Foxbat (32 page)
Authors: James Barrington
The existence of the electromagnetic pulse caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon was not
suspected by the American scientific community until 9 July 1962, as a direct result of a classified experiment called Starfish Prime, itself part of a series of tests code-named Operation
Dominic. Utilizing a Thor launch vehicle carrying a W49 warhead, this was a high-yield – 1.4 megatons – nuclear test conducted at an altitude of around 250 miles over the Pacific
Ocean, which had significant, and previously unsuspected, secondary effects.
Some one thousand miles distant in Hawaii, power lines fused; televisions, radios and other
electrical equipment burnt out; and hundreds of street lamps failed. On other Pacific islands, microwave links were destroyed, cutting telephone connections. Only when this damage was analysed
did American scientists realize the potential damage that a high-altitude nuclear blast could cause to an advanced and technology-dependent society.
The Russians, in contrast, had known about this effect for at least seven years, following their
detonation on 22 November 1955 of a 1.6-megaton thermonuclear device code-named RDS-37, and possibly as early as 1953 when they exploded the comparatively low-yield (400 kilotons) Joe 4
weapon.
What is almost certain is that knowledge of the destructive effects of the EMP guided the design
of the MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor’s avionics. The Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau’s use of valve technology in this cutting-edge fighter, rather than readily available solid-state
electronics, only makes sense in this context.
It is also a fact that there were no existing or planned Western aircraft that could fly at
anything like the speed the Foxbat could achieve: one was clocked on radar in the early 1970s by the Israelis at Mach 3.2. Despite this, the MiG-25’s Machmeter was red-lined at Mach 2.5
and, according to Viktor Belenko, if the aircraft’s speed exceeded Mach 2.8 there was a danger the engines would accelerate out of control. This was at least in part because the Tumansky
R-15B-300 afterburning turbojets had originally been designed for use in a single-engined and single-use Mach 2+ reconnaissance drone, the Tupolev Tu-123 Yastreb or Hawk.
The Russians have never publicly admitted that the MiG-25 was actually intended to intercept
ICBMs, but several unofficial sources have claimed that this was the case.
This is one of about a dozen concentration and slave-labour camps in North Korea, which together
hold around 200,000 prisoners. Located near Haengyong in North Hamgyong Province and close to the borders with China and Russia, Camp 22 is the largest, and its description in this novel is
accurate.
The ‘crimes’ most of these prisoners have committed would not be considered offences
in any other nation. Many are there because they, or one of their relatives, are believed to be critical of the ruling regime or, equally dangerous to Pyongyang, are Christians or support
Christianity. And Kim Jong-Il is absolutely determined to stamp out the ‘bad blood’ that causes citizens of his country to entertain such heretical notions: as a matter of course,
three entire generations of the criminal’s family will be seized and sent to the North Korean gulag for any such infraction.
Documentary evidence exists that condemned prisoners are transported to Camp 22 by the Pyongyang
regime specifically to be used in human experimentation into the effects of poisonous gases and liquids.
These ‘experiments’ range from detailed observations of the effects of newly developed
substances in the gas chamber to rough-and-ready executions carried out in the most casual manner. In one reported case,
some fifty women were selected at random and fed
cabbage leaves laced with an unidentified poison that resulted in them vomiting blood and suffering agonizing deaths within about twenty minutes. In other instances, entire families were gassed
simultaneously, the parents desperately trying to protect their children as the lethal concoction began its work.
The gas chamber itself is roughly three metres square and two metres high and primarily made of
glass. This allows the ‘doctors’ and ‘scientists’ outside, who film the proceedings and take notes, to have a clear view of the experiments. In this novel I have made
one small change in my description: I have described the observation as being made from the side of the gas chamber, whereas the process is normally watched from above, through the glass
roof.
Camp 22 holds upwards of 50,000 prisoners. Those who aren’t put in the gas chamber, or
tortured to death for the pleasure of the guards, are forced to work on the land or in the nearby Chungbong coal mine. Many there die from their regular beatings or simply through exhaustion
because of the appalling conditions.
Women as well as men are sent to this concentration camp and, inevitably, some give birth whilst
they are incarcerated. Caring for infants is not a part of the remit of Camp 22, and it has been reliably reported that the guards are instructed to kill all new-born children by stamping on
their heads and necks.
Life is hard in the ‘Hermit Kingdom’, but death is harder still.
