scoonts.theminotaur-第12部分

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　〃Does　stealth　ensure　survivability？〃　Jake　prompted；　too　interested　to　notice　his　continuing　disfort　from　the　breeze　off　the　river。
　〃Well；　it　all　boils　down　to　whether　or　not　you　think　fixed　air　bases　are　survivable　in　the　war　the　air　force　is　building　their　planes　to　fight；　and　that　is　a　war　in　Europe　against　the　Soviets　which　has　escalated　to　a　nuclear　exchange。　If　I　were　a　Russian　I　wouldn't　worry　much　about　these　airplanes…neither　of　which　has　any　off…concrete　capability…I'd　just　knock　out　their　bases　at　the　beginning　of　hostilities　and　forget　about　them。〃
　〃What　about　a　conventional　war　with　the　Soviets？〃
　〃If　anyone　has　figured　out　a　way　to　keep　it　from　going　nuclear；　I　haven't　heard　about　it。〃
　〃How　many　Maverick　missiles　are　there？　A　couple　thousand？〃
　〃Twice　that。〃
　〃That's　still　no　more　than　a　week　or　two's　supply。　It'd　better　be　a　damn　short　war。〃
　The　admiral　grunted。　〃The　basic　dilemma：　without　stealth　technology　the　air　force　says　planes　can't　survive　over　a　modern　battlefield；　with　stealth　they　must　use　only　sophisticated　weapons　that　are　too　expensive　to　buy　in　quantity。　And　they're　not　as　reliable　as　cheap　weapons。　And　if　the　airplanes　truly　are　a　threat；　the　Soviets　have　a　tremendous　stimulus　to　escalate　the　war　to　a　nuclear　strike　to　eliminate　their　bases。〃　He　chopped　the　air　with　the　cutting　edge　of　his　hand。　〃This　stuff　is　grotesquely　expensive。〃
　〃Sounds　like　we've　priced　ourselves　out　of　the　war　business。〃
　〃I　fucking　wish！　But　enough　philosophy。　Stealth　technology　certainly　deserves　a　lot　of　thought。　It's　basically　just　techniques　to　lower　an　aircraft's　electromagnetic　signature　in　the　military　wave…lengths：　radio…which　is　radar…and　heat…infrared。　And　they're　trying　to　minimize　the　distance　the　plane　can　be　detected　by　ear　mid　by　eye。　Minimizing　the　RCS…the　Radar　Cross　Section…and　the　heat　signature　are　the　two　most　important　factors　and　end　up　driving　the　design　process。　But　it's　tough。　For　example；　to　half　the　radar　detection　range　you　must　lower　the　RCS　by　a　factor　of　sixteen…the　fourth　root。　To　lower　the　BR　signature　in　any　meaningful　manner　you　must　give　up　afterburners　for　your　engines　and　bury　the　engines　inside　the　airplane　to　cool　the　exhaust　gases；　the　sum　total　of　which　is　less　thrust。　Consequently　we　are　led　kicking　and　screaming　into　the　work！　of　design　promises；　which　is　a　handy　catchall　for　mission　promises；　performance　and　range　and　payload　promises；　bang…and…buck　promises。　That's　where　you　e　in。〃
　Admiral　Henry　rose　from　the　bench　and　sauntered　along　the　walk　discussing　the　various　methods　and　techniques　that　lowered；　tittle　by　tittle；　the　radar　and　heat　signatures　of　an　aircraft。　He　talked　about　wing　and　fuselage　shape；　special　materials；　paint；　engine　and　inlet　duct　design　and　placement；　every　aspect　of　aircraft　construction。　Stealth；　he　said；　involved　them　all。　Finally　he　fell　silent　and　walked　along　with　his　shoulders　rounded；　his　hands　thrust　deep　into　his　pockets。
　Jake　spoke。　〃If　the　best　the　air　force　could　get　out　of　their　stealth　attack　plane　was　A…7　performance；　is　it　a　good　idea　for　the　navy　to　spend　billions　on　one？　We　can't　go　buying　airplanes　to　fight　just　one　war；　and　we　need　a　sufficient　quantity　of　planes　to　equip　the　carriers。　Five　gee…whiz　killing　machines　a　year　won't　do　us　any　good　at　all。〃
　The　admiral　stopped　dead　and　scrutinized　Jake。　Slowly　a　grin　lifted　the　corners　of　his　mouth。　〃I　knew　you　were　the　right　guy　for　this　job。〃
　He　resumed　walking；　his　step　firmer；　more　confident。　〃The　first　question　is　what　kind　of　fights　are　we　going　to　get　into　in　the　future。　And　the　answer；　I　suspect；　is　more　of　the　same。　I　think　the　likelihood　of　an　all…out　war　with　the　Soviets　in　Western　Europe　is　pretty　small…no　way　to　prevent　it　from　going　nuclear　and　the　Russians　don't　want　that　any　more　than　we　do。　But　we　must　prepare　to　fight　it；　prepare　to　some　degree；　or　we　can't　deter　it。　I'd　say　it's　a　lot　more　likely　we'll　end　up　with　more　limited　wars；　like　Korea　or　Vietnam　or　Afghanistan　or　the　Persian　Gulf　or　the　Middle　East　or　South　Africa。　So　the　capability　to　fight　those　wars　is　critical。　We　need　planes　that　can　fly　five　hundred　miles　through　a　high…density　electronic　environment；　deliver　a　devastating　conventional　punch；　and　return　to　the　carrier　to　fly　again；　and　again　and　again。　Without　that　capability　our　carrier　battle　groups　are　an　expensive　liability　and　not　an　asset。　We　need　that　plane　by　1995；　at　the　latest。〃
