The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [396]
"Okay," Jackson ordered, "let's get a quick picture."
The Radar Intercept Officer activated his systems. The F-140 had just been fitted with a new Hughes-built radar called an LPI for 'low probability of intercept.' Though using less power than the AWG-9 system it had replaced, the LPI combined greater sensitivity with a far lower chance of being picked up by another aircraft's threat receiver. It also had vastly improved look-down performance.
"There they are," Walters reported. "Nice circular formation."
"They have anything up?"
"Everything I see has a transponder on."
"Kay, we'll be on station in another few minutes."
Fifty miles behind them, an E-2C Hawkeye airborne-early-warning bird was coming off the number-two catapult. Behind it, two KA-6 tankers were firing up, along with more fighters. The tankers would soon arrive at Jackson's station to top off his fuel tanks, enabling the CAG to stay aloft for four more hours. The E-2C was the most important. It climbed out at full military power, turning south to take station fifty miles from its mother ship. As soon as it reached twenty-five thousand, its surveillance radar switched on, and the onboard crew of three operators began cataloging their contacts. Their data was sent by digital link back to the carrier and also to the group air-warfare officer aboard the Aegis cruiser, USS Thomas Gates, whose call-sign was Stetson.
"Nothing much, skipper."
"Okay, we're on station. Let's orbit and searchlight around." Jackson turned his aircraft into a shallow right turn, with Sanchez in close formation.
The Hawkeye spotted them first. They were almost directly under Jackson and his two Tomcats, and out of the detection cone of their radars for the moment.
"Stetson, this is Falcon-Two, we have four bogies on the deck, bearing two-eight-one, one hundred miles out." The reference was for TR's position.
"IFF?"
"Negative, their speed is four hundred, altitude seven hundred, course one-three-five."
"Amplify," the AWO said.
"They're in a loose finger-four, Stetson," the Hawkeye controller said. "Estimate we have tactical fighters here."
"I got something," Shredder reported to Jackson a moment later. "On the deck, looks like two - no, four aircraft, heading southeast."
"Whose?"
"Not ours."
In TR's combat information center, no one as yet had a clue what was going on, but the group intelligence staff was doing its best to find out. What they had learned to this point was that most satellite news channels seemed to be down, though all military satellite links were up and running. A further electronic sweep of the satellite spectrum showed that a lot of video circuits were unaccountably inactive, as were the satellite phone links. So addicted were the communications people to the high-tech channels, that it required the services of a third-class radioman to suggest sweeping short-wave bands.
The first they found was BBC. The newsflash was recorded and raced into CIC. The voice spoke with the quiet assurance that the British Broadcasting Corporation was known for: "Reuters reports a nuclear detonation in the Central United States. The Denver, ColoraAdo' - the Brits have trouble pronouncing some American state names - 'television station, KOLD, broadcast via satellite a picture of a mushroom cloud over Denver, along with a voice report of a massive explosion. Station KOLD is now off the air, and attempts to reach Denver by telephone have not yet been successful. There has as yet been no official comment whatever on this incident."
"Holy Christ," someone said for all of them. Captain Richards looked around the room at his staff.
"Well, now we know why we're at DEFCON-TWO. Let's get some more fighters up. F-18s forward of us, -14s aft. I want four A-6s loaded with B-61s and briefed on SIOP targets. One squadron of -18s loaded with anti-ship missiles, and start planning an Alpha Strike on the Kuznetzov battlegroup."
"Captain," a talker called. "Falcon reports four inbound