“The task facing the 305th is not a simple one. We are the lead group in the conversion schedule. Following us will the 509th and 43rd Strategic Recon Groups. Our task is not made easier by an unmistakable fact. The B-58 is a hot ship, one that demands much from its pilot. Through varying causes, mostly pilot error, we have already lost seven in the test program. The Navy are having the same experience with their PB5 Ys.
“The B-58 is a pilot's aircraft but an unforgiving one, once trouble starts it will multiply with frightening speed. It is a major leap forward in technology and many of the on-board systems need refining. In a very real sense, the B-58 is a work in progress. Bringing this new aircraft into operational service means we have much hard work to do. There is a six month training course to bring us all up to speed on our new aircraft. At the end of that we will have to qualify as the first of SACs new RB-58 strategic reconnaissance groups. This is not an option.”
It wasn't an option indeed, the task facing the 3O5th was more urgent than any of the young pilots could realize. The truth was that SAC was facing a crisis. Its whole deterrent value, the whole rationale behind its effectiveness was its invincibility. SAC was invulnerable because people believed it was. Back in 1947, that had been true, during The Big One the B-36s had cruised effortlessly over enemy defenses. That had left an impression everybody believed to this day. But, it was an impression that was already false and growing more so every day.
Every year that had passed had seen more fighters entering service, more missiles being built that could threaten the B-36. Every year had seen the vulnerability of the B-36 increase that much more, the chances of the aircraft getting through to its target decline. The introduction of the B-60 in 1954 had slowed the trend and the arrival of the B-52 two years after that had temporarily stopped it but now it was starting again. SAC was invulnerable because everybody thought it was. If SAC went to war and started losing large numbers of bombers, as it would if things remained the way they were, that perception would end. And the consequences of that happening were dire. In a very real sense, SAC was a bluff and the chance that somebody would call that bluff was increasing steadily.
The RB-58 was an answer to that problem. There was no way that the large, subsonic B-60 and B-52 could outclass the defenses the way the B-36 had done in its prime. There was a new bomber being designed that would outperform the defenses, the B-70 Valkyrie, and would take over their role. The problem was the B-70 was suffering from serious developmental problems with the metal alloys used and with the air feed to the engines. It would be eight or ten years before it entered service in numbers. So, until the B-70 was available, an interim solution was needed. An aircraft that could suppress defenses before the bombers arrived. The RB-58 was that aircraft. And it had to work. It didn't help matters that President LeMay disliked the aircraft and refused to regard it as anything more than an interim answer. Short range was his major criticism, “Fit only for bombing Canada,” had been his most memorable comment. LeMay regarded a B-70 derivative, the RS-70, as the ultimate strategic reconnaissance aircraft but that lay even further in the future than its bomber sibling. So, despite his dislike, the RB-58 was it, for years to come.
“Gentlemen, we have much to learn indeed. We have twelve of our new aircraft here with more arriving over the next few days. The first eleven designated crews may go to the flight line and find their aircraft. Captain Kozlowski, introduce yourself to your new lady friend.” That brought a laugh from the assembled pilots, most of whom were jealous of the fact that Kozlowski had already found his partner. Still, General Declan though, being the son of the Hero of Ploesti had its penalties as well as its privileges - and the kid had the good sense not to trade too heavily on the prestige the Kozlowski name carried in SAC.
How long this ceremony would continue was an open guess. The bean-counters and efficiency experts were already claiming that it made no sense to assign an aircraft to a specific pilot, that it would be more effective for the crews to take the first available aircraft on the flightline. They might be right, but it wouldn't happen in his group on his watch. And it wouldn't happen as long as General Dedmon commanded SAC. The parade broke up, one group moving towards the barracks and the O-club, a smaller group walking towards the aircraft parked on the flight line. Ahead of them, a single figure had given up the pretence at patience and was running towards Marisol.
President's Residence, New Delhi, India
“Her Excellency, the Ambassador-Plenipotentiary From The Kingdom of Thailand”
Sir Martyn Sharpe beamed with genuine pleasure. “Ambassador, it is good to see you again. Please take a seat. May I offer you a drink? We have some Johnny Walker Blue Label you may enjoy.”
Sir Martyn poured a drink for his guest. He'd known the Ambassador for twelve years, ones that had treated her very kindly. There were a few laughter lines around the mouth, a few crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes, calluses on her trigger finger, but she could still be mistaken for a woman a decade or more younger. Yet in those years she had been at the center of the political maneuvering that had lead to the formation of the Triple Alliance and was now in the middle of the political maneuvering that accompanied the quiet battle for who dominated that alliance.
Perhaps battle was the wrong word, jockeying for position would be better. The three-cornered alliance between India, Australia and ASEAN was too important to be endangered by serious disagreement. There had been problems certainly, especially with Indonesia. The old Dutch East Indies had broken up. The core had remained a Moslem state but the easternmost islands around Timor, the Christian dominated ones, had become an Australian protectorate, a part of Australia's remarkable maritime 'empire'. Bali and a couple of smaller Hindu-dominated islands had become Indian protectorates. The diplomatic furore that had accompanied that split had strained the Triple Alliance badly.
Now, Sir Martyn thought it was time to rebuild the Triple Alliance and strengthen it. What was past was past and what was done was done. The future was ever more important. With the de-facto merger of Japan and China (some people were already calling it Chipan) settling down and becoming stronger, the dangers it presented made the penalties resulting from losing an argument within the Triple Alliance comparatively inconsequential.
The key was ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, another new creation and one for which the Ambassador had been largely responsible. The US had given the Philippines its independence in 1946 as it had promised and Indonesia had established its freedom from colonial rule in 1947, after The Big One. Thailand had been quick to form a regional grouping that expanded to include Malaya and equally quick to ensure its unobtrusive but absolute domination of that group, It was the standard pattern of the late 1940s and early 1950s, Thailand was using its strong economy and moral position as the one country in the area that had never been colonized to establish financial and political leadership. Combined with the prestige it had won by its defeat of France in 1940, it gave the country political punch far above its apparent weight. In effect, India, Australia and Thailand were equal partners in the Triple Alliance and their maneuverings had a certain good humor about them.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit Madam?”
“Firstly, our new Prime Minister, General Sarit, wishes me to pay his respects to you and to the President, He also wishes me to assure you that our new government continues to hold the Indian Government in the highest regard and places the greatest importance on continuing - indeed strengthening - the Triple Alliance. And having dealt with the formalities, let us get down to business. We have a problem. Masanobu Tsuji is on the move again.”