became clearer. The An-74, looking down on the battleground, was in a better
position to penetrate the American jamming.
Glushko studied the board for a moment, then pointed to a pattern of dots
that had broken away from the other American aircraft. “What are these?” he
demanded.
An aide peered at the symbols. “American interceptors. F-14 type.” He
paused, looking uncertain. “They are gaining altitude and heading north, away
from us.” Sudden understanding flooded over his features. “Heading for the
AEW plane, Comrade Captain! They carry the American Phoenix missile. The
An-74 will be in their range in a matter of seconds!”
“Warn the AEW plane!” he barked. “And order our CAP to engage them.
Now!”
“But that will uncover the ships, Comrade Captain.”
“Do it!”
0012 hours Zulu (0012 hours Zone)
Tomcat 204, Odin Flight
Over the Norwegian Sea
“We’ve got company coming, Batman. Sukhois … looks like a whole
squadron!”
“Watch them,” Wayne ordered. “Two-oh-three, this is Two-oh-four. You
copy, Coyote?”
“Read you. You see our new friends?”
“That’s affirmative, Coyote. How you want to handle these guys?”
“Tyrone and I will stay on the target. You take the rest and keep those
guys off our backs.”
“Roger that, Coyote,” Batman told him. “Heads up, gang. Follow me!”
He stood the Tomcat on its wing in a tight turn, banking right and
shedding altitude fast. Three more F-14s followed.
“Go to Sparrows,” Coyote ordered. “Save your Phoenixes until we nail the
target.”
“Roger,” Batman said. He thumbed his selector switch to choose the
medium-range radar-homing missiles. The targeting diamond bracketed a tiny
dot on his HUD display and flashed red. “I’m locked on … taking the shot.
Fox one! Fox one!” The Sparrow roared off its launch rail.
0012 hours Zulu (0012 hours Zone)
Tomcat 204, Odin Flight
Over the Norwegian Sea
“Lock. I’ve got target lock. Go for it, Coyote!”
His finger tightened on the firing stud and the Phoenix spouted flame and
leapt from the Tomcat’s wing. At a range of ninety miles, the Antonov An-74
AEW aircraft, code-named Madcap in NATO parlance, was beyond the reach of most
air-to-air missiles, but still well within the reach of Phoenix. The
oversized missiles rode a semi-active radar beam to the target, switching to
an active beam in the terminal approach.
Seconds passed slowly, with John-Boy reciting the distance between
missile and target in the same tone he might have used to read off baseball
scores.
“Twelve miles, closing … ten … eight … five and still closing …
Bingo! That’s a hit, by God! You nailed him, Coyote!”
“All right!” Grant said. The exhilaration of battle had taken hold, and
suddenly there was nothing left but the Tomcat and the fight raging below
them. “Tyrone, let’s get into the game. Follow my lead!”
0015 hours Zulu (0015 hours Zone)
CIC Air Ops module, U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson
In the Norwegian Sea
“It’s a hit! The Madcap’s been hit!”
A cheer went up from the controllers in the Air Ops module, and Magruder
found himself joining in. Coyote had managed it just as he’d promised in the
briefing. Now, with their AEW plane out of action and the heavy jamming from
the Prowlers, the Russians would find their command and communications
seriously disrupted. And that was precisely what the American plan required
to be successful.
He grasped a microphone. “Thor, Thor, this is Asgard. Commence Phase
Three. Repeating, commence Phase three. Acknowledge, please.”
Benton, the flamboyant Texan Hornet pilot, replied promptly, “Asgard,
this is Thor, and we’re on our way! Just let us at ’em!”
Magruder put the mike aside with a faint smile. All the pieces were in
motion now. As long as the Hornets and Intruders of the strike group
designated Loki could hold the Russians’ attention for another half hour, the
attack just might work out as planned.
0015 hours Zulu (0015 hours Zone)
Intruder 507, Loki Flight
Over the Norwegian Sea
“Break off, Banshee. Break off!”
Bannon cursed and obeyed the order from Commander Ralph Quinn, turning
away from the Soviet battle group but keeping the Intruder right down on the
deck. Ever since they had entered Harpoon range, the aircraft of Loki Flight
had been skirmishing with their Russian opponents. The Hornets, armed for