discussions among the more junior officers on the cruiser. Every one of them
knew the ship’s history, and few had any desire to repeat the tragic mistake
committed by the previous crew in the Persian Gulf.
Captain Killington had done little to make them feel any easier about the
possibility. Their CO repeatedly quoted extensive passages from the former
CO’s book and steadfastly maintained that the shoot-down had been justified.
According to him, there had been fighters tucked under the wings of the
airbus, attempting to hide from radar by using the larger aircraft as a
shield. Captain Killington believed that shooting down the airbus had
prevented serious loss of American life.
Better to be judged by one than carried by six, the TAO thought,
pondering the equally unattractive alternatives of facing a court of inquiry
or a funeral. If it comes down to it, I’m shooting first and asking questions
later. I’d rather be branded with Vincennes’s mistakes and history than the
USS Stark’s record. The Stark had exercised restraint–out and out
negligence, many claimed–in failing to fire on an inbound aircraft. That
decision had cost her lives when she’d taken a missile amidships.
Not on my watch, buddy, the TAO thought, staring at the symbols tracking
across the screen.
1240 local (Zulu -7)
Hornet 401
“Low level’s no trick, buddy,” Thor said out loud. “Just what the hell
are you up to?” He watched the Flanker make a minute change in course and
tapped the flight controls to follow it.
He glanced at the clock. In another ten minutes, it would all be over
anyway. The Flanker would transit the battle group, and then either turn to
make another pass or continue on to wherever it was bound. He could follow
until the aircraft left the battle group’s airspace, take a quick drink from
the tanker, and then head home.
Suddenly, the Hornet’s ALR-67 radar warning receiver buzzer went off. A
radar was sweeping him, radiating a fire control signature. He felt a sudden
chill.
“Hawkeye, I’m getting–what the hell is going on?” he said on the
tactical net. “That’s a damned Aegis radar!”
“Roger, Hornet, we’re getting it. Aegis is locked on to the incoming
bogey,” the E-2 replied.
“Oh, shit. Hawkeye, talk to me! They’re not thinking of shooting, are
they?” Thor’s hand itched to push the throttles forward of its own accord.
To be this close to a bad guy–or even a potential bad guy–with missiles in
the air, wasn’t healthy. He fought down the impulse to get the hell out of
Dodge. If the Aegis was planning on launching one of its SM-2 anti-air
missiles in their direction, Thor had a burning desire to be very gone. The
SM-2 was the same missile that Vincennes had used to shoot down an Iranian
airbus in 1988, believing that the contact was an Iranian F-14 fighter. If
their electronics emanations were any clue, the Vincennes was still confused
about who the good guys and who the bad guys were.
The SM-2 was a long-range, high-speed missile, capable of attaining
velocities exceeding Mach 2. Its 1,556 pounds of massed destruction carried a
high-velocity controlled fragmentation conventional high explosive atop a
single-stage dual-thrust Aerojet Mark 56 solid-fuel rocket. It had an
inertial navigation system with two-way communications link for midcourse
corrections from the Aegis ship, along with monopulse semiactive radar homing
and a proximity/contact fusing system. It was the standard missile (SM) used
by surface ships against any airborne target, aircraft or missile. A potent,
lethal missile, and one that Thor was not interested in trying to outsmart and
outmaneuver.
The Flag TAO’s voice came onto the circuit. Thor listened as the
Admiral’s staff berated the Aegis cruiser and ordered them to cease targeting
the Flanker. The signal blipped off his ESM warning receiver.
The Flanker kicked in its afterburners, and the twin Saturn/Lyulka AL-3
IF turbofans spat bright fire out the twin tailpipes. Thor felt the increase
in its wake buffet the Hornet as the Flanker ascended. Reflexively, he
followed the Flanker, maintaining a good firing solution on it from behind.
The Flanker twisted and turned, behaving for all the world like a fighter
suddenly engaged in air-to-air combat. Since he was carrying no missiles, the