EKS — Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema, advanced Russian early warning system
Elektron — Russian manned spaceplane
Energia-5VR — Russian heavy-lift rocket
ERO — Emergency Return from Orbit, a crew escape system capable of returning a crewman from Earth orbit
EVA — extravehicular activity; spacewalk
FSB — Federal’naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti, Russian intelligence service that replaced the KGB
gapa — Polish pilot’s wings
GMD — Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, part of the U.S. missile defense system
GRU — Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye, former Soviet military intelligence service
HeliVert AW139 — AgustaWestland medium-transport helicopter
HK416 — German assault rifle
Hobnail — Russian space-based laser attack system
HUD — heads-up display, a system that projects vital information to a screen in front of the pilot so he does not have to look down
HUMINT — human intelligence, using spies to gather intelligence
IKS — identifikatsionnyy kod samolet, Russian radar identification system
JP-8 — military aviation gasoline
Ka-52 — Kamov-52, Russian armed scout helicopter
Kibernetischeskiye Voyennyye Mashiny (KVM) — manned Russian combat robot
Kościuszko Land Forces Military Academy — Polish military academy
LEAF — Life Enhancing Assistive Facility, a mobile wearable life-support device
LPDRS — Laser Pulse Detonation Rocket System, advanced spacecraft propulsion system
MALD — miniature air-launched decoy, an advanced American aircraft defense system
MARAUDER — magnetically accelerated ring to achieve ultrahigh directed energy and radiation, experimental American plasma weapon
Mars Project — Russian manned space station project
MiG-31 — Russian high-speed high-altitude jet fighter
MOOSE — Manned Orbital Operations Safety Equipment, experimental American astronaut rescue system
Mossberg 500 — special-purpose shotgun
OAK — FAA designation for Oakland International Airport
Orion — NASA manned spacecraft system
PKP — Russian special-operations machine gun
PLSS — Primary Life Support System, an American astronaut’s backpack
Rapira — “Rapier,” Russian space-based Earth attack weapon
Razdan — Russian electro-optical satellite
RD-0150 and RD-171MV — Russian rocket engines
S-9 Black Stallion, S-19 Midnight, S-29 Shadow — American single-stage-to-orbit spaceplanes
S-300, S-400, S-500 — Russian surface-to-air missiles
SAM — surface-to-air missile
SBIRS — Space Based Infrared System, advanced American early warning system
Scimitar — Russian spacecraft defense system
SCT-2 — thermal imaging gun sights
SERE — Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, training soldiers receive to prepare them for combat
SFO — FAA code for San Francisco International Airport
SpaceX Falcon Heavy — SpaceX heavy-lift rocket
Su-27, Su-30, Su-35 — advanced Russian fighter aircraft
Thunderbolt (Udar Molnii) — Russian space-based plasma weapon
Wasp — Russian air-launched antisatellite weapon
Wren Bravo — very light reconnaissance drone
XCV-62 Ranger — American stealthy short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft
XS-39 — next-generation experimental American single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane
About the Author
DALE BROWN is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, beginning with Flight of the Old Dog (1987) to, most recently, The Moscow Offensive (2018). A former U.S. Air Force captain, he can often be found flying his own plane in the skies of the United States. He lives near Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
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Also by Dale Brown
The Moscow Offensive
Price of Duty
Iron Wolf
Starfire
Tiger’s Claw
A Time for Patriots
Executive Intent
Rogue Forces
Shadow Command
Strike Force
Edge of Battle
Act of War
Plan of Attack
Air Battle Force
Wings of Fire
Warrior Class
Battle Born
The Tin Man
Fatal Terrain
Shadows of Steel
Storming Heaven
Chains of Command
Night of the Hawk
Sky Masters
Hammerheads
Day of the Cheetah
Silver Tower
Flight of the Old Dog