircraft and vessels
E-3—Sentry airborne radar plane (see
AW ACS)
E-4B NEACP—(pronounced “kneecap”);
National Emergency Airborne Command Post, a heavily modified Boeing 747
airliner used as a communications plane for the President of the
United States
and other high-ranking government officials
in wartime
EB-52—(F) modified B-52 bomber with air
defense and defense suppression weapons and equipment EC-18—next-generation
electronic intelligence aircraft operated by the Strategic Air Command
EC-135C
strategic communications aircraft
—current-generation communications
relay and electronic intelligence aircraft, operated by Strategic Air Command
ECM—electronic countermeasures
ELT—emergency locator transmitter, a
radio that transmits a beacon signal on special search and rescue frequencies
to facilitate rescue operations
EMP—electromagnetic pulse, the high
burst of energy from a nuclear explosion that can disrupt communications and
electronic circuitry for long distances and for long periods of time
ETA—estimated time of arrival
ETE—estimated time en route
F-4E
Phantom
—current two-seat fighter-bomber built by McDonnell-Douglas
F-16
ADF Fighting Falcon
—lightweight fighter built by General Dynamics; ADF (air
defense fighter) model specially modified to intercept unidentified bomber
aircraft at long range
F-23 Wildcat
—(fictional, but X-23 is actual) next-generation
fighter built by Northrop and McDonnell-Douglas
Fei Lung-7
—Chinese ship-launched medium-range antiship missile
Fei
Lung-9
—(F) Chinese ship-launched long-range antiship missile with
nuclear warhead
FIE—fighter-intercept exercise,
where fighters practice finding, identifying, intercepting, and attacking
bombers
FOREST
GREEN—Defense Department program developed
to detect and measure nuclear explosions on Earth or in the atmosphere
Form
781
—standard aircraft maintenance log
Fox Three
—in an air intercept, a code meaning the aircraft’s
machine gun or cannon is being employed
GCI—Ground Controlled Intercept,
ground radar station that controls fighters to intercept unidentified aircraft
Global Positioning System (GPS)
—constellation of satellites in
Earth orbit that provide very precise time, position, and ground- speed information
to aircraft and vessels
GUARD—121.5 or 243.0 megahertz, the
international emergency radio frequencies
HADES—(F) BLU-96 fuel-air explosive
bomb
Harpoon
—U.S.-made AGM-84 long-range antiship missile
HAVE NAP—AGM-142 Israeli-made
long-range air-launched attack missile
HAVE QUICK—secure antieavesdrop
air-to-air radio used by friendly fighters
HAWC—(F) High Technology Aerospace
Weapons Center, a secret U.S. Air Force research facility in Dreamland that
conducts flight-test experiments on new and modified aircraft and new weapon
systems
HDTV—high-definition television
Hong
Qian-61
—short-range antiaircraft missile system deployed on medium-size
Chinese warships
Hong
Qian-91
—medium-range antiaircraft missile system deployed on large Chinese
naval vessels
Hornet
—F/A-18
carrier-based fighter-bomber built by McDonnell- Douglas
HUD—heads-up display, a system that
projects flight and weapons information in front of a pilot’s field of view to
allow him to read important flight information without looking back down inside
the cockpit at his instrument panel during critical phases of flight, such as
air combat
ICBM—intercontinental ballistic
missile, very long-range nuclear- tipped attack missiles
IFF
—Identification
Friend or Foe, a radio system that broadcasts coded identification information
to other aircraft or radar systems
IN—instructor navigator
IRSTS—infrared search and track
system, an electronic weapon system for fighters that detects heat energy and
can transmit azimuth (bearing to the target) data to the fighter’s fire-control
weapon system
ISAR—Inverse Synthetic Aperture
Radar, a radar system that uses the motion of the object being tracked to
sharpen and define the radar image; commonly used to identify ships by naval
reconnaissance aircraft
J-2—part of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff joint staff, J-2 is the JCS directorate of intelligence
JCS—Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
commanders of the five main branches of the American military that serve as the
interface between the National Command Authority (President and Secretary of
Defense) and the military forces. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is
the NCA’s primary uniformed military adviser.
KA-6—aerial refueling tanker version
of the A-6 Intruder carrier- based attack aircraft
KC-10—aerial refueling tanker
version of the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 airliner