Darkstar

[drmarkbailey]

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DARKSTAR

oOo

May 2005

‘Air Commodore Myrtle, sir.’

The new CAF did not even look up from his work. “Come in, Wally, and can we have tea and sandwiches please, it’s after lunchtime, isn’t it?’

His ADC shook his head. ‘it’s 1830 sir. And I’ve organised something more substantial than sandwiches.’ He looked at the Air Commodore questioningly.

‘Same. Been on the go, grabbed a Huey from Richmond to here as it’s faster.’

‘Sir.’ The ADC withdrew as the Air Commodore sat.

The new CAF sighed. The Commander of Strike Reconnaissance Group was an old friend – had had argued successfully years before against merging the fast movers into ‘Air Combat Group’ given the exigencies of the ongoing Konfrontasi with Indonesia: and of the rather more recent Third World War. That had since been proven to have been a very good idea.

‘I bloody hate these exposed civilian style HQ buildings now.’ He rubbed his face with his hands.

‘Me too, Wally. I’ve got a number of special projects running aside from yours, one of them is being run by old Air Vice Marshal Nimes, you’ll remember him, to provide hardened C2 for the HQ. Glenbrook here is going to wind up in the old railway tunnel down the hill.’

‘I remember that sir, been through it once, used for mustard gas storage in WWII.’

‘Always the aviation historian! That’s the one. Wally, I don’t have time for the gory details so just give me a summary please.’

‘OK sir. There’s damned slim pickings. The British cannot help, they have nothing. The Americans are happy to but what they can help with is limited. F-111 is right out. They can’t be spared due to losses in Europe and any at AMARC are slated for return to service. The limited good news is that the value of our four RF-111C has been freely recognised. They will release two D models for us to convert to tactical recce birds and we might, might I stress, get up to two more as combat loss replacement but that’s it. Being swing wings, they also cost like poison to rebuild and to operate. I can add a straight bombing role to the existing missions, that’s a given, I mean it’s just toss bombing, but that’s not a capability build. The program’s too black for SRG right now.’

He sighed. ‘The shortage of F-111 is such that we even looked at our two F-111B test birds. They’re both pre-production birds, 6 and 7 of the seven made. As you know one was in a Mojave scrapyard and the other at China lake when we grabbed them for Darkstar. I’ve authorised modifying both, we can actually use them.’ He shrugged. ‘Survey showed that the airframes remain in excellent condition, they had less than 260 flying hours each when we got them and only 500 now, which weirdly makes them the newest F-111 in the world.’

CAF could break in whenever he liked. ‘Told the PM about the shortage, and that we are looking under all the bushes for whatever scraps we can find. He wants a proper capability in two tiers, aircraft and missiles. Aircraft for medium range tactical and strategic strike for deterring regional powers, and ICBM to deter the great powers. Would you believe that we found all the drawings for Black Arrow in the old archives from Woomera? Amazing what’s squirreled away. It’s archaic of course but it’s interesting. But that’s another project and Air Force is going to get the job. So we already have a turnkey tactical bomber but no quick strategic bomber options at all? He’s not going to be happy.’

‘Did not say that, sir.’

‘Ah?’ he settled back in his chair. ‘Just no really good options, I suspect.’

‘Nope, there is a good option and it’s TSRP. But first let me go back so I cover all the bases. OK, tactical first. F-111 is toast in the short to medium term. It will be fine for the short term, the airframes that survive the war will see us to transition to Darkstar as our medium bombers. F-111 operating costs are rising sharply, reliability is dropping, we have used them a lot, and they are tactically obsolescent in modern high threat environments mostly due to their RCS issues. Their heavy losses in Europe against modern air defences show this. Out here the tactical air defences are still thinner and older, force densities are lower. We have F-18 variants for short range strike and it will transition further into the strike role, basically as a Jabo. When we get it, the F-111 can keep the tactical nuclear role until TSRP and Darkstar come on line. You will recall that just two squadrons of F-111 represent a quarter of the RAAF’s entire operating expense budget! Darkstar will fix that, they are hugely cheaper to operate as they are new and not swing wing.’

‘Strategic capability cannot be hidden if it’s within the tactical community – all those options really suck. So we have to start a new capability. Which we know will stick out like dog’s balls. Again for aircraft there is only Darkstar. We can start with the unmodified F-111D from reserve which we use for training. Their life’s a bit short but they are a start. They have the range and speed. OK, you know the history, we looked at B-1. No way, only a superpower can afford the operating costs. B-2 is simply not available, period. Looked at B-52. Same. Both give away what we are up to, we cannot hide them. Nothing else has the range speed combo, so it’s still all on Darkstar. Which we have to hide. Then I spoke to Old Johnny Thynne.’

CAF blinked at the non sequiter. ‘There’s a name I have not heard in a while! Good man, mad helicopter pilot isn’t he?’

‘Yup. These days he’s another dugout. Old Vietnam War era Huey pilot, two tours, got shot down a couple of times, we grabbed him away back in 2000 to work with Army on all the old Hueys we bought from AMARC for them for utility and for us for the base defence Squadrons – nice to have helicopters back in RAAF inventory. Anyway, I tapped him as he’s still spending half his life in the USA on the Huey program, which is still our biggest program in numbers terms. He not only knows AMARC inside out from the Huey program but he’s been assisting the Navy with their Tracker program and he’s been cheerfully working Phantoms and F-111 as well. He’s our AMARC guru now.’

‘I don’t see…’

‘Sorry sir, I have not got to that bit yet. He’s sharp. He’s been working parts but not all of Darkstar, remember, he’s the bloke who dug out the old Vigilantes and the F-111B. I had not then read him into the compartment. AMARC also stores other things including things like old ICBM. I was discussing those and F-111 with him when he said that the thrust of my questioning was obvious, that we’d not get many F-111 from them as the word at AMARC was that they’d all be going back into USAF service, but that as we did not want to blow Darkstar we had to use our loafs and get creative. I said ‘huh?’ he said ‘Vigilante maskirovka.’ I certainly had not thought of that.’

‘We have three flying testbeds. Ancient junk revived, how do we make that into a maskirovka?’

‘Ancient yes but not junk, sir. They were originally a purpose-designed strategic nuclear bomber, designed for low-level penetration of dense early missile system belts too. They became a very good recce bird. They were also a lot faster than people think. In 1969, the London to New York Mail Race was held. A new 156 series Vigilante was delivered to NAS Albany without the reconnaissance canoe installed. North American engineers said the Mach 2.0 speed restriction was Navy conservatism, and the airplane was capable of higher speeds. On a practice run for the race, the Vigilante went to Mach 2.5, and the pilot said he felt he could go faster. And that’s on the old J79’s. The prototype also went to 91,450 feet. So the aircraft has considerable envelope development capability with F414 and we’ve had ‘em running Mach 3.’

