Blackmail

72 GULF OF OMAN

Twenty minutes earlier, as a wave of Russian missiles surged from the Iranian coast, Houston and the other F/A-18 pilots had turned tail and run, increasing speed as they dropped close to the ocean waves. The tactic worked well. They had outrun the first barrage of missiles while the TacToms destroyed two-thirds of the Russian missile launchers. Another wave of Tactical Tomahawks was inbound, with mission planners in Hawaii assigning their targets as more Russian missile batteries revealed their locations.

With the majority of the shore-based missile batteries destroyed, Houston and the other pilots turned back toward the Russian surface ships. However, over one hundred Russian aircraft lay ahead, forming a protective ring just beyond the range of the F/A-18s’ anti-ship missiles. This time, however, Houston and his fellow pilots weren’t going to run.

Truman’s first cycle of aircraft slowed and the other three cycles pulled alongside, forming a two-level front of seventy-two F/A-18s interspersed with eight electronic jamming Growlers. The Super Hornets needed to get close enough to the Russian surface combatants to launch their AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles. With only nineteen surface combatants to destroy, Houston’s fighter was loaded with a single Harpoon, with the other ten hardpoints carrying anti-air missiles. Making it through the Russian fighters was the challenge.

When the Russian aircraft were within range of his radar-homing AMRAAM anti-air missiles, Houston and the other F/A-18 pilots fired a two-missile volley, knowing the Russian pilots were doing the same, like two armies of archers shooting guided arrows at each other. Houston watched his missiles close on the Russian jets while his Radar Warning Receiver alerted, displaying incoming air-to-air missiles. He fired a second volley, keeping two AMRAAMs and four Sidewinder infrared-seeking missiles in reserve.

The Russians also fired a second volley, and as the first wave of missiles closed on the F/A-18 formation, Houston focused on avoiding them. He was fortunate, flying beside one of the EA-18G Growlers. As the missiles approached, his Radar Warning Receiver indicated the missiles had failed to lock on to his aircraft. The Growler’s electronic jamming worked well. Just in case, Houston broke left as other Super Hornets took evasive action. As the first wave of missiles passed by, pinpricks of light illuminated the darkness. After checking his radar display, Houston determined they’d lost six aircraft.

The next wave of missiles approached quickly, and Houston’s Radar Warning Receiver told him the missiles had radar-seeking heads and that at least one had locked on to his aircraft. Right before the missile arrived, Houston dispensed a burst of chaff, then broke right. His jet veered out of the way as the missile headed toward the chaff, attracted by the cloud of aluminum-coated glass fibers.

After verifying the missile continued straight ahead instead of turning back toward his aircraft, Houston examined his display again. Another five aircraft lost. Still, there were sixty-one Super Hornets remaining, and a quick scan told Houston their AMRAAM missiles had performed well, destroying twenty-two Russian fighters. The odds were starting to even, but Houston and his fellow pilots were still outnumbered.

The two formations of aircraft closed on each other, and had it been daylight, they’d have been within visual range. Houston had several targets to choose from, and after identifying a gap he’d try to slip through, he targeted the two nearest fighters with his remaining AMRAAM missiles. Houston kicked in his afterburners, increasing speed.