DEDICATION
This novel is dedicated to all who rise up against tyranny, intimidation, and aggression, not just in Eastern Europe but around the world.
The violence we are seeing in 2015 rivals anything we have seen since the end of the Cold War, and the world needs leaders who have the strength, courage, and vision to lead others to engage and defeat the aggressors.
Whether it is by massive armies or navies, by small teams of special operations forces, or by an entirely new class of high-tech weapons and tactics, free nations and those praying for freedom need a leader to devise a plan, lead warriors into battle, and get the job done.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to author and visionary Patrick Larkin for his hard work.
EPIGRAPH
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
—Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady
CONTENTS
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
Weapons and Aircraft
Real-World News Excerpts
Cast of Characters
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Dale Brown
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
WEAPONS AND AIRCRAFT
ADM-160—Medium-Range Air-Launched Decoy (MALD), a heavy aircraft defensive cruise missile
AGM-154A—Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), GPS-inertial navigation guided glide weapon
AGM-158—Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, advanced long-range precision strike weapon
AGM-88 HARM—High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, air-launched antiradar missile
ALQ-293 SPEAR—Self-Protection Electronically Agile Reaction, an integrated aircraft defense suite
AN/APG-81—advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground aircraft radar
AWACS—Airborne Warning and Control System, an airborne radar that can detect aircraft from hundreds of miles and vector interceptor aircraft
Beriev-100—Russian AWACS aircraft
BLU-97B—Combined Effects Munition antipersonnel mine
BTR-80—Russian armored personnel carrier
CID—Cybernetic Infantry Device, an advanced manned combat robot
CLAM SHELL—Russian antiaircraft radar
DTF—Digital Terrain Following, using a global terrain and obstacle database for extreme low-level flying
F-22 Raptor—U.S. Air Force air superiority fighter aircraft
F-35 Lightning II—U.S. medium bomber and attack aircraft HEMI, 520
HUD—Heads-Up Display, an electronic device that presents important flight data in front of a pilot
IRSTS—Infrared Search and Track System, a sensor that detects heat and can feed targeting data to a computer
KAB-500L—Russian laser-guided bomb
M320—forty-millimeter grenade launcher
MH-47—American heavy-lift helicopter
MiG-29—third-generation Russian air superiority fighter, used by a number of former Soviet countries
MQ-55 Coyote—advanced unmanned air weapon launch platform
MSBS Radom—Polish assault rifle
OSCE—Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an intergovernmental organization promoting peace, security, and human rights
RDX—Research Department Explosive, a widely used military explosive
ROCC—Remote Operations Control Center, a location with many unmanned aircraft control stations
RPG-22—shoulder-fired antitank weapon
RQ-20 Vedette—small, stealthy unmanned airborne threat-warning aircraft
SNR-125—Russian air defense radar system
SPY-1 Aegis—American air defense radar system
Su-34—Russian modernized second-generation fighter-bomber
Su-50—Russian fifth-generation multirole stealthy fighter
Sukhoi-30—Russian fourth-generation multirole fighter
Sukhoi-35—Russian advanced air superiority fighter
T-72—Soviet second-generation main battle tank, widely exported around the world
T-80—third-generation Soviet main battle tank, widely exported
XV-40—unmanned tilt-rotor aircraft used for covert, rapid supply and insertion
REAL-WORLD NEWS EXCERPTS
EMERGING ALLIANCE IN EUROPE—George Friedman, Stratfor.com, June 12, 2014— . . . The term “Intermarium” itself comes from a Polish general and founder of modern Poland, General Pilsudski. He was dealing with the same geopolitical problem that exists now. He had a Russia, a Soviet Union that was in the 1920s, increasingly assertive and pressing on his frontiers and the frontiers of the rest of what we now call Central Europe. Behind him he had a Germany that at that time was unclear with its intentions. Poland had emerged from World War I with these two empires clearing the way, so his question was how to preserve Polish independence.
He had really two strategies since he wasn’t strong enough to defeat them. One had somebody from the outside guarantee their security and that was France for him, but he didn’t really trust that this would be sufficient, so he imagined an alliance that ran from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, including countries at the time like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and possibly Turkey. This group would serve to contain Russia and would have, instead of an east-west orientation, a north-south orientation . . .
