Sky Masters

by Dale Brown

  cover any naval flight operations in progress, but I don't want any

  heavy American military aircraft airborne during daylight hours, with or

  without escorts." He then thought of Dr. Jon Masters' satellite

  system-what the hell did he call them, NIRTSats?-and said, "I want to

  talk with General Stone on Guam immediately."

  "Yes, sir. Curtis turned to Cunningham. "We got a satellite system up

  there that can find a Chevy in a parking lot full of Fords, on a cloudy

  night, from four hundred miles in space-now's the time to use it."

  "Amen to that, " Cunningham said. "Sir, the Independence carrier group

  should be notified of the incident and briefed on their actions. I'd

  like to set up the two-hundred-mile exclusion zone and put fire-first

  provisions in the ROEs." "Two-hundred-mile exclusion zone approved, "

  Curtis said. "Fire-first provisions only for aircraft on antiship

  cruise-missile profiles. Any other actions have to come through the

  NCA. "Get a full report from Admiral Walheim on Ranger, then brief me

  ASAP on what we need to send to Manado to assist our troops in

  Indonesia; I need a laundry list for the State Department. Find out

  what ships are available to replace Ranger-including submarines. I want

  to be able to take control of those waters as quickly as I can."

  Cunningham turned to his communications console to begin issuing his

  orders. The orange light on his console illuminated, and Curtis donned

  a headset and plugged it into the phone jack. "Curtis here."

  "Hold for the President, please." A moment later: "Yes, Wilbur, what's

  going on?"

  "Mr. President, we have an incident near the Philippines. The aircraft

  carrier Ranger was hit by a Chinese air-launched cruise missile and

  damaged with loss of life. Two Navy fighter planes were shot down as

  well."

  "Oh, no.. ." the President murmured, obviously not wishing his

  feelings to be heard by others with him. He was speaking on a scrambled

  cellular phone, but from the background noise Curtis heard, it sounded

  as if he were at a luncheon and were still right at the table. "I'll be

  out of here in ten minutes. Ask 'laddie' to come up and see me when he

  can." The line went dead. Curtis could not help but smile at the

  casual, almost backwoods code words the President liked to use during

  conversations like this: "laddie" was this month's code word for the

  National Security Council, whom he wanted assembled in the White House

  Situation Room immediately. To his communications officer, Curtis said,

  "Call the White House communication office and get the NSC in the

  Situation Room ASAP." The phone line began to come alive at that moment,

  and Curtis motioned for someone to get him a glass of water as he

  settled in. Two or three calls to get a better picture of the

  situation, then formulate a plan of action during the car ride to the

  White House. It was as it always was: he was cut out of the loop for

  most of the really important policy decisions, but when the shit hit the

  fan, he was expected to have all the answers. Well, he told himself, he

  was going to have all the answers when the National Security Council

  met. The next call came from Guam: "General Stone here, sir."

  "Rat, got a report for me?" "The Ranger got jumped by B-6 bombers and

  Q-5 or B-7 fighters, sir, " Stone replied. The exhaustion in his voice

  was obvious, even over the scrambled satellite link. "We didn't see

  them coming until about a hundred and fifty miles out. We had the radar

  planes bug out, and we thought the Navy fighters turned them away, but

  they weren't after the radar planesthey were going after ships right

  away. Only two of the first flight of six were armed for air defense;

  the other four were carrying two each C60 1 missiles as well as

  heat-seeking air-toairs. "Are you sure they were 601s?"

  "Pretty sure, judging by the flight profile and the damage they caused.

  They were a hell of a lot bigger than C801s or Exocets."

  "No evidence of... special warheads?" It was possible that the C601

  missiles were carrying nuclear warheads but they simply failed to go

  off. Curtis could hear a genuine sigh of relief even through the

  static-charged transmission: "No, thank God." The alternative, as

  Curtis well knew, could have been much worse. In 1946, during secret

  tests code-named OPERATION CROSSROADS, the Navy wanted to see the

  effects of a twenty-kiloton nuclear blast on an aircraft carrier. CV-3

  USS Saratoga was towed out to Bikini Atoll and the device set off five

  hundred yards away. The blast of that one warhead threw the

  forty-thousand-ton aircraft carrier nearly fifty feet out of the water,

  pushed it sideways nearly a half-mile, crushed its seventeen-inch armor

  plating and caved in the flight deck, then sank it in seven hours.

  Ranger would have suffered much the same fate. "We got pictures of the

  aircraft on the ground in Zamboanga after the attack-they were B-6

  bombers all right, " Stone continued, shaking Curtis out of his reverie.

  "The Chinese put their top-of-the-line maritime-attack plane in

  Zamboanga. Each one had two C601 missiles and two PL-7 or PL-9

  missiles. No definite ID on the fighters-only the B-7, F-8, or the A-5

  with air reftieling have the legs these guys had to go after Ranger from

  that distance. We also got pictures of Y-8 reconnaissance planes and

  PS-5 antisubmarine-warfare planes out there." The Chinese were moving a

  major naval air force into the south Philippines, Curtis decided. With

  this force they could seal off the entire area and conduct bombing raids

  on the government bases on Mindanao. Curtis asked, "Do they own the

  Celebes Sea, Rat Killer?"

