CARRIER 3: ARMAGEDDON MODE

“Affirm,” his RIO said, flipping the switches that activated the Tomcat’s AWG-9 radar. Now the F-14 was seeing with its own eyes, instead of the eyes of the fleet. “Range seven-oh miles. We have lock.”

“Light ‘er off.”

“Rog.” Malibu called. The Tomcat bumped slightly as the heavy missile fell away, then ignited. “Fox three!”

The Phoenix streaked toward the horizon, trailing flame.

176

Keith Douglass

ARMAGEDDON MODE

177

0740 hours, 26 March

INS Wraat 160 mites west northwest of Bombay

Rear Admiral Ramesh stood on the walkway at the peak of Viraafs island, his hands clutching the damp railing like a talisman. The Indian aircraft carrier was plowing steadily into the heavy seas, taking spray across her forepeak with each lunge of the vessel against the waves. The wind was from die northeast, an unseasonably raw and gusty breath from the distant Himalayas that set the pennants above Ramesh’s head snapping and cracking like gunfire. Captain Soni had swung Viroa/’s oddly humped bow into the wind in order to assist the launching of the Sea Harriers.

The Sea Harriers. Ramesh watched as they continued to roll down Viraat’s flight deck, gathering speed as they hit the upthrust of the carrier’s ski jump, then vaulted clear of the ship’s bows, engines shrieking as they forced their way into the air. The ex-British carrier was designed to handle the odd-looking V/STOL fighters with their four vectoring engine nozzles set into the hull beneath the high, sharply angled wings.

Contrary to popular belief, the Sea Harriers did not simply lift vertically off the carrier deck like a helicopter, though they certainly had that capability. They used far less fuel and could carry a larger combat load if they used a rolling takeoff. Since the carrier lacked a steam catapult, the twelve-degree “ski jump” bow ramp was designed to give the Harriers the extra lift they needed to fly off Viraat’s 226-meter flight deck.

Witii her newest refit, Viraat carried four Sea Harrier squadrons, twenty-four aircraft armed with Magic air-to-air missiles. When India first took possession of the carrier from the British in 1986, she’d only carried six of the V/STOL jump jet fighters, but the Indian navy had been acquiring more as quickly as possible. Ultimately, it was planned to carry thirty jump jets aboard Viraat and six more on the smaller Vikrant.

Another Sea Harrier taxied into position below his vantage point on the island. The bright national roundels, green-in-white-in-orange, stood out in sharp contrast to the plane’s overall blue-gray-over-white color scheme. “Indian Navy” was written in large English letters across the tail under a

painted national flag, and the plane’s number, 101, was distinct on its nose. That was the force leader, Ramesh remembered, a young man of good family named Tahliani.

He felt a momentary sadness. Many young men of good families would die this day, and he could not forget that the combined navy-air force strike against the American fleet had been his idea.

v Ramesh watched as the pilot slid his visor down over his :*• face, saluted the deck officer, and grasped the throttle controls. The Harrier began moving forward, slowly at first, then garnering speed as the pilot vectored the engine nozzles aft. He hit the ramp with a swoop timed to the rising surge of the ship cresting the next wave. As the ship’s bow fell, the Sea Harrier was left hanging, fighting for altitude in the spray-misted sky. By now, Ramesh thought, die Americans would know they were coming. The Osas had already launched … a deliberate thrust to force them to commit their fighters.

Today’s action, Ramesh was confident, would be a slaughter. Years before, the Soviets had developed tactics for just this sort of war. Attack . . . attack . . . and continue to attack, with wave after wave, until the enemy’s defenses were battered down by sheer weight of numbers. Viraat’& Sea Harriers would overwhelm the American defensive fighters, opening the way ; for Indian air force strike planes. There would be losses, to be ; sure, from the American AA defenses, but the Indians could ‘. afford to lose three planes to one and still come out of the ^’ engagement victorious.

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