Major Runyon interrupted to ask, “ — Assuming this all goes according to plan, how are we going to get out? I suspect the Russians probably have other air defense assets in the area.” He was not sure he was going to like the response he was about to be given.
An Air Force LNO replied, “They may have additional air defense units in the area. We are going to have a couple of jamming aircraft loitering over friendly skies to assist in your recovery. When the time comes, they will turn their jammers on and blanket the area. This should neutralize any additional air defense systems.”
A member of the Night Stalkers picked up where the Air Force LNO stopped, “Once you have secured the prisoners, you will send the coded message, letting us know you are ready for extraction. The exfil aircraft will be loitering at this location here, roughly five minutes from your location. We will be using three of our new and experimental V-280 ‘Valor’ tilt-rotor wing helicopters for the exfil. They will be escorted by a pair of Apaches.”
Several of the men let out a soft whistle as they looked at the image of the V-280. “I was not aware that the Night Stalkers had a new helicopter,” General Luka said in admiration.
“This will actually be our first mission using them,” explained a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) from the Night Stalkers. “We started training on them about three months ago. We did not plan on using them in an operation for at least another year, but because of the air defense threat of this mission, it was felt they should be used. They are not stealth per se, but they have a significantly reduced radar signature and are extremely quiet for a helicopter.”
“As long as we don’t end up with a scenario where one crashes like what happened on the bin Laden raid back in 2012,” Colonel Richards said. He was unsure if this was a good idea, but he had been overruled on the decision.
The CW4 added, “This is why we are bringing a third one with us. They can carry eleven soldiers and their gear, more than enough room for this mission.”
Major Runyon asked another question, “What air support do we have? Also, what will be the contingency plan if things go downhill fast?” No one wanted to think about the worst-case scenario, but Runyon’s personal philosophy was that you plan for it, then you have a better chance of survival.
The JSOC briefer piped up, “This is why the rest of your Delta group and the Ranger Company are here in Ukraine. They are your Quick Reaction Force if you need to be bailed out. The Night Stalkers have four Blackhawks and three Chinooks, along with another two Apache helicopters on standby. They will lift off once you guys start your insertion, so they will be loitering over friendly skies, ready to move if given the order. As to air support, the Air Force will have one of their electronic jamming aircraft initiate a full-spectrum jamming across the targeted area. They will take the Russian communications system down immediately once you are in place; they will also make sure their radars are down when it comes time to exfil. If things really go south, there are also two F-35s loitering at high altitude ready to provide direct air support if needed.”
The Air Force LNO jumped back in to add, “We know that if the strikes are needed, they will pose a threat to our own forces by proximity, so the F-35s will each be carrying four 250 lbs. Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) and two 500 lbs. JDAMs, which are small enough and precise enough to carry out a surgical hit. Beyond that, we have a Spector gunship that will be on standby on the runway here at the airport along with four additional F-16s carrying more JDAMs.” The LNO’s tone implied that this was probably overkill.
General Luka then spoke up, “Listen, we are hoping this operation will go off smoothly. We understand you are going to hit some resistance, but we do not want to escalate the situation any further than it already has. You guys are the best special operators we have. Just get in, neutralize the guards, and get our people out of there.”
John Williams, the CIA man, sensed the apprehension in the room as the gravity of the mission began to sink in. He decided to try and rally the crew. “Look, it’s an awful situation we find ourselves in, but we have two operators being held captive, and we do not leave a man behind. You guys are going to go in there and get our guys back. Plain and simple.”
The briefing ended after a few more questions. The operators who had been assigned to the mission began to discuss the plans amongst themselves. They went over who would be responsible for taking out each guard, their sectors of fire, and how they would proceed. The men spent the better part of two hours deliberating every aspect of the mission with the briefers before they felt they had a firm grasp on exactly how things were going to go down. When they were done talking it through, it was 2300 hours, and they were set to board the C17 that would take them to their jump points at 0130. The real festivities were scheduled to begin around 0300, roughly an hour before the next shift change between the guards.
It was relatively dark in the back of the C-17 as the Delta team got ready for perhaps their most dangerous mission in decades. The aircraft had reached its cruising altitude for the jump and the pilot had already dimmed the cargo lights and switched them over to a soft red tone. The two crew chiefs began to walk towards the back of the aircraft and started to lower the ramp at the rear of the plane. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, until they could begin to see everything without additional lighting; the men began to get themselves mentally ready to make this dangerous night insertion into separatist territory.
As the cool night air started to circulate through the back of the aircraft, Major Runyon wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He stood up and moved towards the ramp with the rest of his team. The men began the ritual of checking and double-checking their equipment, and the aircraft tilted to one side as it made one final correction. As the aircraft leveled out again, the jump light turned red, indicating it was time for them to get ready. The crew chiefs lowered the ramp the rest of the way, opening the back of the aircraft to the black abyss below. Then the light turned from red to green, and the eighteen operators began to disgorge from the aircraft to attempt a high-stakes rescue.
As the wind whipped past his face, Brian couldn’t help but think how insane this mission was… they were jumping into what was essentially a Russian Special Forces base. This was a far cry from the previous assignments they had undertaken, going after Islamic extremists and the occasional drug lord. This was a mission against a legitimate army, one that trained tirelessly to fight America.
In the operations room at the airfield, the JSOC team (along with the CIA and SDO) watched the various helmet cams and drone feeds of the mission on large 50-inch screens, anxious as the team members began their approaches to the target. The first team was just coming into weapons range and would start to engage the guards soon.
The four team members of Alpha broke off from the group and headed stealthily through the woods in the direction of the SA-19; they winded their way through the brush and undergrowth silently, like only trained operators could do. Once they arrived at their checkpoint, they would neutralize the guard force and prepare to blow up the missile system remotely. Two of Bravo team’s six-man group assembled their sniper rifles and moved quickly to their over-watch positions. As soon as they got settled into their spot 400 yards away from the compound, they would engage the guards on the roof. It was a good evening for them to get off clear shots — there was barely any wind, and it was just overcast enough to block some of the light of the moon, so the Russians would be less likely to see them coming. Once the roof guards had been taken out, they would shift their fire to the rest of the guard force, allowing time for the rest of the Bravo, Charlie and Delta teams to move into the compound.