  "I'm afraid so, sir, " Stone replied. "Air, land, sea, everything. We

  gotta go in hard if we want to have access. Curtis knew what that

  meant-no more fucking soft probes, no more RC- 1355 no matter how many

  escorts they had. Sending Sterett into the Celebes Sea now would be a

  big mistake. "I copy. Looks like Doctor Masters' gadgets are going to

  be the only intel we get for a while." "He's giving us some great poop,

  sir, " Stone said. "His gadgets are working just fine. I've already

  transmitted some pictures to you via Offutt; they should be in your

  hands very soon. You should have some more detailed shots of the

  Chinese positions in Zamboanga within a couple hours."

  "Good. I meet with the boss in thirty minutes; he's going to want to

  see them. What else have you got for me?"

  "With Masters' gear set up here, General Harbaugh from Third Air

  Division, General Houston from Fifteenth Air Force, and I have already

  played out a couple strike scenarios for the south Philippines, " Stone

  replied. "We're definitely going to need the Air Battle Force-and then

  some-to dislodge our Oriental buddies."

  "What kind of scenarios have you come up with?" Curtis asked. "Can you

  send me some of your data?"

  "I sent the scenarios to you along with the photos, " Stone said. "It'll

  make interesting reading for you. Masters practically duplicated the

  entire Air War College and Naval Postgraduate School war-gaming
computer

  models right here in my command post, complete with up-to-the-minute

  intelligence data, and we've built and revised data tapes for the B-52's

  Offensive Avionics System suite and for the B-1's AP 1750 strike

  computers for the Air Battle Force aircraft. We've fought the battle of

  Mindanao three times already." Curtis remembered the old saying, "Don't

  ask the question if you can't stand the answer, " but he asked anyway:

  "Who won?"

  "It depends, sir, " Stone replied. "Exactly how bad do we want the

  Chinese out of the Philippines?"

  "What I want is to send a ship into the Celebes to search for the downed

  crews from the Tomcats we lost. I also want to get the Navy back in

  there just to tell the Chinese they can't lock us out. I need some air

  cover. The Navy planes are grounded for now. "Sorry, sir. Don't think

  we can help, " Stone said. "We've only got seven F-15 fighters on

  station-we'd need at least twenty to cover a rescue operation. None are

  modified for air-to-surface ops. Curtis swore to himself. With Ranger

  out of the fight, they were really stuck for both offensive and

  defensive punch. It would take time to send in another carrier group,

  and that would allow the Chinese to fortify their own sea and land

  forces. What they needed was real offensive and defensive power. They

  needed the Air Battle Force in there-right now. THE WHITE HOUSE

  SITUATION ROOM THIRTY MINUTES LATER "You told me the carrier battle

  groups could protect themselves, General, " the President began. "One

  hit, and now we've got sixty dead and hundreds more injured." All eyes

  of the members of the National Security Council swung toward him. All

  but Thomas Preston. The Secretary of Defense believed that this

  confrontation was inevitable, but he obviously saw it not as the

  beginning of the end of tensions in the Philippines, but the beginning

  of dangerous hostilities. Like looking down the barrel of a

  nuclear-loaded gun. Curtis rarely agreed with him, but this time he

  very well may be right.... "Sir, there was a malfunction of one SM-2

  Aegis missile during the cruiser Bunker Hill's response, Curtis

  explained. Thirteen more men had died of their injuries in the past

  thirty minutes alone; thirty more were given no better than a fiftyfifty

  chance of survival. It was hard for Curtis to formulate an objective,

  detached analysis of why and how so many men had died. He was numb, but

  pressed on: "Bunker Hill had positive control of the situation until the

  time of the mishap. Admiral Walheim's antiair-warfare deputy, who was

  in command of the engagement from Bunker Hill's CIC, terminated all the

  rest of the missile launches that, in all probability, would have

  destroyed the last incoming missiles. Control of antiair functions

  transferred to the cruiser Sterett, and the switch was made smoothly,

  but Sterett couldn't put enough firepower in the air to stop all the

  missiles."

  "What about inner defenses? Didn't Ranger have any guns to protect

  itself?"

  "Ranger's fighters shot down one of the aircraft carrying the antiship

  missiles and took shots at the missiles themselves, but F- 14 Tomcats

  are not really designed for chasing down cruise missiles, especially

  with enemy fighters in the area. Ranger itself had two operational

  short-range RAM launchers-heatseeking missiles mounted on a steerable

  box launcher-plus two Phalanx automatic Gatling-gun defense systems, but

  although both systems were functioning neither could hit the incoming

  missiles. We're investigating."

