One plane, however, has gone faster than it has—a lot faster, in fact—attaining speeds of over 7,000 km/h, more than Mach 6. That plane, though, never made operational status.
That plane was the NASA-built X-15.
Most aeroplanes use jet engines to propel them through the sky, but jet power has a limit and the SR-71 has found that limit: Mach 3.
The X-15, however, is rocket-powered. It has few moving parts. Instead of shooting ignited compressed air out behind it, an X-15 ignites solid hydrogen fuel. Which makes it less like a jet plane, and more like a missile. Indeed, the X-15 has been described by some observers as a missile with a pilot strapped to it.
Only five X-15s were ever built, and two of those—as Schofield knew—were making an appearance at the Aerostadia Italia Airshow, scheduled to start in a few days.
Schofield leapt out of the Raven, crossed the tarmac with Knight and Rufus by his side.
He gazed at the two X-15s slung from the wings of the B-52.
They weren't big planes. And not exactly pretty either. Just functional—designed to cut through the air at astronomical velocity.
Speed-slanted letters on their tailfins read: NASA. Along the side of each black plane were the words us air force.
Two colonels met Schofield: one American, one Italian.
'Captain Schofield,' the American colonel said, 'the X-15s are ready, fully fuelled and ready to fly. But we have a problem. One of our pilots broke his ribs in a training accident yesterday. There's no way he can handle the G-forces of these things in his condition.'
'I was hoping I could use my own pilot anyway,' Schofield said. He turned to Rufus. 'Think you can handle Mach 6, Big Man?'
A grin cracked Rufus's hairy face. 'Does the Pope shit in the woods?'
The Air Force colonel guided them to the planes. 'We've also received some satellite radar scans from the National Reconnaissance Office. Could be a problem.'
He held up a portable viewscreen the size of a clipboard.
On it were two infra-red snapshots of the south-eastern Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. One wider shot, the other zoomed in.
On the first image, Schofield saw a large cloud of red dots that seemed to be hovering over the Suez Canal area:
On the second satellite photo, the image became clearer. There were about one hundred and fifty dots in the 'cloud'.
'What the hell are those dots?' Rufus said slowly.
The colonel didn't have to answer him, because Schofield already knew.
'They're planes,' he said. 'Fighter jets from at least five different African nations. The French saw them scramble but they didn't know why. Now I do. They're from five African nations that would like to see the world order changed. Nations that do not want to see us stop that last missile hitting Mecca. It's Killian's last safeguard. An aerial armada protecting the final missile.'
The B-52 bomber thundered down the runway with the two X-15s hanging from its outstretched wings.
It soared into the sky, rising steadily to its release height.
Schofield sat with Rufus inside the two-man cockpit of the right-hand X-15. It was a tight fit for Rufus, but he managed. Knight was in the other plane, with a NASA pilot.
Schofield had his CincLock-VII disarm unit strapped to his utility vest, next to the array of other weapons in its pouches. The plan was a long shot—since no-one else in the world could disarm the Chameleon missile aimed at Mecca, he would have to go into the Krask-8 clone in Yemen with only Knight by his side.
They expected resistance to be waiting for them—probably in the form of an African commando unit—so Schofield had requested a Marine team be dispatched from Aden to meet them there. But whether it would arrive in time was another question.
Scott Moseley called in from London.
'Captain, I think I've found what you're looking for,' he said. 'The Atlantic Shipping Company owns two thousand acres of desert in Yemen, about two hundred miles south-west of Aden, right on the mouth of the Red Sea. On that land are the remains of an old Soviet submarine repair facility. Our satellite pics are from the '80s, but it looks like a big warehouse surrounded by some support buildings—'
'That's it,' Schofield said. 'Send me the co-ordinates.'
Moseley did so.
Schofield punched them into his plane's trip computer.
Flight distance to southern Yemen: 5,602 KILOMETRES.
Flight time in an X-15 travelling at 7,000 km/h: 48 MINUTES.
Time till the Mecca ICBM launched: ONE HOUR.
It was going to be close.
'You ready, Rufus?' he said.
'Yeah, baby,' Rufus replied.
When the B-52 reached release height, its pilot came over the comms: lX-15s, we just got word from the USS Nimitz in the Med. She's the only carrier within range of your attack route. She's sending every plane she has to escort you: F-14s, F/A-18s, even five Prowlers have volunteered to ride shotgun for you. You must be one important man, Captain Schofield. Prepare for flight systems check. Release in one minute—'
As the pilot signed off, Knight's voice came over Schofield and Rufus's earpieces. His voice was low, even.
'Hey, Ruf. Good luck, buddy. Remember, you're the best. The best. Stay low. Stay focused. Trust your instincts.'
'Will do, Boss,' Rufus said. 'Thanks.'
'And Schofield,' Knight said.
'Yes?'
'Bring my friend back alive.'
'I'll try,' Schofield said softly.
The B-52 pilot spoke again. 'Flight systems check is complete. We are go for launch. Gentlemen, prepare for release. On my mark, in five, four . . .'
Schofield stared forward, took a deep, deep breath.
'Three . . .'
Rufus gripped his control stick firmly.
'Two . . .'
Over in his plane, Knight looked over at Schofield and Rufus on the other wing.
'One . . . mark.'
CLUNK-CLUNK!
The two X-15s dropped from the wings of the B-52 bomber, swooping briefly before—
'Engaging rocket thrusters . . . now!' Rufus said.
He hit the thrust controls.
The X-15's tail cone ignited, hurling its afterburner flame a full hundred feet into the air behind it.
Schofield was thrown back into his seat with a force he had never even imagined.
His X-15 shot off into the sky—cracking the air with sonic booms, literally ripping the fabric of the sky—its flight signature just one continuous roar that would be heard all the way across the Mediterranean Sea.
And so the two X-15s rocketed to the south-east, toward the Suez Canal and the Red Sea and a small decrepit base in Yemen from which a Chameleon missile would soon be launched, a missile that would shatter the existing world order.
In their way: the greatest aerial armada ever assembled by man.
After only twenty minutes of flying, Rufus caught sight of it.
'Oh my Lord . . .' he breathed.
They hung in the orange evening sky like a swarm of insects: the squadron of African fighters.
It was an incredible sight—a veritable wall of moving pinpoints spread out across the Egyptian coastline, guarding the airspace over the Suez Canal.
One hundred and fifty warplanes.
All manner of fighter planes made up the aerial armada.
Old planes, new planes, red planes, blue planes—anything that could carry a missile—a motley collection of once-great fighters purchased from First World nations after their First World use-by dates had expired.