But what I started thinking about was the fact that today Russia was reasserting itself, was going to be reclaiming its priority within the former Soviet Union, repressing on them, and the fact that Germany is once again uncertain. I thought this might be something that would emerge and in a kind of very early protostage, that seems to be what is happening right now . . .
NATO: TOP COMMANDER WARNS AGAINST CRIMEA METHODS IN ALLIED COUNTRIES—© Stratfor.com, August 18, 2014—If Russia does in a NATO state what it did in Crimea, it would be considered an act of war against the alliance, Philip Breedlove, NATO’s top military commander, said Aug. 17, EU Observer reported Aug. 18, citing Die Welt.
Breedlove said NATO nations are prepared for the intervention of armed military without insignia who seek to create unrest, as well as separatists who give military advice and help destabilize a country. If NATO sees such an approach in an allied country and deems it an aggression, it will entail a military response, he said.
NATO: SEVEN MEMBER STATES CREATING NEW RESPONSE FORCE FOR UKRAINE CRISIS—© Stratfor.com, August 30, 2014—Seven NATO member states will create a new response force of 10,000 troops to improve the group’s capabilities as the crisis in Ukraine continues, RIA Novosti reported Aug. 30. Britain will join Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, and the Netherlands in contributing air, land, and sea units, while Canada may join in . . .
RUSSIA: POLAND WILL ONLY RECEIVE MINIMAL AMOUNTS OF NATURAL GAS FROM GAZPROM—© Stratfor.com, Tuesday, September 16, 2014—Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy company, is only capable of supplying Poland with the minimal contracted amount of natural gas and not the quantity requested, a Gazprom spokesperson said, The Warsaw Voice reported Sept. 16.
The spokesperson did not say why the company was reducing natural gas levels to the country. Last week, Poland claimed it was receiving 45 percent less natural gas than expected, but current levels represent an estimated 20 percent drop. Austria and Slovakia have also reportedly experienced a drop in Rus
sian energy imports.
RUSSIA’S AIR POWER CONSOLIDATES CONTROL IN UKRAINE—December 3, 2014 | 1913 GMT—Russia has deployed a significant number of air defense systems to eastern Ukraine, reports from local sources and the Ukrainian security services say. Medium ranged Buk M1M2 air defense systems cover most of the separatist held areas, and shorter ranged systems such as the Pantsir S1, Osa, and Tor cluster around the strategic supply lines running from the Russian border into the main cities of Luhansk and Donetsk. The systems combine to create a layered air defense infrastructure that prevents the Ukrainian air force from using its assets over separatist held areas.
Even though a Sept. 5 cease-fire agreement explicitly rules out Ukrainian air operations over separatist held areas, and the Ukrainian military has not attempted any such operations since then, the Russian move to establish this air defense presence indicates strong commitment to defending the separatist held territory.
The deployment of these air defense systems, as well as measures by artillery units to prevent the Ukrainian military from massing forces for an attack on separatist held areas, seem to serve a mostly defensive objective. However, separatist units continue to fight to expand their territorial hold over smaller areas along certain positions on the front line. They have continued to encircle and then take over Ukrainian checkpoints in areas near Luhansk, while bitter fighting between both sides continues at the Donetsk airport. The Ukrainian military’s positions at Debaltseve, a strategic town that controls the main highway directly connecting Donetsk and Luhansk, have also been contested. As the separatist and Russian forces seek to consolidate their positions there, they may still make significant attempts to seize this location.
Even though the cease-fire has not been completely implemented and skirmishes continue to break out along the front line, the shape and posture of Russian reinforcements do not necessarily indicate a further escalation of the conflict between Ukrainian forces and separatists. Instead, Russia seems to be consolidating the gains made prior to the cease-fire declaration, securing the separatists’ hold on the territory they currently control . . .
CAST OF CHARACTERS
AMERICANS
STACY ANNE BARBEAU, president of the United States of America
TIMOTHY SPELLING, general, U.S. Air Force, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
THOMAS TORREY, CIA director
EDWARD RAUCH, president’s national security adviser
KAREN GRAYSON, secretary of state
LUKE COHEN, White House chief of staff
KEVIN CALDWELL, admiral, U.S. Navy, director of the National Security Agency
ROWLAND HALL, brigadier general, U.S. Marine Corps, top aide to General Spelling
HUNTER “BOOMER” NOBLE, Ph.D., chief of aerospace engineering, Sky Masters Aerospace Inc.
