tc.redstormrising-第68部分

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〃Anything　new　to　report？〃
〃Negative；　unless　you　want　to　know　about　the　rain。　Visibility　is　down。　We　can't　see　very　much。〃
The　munications　watch　officer　at　Doghouse　looked　at　a　weather　map。　So　it　really　was　raining　there。　He　hadn't　been　able　to　convince　his　boss　that　Beagle　could　be　trusted。　Edwards　had　answered　the　questions　that　the　counterintelligence　guys　had　e　up　with。　They'd　even　had　a　voice…stress　analyzer　handy　to　check　the　tapes　of　his　answers。　The　needle　had　pegged　on　the　last　answer　about　his　girlfriend。　That　hadn't　been　faked。　Copies　of　the　relevant　parts　of　his　personnel　package　had　been　faxed　to　them。　Upper　fifth　of　his　class　at　Colorado　Springs。　Good　in　math　and　engineering　studies；　did　extremely　well　in　his　post…graduation　studies　in　meteorology。　His　eyesight　had　worsened　slightly　during　his　tenure　at　Colorado　Springs；　being　just　bad　enough　to　keep　him　from　flying。　Regarded　as　quiet　and　shy；　but　evidently　well　liked　by　his　classmates。　Not　a　warrior　type；　the　psychological　profile　said。　How　long　would　the　kid　last？

KEFLAVIK；　ICELAND
One　MiG…29　was　flying。　The　others　were　in　the　hardened　shelters　the　Americans　had　only　just　finished　at　the　end　of　runway　eleven。　The　fighter's　mission　was　twofold。　It　was　a　standing　bat　air　patrol　aircraft　should　an　ining　raid　be　detected；　but　more　importantly；　it　was　being　tracked　carefully　by　the　ground　radar　controllers：　their　radar　needed　to　be　calibrated。　Iceland's　irregular　terrain　made　for　troublesome　radar　performance；　and　as　with　the　surface…to…air　missiles；　the　instruments　themselves　had　been　badly　jostled　by　the　trip　aboard　the　Fucik　The　fighter　flew　circles　around　the　airport　while　the　radar　operators　determined　that　what　their　instruments　told　them　was　correct。
The　fighters　were　fully　fueled　and　armed；　their　pilots　resting　on　cots　near　them。　At　the　moment；　the　bowsers　were　fueling　the　Badger　bomber　that　had　given　the　fighters　navigational　and　electronic　support。　Soon　it　would　be　leaving　to　bring　in　nine　more。　The　Air　Force　detachment　was　rapidly　finishing　their　job　of　clearing　the　airfield。　All　but　one　of　the　runways　was　swept　clear　of　fragments　now。　The　remains　of　the　American　aircraft　had　been　bulldozed　off　the　pavement。　The　fuel　pipeline　would　be　repaired　in　an　hour；　the　engineers　said。
〃Quite　a　busy　day；〃　the　major　said　to　the　fighter　mander。
〃It's　not　over　yet。　I'll　feel　better　when　we　get　the　rest　of　the　regiment　in；〃　the　colonel　observed　quietly。　〃They　should　have　hit　us　already。〃
〃How　do　you　expect　them　to　attack？〃
The　colonel　shrugged。　〃Hard　to　say。　If　they're　really　serious　about　closing　this　field；　they'll　use　a　nuclear　warhead。〃
〃Are　you　always　so　optimistic；　rade　Colonel？〃
The　raid　was　an　hour　away。　The　eighteen　B…52H　bombers　had　left　Louisiana　ten　hours　before　and　landed　to　refuel　at　Sondrestrom　Air　Force　Base　on　Greenland's　west　coast。　Fifty　miles　ahead　of　them　were　a　single　Raven　EF…111　jamming　aircraft　and　four　F…4　Phantoms　configured　for　defense…suppression。