‘Eh? I thought it was a Mach 2 1950s aircraft?’

‘No, sir. Designed then, yes, but it was built twice. During ’64 to ‘68, a total of forty-three standard RA-5C's were built, these following closely on the heels of the eighteen original A-5B aircraft which were actually built as the first RA-5C. When the last of these rolled off of the Columbus, Ohio assembly line, it appeared that the Vigilante production had come to an end. Accordingly, tooling and related hardware was placed in long-term storage. The Columbus facility then shifted its priorities to other projects including the remanufacture of the forty-three remaining A-5A and A-5B aircraft to RA-5C standards. Anyway, attrition during the Vietnam War resulted in Navy need for more RA-5C's, so in 1968 the Navy ordered forty-six new production RA-5C's, restarting the production line. Visually they differed from the previous models only by a leading edge extension which extended from near the wing root to the forward air intake lip. The purpose of this extension was to generate improved airflow over the stabilator at low speeds, enhancing pitch control during the landing approach. These aircraft were all powered by J79-GE-10 engines. Only thirty-six of these new aircraft actually built, the last completed in August 1970. Now here’s the rub, sir. The fleet in storage at AMARC were from that second production run. The aircraft was retired as a recce bird late in 1979, although some kept flying in various roles for a few more years. All gone now unfortunately.

‘Hmm.’ The CAF sat back in his chair and looked out the window. ‘Ok, so they are pretty much contemporaneous with the AF-4I Greyfalcons we are getting, maybe better in airframe terms. Certainly no worse. Still, the question I asked.’

‘Sir, reviving these things as a design basis for Darkstar still seems a strange idea to me, but if you want a nuclear strike bomber maskirovka fast it’s the only viable path right now. We pretend that these are two prototypes of a new aircraft, and we know that it’s a very good recce bird so we can actually use ‘em for that too.’ He shrugged. ‘Why not? They will wind up being basically an airframe stuffed with F-18 kit. Same as the F-111B is, too.’

‘OK, point taken. Continue.’

Air Commodore Myrtle drew breath. ‘So after I read Thynne in, I used your authority to get him to start working a plan with Spence, with the two birds in play as well. They have a lot left in them and they have the volume to spare as well for what we need. Generally, when introduced in the late 50s Vigilante was one of the largest and by far the most complex aircraft to operate from a carrier– you know it’s the very first fly-by-wire aircraft?’

‘Really?’

‘Yes sir, and it’s got a hydraulic-mechanical backup flight system too. Anyway, today it’s nothing special in terms of size nowadays. It has a high-mounted swept wing with a boundary-layer control system to improve low-speed lift. There were no ailerons. Roll control was provided by spoilers in conjunction with differential deflection of the all-moving tail surfaces. The use of aluminium-lithium alloy for wing skins and titanium for critical structures was also unusual. There’s a lot of titanium structure in the Vigilante and it’s not a blasted swing wing with the attendant weight, complexity and cost issues. It had two widely spaced General Electric J79 turbojet engines, same as used on the F-4 Phantom, fed by intake ramps and it has a single large all-moving vertical stabiliser. Basically, it is a very simple, very tough airframe by today’s standards. It’s unusually strong and ADP reduced its RCS, although it will still be relatively high in the test birds.’

They paused as the staff brought in tea and something vaguely resembling dinner, which they ate while briefing.

‘OK sir, so far I am describing is a new use for test birds rebuilt to get the data for a new design based on them as one of the Darkstar design roots. Same as all the Phantoms we are getting as home defence interceptors again for speed, low risk and want of anything better. Lemme chat about them for a minute. So we were talking to GE about the J79’s we have in store from the Greyfalcon rebuild line. They salivated a bit and said that J79’s getting to the end of its supportability so while they are indeed getting back into the business of making parts as the US is returning Phantoms to service like crazy, after this war J79’s on the way out but meanwhile they are in high demand and can they pretty please buy ours. Engines and most parts will have been used up by the refurbs AMARC is doing. So they said a deal is possible as they have a significant number of F-4E’s refurbed in advance of USAF demands. For the stock of J79 we have in store, they will give us 16 fully operational F-4E which we can put into service immediately. Like in a week. Whereas the Greyfalcons are not in service for another month. Thank the Lord we are rebuilding them, the Phantoms I mean: the Phantom airframes cost little, we came up with a general concept of making them like F/A-18. Same radars, cockpit avionics, engines and AAM. Their initial costings were about US $16-19 million per unit but the trend on unit price if firmly down, I think we’ll wind up at around $10-12 million on a run of 100, and it leverages off the whole F/A-18 investment as well to provide a Phantom variant that will last as long in service as F/A-18, saves on trainers, parts, log support, you name it. Also, if we do retire them early we are not left with orphan stock of parts and equipment, it can go to the Hornets. Basically, we have a fully re-lifed Phantom with F414 which is 22000lb thrust and weighs 1.1 tons with supercruise capability, as compared to J79 which is 17900lb thrust and 1.75tons.We use as much MOTS as possible from the F/A-18 in terms of engines and modern avionics and specialise it as an interceptor.’

‘So,’ his superior said, ‘these are fully operational Echoes, with the integral M61 Vulcan cannon in the elongated RF-4C nose, AN/APQ-120 radar with smaller cross-section to accommodate the cannon, J79-GE-17 engines each with 17,900 lb of afterburner thrust. They have late-series aircraft equipped with the leading-edge slats which improved manoeuvrability at some expense of top speed?’

‘Yes, sir.’ He shrugged. ‘Needs must when the devil drives, and what is available instantly is what is available. But it gives us birds available now, and all our pilots have trained on Echoes out of LeMoore. The USAF has said they’ll cough up enough reserve backseaters to see us operational as soon as the Echoes can have our insignia added and fly out here. Basically, they can be here in four days. I already approved it on my authority, so you can kill me now if you do not approve.’

CAF snorted. ‘As if, Wally. This is a shred of good news, and we need it. To have a Squadron of even Echoes for city defence within such a short time is news we badly need. Light a fire under ‘em.’

‘Sir. We will have the first Squadron of AF-4I Greyfalcons within a month, the second shortly after that, and we can add more by cycling through rebuild. Make no mistake sir, the F-4E is obsolete, third line only, but the AF-4I is a damned good interceptor, it’s just a one-trick pony and all of this will reassure the public that Something Is Being Done. The value of the money spent is maximised by making it as specialised an interceptor as we can. Two Squadrons, we put the rebuilds in to replace the Mirages, which are now just about worn out, then we expand the current rebuilding 60 for the two Squadrons.’

‘Which explains adding another 60 airframes for two more squadrons, my feel is that the War Cabinet may go for the rebuild for a third Squadron permanently based at Curtin to protect the North-West Shelf and iron ore ports. So we need attrition and OCU numbers on the basis of Squadrons of 20 each. We’ll get to 140 at least. Just add the operational Echoes to the end of the rebuild queue.’