DEKE CARSON, Sky Masters student pilot, U.S. Air Force (ret.)
FRANK TALBOT, officer, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
COMMANDER RUSS GERHARDT, U.S. Navy, air operations officer, CVN-77 USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH
FIRST SERGEANT MIKE IKEDA, U.S. Army, 75th Ranger Regiment
CAPTAIN DANIEL ROJAS, U.S. Army, 75th Ranger Regiment
FIRST LIEUTENANT WILLIAM WEBER, U.S. Air Force, Special Operations Command
IRON WOLF SQUADRON AND SCION
KEVIN MARTINDALE, president of Scion, former president of the United States of America
BRAD MCLANAHAN, commander of the Iron Wolf Squadron’s XF-111 SuperVark bomber unit
PATRICK MCLANAHAN, Cybernetic Infantry Device (CID) pilot, Iron Wolf Squadron ground operations unit, former lieutenant general, U.S. Air Force (ret.)
WAYNE “WHACK” MACOMBER, commander, Iron Wolf Squadron CID operations, former major, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (ret.)
MARK DARROW, XF-111 pilot, Iron Wolf Squadron, former Tornado fighter-bomber pilot, Royal Air Force (ret.)
JACK HOLLENBECK, XF-111 weapons officer, Iron Wolf Squadron
BILL SIEVERT, XF-111 pilot, former F-15E Strike Eagle pilot, U.S. Air Force (ret.)
GEORGE “SMOOTH” HERRES, XF-111 weapons officer, former B-1B offensive systems operator, U.S. Air Force (ret.)
KAREN TANABE, XF-111 pilot, former B-52 pilot, U.S. Air Force (ret.)
IAN SCHOFIELD, commander, Iron Wolf deep-penetration unit, former captain in Canada’s Special Operations Regiment
SAMANTHA KERR, operative, Scion’s security and countersurveillance division
MARCUS CARTWRIGHT, operative, Scion’s logistics division
RUSSIANS
GENNADIY ANATOLIYVICH GRYZLOV, president of the Russian Federation
SERGEI TARZAROV, president’s chief of staff
GREGOR SOKOLOV, minister of defense
VIKTOR KAZYANOV, minister of state security
DARIA TITENEVA, foreign minister
IVAN ULANOV, president’s private secretary
GENERAL MIKHAIL KHRISTENKO, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces
LIEUTENANT GENERAL MIKHAIL VORONOV, commander of Russia’s 20th Guards Army
COLONEL GENERAL VALENTIN MAKSIMOV, commander of the Russian Air Force
IGOR TRUZNYEV, former president of the Russian Federation and former head for the Federal Security Service (FSB)
MAJOR GENERAL KONSTANTIN ZARUBIN, commander, 9th Motor-Rifle Brigade
LIEUTENANT GENERAL MIKHAIL POLIVANOV, new commander of Russia’s 20th Guards Army
MAJOR VIKTOR ZELIN, Su-34 fighter-bomber pilot
CAPTAIN NIKOLAI STARIKOV, Su-34 fighter-bomber navigation and weapons officer
CAPTAIN KIRILL ARISTOV, commander, 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade Quick Reaction Force
SENIOR SERGEANT IVAN CHAPAYEV, scout, 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade
CAPTAIN LEONID DAVYDOV, Su-24M2 fighter-bomber pilot
CAPTAIN STEPAN NIKOLAYEV, Su-24M2 fighter-bomber pilot
LIEUTENANT YURI BELINSKY, Su-24M2 fighter-bomber weapons officer
CAPTAIN TIMUR PELEVIN, 2nd Spetsnaz Brigade
REAR ADMIRAL ANATOLY VARENNIKOV, task force commander, Russian aircraft carrier ADMIRAL KUZNETSOV
CAPTAIN LEONID YAKUNIN, chief intelligence officer, Russian aircraft carrier ADMIRAL KUZNETSOV
MAJOR VLADIMIR CHERKASHIN, Su-35 fighter pilot
CAPTAIN OLEG BESSONOV, Su-35 fighter pilot
COLONEL VITALYI SAMSONOV, senior air controller, Beriev-100 AWACS plane
COLONEL ALEXEI FILIPPOV, Su-35 fighter pilot and fighter strike force commander
