symbols.
AW/2 Carlos Rodriguez checked his own terminal before replying. “Victor
III,” he said. “The SOSUS trace reported it was probably diving and
increasing speed as it was picked up.” He paused. “The triangulation isn’t
real accurate, sir. That could mean more than one contact, or it could just
be bad conditions.”
“Could be …” Nelson shook his head. “‘Could be’ could get us killed.
This guy’s not that far away. How’d the sub-hunters miss him?”
The Hispanic sailor shrugged. “He’s probably been laying low, sir.
Running on minimal power and waiting.”
“Well, he’s not waiting now.” Nelson picked up a handset. “Get me the
Air Ops module.” He masked the phone with one hand. “Rodriguez, make sure
this gets passed on to the rest of the battle group pronto. Especially
Gridley. She’s closest.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
0859 hours Zulu (0859 hours Zone)
CIC Air Ops module, U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson
Southeast of the Faeroe Islands
“Air Ops,” Stramaglia growled into the batphone. “CAG speaking.”
“This is Nelson in ASW. I’ve got at least one SOSUS sub contact two
hundred thirty miles north-northwest. Possibly multiple contacts. I think
you’d better check it out.”
“All right. I’ll get on it as soon as I can. We’ve got some other
problems to get to first.” He slammed down the handset and turned to study
the map. “Any change, Howard?”
Radarman Second Class David Howard shook his head. “No, sir. Still
reading twenty aircraft. Same course and speed as before.”
That was the other problem, and right now it loomed higher on
Stramaglia’s list of concerns than the sub contact Nelson had reported. They
had appeared on Tango Six-five’s radar screens a few minutes earlier, flying
at low altitude and on a course that could only have brought them from one of
the Soviet air bases in the Kola Peninsula. Launching during a window when
there were no U.S. spy satellites overhead, they had very nearly taken the
battle group by surprise.
But their course, so far, wasn’t bringing them directly toward the
carrier. They had been curving west and south, parallel to the Norwegian
coast. That could mean they were going after a target in Norway.
Or it might be that the Russians weren’t sure of the exact location of
the Jefferson. Stramaglia couldn’t be sure but he wasn’t planning on taking
any chances.
At that moment the screen came alive with new symbols, three-letter ID
codes next to each of the dots representing an enemy plane. BKF … that
meant Tu-22Ms, Backfires in NATO’s B-for-bomber code. They were a powerful
threat to the Jefferson.
Stramaglia drummed his fingers on the console, frowning as he stared at
the moving symbols on the screen. Viper Squadron was on Alert Fifteen this
morning, and he’d ordered them to start launching as soon as the bombers had
first appeared. The Tomcats were ideal for this situation. Their Phoenix
missiles were designed to knock out Soviet cruise missiles as well as the
bombers themselves, and if those Badgers really were searching for the
Jefferson Viper Squadron might just turn the tide.
He found himself wishing the other Tomcat squadron, the War Eagles of
VF-97, had drawn this watch. Stramaglia wasn’t sure how much he trusted some
of those hotheads in Grant’s outfit.
Probably the War Eagles were no better. They needed a tight rein to keep
them in check, though, and with Magruder already out on a Viking sub hunt,
that left Stramaglia with very few options. It went against the grain to
leave CIC at a time like this, but he might just be able to show the
youngsters what a real Tomcat pilot could do.
“What’s the word on the flight deck?” he asked Bannon, who was hovering
nearby.
The Intruder pilot looked up, holding a hand over the batphone to answer
him. “Three planes are up, CAG, and already starting to refuel. The Boss
says he’ll have four more up in the next five minutes if he has to go out
there and throw them off the deck himself!”
That brought laughs to the men in the Air Ops module, but Stramaglia
didn’t even smile. This was the kind of situation every carrier officer
dreaded, with the battle group sitting exposed to a massive strike by Russian