Myrtle shrugged. ‘Above my pay grade sir, although I well know that Curtin will remain a permanent base, as will Scherger. The numbers are simple.’

He continued. ‘So sir, we can continue the rebuilds based on F414 and AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array AESA, avionics include an up-front touchscreen control display; a large multipurpose colour liquid-crystal display; and a fuel display. It can have a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire system, as well as a digital flight-control system that detects and corrects for battle damage, again per F/A-18E/F. Defensive countermeasures of Block I aircraft includes the AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver, the AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser, the AN/ALE-50 towed decoy and the AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self-Protect Jammer. Some of that we may not need in a dedicated interceptor....’

CAF’s voice was sharp. ‘Do not even think of shaving it. PM has already told me, confirmed by War Cabinet, not to worry about money, how does this help with a long-range nuclear strike bomber?’

‘Sir, what do you want? Boiled down, my current briefing says ‘find a long range nuclear strategic strike bomber that is an entirely covert capability and which covers a 10-15 year gap until we can develop and field a land based ICBM force and the strategic bomber is to remain operationally capable for 10 years after that as a backup force’. That’s not do-able with F-111 as the airframes are not going to last that long although they can cover the tactical nuclear role without any problem in the short term. Our tactical need for our existing F-111 force is too high to allow us to use them as strategic bombers. I came up through F-111 and know it, we are wearing them out and as we learned with the D models rebuilds exceed the cost of a new F-18. And much as I like ‘em, the guys are just like bloody knuckleheads, they never shut the hell up, so somewhere it will leak because it’s a really big community with very deep roots, and nuclear strike profiles are unique. That will spread within that community and some fucker will leak it at some point. So it’s Darkstar and TSRP.’

He paused again. ‘Thynne is old but he’s a damned good operator, cunning and as flash as a shit-house rat with a gold tooth. We hashed this out and concluded that the solution’s obvious, use maskirovka. Use both aircraft as nuclear strike, but stall the Darkstar at loomed for it but that’s it with the live strategic nuclear strike role hidden in TSRP. Which is a recce bird not a strike aircraft. So we are building something people are certain that they fully understand. Even better if it’s thought to be a very expensive pure recce bird, so we can pretty much guarantee to have the self-proclaimed experts on all things aviation, guys like Carlos Kluppe, declare what we do to be the worst decision evah! It’s just how they respond to anything we do, and we can use that. Stupid sods have even criticised the Turbo-Tracker program, which was an absolute Godsend for us as it allowed us to sort out the Orion problems.’

‘So, sir, the task I’ve been given is actually to build a ‘hidden’ strategic bomber force. Question was, with what? The F-111’s are busy and are short term. It’s a bomber, so a new Squadron will be seen as a bomber Squadron and no more are available as lots are getting shot down in USAF service and they are burning remaining airframe hours at a ferocious rate. So we replace them with our one purpose-designed medium bomber option and TSRP’s off in the boonies at Middleton VC at bloody Longreach of all places running its secret squirrel recce mission. Everyone will look at the Darkstar but the actual capability is hidden at first in TSRP. Best we can do.’

CAF did not look very surprised. Myrtle shook his head. ‘Finally, sir, it really would also be much, much easier to hide in TSRP for the first few years. A recce squadron with TSRP would be expected to be secretive and kept covert, it can build that culture. We are putting it at its own base. The evidence that they are nuclear strike bombers is physically hidden inside the aircraft. And sir, it actually means that when TSRP goes grey and then white as the USAAF recce bird everyone will think that’s what ours are too. Only we’ll have the capability in both birds. Those are pretty much the options, sir. To be frank, we either embrace the suck or walk away from the whole idea and go build ICBMs.’

CAF shook his head. ‘Government’s just not going to walk away. Already formed a group to build a refining capability to do conversion and enrichment, fuel fabrication and power generation and burn up, and for a pair of nuclear power stations. Already talking to Jerusalem very carefully too. I just can’t believe how fast this is all happening. A long process, obviously, this is our end of it all. Wally, get all of that, with cost guesstimates, to me ASAP. All of the options to be included with costs and times and estimated risks. Two page brief on the front for me to brief to the War Cabinet. And make bloody sure that you use the new name.’

‘Department of War. Yes sir. I have to say that I rather like the... directness of the Government of National Unity.’

‘If you’d told me even three years ago, Wally, that my biggest problems would be developing a nuclear attack bomber force and an ICBM force and working on ways of integrating more conscripts than we can use into the RAAF, I’d have sent blokes in white coats after you with a butterfly net and a rubber truck to drag you off to the funny farm. I just approved a proposal for each base to have an aircraft wash down crew for Heaven’s sake. Oh, have you seen the latest?’

‘No sir, I do not think so.’

‘Now we need more tankers. With the old Mirages on their last legs and just doing public assurance flights over the big cities we can start to use the old 707s for other tasking. But we must have a better capability, especially to maintain some decent air defence and strike over the North-west Shelf when the damned Phantoms get there. So we need to go from five to at least ten big tankers.’

‘Airliners are very cheap right now, sir, and the rebuilt MD-11’s we got from Swissair are a bloody good tanker. Of course, we were smart. We gave them a rapid fuel dump capability and they are both boom and drogue, and our runways are longer than the USAF’s.’

‘Sure, and again they’ve gotta be flying boom because ex-USAF Phantoms.’

‘Price we pay sir. And it gives us a much better tanker capability even if we can’t really use the full MTOW and fuel weight available.’

‘Tell me about it.’

oOo

Tucson Arizona

Toshio Starkweather was the unusual product of a West Virginia coal miner’s conscript service in Vietnam – he’d met a gorgeous Japanese country girl on leave in Honshu and wound up bringing her home as his wife. He’d inherited his mother’s relentless drive for education and his father’s drive for hard work. Now he supported them in considerable style back in the rugged countryside they both loved.

But Brad was – a bit changed. And he thought he knew why. He’d missed being in Canberra when the strike went in by a missed connection on an international flight.

‘Brad, look, the arrangement you’ve made with the Aussies is the best thing to happen to UAC, fine, I agree. Great. But they just queued forty more Trackers on us and we have to do it all as AMARC’s at full gallop on everything in inventory. We also have two F-111D on site for high-priority airframe refurb for reasons only the good Lord knows. AMARC don’t even tow the planes over here any more. Now we have to do AMARC’s reactivation job on twenty more Phantoms and start a full teardown and airframe refurbishment on forty more. Seriously? I have to hire more staff for this. The boys and girls are working ten hours a day, six days a week on the Trackers alone. All that’s keeping ‘em going is the little fact that there’s a war on and the Aussie crews keep telling ‘em what the birds each crew refurbed is doing like with that missile ship they killed. I’m still getting good people too close to burnout, and....’