MAJOR YEVGENY KUROCHKIN, MiG-29M fighter pilot
CAPTAIN IVAN TEPLOV, T-72 tank company commander
COLONEL KONRAD SARATOV, commander, 72nd Tactical Missile Brigade
LIEUTENANT KARARINA KIROV, deputy action officer, 72nd Tactical Missile Brigade
MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDER KORNUKOV, commander, Western Military District
CAPTAIN PAVEL IGNATYEV, Su-30 pilot
SENIOR LIEUTENANT VIKTORIA GREF, Su-30 weapons officer
UKRAINIANS
MAJOR FEDIR KRAVCHENKO, second-in-command of Kaniv Volunteer Battalion, later partisan leader
COLONEL ROMANIUK, commander of Kaniv Volunteer Battalion
SERGEANT PAVLO LYTVYN, senior noncom, Kaniv Volunteer Battalion, later second-in-command of Fedir Kravchenko’s partisan unit
HENNADIY VOVK, partisan fighter
DMYTRO MARCHUK, former colonel in Ukraine’s special police, the Berkut
POLES
PIOTR WILK, president of Poland, former general in the Polish Air Force and commander of the First Air Defense Wing
KLAUDIA RYBAK, Polish prime minister
JANUSZ GIEREK, minister of national defense and deputy prime minister
ANDRZEJ WANIEK, foreign minister
IRENA MALINOWSKI, minister of the interior
CAPTAIN NADIA ROZEK, military aide to President Piotr Wilk, pilot in Polish Special Forces, 7th Special Operations Squadron
MAJOR GENERAL TADEUSZ STASIAK, Polish Land Forces
MAJOR GENERAL MIL
OSZ DOMANSKI, Polish Land Forces
COLONEL PAWEŁ KASPEREK, F-16 pilot and commander of the Polish Air Force’s 3rd Tactical Squadron
MAJOR DARIUSZ STEPNIAK, head of presidential security detail, Bureau of Government Protection (BOR)
SERGEANT KONRAD MALEK, Polish Border Guard
CAPTAIN MAREK KACZOR, MiG-29 fighter pilot
LIEUTENANT MILOSZ CZARNY, MiG-29 fighter pilot
STAFF SERGEANT TEODOR GóRSKI, support division, Polish armed forces
CAPTAIN KAZIMIERZ JANIK, liaison officer, Iron Wolf Squadron, Polish Special Forces, Jednostka Wojskowa Grom counterterrorism unit
BALTIC STATES
LUKAS TENYS, prime minister of Lithuania
SVEN KALDA, prime minister of Estonia
KUNNAR DUKURS, prime minister of Latvia
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE)
CAPTAIN STEFAN COVACI, Romanian Military Police, co-commander of OSCE Starovoitove Arms Control Station
CAPTAIN VITALYI YUREVICH, Belarussian Border Guards, co-commander of OSCE Starovoitove Arms Control Station
CHINESE
QIN HENG, regional managing director for the Kiev branch, Shenzen Merchants Bank, and senior intelligence agent for the ministry of state security
PROLOGUE
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
—WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, AMERICAN POLITICIAN
SOUTHWEST OF DONETSK, UKRAINE
LATE SUMMER 2014
The Russian shelling had stopped. An eerie silence descended on the shattered and burning village.
Smoke drifted through the bomb-cratered streets, curling past wrecked homes and shops. A battered convoy made up of commandeered civilian trucks and cars and a few wheeled BTR-80 armored personnel carriers lined the main road. White truce flags fluttered from their radio antennas.
Wearily, Major Fedir Kravchenko pulled himself up onto the rear deck of one of the APCs. Even in his midthirties, the Ukrainian officer had kept himself fit and trim. But now, after months of brutal combat against separatist rebels and Russian “volunteers,” he felt more dead than alive.