　〃You're　implying　that　our　plane　can't　rely　on　pinpoint　missiles　for　weapons。〃
　〃Precisely。　The　air　force　has　a　lot　of　concrete　to　park　their　specialized　planes　on；　carrier　deck　space　is　damn　precious。　We　can't　build　planes　that　can　only　shoot　missiles　that　cost　a　million　bucks　each；　then　push　them　into　the　drink　when　we　run　out　of　missiles。　We　have　to　be　able　to　hit　hard　in　any　foreseeable　conflict　with　simple；　cheap　weapons；　like　laser…guided　bombs。〃
　〃So　we　can　do　something　the　air　force　couldn't　with　the　F…l　17？〃
　Henry　threw　his　head　back　and　grinned；　obviously　enjoying　himself。　〃We　aren't　going　to　trade　away　our　plane's　performance　or　mission　capability。〃
　〃But　how…〃
　〃Better　design…we　learned　a　lot　from　the　F…l　17…plus　Athena。　Active　stealth　technology。〃　His　mood　was　gloomy　again。　〃I　think　the　fucking　Russians　have　gotten　everything　there　was　to　get　out　of　the　F…l　17　and　B…2。　Every　single　technical　breakthrough；　they've　stolen　it。　They　don't　appear　to　be　using　that　knowledge　and　they　may　not　ever　be　able　to　do　so。　This　stuff　involves　manufacturing　capabilities　they　don't　have　and　costs　they　can't　afford　to　incur。　But　what　they　can　do　is　figure　out　defenses　to　a　stealthed…up　airplane；　and　you　can　bet　your　left　nut　they're　working　their　asses　off　on　that　right　this　very　minute。〃
　He　looked　carefully　around。　〃There's　a　Russian　mole　in　the　Pentagon。〃　His　voice　was　almost　a　whisper；　although　the　nearest　pedestrian　was　a　hundred　yards　away。　〃He　gave　them　the　stealth　secrets。　The　son　of　a　bitch　is　buried　in　there　someplace　and　he's　ripping　us　off。　He's　even　been　given　a　top　secret　code　name…Minotaur。〃　He　scuffed　his　toe　at　a　pebble　on　the　sidewalk。　〃I'm　not　supposed　to　know　this。　It　goes　without　saying　that　if　I'm　not；　you　sure　as　hell　aren't。〃
　〃How'd…〃
　〃Don't　ask。　I　don't　want　you　to　know。　But　if　I　know　the　Minotaur's　there；　you　can　lay　money　he　knows　we　know　he's　there。　So　the　bastard　is　dug　in　with　his　defenses　up。　We　may　never　get　him。　Probably　won't。〃
　〃How　do　we　know　he　gave　them　stealth？〃
　〃We　know。　Trust　me。　We　know。〃
　〃So　we　have　a　mole　in　the　Kremlin。〃
　〃I　didn't　say　that；〃　Henry　said　fiercely；　〃and　you　had　damn　well　better　not。　No　shit；　Grafton；　don't　even　whisper　that　to　a　living　fucking　soul。〃
　They　walked　along　in　silence；　each　man　occupied　with　his　own　thoughts。　Finally　Jake　said；　〃So　how　are　we　gonna　do　it？〃
　〃Huh？〃
　〃How　are　we　going　to　build　a　stealth　Intruder　and　keep　the　technology　in　our　pocket？〃
　〃I　haven't　figured　that　one　out　yet；〃　Henry　said　slowly。　〃You　see；　everything　the　Russians　have　gotten　so　far　is　passive…techniques　to　minimize　the　radar　cross　section　and　heat　signature。　To　build　a　mission…capable　airplane　like　we　want　we're　going　to　have　to　use　active　techniques。　Project　Athena。　They　haven't　stolen　Athena　yet　and　we　don't　want　them　to　get　it。〃
　〃Active　techniques？〃　Jake　prompted；　unable　to　contain　his　curiosity。
　〃We're　going　to　cancel　the　bad　guys'　radar　signal　where　it　reaches　our　plane。　We'll　automatically　generate　a　signal　that　nullifies　the　echo；　mutes　it；　cancels　it　oat。　The　plane　will　then　be　truly　invisible　to　the　enemy。　They'll　sew　see　it　on　their　scope。　They'll　never　receive　the　echo。〃　He　thought　about　it。　〃It's　the　biggest　technological　breakthrough　since　the　Manhattan　Project。　Biggest　by　a　mile。〃
　〃I've　heard　speculation　about　canceling　radar　signals　for　years。　The　guys　who　were　supposed　to　know　all　laughed。　Can　it　be　done？〃
　〃The　party　line　is　no。　Impossible。　But　there's　a　crazed　genius　who　wants　to　be　filthy　rich　that　has　done　it。　That　technology　is　the　living；　beating　heart　of　the　ATA。　Now　all　we　have　to　do　is　get　an　airplane　built　and　keep　the　Minotaur　from　stealing　the　secret。〃
　Jake　whistled。　〃Can't　we　put　this　on　all　our　ships？〃
　〃No　doubt　we　w