  "We also lost two fighters. Why?" Curtis bristled at the notion that he

  was responsible for explaining the vagaries of aerial combat, but he

  explained. "Sir, the fighters faced multiple enemy aircraft at all

  times-at no time did we have better than a one-on-two match-up. The

  fighters were responsible not only for protecting themselves and their

  ship, but the Air Force aircraft as well . . "But why did we have such

  poor odds?" the Vice President, Kevin Martindale, asked. "Why did we

  have only eight fighters airborne? We should have had sixteen or

  twenty... There was a hushed tension in the room; Martindale fol lowed

  the furtive glances of those around him to the President. "We authorized

  only two escorts per aircraft, " Taylor explained to the Vice President.

  Everyone could tell that the President's admission was a stab wound for

  him. "They were talking about thirty-plus fighter escorts up there.

  "Sir, our objective from the beginning was not to get into a big furball

  with dozens of aircraft in this area, " Curtis explained. "If we had

  huge waves of fighters up there, it might've looked like an invasion

  force. Besides, we had no way of knowing the Chinese would not only

  send fighters to chase down our recon planes, but launch antiship

  missiles as well . "I should have known." The President sighed. "I

  should have erred on the side of protecting our troops. "Perhaps it

  would have been better to have more fighters up initially, " Curtis

  allowed, "but our aircraft were in international airspace and outside

  the established Philippine air-defense zone at all times. Our

  reconnaissance plane came no closer than forty miles to a Chinese vessel

  that was fifty miles offshore-well within the law. Our aircraft

  broadcast identification signals, they were in constant contact with

  international overwater flight-following agencies, and they used no type

  of jammers whatsoever. The Ranger was over three hundred miles away and

  never entered the Celebes Sea. We behaved as nonthreatening as we

  possibly could.. "It seems that we underestimated the Chinese, then, "

  Thomas Preston said. "This is no mere foray they're involved in-this is

  a major military operation. They are prepared to defend their positions

  with everything they have and do whatever it takes-including attacking a

  United States aircraft carrier." "And that should not be tolerated, "

  General Curtis added. "They're professing their innocence and at the

  same time blasting away at our reconnaissance aircraft and carriers-"

  "Hold on, hold on, Wilbur, " the President interrupted. "I understand

  your anger-believe me, I share it. I need to hear some more options

  first before I consider a military response. He turned to Secretary of

  State Danahall. "Dennis, you said you had something for us on the ASEAN

  meeting?"

  "Yes, sir, " Danahall replied. "The Association of South East Asian

  Nations concluded its emergency session in Singapore yesterday. We've

  got Deborah O'Day over there as our observer." Curtis glanced quickly

  at Thomas Preston and detected a slight edge in his expression. O'Day

  was once Preston's Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Pacific-one of

  a multitude of positions she held in two White House administrations-and

  had been fired from that post for her outspoken advocacy of expanded

  involvement in Pacific affairs in general and specifically her

  opposition to the U.S. pullout of the Philippines. Curtis could imagine

  the reception O'Day got from the predominantly Moslem and generally

  anti-femal
e men. "Miss O'Day reports, " Danahall continued, "that the

  vote to bring sanctions against China was defeated in the ASEAN

  assembly."

  "What?" the President asked, alarmed. "But they can't . . . The

  Chinese are tearing up the Philippines and ASEAN isn't going to do

  anything about it...?"

  "That's not all, sir, " Danahall said. "After the meeting, O'Day was

  briefly kidnapped..." The room crackled with tension. "Kidnapped!" The

  President found himself sitting straight up. "Jesus, is she all right?

  What happened...?"

  "She's all right, sir. Not a scratch. Her assailant says he was sent

  by Second Vice President Samar to officially request military assistance

  from the United States-and O'Day reports that Samar had delivered a

  warning not to enter the Celebes Sea region because the Chinese Fleet

  Admiral was ready to attack." He held up a sheet of paper. "Here's her

  communique from the embassy in Singapore, dated sixteen hours before the

  attack began." The President scanned the communique quickly, then

  returned to his chair stiff with shock. He turned to Preston, then to

  Curtis. "Did you know about this?"

  "Yes, sir, " Preston replied. "I immediately issued a message to

  Admiral Walheim about the warning, but we gave this warning little

  credence at the time."

  "Why?" "Because the Ranger group was never scheduled to enter the

  Celebes Sea in the first place, per your orders, " Preston explained. "I

  decided to go ahead with the aerial surveillance, since the risk was far

  less and because we needed the 'eyes' up there to see what the Chinese

  were doing. We never expected the Chinese to attack our reconnaissance

  aircraft, let alone the Ranger carrier group. Preston looked decidedly

  uncomfortable, then added, "Miss O'Day has had a... uh, reputation for

  sensationalizing a situation, sir. I'm afraid I have to admit I gave

  her warning little credibility. It sounded like a fanatical tirade by a

  Filipino guerrilla soldier . "We did everything we could do to protect