On the westernmost tip of the United States, where the Alaskan archipelago curls north toward the frigid Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, a light snow was falling across an already-white landscape. On the shore of the small, four-by-six-mile island, inside a nondescript two-story building blending into the snowbanks, Tina Dill rubbed her cold hands together as she sat in front of her radar console, monitoring air traffic along the Pacific Northwest. She pulled her thick jacket close around her neck as she glanced at the air-conditioning vent in the ceiling, wondering if it was blowing hot air or cold. It seemed the temperature in the room had dropped ten degrees since she relieved the watch two hours ago.
Tina tried to remain focused, glancing at the other five operators at their consoles. They seemed similarly bored, despite America’s predicament. The Pacific Fleet had been virtually wiped out, and now High Command—whoever that was—was worried China would send their Air Force east toward American bases on Guam and Hawaii, or even Alaska. Satellites in orbit would normally have detected China’s bombers the moment they took off from their airfields, but China had managed to take the satellites down. However, Tina figured it didn’t really matter.
Although the radar installation Tina worked at was a relic of the Cold War, it was up to the task. The COBRA DANE radar system, built in 1977, utilized a powerful phased-array radar, which was now incorporated into America’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. Tina found it ironic the facility was built to safeguard the United States from the Soviet Union, given that her supervisor, seated at his desk behind her, was a Russian. Actually, Dimitrious Loupas was a U.S. citizen. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dimitri emigrated from Siberia to the United States with his family.
A blip on Tina’s radar screen caught her attention. She sat up in her chair, selecting the sector in question, then zoomed in for a better look. A sortie of aircraft had taken off from Anqing Air Base in the Nanjing Military Region of China, headed out over the Pacific Ocean. A frown formed on her face; Anqing was the home of the PLA Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division. Tina called for her supervisor over her shoulder.
“Dimitri. I’ve got multiple bogies departing China’s airspace on course of zero-nine-zero. Probable Xian H-6 bombers.” Tina began assigning COBRA DANE trackers to the aircraft.
Dimitri looked up from his computer, and a moment later was standing behind Tina, examining her display. “How many?” he asked.
Tina finished assigning the trackers. “One hundred and twenty.” She looked up at Dimitri. “10th Bomber Division has only forty H-6s. They must have ferried 8th Bomber from Guangzhou and the 36th from Lanzhou to Anqing.”
“That’s every H-6 in their inventory,” Dimitri replied.
As Tina and Dimitri studied the radar display, the aircraft began veering to the north.
“That’s odd,” Tina muttered. “Why would they head north?”
Dimitri peered over Tina’s shoulder as the bombers steadied on a northeast course, paralleling the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. “Yes, that is odd. I wonder where they’re headed. They don’t have the legs to reach the continental United States.” The red icons continue their trek northeast, and Dimitri followed up. “Maybe they’ve implemented a refueling capability. Keep an eye on them, and if they go over the top, hand them off to NORAD.”
“Will do.” Tina’s eyes narrowed as she studied the icons marching steadily northeast, wondering what the hell they were up to.