‘Hire ‘em, then.’

‘What?’

‘Hire ‘em. You got any third cousins in West Virginia who can do the work get them first. And we’ll bump up the pay, monthly bonuses maybe. Get a caterer in, improve working conditions. Put accommodation in if we have to. Put in a goddam pool and jacuzzi if we have to. And you get your new facility and it will be climate controlled.’

‘My God. What happened, Brad?’

‘Tosh, you’ve done an amazing job here and it’s the reason you are now have equity. The reward for that’s more business, because we’ve impressed the customer, and their requirements just went through the stratosphere. I haven’t got a blank cheque, we absolutely must keep quality as high as it is, that’s not negotiable. But, well, the Aussies have gone apeshit over the Canberra Strike and are mobilising for a much bigger and much longer war. We’re their link AMARC to Avalon and we are now taking over the AMARC end of that chain what with the other demands on those guys. So I said that there would be a cost if we were to keep up our quality specs. They asked what was needed. I said that we needed a bigger facility here, a jet reactivation hall, workforce expansion and capital equipment. I have to raise some capital here but we have a good contract being negotiated to support that loan and they are willing to loan 55%, repayable over ten years, low interest. Very low. We just have to pay back the inflation-adjusted amount plus 0.5%. They want forty F-4 airframe refurbs and an option for at least forty more. They just up and bought the lot!’

‘Seriously Brad, what the hell?’

‘Hey, don’t ask me, I just organise the work. Customer wants what the customer wants.’

‘But...’

‘Hey, just joshing. What they told me was that they need aircraft and that’s it. Lots of angles to this contract. So we are mister airframe and control surfaces for them, long term for their Tracker, Tracer, Trader and Phantom fleets.’

‘Hmm. They use twenty aircraft a squadron. So one minimum, two if possible. I heard about their moving to a nation in arms. Guess they are serious.’

‘Tosh, you have no idea. The place ... I like those guys, y’know? But they are really weird. They seemed not to like Canberra much, same as we don’t like Washington much. But then they got hit hard,’ he shook his head, ‘man they think around 22,000 killed, their feds have just been destroyed. And they’ve gone ballistic. As Salvatore di Pietro said to me, even if they did not like those assholes in Canberra, they were their assholes. And an awful lot of them were military and just ordinary folks. Then there was a school full of kids. The Russki raider crew mostly got rescued, y’know? And they have had to stick them into an old prison in a little country town to keep them from being lynched. It’s gone from minimum security women’s to high security military. Sal said that they were all KGB Border Guards, natural born bastards, but that even they were... not happy I guess, with having killed something around five or six hundred primary school kids in class. Shockwaves collapsed it, then it burned. Scores of adults were badly burned running in to the fires to try and get to the kids. Mostly, they couldn’t. Man, there’s video of that and you can hear the kids screaming. The guy with the camera runs into the goddam fire twice.’

Starkweather shook his head. ‘Shit. I did not know that. He get anyone?’

‘Yeah. But the kid died.’

‘No wonder they have gone nuts. That was not on the news here.’

‘Big surprise that. Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. Really. But it does tell you a bit of the background to what’s happening.

oOo

Starkweather looked at Peek and shrugged.

The old aircraft were parked on the new concrete hardstanding, under the new shade shelters. They had three acres of it now and as much being built.

‘Brad, I am pretty surprised at the first half-dozen of the recent batch of F-4E we have on our lot’,’ they had been moving them over as fast as they could to their own lot after replacing tyres and making sure that the undercarriages were in good enough condition that they caused no damage to bearings or anything else, ‘they are in quite good condition. No gross corrosion problems, no obvious major structural flaws and they are coming apart for inspection quite easily. AMARC had all the usual paperwork of course.’

‘Did we grab the best ones first?’

Tosh shook his head. ‘No. We just started with the ones closest to the access road at the end of the row. They have not been stripped, either, so the J79’s and such are all in them, which is why I sent you that memo about adding them to the parts deal you cut on the Trackers and Phantoms. Oh, some of the spraylat and masking has broken down but that’s nothing much. How did the trip to White Sands go?’

Peck shook his head. ‘Lousy trip really. The RA-5’s out there vary. They got the best two a couple of years back. A couple are rolling shells, stripped for parts, others are complete for battle damage trials. They are all suffering damage, mostly dents and handling problems. Still, a quick external shows that much of their structure should be useful to build a parts base for their birds. Might get actual a few refurbishable airframes and they might want to know that. Getting them back here is not going to be easy, though.’

‘Not much that’s easy about this business, Brad.’

‘True, that.’

‘If we have to disassemble on-site and truck them, we will.’

‘Joy.’


oOo

The PM scanned the last of the document. The costs were acceptable and the timeframe was better than he’d asked – but the solution had its twists and turns.

‘I need to read that annex properly,’ he muttered to himself, flicking to the tag.

TOP SECRET AUSTEO ECLIPSE
BLUESTAR

Annex P
To AFN2005/8467
Dated 19 March 2005

The ‘Medium Bomber’ Program (MBX)

This started as the Australian MBX F-111 replacement program. It has become a US-dominated program, that US domination being the price of accelerating the program by about five years with a cost saving of about $4.3 billion. The program is not well understood outside Australian circles. This is mostly due to it not being an aircraft design and development program in many ways, but a being a national industrial-military capability construction program which produced multiple combat aircraft. It is also built around a range criteria. The aircraft had to have a 2000nm Hi-Lo-Ho mission profile range on internal fuel. The full set of reasons for this were never explained below a high classification level as they involved highly sensitive surveillance and intelligence systems, but the absolute minimum 2000nm mission profile range was the fundamental requirement of the type. No aircraft with a lesser range could be accepted for this function.

1999. A series of strategic assessments were made in 1999 to reorient Australian strategy.

2000. It began in 2000 with a full technical audit and life extension program for F-111C/ F-111G/ RF-111C/ EF-111C. The audit clearly revealed that F-111Cs were obsolescent and rapidly becoming obsolete and were also increasingly expensive to maintain and operate, leading to a decision to cap their lifespan at 2010. A survey revealed that there were no suitable medium bombers available or under development, and that they could not be developed from a current generation multirole fighters without that becoming essentially a new aircraft design with all the concomitant risks and costs. The USAF had been informed of why this evaluation was underway during that year’s Quadrilateral Conference (in the margins) and that Australia would be developing something to replace its current bomber force, but was doing so via a low-risk approach.

2000 Type and Design Basis Considerations. Australia could not afford and did not have the capability to develop a 4th or 5th generation aircraft of this type. Basic criteria were set and aircraft capable of being the design basis to meet them were studied. The aircraft studied were Vulcan, TSR (as far as it could be), F-111, RA-5C, B-47, B-58, XB-70 and Mirage IV. The civilian Boeing Sonic Cruiser design was also evaluated as a sort of ‘commercial strategic bomber’. Many myths have already developed around this process, yet it was just a search to find the lowest-risk/ best return for money design basis for an ambitious program for a medium power. The French did offer their remaining Mirage IV fleet, misunderstanding what was occurring.

