Richard Herman
The Warbirds
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This novel is a work of fiction and is based on my experiences and extensive research. My goal was to tell a story with realistic scenarios using facts available in the public sector. As an author, I did take the liberty of changing things around and putting them together in new combinations, creating fictitious places, organizations, weapons systems, etc. There is no RAF Stonewood, Ras Assanya, Watch Center, Outpost, RC-135, Stealth reconnaissance aircraft, etc. as described in this story. They are composites based on ideas and facts that I picked up while doing research and are a product of my imagination. If they seem realistic and add to the story, so much the better.
TECHNICAL TERMS
ACT: Air Combat Tactics; dogfighting.
ACTIVE, THE: Main runway in use.
AILERON ROLL: A rolling maneuver along the longitudinal axis of an aircraft induced by the aileron controls on the trailing edge of the wing.
AIM: The designation for a U.S. air-to-air missile, e.g., AIM-9.
AIRCRAFT COMMANDER: The pilot in command of an aircraft regardless of the rank of any other officer on board.
ALCE: Airlift Command Element. A small command post in MAC used for controlling the movement of cargo and aircraft.
ATC: Air Traffic Control or an air traffic control agency.
BACKSEATER: A Weapon Systems Officer.
BANDIT: A hostile aircraft.
BARREL, THE: Slang for alert duty, being on alert, or the alert facility.
BARRIER: Arrestment cables stretched across each end of a runway. The hook of a fighter aircraft can be lowered to catch the cable for an emergency stop, much like an aircraft carrier landing.
BDA: Bomb Damage Assessment: a post-attack evaluation of results.
BM-21: Soviet-built, truck rocket launcher. Carries forty 122-mm unguided rockets.
BOGIE: An unidentified aircraft.
BRICK: Nickname for a small hand-held radio; a walkie-talkie.
CAP: Combat Air Patrol. A protective umbrella of fighters.
CBU: Cluster Bomb Unit. An aircraft-delivered anti-personnel weapon that spews baseball-sized bomblets over a wide area.
COIC: Combined Operations Intelligence Center.
COMM OUT: Communications out. Operating without radio or telephone communications.
DEFCON: Defense Condition. A state of warning/alert. DEFCON ONE is highest.
DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency.
DM: Deputy for Maintenance.
DO: Deputy for Operations.
FEBA: Forward Edge of the Battle Area, i.e., the front, the battlefield.
FEET WET: Flying over water.
FIR: Flight Information Region.
FLOGGER: NATO code name for the Soviet-built Mikoyan MiG-23 fighter. Comes in different models, e.g. Flogger B, Flogger J, etc.
FOX ONE: Brevity code for a radar-guided air-to-air missile.
FOX TWO: Brevity code for an infrared-guided air-to-air missile.
FOX THREE: Brevity code for an aircraft’s cannon.
FRAG ORDER: The operations order that sends aircraft into combat.
GCA: Ground Control Radar Approach. The GCA controller “talks” the aircraft down.
GCI: Ground Control Intercept.
HSI: Horizontal Situation Indicator: the main instrument the pilot uses for navigation. Incorporates a compass rose, bearing pointers, and range indicator.
IFF: Identification, Friend or Foe: a radar transponder used for aircraft identification by ground-based radars.
IG: Inspector General.
INSPECTOR GENERAL: A specific organization in an armed service that conducts inspections and investigates complaints.
IP: Initial Point: a small, easily identifiable, easily found point on the ground close to a target. It serves as the last checkpoint and points the way to the target.
JINK: Continuous random changes in altitude and heading to defeat tracking by an enemy.
JUDY: Brevity code for the aircrew taking over an air-to-air intercept from a GCI controller.
JUSMAG: Joint United States Military Advisory Group. They are in charge of U.S. military aide and advice in a foreign country.
LOX: Liquid oxygen.
MAC: Military Airlift Command. Formerly MATS.
MARK-82: Designator for five-hundred-pound bombs.
MAVERICK: An electro-optical guided anti-tank rocket.
MC: Mission Capable: an aircraft ready to fly its mission.
NOTAMS: Notice to Airmen. Published notices warning pilots of hazardous or unusual conditions.
NOSE GUNNER: Nickname for pilot in two-place fighter aircraft.
NRO: National Reconnaissance Office. Manages U.S. spy satellite program.
NSA: The National Security Agency. The largest and most secret Intelligence agency. It uses satellites, huge computers, and other sophisticated technological means of gathering intelligence. Also breaks codes.
OB: Order of Battle: listing of hostile armed forces by type, strength and location.
OER: Officer Effectiveness Report: the report card issued on an officer by his commander, critical to promotion and career advancement.
PITTER: Nickname for a Weapon Systems Officer.
PUZZLE PALACE: The Pentagon.
ORI: Operational Readiness Inspection: an inspection of a unit’s ability to carry out its assigned wartime mission. Conducted by the IG.
PSI: Fictional. Abbreviation for People’s Soldiers of Islam, the military arm of the Iranian Communist Tudeh Party.
RADAR CONTROL POST: a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) site that controls and reports on aircraft.
RAMP: The concrete or asphalt apron used for parking aircraft; the sloping entranceway for loading an aircraft.
RDF: Rapid Deployment Force: a highly mobile, quick-reaction, combined-unit combat force.
RECCY: Slang for reconnaissance.
RED FLAG: A recurring exercise at Nellis AFB, outside Las Vegas, Nevada, that tries to create a battlefield environment, simulating combat. Used for training aircrews in the disorientation and sensory overload of combat.
RHAW: Radar Homing and Warning: Equipment that warns aircrews about radar threats.
RTB: Return to base.
SA: Designation for a Soviet-built surface-to-air missile, e.g., SA-3.
SAM: Any surface-to-air missile.
SNAKEYE: Five-hundred-pound high-explosive bomb that can be selected in flight for either “slick” or “retarded” (high-drag) delivery.
SPO: Special Project Office: A specific organization in the Air Force responsible for developing a specific weapon system, e.g. the F-15.
STINGER: U.S.-built, shoulder-held, surface-to-air missile. Extremely effective.
SUU-21: A dispenser hung on a wing pylon carrying six practice bomblets for use on a gunnery range.
TAC: Tactical Air Command.
TAC EVAL: A NATO Tactical Evaluation, similar to an ORI but much more focused on results.
TDY: Temporary Duty: assignment away from home station for short periods of time — supposedly.
TLP: Tactical Leadership Program, NATO’s version of Red Flag.
TOT: Time over target.
TRASH HAULER: Slang for cargo aircraft or aircrews that fly them.
TRIPLE A: Anti-aircraft artillery.
TWEAK: Slang for tune-up, or to slightly improve.
UAC: Fictional. Abbreviation for United Arab Command, the military arm of a political alliance between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait.
VOQ: Visiting Officers’ Quarters.
WEAPON(S) SYSTEMS OFFICER: Flies in backseat of fighter. Combination radar operator, bombardier, electronic countermeasures operator, radio operator, observer, and co-pilot. By nature a very trusting soul.
WEAPONS TIGHT: An air defense term ordering air defense weapons to only engage targets positively identified as hostile.
WIZZO: Slang for WSO (Weapons Systems Officer).
ZSU-23: Soviet-built 23-mm Triple A, an excellent air-defense weapon. ZSU-23-2 is two-barrel version. ZSU-23-4 is mobile, radar-laid, four-barrel version — to be avoided.