“Radar four has an ISAR probable on that return, calling it a EF4-class destroyer… now picking up escorts, probably as many as four, within ten miles of EF4.” The ISAR, or Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar, mounted in the two prominent fairings on the underside of the RC-135’s fuselage, could paint a nearly three-dimensional picture of a ship and, by combining it with a computer data base of thousands of such radar images, could usually match the radar image with a ship in its computer memory. The larger the ship, the more accurate the match, and a destroyer-class vessel was a very large radar return.
“Jeez, they got some pretty fancy firepower out here,” Blanchard said. “A destroyer-class boat this far south.” She turned to the forward part of the aircraft. “Comm, code and send immediately to Andersen and Offutt on separate channels the position of that last contact. It’s the biggest gun the Chinese have this far south — I want to make sure everybody knows about it.” To the radar operator, she asked, “What’s our range to that EF4?”
“Range, four-seven nautical miles,” the operator reported.
“That’s close enough,” Blanchard said to Fruntz. Fruntz was already leafing through pages of computerized text on the EF4 class of Chinese destroyers. “What’s the scouting report on those things?”
“Antiship and antisubmarine missile destroyers,” Fruntz read. “About ten in the Chinese inventory, possibly with five more in ready reserve and five more overseas. Helicopter pad, big-time antiship launchers… holy shit, listen to this gun fit: four 130-millimeter dual purpose, eight 57-millimeter or 37-millimeter antiaircraft guns, and four 25-millimeter antiaircraft guns. Rice Screen three-D long-range air-defense radar system — they call it a ‘mini-Aegis’ system — X- band ERF-1 or X-band Rice Lamp fire-control radar for the guns. Some fitted with Phalanx self-defense guns, Ku-band radar.”
“Anything about antiair missiles?”
“Yes… helicopter pad removed from some vessels and replaced with various stem-mounted missile systems,” Fruntz replied. “Some fitted possibly with HQ-61 missiles, one twin mount, Fog Lamp H- or I-band fire control, max range of missile, six nautical miles — pretty small missile. Others possibly with French naval Crotale, max range eight nautical miles, X-band fire control. Some with HQ-91 French Masurca dual-rail mount… shit, max range thirty nautical miles, S-band pulse-Doppler tracker.”
“As far as we’re concerned, we’ll assume the worst case,”
Blanchard said. “Forty miles out from that EF4 is perfect for now.” She paused for a moment, then added, “But that Rice Screen radar has me worried. That’s a no-shit early warning and fighter intercept radar system. Why have a boat with that kind of radar on board way out here unless—” “Flashlight, Flashlight, Flashlight, this is Basket,” the radio report interrupted. Basket was the call sign of the E-3C Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System radar plane that had accompanied the RC-135 on this mission. The AWACS plane could scan for hundreds of miles in all directions, locating aircraft at all altitudes and vector friendly fighters in to intercept. Emergency reports from an AWACS controller were always prefaced by calling out a sortie’s call sign three times — the RC-135 was under attack. “Bandits at your twelve o’clock, Blue plus five-five, flight level zero- niner-zero, speed five hundred.”
Range calls were always given in color codes in case the enemy fighters somehow were able to eavesdrop on the encrypted radio messages between aircraft; Blue meant fifty miles, Yellow meant twenty miles, Red meant zero miles, and Green meant subtract twenty miles. When a dogfight started, the controller would drop the color codes and issue warnings as fast as he could. All radar targets were being called “bandits,” or hostile targets, in this area with Chinese troops nearby — of course, anytime a target began flying over five hundred knots, it was automatically considered an enemy fighter until proven otherwise.
“Showing four targets now, Blue plus forty, speed passing five-zero-zero. Bullet flight, take spacing and stand by.” The AWACS plane not only issued warnings to Flashlight, the RC-135X plane, but also to Shamu Three-One, the KC-10 aerial refueling tanker that was supporting both the Navy and Air Force planes on this mission; two KA-6 Navy tankers to use as tactical spare refueling aircraft; and four Navy F-14A Tomcat fighters of VF-2 Bullets from the USS