The lowest risk outcome was a for an extremely fast, supercruise-capable, twin engined, fixed wing bomber with an internal weapons bay and the lowest possible RCS. The engine basis was set by F-22A, the Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan.

Project costs were estimated at approximately $10-$11 billion for development and as much again for construction and through life cost for 50-60 bombers. As no other options existed for a genuine medium bomber, Government approved the project despite it being the most costly in Australian history. From the very start the project was Black.

The RA-5C became the design basis, with F-111 as a backup. Three RA-5C and two F-111B airframes were acquired as flying developmental testbeds (updated with MOTS F-18 systems and F-414 engines for this role). The F-111B were acquired due to their different airframe design; being airframes designed and stressed for carrier operations. The Lockheed ‘Skunk Works’ was involved from the beginning due to their expertise in RCS reduction. At this stage, the USAF assigned supporting staff to assist the project and began an internal discussion process regarding its own deep Black RF-23 program. They did not (as was later suggested) deliberately start to steer the Australian project in any way. Quite the opposite, as they wanted to see what this very different philosophical and operational approach would lead to.

2001. The final decision was taken to develop and build a long range medium bomber as a F-111 replacement. The priorities were minimum 2000nm mission profile range,‘80:20 Rule’, low risk, lowest possible development cost and rapid development time. The first two Squadrons were to be fully equipped and in service in 2010, which meant IOC in 2005. Minimum range requirement was 2000nm, mission load four ASM of minimum size, mass and capability as RGM-84 (Harpoon plus its booster) to allow for development of a supersonic sea skimming ASM of this size. Two options were considered, a variable geometry machine derived from the F-111 design basis and a fixed wing type derived from the RA-5C design basis. These were chosen to reduce risk. From the start the program was black, and involved the Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP – ‘The Skunk Works’) as the RCS of the aircraft had to be as low as possible, and only ADP had the expertise of reducing the RCS of existing aircraft, as they had proven with their F-16 programs. Five airframes were acquired for this phase of the program, two F-111B and three RA-5C. It was originally intended that one of each would become flying test aircraft and one a ground evaluation airframe. The F-111B was selected as it had been designed to carrier levels of ruggedness.

2002-2003. Airframes were modified and program design commenced at ADP and Canberra. Both airframes were found suitable for F414 and the radars under consideration. A F-111D was added to the program for trials purposes. The second XF-111B and a second XRA-5C were authorised for upgrade to full flight status.

The variable geometry option was discarded in 2003 for the following reasons;
• the RCS reduction of a variable geometry (VG) aircraft was more difficult, costly and higher risk;
• the internal machinery for VG occupied considerable internal volume and was costly;
• VG added weight, complexity, cost and risk; and
• the wings could not be fully laden with fuel without adding complexity, cost, weight and risk to the VG design.

In 2003 the risks had been defined and the decision was made to adopt a mostly titanium, fixed wing design using the modified XRA-5C as the initial design basis. The third RA-5C airframe was then also brought into the flying program. The intention was that this airframe be lengthened and have entirely new and larger wings, becoming essentially an 80% scale prototype.

What the RAAF did not know t that stage was that the USAF, which was involved with the program quite centrally, was carefully observing the MBX program with intense and rapidly deepening interest.

2004 RA-5C Derived MBX
There was a slight wrinkle with using the RA-5C as a design baseline as the IP was owned by Boeing, which had acquired it through various corporate mergers. North American built the RA-5. North American became Rockwell International, whose aviation business was sold to Boeing in the 1990s. An equitable arrangement was reached.

Component manufacture for the first airframes started in 2004, with assembly of the first (non flying) central and aft fuselage box starting that year. This was specifically for heat and layout testing, as the airframe had an unusual centrebox layout, with a very large weapons bay between the two P&W F119 engines. This layout clearly originated with RA-5C, which in its A-5 form had a tubular rear-ejecting bomb bay. In MBX (assigned A-42 that year) this was a conventional bomb bay with two sets of twin doors. It was unusual in being very large, just over forty feet long and able to take very large weapons, up to and including even a 22,000 lb WWII Grand Slam bomb.

Enter the Black World – RFB-23/F-118
The USAF had been watching the Australian program for many reasons, the ostensible one being that they might have an interest in what was a very long ranged F-111 replacement. Known variously as F-118, FB-23 and RFB-23 this deep-in-the-black program had been in development for many years. Its general backstory is thus.
- The SR-71 was a wasting asset and was only still supportable because Congress specially earmarked money for the program. As early as 1995 it was understood that the numbers just were no longer there to cover all the demands a general war would place on the fleet. And the U-2 just could not penetrate hostile airspace. Losses of both types had occurred.
- A very shadowy “Aurora / Son of SR-71” might or might not have been ever real; if it existed it has never emerged from deep in the Black and exists in a literal handful.
- RQ-4 could not penetrate hostile airspace.
- RQ-3 could penetrate, but could not go deep.
- RQ-170 might also exist out there in the Black. If so it could go deeper than RQ-3, but not quickly.
- There are many places that the RF-16D and TARPS equipped F-14D just could not get to.
- The F-111 was obsolescent and on the way out, and neither the F-15E nor the forthcoming JTAT-Heavy could equal its range.
- The USAF very much liked the idea of dropping GBU-28s on hardened C3 sites deep in the enemy rear. But they knew the F-15E and F-111 could not survive going that deep at high altitude, and would have preferred not to use B-2s on conventional missions unless absolutely necessary.
- So during the 1990s, a Deep Black Project developed a Theatre Strike-Reconnaissance Penetrator (TSRP) aircraft known initially as F-118 as a cover. It was designed to carry two GBU-28s internally for those really hardened sites deep in the enemy rear. But it could carry smaller ordnance to range, in order to pop a terrorist training camp in the middle of nowhere. The deep penetrator was air-to-air capable, to meet the need to go after high value assets that the F-22 just did not have the range to try for – for example strategic targets like a presidential transport or Looking Glass/NEACP equivalent.
- The aircraft was in flight testing 1998-2000, and started to be fielded 2001-2005, very deep in the Black. It used Tonopah after the F-117 went White and moved to a regular base. The plan was for the program would go Grey and ease into White from 2006-2008 had war not broken out.
- It was accelerated to enter into regular production in mid 2005 to make up for wartime attrition in the SR-71 force and force structure increases. It remains Black.

The USAF understood (via Lockheed, active participation and high level Black program discussions) what Australia intended, and realised that there was an opportunity to assist both powers while reducing risk and cost to both.