203
Slang term for the American Colt
M16A2 5.56mm assault rifle fitted with a 203 grenade launcher clipped under the barrel. This is the preferred weapon of the SAS, whose troopers refuse to use the clumsy and unreliable SA-80,
the standard British Army rifle
AA-6
See ‘Acrid’
ACRB
Aircrew Refreshment Bar. Informal snack
bar where aircrew can eat and drink before or after a mission
Acrid
NATO reporting name for the Russian
R-40 air-to-air missile, also known as the AA-6. First constructed in the 1960s, the missile had two variants: the R-40T (infrared homing) and R-40R (semi-active radar homing), and in the late
1970s two longer-range versions, the R-40TD and R-40RD were introduced. Production was discontinued in 1991
ADD
Associate Deputy Director of the CIA
Aegis
Generic term for the American SPY-1F
radar and associated missile launch system installed on ships from several navies. The system is optimized for engaging high-flying, high-speed targets
AEW
Airborne Early Warning
AIM-9
Sidewinder. Short-range air-to-air
missile
Alpha
Russian hunter-killer submarine
ALR-67
Super Hornet Radar Warning
Receiver
AMRAAM
AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range
Air-to-Air Missile
An-28
Antonov twin turbo-prop light
transport aircraft, NATO reporting name ‘Cash’
An-72
Antonov STOL twin turbofan transport
aircraft, NATO reporting name ‘Coaler’
Bagman
Slang term for an AEW Sea King
observer, after the shape of the inflatable fabric dome covering the modified Searchwater radar that dangles from the side of the aircraft like a large grey pustule
Bergen
Standard-issue British Army
rucksack
Boomer
Slang term for a
ballistic-missile-carrying nuclear submarine or SSBN
Brimstone
Solid-fuel anti-armour missile
Bureau 39
The North Korean government
department responsible for the cultivation, transport, export and sale of illegal drugs
Bus
Device in the nose of an ICBM that
supports the warhead
Buster
Full chat, maximum speed
CAG
Commander, Air Group. The officer in
charge of the air wing on an American carrier
CAP
Combat Air Patrol. Defensive air patrol
usually mounted by pairs of fighters to protect the aircraft carrier and other vessels from air attack
CBG
Carrier Battle Group. American surface
group headed by an aircraft carrier
CDS
Chief of the Defence Staff
CFC
Combined Forces Command. The joint
American/South Korean military organization
CIC
Combat Information Center. The tactical
nerve centre of a US Navy aircraft carrier where data is collected and collated for the command
CINCFLEET
Commander-In-Chief Fleet
Claymore
A directional fragmentation mine
that can be triggered by trip-wires, infrared sensors, or by command detonation
COMINT
Communications Intelligence
ComSat
Communications Satellite
COMSEC
Communications Security
Cover All
American Strategic Air
Command’s airborne command post. One Cover All aircraft is airborne at all times, and additional units are launched in times of crisis. See also ‘E-6B’
CRV7
Ground-attack rocket, fired from an
under-wing pod
DEFCON
Defense Condition. A measure of the
alert state of the American military machine. The DEFCON state runs from Five – the normal peacetime state – to One, which implies that America is either at war or about to go to
war
DFC
Dedicated Flying Course. Course steered
by a carrier when recovering aircraft
DMZ
Demilitarized Zone. Buffer separating
the two Korean nations
DNI
Director of National Intelligence. The
highest position in the American intelligence organization
DPRK
Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea. Like most Communist states, it’s neither democratic nor a republic, and certainly isn’t run by or for the people
E-2C
All-weather tactical airborne warning
and control system aircraft flown from US carriers. Commonly known as a Hawkeye
E-4B
The Nightwatch Boeing 747-200 aircraft
designed as a command post for the US President and military chiefs. Known as the National Airborne Operations Center or the National Emergency Airborne Command Post – NEACP or
‘Kneecap’
E-6B
A modified Boeing 707 that acts as an
airborne command post. Known as Cover All, its primary task is relaying instructions from the National Command Authority
EA-6B
Electronic warfare aircraft designed
to suppress enemy radars and communication systems. Commonly known as a Prowler
ECM
Electronic Counter-Measures. Equipment
used to counter any form of electronic surveillance or tracking devices, such as radar
EMCON
Emission Control. EMCON policy is a
statement of intent governing the use of radios and radar
EMP
Electromagnetic Pulse. Surge following
the detonation of a nuclear weapon, capable of destroying unshielded solid-state electronic devices
F-5
Shenyang F-5. Chinese-built version of
the Russian MiG-17 fighter
F/A-18
Twin-engine, multi-role
fighter/attack aircraft that has replaced several earlier types. Commonly known as a Super Hornet
Fan Song
Tracking and guidance radar for the
SA-2 SAM system
Fat Albert
Slang term for a C-130 Hercules
transport aircraft. Also known as a ‘Herky-bird’
Five
See ‘MI5’
Flat Face
Long-range C-band radar that forms
part of the SA-2 SAM system
Flight Level
Height of an aircraft in
thousands of feet based upon the standard pressure setting of 1013.25 hPa (hectopascals) or 29.92 inches (for some American aircraft)
Flyco
Flying Control Position. Located on
the port side of the bridge of a CVS-class aircraft carrier, Flyco controls all launches from, and recoveries to, the ship
Fox Fire
NATO reporting name for the very
powerful RP-25M Saphir radar carried by the Russian MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor
Foxbat
See ‘MiG-25’
G-loc
G-induced loss of consciousness.
Caused by excessive g-force that drains blood away from the brain
GBU-28
American bunker-busting bomb
GCHQ
Government Communications Headquarters.
Britain’s principal electronic intelligence-gathering service, based at Cheltenham
GIA
Groupe Islamique Armé
. Radical Islamic terrorist group operating in Algeria
GPS
Global Positioning System. Satellite
navigation equipment
GR9
Designation of the current Royal Navy
Harrier fighter
GRU
Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye.
The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet General Staff, the Russian military intelligence
organization
Guard
Military UHF emergency frequency of
243.0 megahertz. The equivalent civil VHF frequency is 121.5 megahertz
GWO
Group Warfare Officer
Hawkeye
See ‘E-2C’
Head-shed
SAS slang term for the
Regiment’s headquarters at Hereford. Also known as ‘The Kremlin’
Herky-bird
Slang term for a C-130 Hercules
transport aircraft. Also known as a ‘Fat Albert’