“New silencing technology?” Perry asked. “That makes sense. Silencing technology takes up space, hence the larger size. But wouldn’t the Russians use it on their submarines first?”
“Actually, it would be easier to implement on a smaller vehicle than a larger one, and I would submit that a strategic nuclear system has an even higher priority than general-purpose submarines. If such technology exists, we might eventually see it on strategic-missile submarines now beginning construction, but it will likely be fielded first on these torpedoes by the end of the summer.”
“That could narrow our search considerably,” Perry observed.
“Yes, it does,” Ryskov replied, smiling. “Assuming my hypothesis is correct. Since you haven’t uncovered any flaws in my logic, I should tell you that after extinguishing several small fires on my staff, I’ve directed everyone in my section to concentrate their search on quieting technologies: acoustics, materials, hydrodynamics. For example, what if you could design a nuclear reactor of that size and power output that didn’t need pumps or other supporting machinery? Or what if they’ve discovered a way to simply heat water with the reactor and expel it out the back? I know we’ve investigated those concepts ourselves in the past, but discarded them as unworkable.”
Perry grabbed a notepad. “I’ll restructure the searches I’ve already ordered. There’s always the risk we will find nothing, but it’s a good place to start.”
“And hopefully whatever you find will corroborate whatever we find.”
Knowing where to look had made all the difference. Perry was still working on his notes when Chief of Staff Sellers warned him softly, “The president is en route.”
Dr. Perry had never been at a National Security Council meeting before, but he’d picked a good one to start with. Held to provide recommendations to the president on current national security issues, it was usually chaired by the vice president, and attended only by those agencies that were involved. That typically meant an undersecretary or a department head, and empty chairs were common.
There were no empty chairs at this short-notice session, with the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the national security advisor, Bill Hyland, and numerous intelligence officials present and looking very interested.
He saw everyone start to stand up, and turned to see President Hardy, with Secretary of State Lloyd in close formation, come in. Lloyd’s arrival caused a small delay as a seat was found for him, which then caused a ripple as the pecking order was adjusted.
The president’s seat was arm’s length from the podium where Perry stood. Some chief executives liked to be at the far end of the table, but Hardy preferred to be close to the briefer. Luckily, having spoken to him two days earlier had removed some of Perry’s jitters. Besides, he was focused on his news.
Perry’s brief was short, and he carefully avoided all mention of the original source of information — the Tensor compartment. The first slide was a diagram of the Status-6, which was familiar to most of the people in the room, but below it was the larger, modified version, with a missile in the front instead of a nuclear warhead.
The second slide showed the difference in capability, with a U.S. map marking likely coastal cities that would be targets for the first weapon, and then a colored band that ran 430 miles inland from each coast, showing how much of the continental U.S. it could reach. Perry heard a few quiet comments, but the bad news was still ahead.
“Here’s the base they will be launched from,” he said, and he put up a map showing Bolshevik Island, far to the north, and range/time circles showing how far the Status-6 could reach. It was almost certain that the new weapon would go just as far, which included the entire east coast of the United States.
“This all might seem a little academic for what our intelligence people tell us is a strategic second-strike weapon.” Heads bobbed as many nodded their understanding.
“But it’s only a second-strike weapon because the Status-6 is unbelievably noisy. It would take many hours to even reach the UK, much less our coast. We really don’t have an effective way to stop them once they are launched, but the Status-6 will never be called ‘stealthy.’”
He smiled at what seemed like a small joke, but it was a grim smile. “We have determined that the new weapon not only has a different warhead, but we believe a radically different internal structure surrounding the reactor and engine. This is the reason for the increased diameter. The reactor and propulsion turbine are, of course, the two main sources of radiated noise from the weapon. A new sheath, made of nanomaterial, completely encloses them in a structure that is very strong, but also absorbs and diffuses vibrations, which are what become noise when they reach the outer shell of the torpedo. Flow noise can be mitigated by an exterior coating and designing the propulsor properly.”
Perry paused, and checked President Hardy’s reaction. He knew Hardy’s background, and that he would understand what this meant. “We conservatively estimate the reduction will make the new torpedo about as quiet as a Russian third-generation nuclear submarine, of course while still traveling at one hundred knots. It is possible that it may be even quieter.”
Bill Hyland, the only person in the room who didn’t look surprised, nodded confirmation. “I reviewed Dr. Perry’s findings before I suggested this emergency meeting. There’s not only scientific literature describing the early stages of this acoustic metamaterial technology, but we’ve been able to locate recent upgrades and activity at an acoustic range located at a lake in Russia. They’d never test this in the open ocean, where there’s a chance they’d be observed.”
Perry could see a mixture of reactions to the new information. Hardy, who was working it out, looked thoughtful. Others were simply puzzled, but a few faces held expressions of horror or disbelief. As he turned off the flat-screen display, he could see Hardy understood, and Perry connected the dots for those who still didn’t understand.
“The Russians can launch these weapons and we will almost certainly not hear them approach. When the Tsitrin missile is launched, it will fly so fast that our air defenses won’t have time to react, and its 150-kiloton warhead will burn the heart out of any American city it strikes. State-of-the-art satellite guidance systems will place the warhead within a few meters of its intended impact point; meaning even hardened installations are vulnerable.
“As terrible as a twenty-plus megaton warhead detonating off the coast of New York or Boston sounds, this weapon is an even greater threat. The most telling case, of course, is Washington, D.C. The Status-6 torpedo could never have negotiated the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to strike here. The river meanders too much and the water’s too shallow. The Dragon torpedo, with the Tsitrin missile, could put a weapon into the Oval Office or the south entrance of the Pentagon five minutes after it leaves the water off the coast.
“This new torpedo gives the Russians the ability to launch a decapitating nuclear first strike on the United States, with virtually no warning.”
8
DETERMINATION
“… don’t know what the Russian name for the weapon is, but it has been assigned the NATO designation ‘SS-NX-35 Shashka.’ The ‘SS-N’ part means it is fired from a surface ship or submarine against a target on the surface. The ‘X’ means it is an experimental system, not in operational service yet, and ‘Shashka’ is the weapon’s nickname assigned by NATO — a type of Russian sword. NATO names for Russian missiles always begin with an ‘S.’” Defense Secretary Richfield looked up from the one-page press release at a Pentagon briefing room packed with reporters. “I can take a few questions.”