By 2003, MBX was well under way as Project Woomera. The project was the second major Australian program to be designated as Black. To reinforce this point, in 2003 two Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalists who had published classified documents leaked to them by a former ADF intelligence officer were convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act and gaoled. The former officer was recalled by Governor-General’s order, court martialled for treason, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the military prison at Holsworthy. The ADF Solicitor-General then petitioned the Australian Parliament for the power for a trial to apply the death penalty in treason cases where it could be proven that the treason had caused the deaths of ADF personnel or Australian citizens. This triggered a political firestorm – and passed.

During 2003 the following occurred
- USAF and Lockheed were aware of MBX from the beginning.
- Both understood that MBX was a dedicated bomber with a reconnaissance functionality able to built in without any airframe alterations. This made it similar conceptually to TSRP, and both shared powerplants and that broad external visual fuselage resemblance to Vigilante. This was a natural function imposed by the laws of physics and aerodynamics.
- Both were aware that MBX fuselage was similar to but bulkier than TSRP and could be ‘adjusted’ to closely match it in airframe but not in RCS terms.
- Both aircraft are large, both in the 100-foot class and 60-70 tons maximum takeoff weight.
- The projects used the same engines and had near-identical performance characteristics. Essentially, these were the same machine being designed separately, one being optimised as a bomber, the other as a reconnaissance aircraft with a sting.
- The USAF noted that their costs could be lowered a little and RAAF costs lowered considerably by designing the MBX fuselage to accept the TSRP lift and control surfaces.
- Alternatively, the RAAF could simply use TSRP (Export), although it did not carry the payload required, nor could it be built outside the USA due to the nature of the technology. As they were aware of the national industrial capability development program nicknamed ‘The Spine’, this was understood not to be a real option.
- That said, the Australian project offered the best possible ‘cover story’ for TSRP, and the intriguing opportunity to take the TSRP grey (and in time white), while still remaining deep in the Black as to its real function.
- This also cuts both ways; Darkstar (as MBX is named) is a cover for RAAF TSRP and TSRP is a reconnaissance aircraft, which forms its cover as Australia’s high end nuclear strike bomber.
- The Australian project also )frankly) filled a USAF military requirement which they had been forced to gap.
- This was considered at the highest levels and a decision reached to bring the Australians deeper into the Black with RF-23.

Late 2003: In the Deep Black.
In 2003 this issue was raised at the highest levels of both Governments, being the actual reason behind the Prime Ministerial – Presidential meeting in April of that year.
The USAF briefed concerning its Deep Black project for a reconnaissance aircraft, then in advanced development, and that their studies showed that the two projects could be leveraged against each other to mutual benefit. The MBX fuselage could be designed to utilise the lifting and control surfaces of the TSRP to meet RAAF strike requirements, lower their cost, bring the project “four to five years” forward in time and improve MBX’s very low RCS to extremely low RCS (but not to stealth standards), while saving a very large sum of money. In response to this startling news, the Australian Prime Minister personally guaranteed that the money saved would be utilised for other urgent ADF projects (part of this was an immediate increase in the F-22 order, another the funding to pursue ‘F-15AU Big Wing’, yet another the big sealifters).
After careful discussion and costing, the two services reached an agreed capability posture on the joint project. The RAAF understood that this leverage saved them just under five years and a titanic sum of money (estimated at being at an initial AU$4.3 billion over the coming two financial years alone), and that it would be also be a cover story for the TSRP.
Both Governments agreed at the highest level to purchase both types. The RAAF an initial two flights of TSRP, the USAF a Squadron of MBX. Both services and governments have indicated that these numbers will expand in light of recent events.

What these arrangements have done is to convert TSRP and MBX from two aircraft programs with about 60% achievable commonality into a joint aircraft component program which produced two differing aircraft. This is a radical approach and is yielding both lessons and considerable savings.

A Maskirovka has been agreed and is in place. It is dynamic and is still being refined. This involved a deliberately complex and confusing nomenclature, designation, reference system and partially false history being developed for both types. This is designed to be ‘peeled back like an onion over time’ to indicate that the ‘F-118’ originated as an Australian F-111 replacement program (A-42 in RAAF sequence) during the 1990s, that it was based on RA-5C, and that the USAF had later become interested in a ‘pure’ tactical reconnaissance version called ‘RF-118’ and joined the program late in the 2000s, assisted with RCS reduction and ‘slimming down’ the fuselage as a result of ‘not needing a weapons bay at all’ on a ‘pure reconnaissance’ aircraft. The designations associated with this cover story are:

Project Woomera
A-42
CA-37
Beaufort
MBX
Darkstar
Project Blacklight
F-118
RF-118B
F-23
B-71A
Banshee
RF-23
Tigercat
UAJAP

All are used interchangeably. Both types have an arrester hook for emergency landings, but only the Darkstar bomber is actually rugged enough to operate from a carrier. Due to its sheer size and high maximum takeoff weight it is considered that it will never do so.

The RAAF will publicly call the bomber the CA-37 Darkstar, and the reconnaissance aircraft the RF-118B Beaufort.

The USAF will publicly call the bomber the B-71A Banshee and the TSRP the RF-23B Tigercat (and will act mysterious when asked about the RF-23A).

Both services will consistently refuse to explain the nomenclature, and liberally used the other designators, in particular the term ‘Woomera bomber’ for both aircraft.

All of this is intended to cause massive confusion in the aviation press and to FIS.

The RAAF machine is actually quite different from the USAF machine, but externally the two types look very similar although they only share flight and control surfaces, engines and most internal aircraft systems. There are significant differences with the fuselages. They can be differentiated when side-by-side on the ground.

The USAF will deliberately used the MBX to disguise their reconnaissance program and regarded the addition of a thoroughly useful and relatively cheap medium maritime strike bomber to their inventory with distinct smugness. The USN noted that MBX was actually designed to carrier strength and shock standards, and that the bomber had an arrestor system and an undercarriage built to carrier levels of ruggedness. Greatly surprised, the USN has been informed that the excess fuselage strength and old-fashioned non-stealth internal fuselage design was a deliberate strategy to control risk and cost, with a known trade-off against war load. As the briefer noted to the USN CNO ‘as it can carry a pair of Tallboys or a Grand Slam internally, this is not actually a problem as we understand it!’ A big aircraft, its sheer size (100-foot class) makes it badly suited to carrier operations and it cannot be catapulted at anywhere near its maximum takeoff weight (70 ton class). Yet MBX is a low RCS design and by US standards was low cost, half the cost of a RF-23.

Agreement was reached whereby MBX fuselages were built in Australia but the flight surfaces remain US-built (to control the technology) but the USAF agrees to purchase its MBX as part of the Australian production runs and both agreed to keep them coherent in weapons, sensor and equipment fits.