The　radar　was　about　halfway　calibrated；　though　what　had　been　done　was　the　easy　part。　The　fighter　that　had　just　landed　had　flown　racetrack　ovals　from　due　north　around　the　western　horizon　to　due　south　of　Keflavik。　The　area　to　the　west　of　the　air　base；　though　not　exactly　flat；　was　nearly　so；　with　low　rocky　hills。　Next　came　the　hard　part；　plotting　radar　coverage　of　the　eastern　arc　over　Iceland's　mountainous　center；　a　solid　collection　of　hills　that　worked　up　to　the　island's　tall　central　peak。　Another　Fulcrum　rolled　off　the　runway　to　begin　this　task；　its　pilot　wondering　how　long　it　might　take　to　map　all　the　nulls…areas　blanked　to　radar　coverage　by　the　steep　valleys…areas　that　an　attacking　aircraft　could　use　to　mask　its　approach　to　Keflavik。
The　radar　officers　were　plotting　probable　troublesome　spots　on　their　topographical　maps　when　an　operator　shouted　a　warning。　Their　clear　radar　screens　had　just　turned　to　hash　from　powerful　electronic　jammers。　That　could　mean　only　one　thing。
The　klaxons　sounded　in　the　fighter　shelters　at　the　end　of　runway　eleven。　Fighter　pilots　who　had　been　dozing　or　playing　dominos　jumped　to　their　feet　and　raced　to　their　aircraft。
The　tower　officer　lifted　the　field　phone　to　give　more　exact　warning　to　the　fighters；　then　called　up　the　missile　battery　mander：　〃Ining　air　raid！〃
Men　leaped　into　action　all　across　the　air　base。　The　fighter　ground　crews　hit　the　built…in　self…starters；　turning　the　jet　engines　even　as　the　pilots　climbed　into　the　cockpits。　The　SAM　battery　turned　on　its　search　and　fire…control　systems　while　the　launch　vehicles　slewed　their　missiles　into　firing　position。
Just　under　the　radar　horizon；　eighteen　B…52　bombers　had　just　lit　off　their　ECM　jamming　systems。　They　were　deployed　in　six　groups　of　three　each。　The　first　skimmed　over　the　top　of　Mt。　Snaefells；　sixty　miles　north　of　Keflavik；　and　the　rest　came　from　all　around　the　west　side　of　the　pass；　converging　on　the　target　behind　a　wall　of　electronic　noise　provided　by　their　own　systems　and　the　supporting　EF…111　Raven　jammer。
The　Russian　fighter　just　lifting　off　climbed　to　altitude；　the　pilot　keeping　his　radar　off　as　he　scanned　the　sky　visually；　waiting　for　intercept　information　from　the　ground…based　radar。　His　rades　were　even　now　taxiing　into　the　open；　racing　straight　down　the　runway　and　into　the　sky。　The　aircraft　that　had　just　landed　taxied　to　a　fuel　bowser；　its　pilot　gesturing　and　cursing　at　the　ground　crewmen　who　were　struggling　to　fuel　his　fighter。　In　their　haste；　they　spilled　ten　gallons　of　fuel　over　the　wing。　Amazingly；　it　did　not　ignite；　and　a　dozen　men　ran　in　with　CO；　extinguishers　to　prevent　an　explosion　as　the　fighter　drank　in　a　full　load　of　fuel。

HILL　152；　ICELAND
Edwards's　head　jerked　up　at　the　noise；　the　distinctive　roar　of　jet　fighters。　He　saw　a　dark　trail　of　smoke　approaching　in　from　the　east；　and　the　silhouettes　passed　within　a　mile。　The　shapes　were　heavy　with　ordnance；　the　up…angled　wingtips　making　identification　easy。
〃F…4s！〃　he　hooted。　〃They're　our　guys！〃
They　were　Phantom　jets　of　the　New　York　Air　National　Guard；　configured　as　Wild　Weasel　SAM…killers。　While　Russian　attention　was　on　the　converging　bomber　raid；　they　skimmed　over　hilltops　and　down　valleys；　using　the　crenelated　landscape　to　mask　their　low…level　approach。　The　back…seat　crewman　in　each　aircraft　counted　the　missile　radars；　selecting　the　most　dangerous　targets。　When　they　got　to　within　ten　miles　of　Keflavik；　they　popped　up　high　and　fired　a　salvo　of　Standard…ARM　antiradar　missiles。
The　Russians　were　caught　by　surprise。　Laboring　to　direct　missile　fire　at　the　bombers；　they　didn't　expect　a　two…part　raid。　The　ining　missiles　were　not　detected。　Three　of　the　ARMs　found　targets；　killing　two　search　radars　and　a　missile…launch　vehicle。　One　launch　mander　turned　his　vehicle　around　and　trained　manually　on　the　new　threat。　The　Phantoms　jammed　his　fire…control　radar；　leaving　behind　a　series　of　chaff　clouds　as　they　came　in　at　thirty…foot　height。　As　each　pilot　raced　to　the　target　area　assigned　to　him；　he　conducted　a　hasty　visual　search。　One　saw　an　undamaged　SAM　launcher　and　streaked　toward　it；　dropping　Rockeye　clusterbomb　canisters　that　fell　short　but　spread　over　a　hundred　bomblets　all　over　the　area。　The　SA…11　launcher　exploded　in　his　wake；　its　crew　never　knew　what　had　happened。　A　thousand　yards　beyond　it　was　a　mobile　antiaircraft　gun　vehicle。　The　Phantom　engaged　it　with　his　own　cannon；　badly　damaging　it　as　he　swept　across　the　rest　of　the　peninsula　and　escaped　back　over　the　sea；　a　cloud　of　chaff　and　flares　in　his　wake。　It　was　a　letter…perfect　Weasel　mission。　All　four　aircraft　were　gone　before　the　Soviet　missile　crews　were　able　to　react。　The　two　SAMs　that　were　launched　exploded　harmlessly　in　chaff　clouds。　The　battery　had　lost　two…thirds　of　its　launcher　vehicles　and　all　of　its　search　radars。　Three　of　the　mobile　guns　were　also　destroyed　or　damaged。　The　bombers　were　now　a　mere　twenty　miles　out；　their　powerful　ECM　jamming　systems　drowning　the　Soviet　radar　with　electronic　noise。
They　could　not　defeat　the　radar　on　the　mobile　guns；　however。　The　new　system　had　a　radar　for　which　they　were　not　equipped；　but　it　didn't　matter。　The　guns　had　been　designed　to　deal　with　small　fighters；　and　when　their　radars　tried　to　lock　on　the　huge　bombers；　they　found　a　target　so　lar