Once the 12th Infantry Division (12th ID) had completed their initial training on the Raptor, they had been redeployed to the Susitna gap along with the new Wolverine Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The Wolverine was the newest IFV in the American arsenal, and was built specifically to augment the Pershing MBT. The Wolverine had the same chassis as the Pershing (and the same armor system), making it a very tough nut to crack. It had a 20mm anti-armor railgun turret and two twin barrel automated .25mm railguns; one mounted in the front of the vehicle just below the 20mm turret, and the second mounted in the rear above the troop carrier compartment. All three railgun systems could be used in either air or ground mode, enabling the vehicle to operate as not just an anti-armor/personnel killer, but also as an air defense platform. The IFV provided not just exceptionally armored protection to the twelve infantrymen it carried, but was an extremely lethal offensive and defensive weapons package.
The 12th ID was primed for combat when the word finally came down about the counter-offensive. The Chinese had been hitting the American lines relentlessly for the past five days. Now it was time for the Americans to introduce the Raptor and the Wolverine to the battlefield.
Captain Shilling came over the battle net saying, “Lieutenant Allen, the battalion is going to move forward in five minutes. Have your vehicles ready to move and stay frosty. They may be expecting us to attack soon.” With that, he abruptly dropped off the net.
Allen thought to himself, “Great. Nothing better than attacking an enemy who knows your about to attack him. This is already a cluster mess, and we haven’t even started this offensive. ”
“Listen up everyone,” Allen said over the platoon battle net, his voice managing to carry well over the low hum of the vehicles’ electric engines. “We are moving out in five minutes. I want Sergeant Liner and Sergeant Lipton’s vehicles to stay in air-attack mode through most of this attack. Your vehicles are responsible for engaging any and all incoming artillery, mortars, missiles and rockets heading towards the platoon and company’s vehicles and positions. The rest of you, continue to look for armored vehicles and infantry and take them out. Those of you manning the twin machine guns, stay alert on those guns and engage any missile teams you see. If we have to dismount and engage the enemy, then remember your training and kill ‘em all.”
Outside the vehicle was a buzz of activity, as hundreds of Wolverines and Pershings began to spin up their engines and prepare to start what was going to the largest tank battle ever on American soil. Over 3,000 M1A4 Abram MBTs would be joining the fray as General Black made the first big attempt to push the Chinese back from the Susitna line.
Major Theodore Cruse’s “Cruiser” flight had completed their training on the new F41 Archangels and had been flying combat operations over Alaska now for nearly two weeks. In that timeframe, they had shot down more enemy aircraft and drones than the Allies had in the previous six months. The F41 was about the size of an F18 Super Hornet, though it was shaped a lot more like an elongated diamond. Because the aircraft leveraged the new EmDrive propulsion, it could take off vertically or from a runway. It would also accelerate from zero to near Mach 10 in seconds, and stop in almost the same time. The aircraft could turn on a dime and had a ceiling of low earth orbit. It also leveraged a refractive armor casing that could deflect laser hits, giving the aircraft the ability to operate in nearly all environments. Where the aircraft was vulnerable was against conventional missiles and shrapnel. The aircraft was incredibly technical, complex and fragile, so if an explosion managed to detonate near it, debris could easily destroy the aircraft. It’s speed and maneuverability were what kept it alive.
“Cruiser, are we going after that Chinese carrier yet or what?” asked Flapjack, one of the other F41 pilots in Captain Cruse’s flight. Lieutenant Jordan Mina (aka “Flapjack”) got his name because he ate twelve pancakes in one sitting during flight school at the local IHOP. The name had stuck ever since.
“Not yet. Our objective today is to clear the skies as best we can for the ground pounders. We have F38Bs and A10s providing ground support and about 90 F38As for air support with us. Stay on your toes guys; this offensive is important,” Cruse replied.
“Angel Flight, Angel Flight, this is Overlord,” called out the flight commander for the AWACS aircraft that were flying over Seattle. Her group had been coordinating part of the air battle over Alaska.
“Go ahead Overlord,” replied Cruse, waiting for their orders.
“Angel Flight, we are tracking 250 bandits heading to Susitna towards our ground units. There is a separate air group forming up over the Chinese carriers that is heading towards our ground attack aircraft as well. We are vectoring you in to attack the enemy fighter aircraft heading towards our ground units. You are weapons free to engage.”
“Copy that Overlord. We are receiving the data and coordinates now. Angels are moving to engage,” said Cruse. He was eager to get his flight of five F41s into the action.
“Ok everyone, you heard the woman. Let’s move to engage those enemy fighters quickly; I want them destroyed at range, and for you to cycle through targets as fast as you can. The pilot with the most kills today wins $1,000 NAD from me,” he said to cheers. Everyone began to line their aircraft up for their attack runs.
The F41s were about 400 miles away from their targets at a remote airbase; they were going to accelerate to Mach 10 for a short period of time and then slow down to a near stop once they were within range of their lasers. They would fire a handful of shots, and then move about 70 miles in a different direction to another attack point and reengage the enemy. This maneuver would be played out over and over again to ensure no enemy planes or missiles were able to get within range of their aircraft.
Air Force Captain Dana Archer (Overlord) watched the radar screen at her console, tracking the five Archangels as they began to engage the enemy aircraft climbing to attack the Americans. Her AWACS aircraft was responsible for running the air-combat operation for the American offensive. This strike was going to be the largest attack of the war and as such, there were several AWACS on duty this morning to assist in handling the enormous air traffic that was starting to fill the air.
Captain Archer was an air battle manager, she was responsible for identifying targets for the manned and drone fighters and then directing them to their targets. Fighters and drones on all sides usually run passive radars rather than active radars when flying combat operations. This is done for several reasons: first, an active radar lights your aircraft up like a Christmas tree for enemy surface-to-air-missiles or SAMs and enemy aircraft running in passive mode. Second, passive mode allows your aircraft to fly through undetected unless someone turns on an active radar. Once the radar is active, it can then detect enemy aircraft in the area. All sides make heavy use of AWACS type aircraft to identify and then guide their sides fighters or drones to the enemy. This enables your aircraft to sneak up on the enemy before they know you are there.