By the end of 2003 the political arrangements had matured, and on strategic grounds mutual acquisition was formalised, with the USAF ordering a Squadron of MBX, the RAAF two flights of TSRP, and for the two powers to coordinate a mutual maskirovka to hide the TSRP reconnaissance machine inside the “US-Australian Joint Air Program” (UAJAP).

2004: Both programs accelerated in view of the increasingly alarming international situation. Two RAAF modified RA-5D(X) flying testbeds deployed to USA to commence active maskirovka development.
2005: Winter (May-June) First TSRP Squadron conducting operations. First Prototype MBX completed at Lockheed Skunk Works (ADP)after delivery of fuselage from Avalon: ADP noted that the airframe was a ton heavier than if they had designed it, and also commented favourably on strength and build quality, also informing the USAF that while low RCS, the cost was modest compared to RF-23 fuselages. A-42-1 moved to Tonopah. Two more prototypes were in advanced build and an initial order for 25 machines had been placed to start to fill out the supply chain.
2005 Summer (November-December) first production MBX will roll off the Australian production line (originally a pre-production airframe).


TOP SECRET AUSTEO ECLIPSE
BLUESTAR


The PM looked at the decision brief again. His was the final decision, but it was intriguing that the Chief of Air Force was the one who so qualified his own agreement. CDF had recommended based on the blunt comment that ‘As nothing else is available, it’s this plan and build/ acquisition or no capability until we can build an ICBM’.

He murmured to himself. ‘Hmm, what did CAF say?’ He flicked back a page.

Recommended, as both aircraft is modern and TSRP has demonstrated excellent capability as a strategic reconnaissance machine, demonstrates margin for tactical performance improvement and can be kept as a covert special capability.

‘That’s praise,’ he said to the empty room. ‘But they have to do that as fast as possible.’

The pen made the faintest of sounds as he approved the next phases of the project.

oOo

Maskirovka

The pale grey machine speared through the mountain gap like a flung javelin, silent in the distance, then turning towards them. On another mountain’s side, on a faint track there, an old man flinched when he saw it, clapping his hands over his ears as he turned to his companions. They gaped, not even seeing the hurtling machine, then flinched in their turn. The shock wave hit as did a thunderbolt.

Thirty seconds later the roaring rumble could still be heard in the distance. The old man sat down on a log, pale and shaking. Concerned, his son and his son’s friends looked at him.

‘You OK Dad?’

‘Did you see, son. Did you see it?’

‘The jet? I saw it.’

‘Did you see what it was?’

The man looked at his father. He’d never seen him like this. ‘No, Dad I couldn’t ID it. Are you OK?’

‘No. No son, I am not. Not after seeing that.’

His son looked concerned and confused. His friends just looked confused.

‘Dad, I have never seen you like this. What’s wrong?’

‘Low, blindingly fast, beautiful.’

He took a deep, shuddering breath, visibly fighting to regain control.

‘It was a Vigilante.’

His son put his hand on his father’s shoulder, shocked. He father did not feel it. He was remembering a cockpit long ago, and the flak.

oOo

18 October 2003

Wing Commander Ian Spencer was feeling a little exhilarated. The zoom had taken the machine to 95,000 feet, the stall and recovery had been a challenge, but recovery had been excellent, and the tanker was on station. First of her kind in the sky for over two decades, and the aircraft handled like a dream. He’d taken her supersonic on the deck, she supercruised at mach 1.4, and now he was due a sustained high speed run down the SR-71 route. Inside, the telemetry systems recorded torrents of data.

That was very, very deliberate. It had taken much careful planning, and some connivance.

OK, he thought, she’s clean and light and new and smooth and as an aircraft, this bird is superb. He looked at the tanker and had a last random thought. Pity about the RCS, but you can’t have everything. She’s way better than a ‘vark, anyway.

Yes, she’d been specially and meticulously prepared, her new surfaces were polished and smooth – ‘Cottonised’ was the term, named after that famous rogue of aviation, weight reduction had taken a hair under two tons of weight from her empty mass, and of course the ventral pod was not fitted. The big test bird had tanked off again, and they were on the final stretch of this test run. Supercruising at Mach 1.4, and it was time for the dash. Spence grinned inside his helmet. This was the fun bit, and he and his rear seater had a carefully orchestrated plan to work to. It was all approved, of course. A vital first part of the maskirovka. This Vigilante was now the second-fastest aircraft in western inventory after the SR-71 and ... no, better not even to think that name. But exactly how fast she was had not been tested until now.

They thought that they’d not be able to beat a clean Foxbat, F-15 or a Foxhound, but they’d read Brian Schul’s 1994 book ‘Sled Driver: Flying the World’s Fastest Jet’. Obviously, they could be nowhere near the performance of the SR-71. His bird might make a bit over 2,000 knots specially prepared, lightened and in a bloody shallow dive, but a Blackbird would leave them like they were chained to a post.

And some things were just too damned cool not to do again, especially as part of the deception plan. Not as high, not as fast. But still high, and still fast. And he could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. They had set this up very carefully and all through back channels, the RCAF routinely did training flights down here with their own twin seat Hornets, because it gave the student experience of a very complex aviation environment. And there were RAAF instructors, just as there were RCAF instructors operating out of Williamtown. The coordination had been a bit tricky, and they hoped others would freeplay into their game. Spence had zoomed her, now he put her into a shallow dive with the throttle wide open, and the afterburner on maximum. Lighter than she’d ever be in service, the new-old aircraft was going all-out.

Spence and his rear seater were listening on the clock, they only had a narrow time window to pull this stunt. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Centre, far below and controlling the usual heavy traffic in the sector. Their radar systems had been much upgraded in recent years but of course Spence was in uncontrolled airspace above LA’s airspace.

But Maple 86 wasn’t. She was winging in to slot behind an airliner, and was entering the outer edges of their landing pattern.

The instructor glanced at the time. ‘Liz, call the Centre and ask for a groundspeed check.’

The student was working hard to stay behind the airliner and was slightly surprised.

‘There are external assets you can use, Liz.’

Ah. OK, I get it, she thought. ‘Centre, Maple 86, request ground speed check.’

Centre replied in their usual calm tones, ‘Maple 86 I'm showing you at 377 knots on the ground.’

‘Now, Liz, is that the same as you read here?’ They focussed on their tasks.

Ground speed checks were now unusual things to ask for, but everyone knew about the Maple flights, a student was learning something an instructor wanted the student to learn.

And then Spence’s grin got even bigger, a real fish struck at the bait. His REO said into the circuit, ‘Eagle out of Le Moore, I think. He’ll know what Maple is, so he’s tweaking the Canucks a little.’

The Centre replied, a faint hint of amusement in his voice, ‘Singer 43, I’m showing you at 615 knots over the ground.’

‘Thank you, Centre.’

‘Los Angeles Centre, this is Darkstar, request calibration ground speed check.’

