Terekhov saw the heat-seeker leap from the Tomcat’s wing and streak
toward his wingman’s plane. “Right! Break right!” he shouted, but it was too
late. A moment later the MiG was consumed in flame and thunder.
He tried to match the American’s weaving course, but it wasn’t easy.
This was one of the best pilots he had ever encountered. The other Tomcat’s
pilot had guts combined with luck, a potent combination, but he couldn’t
approach the skill this one showed.
Then the tone of a radar lock sounded in his ear, and Terekhov fired both
his missiles in rapid succession.
0947 hours Zulu (0947 hours Zone)
Tomcat 201
Northwest of the Faeroe Islands
“Cavalry’s on the way, Batman,” Coyote called. He could see the
desperate fight unfolding on his radar screen, but he couldn’t do much about
it yet. But Stramaglia was teaching the Russians the same tough lesson he’d
been teaching to Top Gun students for years, and if he could just hold on for
a little while longer …
A MiG vanished in an expanding fireball, and Coyote heard Malibu giving a
cheer.
“Two-double-oh, splash another one,” he said. “Good shot, CAG!”
It’s just like a bicycle, Grant,” CAG responded. “You never forget how
to do it … you just don’t want to fall off at Mach two!”
“Missiles! Missiles incoming!” Paddles shouted suddenly. “Two
missiles-”
Then another fireball lit the sky.
And the CAG bird was gone, a cloud of debris raining onto the hungry sea
below.
CHAPTER 18
Thursday, 12 June, 1997
0947 hours Zulu (0947 hours Zone)
Tomcat 204
Northwest of the Faeroe Islands
Batman stared at the shattered Tomcat, breaking apart as it started to
spin in toward the ocean, seeing the action as if it were playing in slow
motion. It could only have taken a few moments, but it seemed like an
eternity.
“Two-one-two, splash a MiG,” he heard Dallas Sheridan saying over the
radio. For an instant he thought Big D was talking about CAG’s plane. Then
he realized that Sheridan still hadn’t hooked up with the rest of the
fast-shrinking command, and must be reporting an engagement of his own.
No one responded, and a long moment later Sheridan went on. “Hey, come
on guys, talk to me! What’s going on?”
Coyote’s voice replied, choking on the words. “CAG’s bought it.” Then
he seemed to gather his wits again. “Batman, form on me. Big D, get your ass
back here now! Let’s do it!”
“Two-oh-four, roger,” Batman responded slowly. He banked left and gained
altitude, looking for Coyote.
Behind him, Malibu seemed to share in the shock. Over the ICS his voice
was bleak, a far cry from his usual bantering tone. “We’re not going to get
out of this one, are we?”
Batman didn’t answer.
0948 hours Zulu (0948 hours ZONE)
Fulcrum Leader
Northwest of the Faeroe Islands
“Stralbo! Oganov! Form on me!” Terekhov couldn’t keep his voice from
betraying his excitement now that total victory was almost in his grasp. “All
planes, press the attack!”
“Comrade Captain,” another pilot broke in. “I have multiple targets on
my radar, closing on us at high speed!”
Terekhov bit back a curse. The American reinforcements! Why hadn’t
Glushko or the crew of the An-74 warned him? Were they still so concerned
with organizing the defense of Soyuz that they were ignoring the possible
danger to the attack squadron?
He had often wondered if the Soviet carriers would be able to stand up to
the tests of combat conditions. For fifty years the Soviet Union had ignored
the whole question of carrier aviation, and when they’d finally decided to
deploy modern carriers they had been forced to learn the entire science
virtually overnight. Measured against the Americans, who had been developing
their carrier doctrine and technology gradually ever since the great carrier
battles of the Forties, the Russians still looked like amateurs. The fact
that officers like Glushko could hold key commands was only one of many
symptoms of what was wrong with Soviet carrier aviation.
“Cossack, Cossack, this is Svirepyy Leader,” he said, switching to the
command frequency. “Respond, please.”
“Svirepyy, this is Cossack,” Glushko replied.
“The second American force is nearly here,” Terekhov said slowly, trying