Primary Target

20

Enjoying his notoriety as the killer of the American’s F-14 Tomcat reconnaissance plane, Major Ali Akbar Muhammud led three MiG-29 Fulcrums as they circled their airfield at Shiraz, then turned west toward the Persian Gulf. One of the pilots in the formation was Major Viktor Kasatkin, a renowned Russian fighter pilot and advanced tactics instructor. A graduate of the Kharkov Higher School of Pilots and the Gagarin Air Force Academy, Kasatkin was honing the skills of the Iranian pilots.

Muhammud, having received reliable up-to-the-minute information from the auxiliary patrol boat Gavatar and the Iranian corvette Naghdi, was prepared to confront the Americans if they attacked Iran.

Equipped with “Flash Dance” radars, air-to-air missiles, and thirty-millimeter cannons, the MiGs represented the most advanced of the flyable fighters in the Iranian Air Force. Major Muhammud adjusted his cockpit lights to enhance his night vision and darted a look at his Iranian wingman, who had been selected from the best the Iranians could muster. He was tucked in close to his leader’s wingtip.

Muhammud, the politically powerful son of an Iranian Air Force general who was killed in a 1995 JetStar crash, was considered by his peers to be one of the most talented fighter pilots in the Iranian Air Force. But then again, during mock dogfights, no one was stupid enough to seriously challenge the cocky and temperamental pilot.

Not far behind, three more MiG-29s joined in trail and followed Muhammud to their patrol sector between the coastline and Khark Island. The well-educated pilots came from Iran’s upper classes; however, their aviation training wasn’t up to the standards of the West. The Iranians could demonstrate passable displays of air combat maneuvering, but their basic dogfighting capabilities were considered to be limited at best.

In addition, the aviators weren’t as young and proficient as they once were. A lack of flying time had eroded their skills and prevented the training of new pilots. Almost to a person, the Iranian pilots dreaded the thought of pitting themselves against the highly competent, younger, and better-trained Americans. A bootlegged video of the movie Top Gun had added to their anxiety, especially the scenes of “fangs out” aggression that unfolded during combat training engagements.

From the first briefing after Washington and her battle group neared the Strait of Hormuz, there had been a strange sense of foreboding among the Iranian pilots. Something seemed different from previous alerts. Most of the younger aviators sensed that their superiors were also more tense than usual. Thanks to the Russian fighter instructor pilots, the Iranian aviators were improving. However, they knew they were up against some of the best-trained fighter pilots in the world.

With both flights in close proximity, Muhammud entered their assigned patrol area and waited for further instructions. The mission plan was highly modified from the usual sorties they flew, which heightened Muhammud’s sense of anticipation. If nothing happened in the next twenty minutes, they would begin cycling planes to a coastal airstrip for refueling.

Seventy-three miles south of Muhammud’s position, seven additional MiG-29s were steering a circuitous course toward Hendorabi Island. The American carrier battle group was steaming southwest of the island. Eight miles behind the MiG fighters, three cruise-missile-‌‌equipped Dassault Mirage F-ls were prepared to attack the carrier if ordered to do so. Slightly above and a mile behind the F-ls, two aging Bushehr-based F-4 Phantom jets were positioning themselves to attack. Both fighters were equipped with Chinese-made C-801 Sardine antiship cruise missiles.

If hostilities erupted, the Iranians’ strategy would be to lure the U.S. aviators close to their homeland, or over any of the seven Houdong-class guided-missile patrol craft, where surface-to-air missiles would be used to make the fight more deadly. Few of the Iranian pilots were willing to discuss the fact that Iran’s SAMs couldn’t identify friend from foe. A senior pilot who had questioned the tactics disappeared from the base. No one would openly speculate as to his whereabouts.

Four U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles from the 33rd Fighter Wing’s 58th Fighter Squadron taxied into position on the dark runway and held their brakes. Based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the flight crews were completing the last two weeks of a routine rotation to Saudi Arabia.

Normally, the seasoned fighter pilots enforced Operation Southern Watch, the United Nations-mandated “no-fly” zone in southern Iraq. This early morning wasn’t any different for the “Nomads,” except that these four highly experienced pilots were preparing to take off on a special mission.

Their commanding officer and flight leader, a former Thunderbird demonstration pilot, was about to take the pride of the Air Combat Command’s 9th Air Force to the Persian Gulf. The pilots’ collateral mission was straightforward; fly cover for American warships while the U.S. Navy sent Iran a message.

A veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Trent McCutchin took in the panoramic view from his cockpit. Behind the tightly secured fence lines, motion sensors and surveillance cameras mounted atop a watchtower scrutinized the flat, barren desert for miles.

Turning his head toward his wingman, McCutchin glanced at Sting Two in his F-15. Bathed in the soft glow of his cockpit lights, Major Tim Cotton appeared to be an alien sitting in the clear dome of a flying saucer.

Satisfied that Sting Two was in the proper position, McCutchin checked his warning enunciators. Loaded with AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinders, and 940 rounds for the M-61 Vulcan cannon, the powerful F-15s were ready to add another page to the record book. With over 100 confirmed air-to-air kills — with no losses — the Eagle was considered by many to be the best air superiority fighter in the world.

McCutchin set the flaps and keyed his radio. “Sting One, radio check.”

The other pilots replied in clipped voices.

On McCutchin’s next call, he and his wingman shoved their throttles forward and released their brakes. Belching tongues of white-hot exhaust from the afterburners, the F-15s blasted down the dark runway. With the precision of a seasoned aerial-demonstration team, the two Eagles lifted off the runway in a shallow climb.

Spewing flames from their afterburners, Three and Four were rapidly accelerating to rotation speed.

Seconds later, after the four fighters were aerodynamically clean, McCutchin initiated a smooth transition to a steep climb. Behind his oxygen mask, the flight leader smiled to himself. He was surrounded by some of the best fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force.

Back on the runway, eight F-16 Fighting Falcons taxied into position. Cleared for takeoff, Fang Flight and Rock Flight immediately thundered down the runway in sections of two.

A U.S. Air Force Fast-deploying Air Expeditionary Force, including F-15s from the 1st Fighter Wing, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, F-16s from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah, and the 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, would join F-117s from the 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, to provide a powerful response if Iran mounted an aggressive counterattack.

Navy and Marine aviators would patrol along the southern coast of Iran. The flight crews would act as a barrier between Iran and the Washington battle group. Other U.S. warplanes based in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait would provide additional cover for the U.S. warships. If the pilots were confronted by Iranian aircraft, or Iranian surface-to-air missile sites, the rules of engagement were clear. They were free to respond to any threats.