‘Darkstar, I’m showing you at 2,051 knots across the ground.’ There was the faintest trace of disbelief in the voice. Faint, but there.

‘Thank you for the calibration check, Centre, my instruments are showing the same.’

‘Roger, Darkstar, whatever you are, you boys have a good one.’

The aviation blogs had it in minutes.

And that was the point.

oOo

He listened to his father on the phone in the kitchen, still concerned. Just one side of the conversation, but it was enough.

‘Brett, I was on the trail but I saw it clear. A Vigi, not the slightest possible doubt. Shook me up bad.’

‘No. No doubt at all.’

‘Yes, I know none are flying. But one is ‘cause I saw it. Haze grey, low and damned fast. Sounded different and no smoke, so it did not have J79’s. Who’s flying them, Brett, and why?’

‘Yes, I checked with Lars. They are gone from AMARC, Brett. All of them, years ago, to scrap and museums.’

‘Why? You know why. I’ve got to know….’

He turned and walked away. The pain in his father’s voice was too much to bear.

oOo

‘Touched Mach 3.1 briefly.’

‘How long Spence?’

‘Only for a few minutes, I think the max service speed of this bird will be absolutely no more than 3.0 at altitude. So, did this meet the requirements for the deception plan?

‘Oh yes. Four more distant sighting runs and one more special run as we planned and that should do it for this phase of the maskirovka. The blogs are already carrying speculation, the guys at AMARC are being pestered, which bugs them as Vigilantes are long gone from there, and there is speculation about us. Once this is set up at this phase, we’ll have an ability to shape their thrust of investigation and speculation. You know the plan.’

‘Good. Then we can get back to developing the recce and strike capability behind the scenes.’

oOo

Life With Kelly7 hours ago
So you think it’s the Aussies? That makes exactly no sense.
REPLY
168
Spud Andrews 5 hours ago
Just remember that they are doing a heck of a build up right now. Old Pentagon contact said they are looking for more varks and a replacement for it. Nothing much out there. It’s really a no-go. Vark attrition over the years have been high and the airframe hours are higher.
REPLY
169
Cindy the Weaponeer 4 hours ago
Heard the same Spud. Worked with the Vark guys earlier in my career and it they were wearing out then. Heard the Aussies were looking for more birds with Indon falling apart. But theres no Vigis left to do that job. I do know that the Vigis at AMARC were all scrapped years ago. Keep safe Spud. Just stay focused on the Lord, spend time with him, and God will do the rest. You are in my prayers!!
REPLY
170
Ojeda 3 hours ago
Vets are looking. My dad’s an old Vigi guy with Vietnam tours, he the one who started this, swears he saw one low and fast couple three weeks back. Really want to know for hsi sake.
REPLY
171
narrowpather 3 hours ago
keep going, keep looking, God love bless your Dad
REPLY
172
Chuck Kowalska 3 hours ago
Why not just ask the Aussies straight up Ojeda? You in cali? Ask the Aussie rep at AMARC. They are still pulling F-4s and S-2’s out of the place.
REPLY
173
Clutch City 3 hours ago
Life With Kelly it does make sense, theyve been at war since 99 and its getting worse. Since the start theyve changed a lot. But why one or two Vigis?
REPLY
174
Larry Howell 2 hours ago
Darkstar. Something called Darkstar was ground speed checked by LA centre an hour ago doing 2051 knots (true, I checked two zero five one). No SR71s active here in ages. I checked that. Nothing much else can go that fast unless Aurora is real. But a rebuilt Vigi just might. And the pilot had an accent. .
oOo

The controllers were busy, but then they always were.

‘That has to be military, but the transponder squawk has too little data. He’s ... what the hell? He’s accelerating like a skyrocket! 1,300 knots and accelerating. There’s no altitude, what the hell?’

‘Get that altitude right now!’

‘Darkstar 03 this is Minneapolis Centre report altitude.’

‘Minneapolis Centre this is Darkstar 03 request VFR.’

‘Darkstar 03 this is Minneapolis Centre VFR denied report altitude.’

‘Minneapolis Centre this is Darkstar 03 negative on altitude, request VFR.’

‘Darkstar 03 this is Minneapolis Centre VFR denied, you are in controlled airspace, report altitude immediately.’

‘Minneapolis Centre this is Darkstar 03, how about you tell me just how much traffic you really have above Angels 75, then we can talk.’

He senior supervisor turned to the controller, his eyebrows rising. ‘Angels 75? That’s 75,000 feet. That’s over thirteen miles altitude! God knows what he is, he’s too fast for a U-2. What’s his speed now?’

‘Just went through 1,500 knots, and rising fast. 1,600!’

‘Give him VFR, he’s way above our controlled airspace so he’s asking for the sake of professional courtesy. But tell him not to worry us like that.’

‘Darkstar 03 this is Minneapolis Centre ,VFR granted, thank you for the courtesy, request you make plain that you are above controlled airspace when not squawking altitude.’

‘Minneapolis Centre this is Darkstar 03, acknowledged, will alter Squadron procedures to accord.’

“Ty, 1,700 knots and still accelerating!”

Again, the blogs had it in minutes.

oOo

19 June 2004

Spence had been enjoying life waaay too much on Timor and this was his penance. Well. Sort of. He was finally out of Mirages, which he regretted. And bouncing between this program and Timor had been a monumental pain in the coit. He grinned at himself, but I got Ace, last ever Mirage III ace, and now I am here in command.

He did not like this bird. They had all three of their Vigilantes flying now, this one was a very strange machine, heavily modified. She was basically an eighty percent model of a Darkstar, not so much for aerodynamic testing, although she was proving a lot about the different fuselage, but for tactical and operational procedure development. She had the odd, angular yet curved wings of the TSRP and its strange out-canted rear tail and lifting surfaces. It looked like a TSRP but was a lot smaller, as it was smaller than the Darkstar. She had multiple roles. They’d trailed their cloak over places where they had been seen in the distance, tweaking the maskirovka. But most of their work had been the endless grind of this sort of flying, meticulous, vital testing, but boring.

As such, she was a very odd mix of techs, and while she handled well she was not as reliable as he liked and had some ugly handling quirks. Not like the other two without this extreme level of mod. And, he thought to himself, this paint scheme is just plain ugly. It rather resembled the old Bomber Command scheme of WWII, black underneath and dark browns and greens on top. They had taken the pictures for future use and had not stripped it off yet. They even had the usual bogus tail number, A42-3 in this case.

He glanced at the coast in the dawn, they were offshore after working with some USN ships during the night, and...

His world went mad as the big machine flicked violently to port, inverted into a spin, and fell from the sky.

oOo

The tower at Monterey Regional Airport was normally busy. There was a lot of traffic, mostly local, small aircraft. There was a good deal of fairly heavy traffic, though. The controller watched as the Allegiant Air A319 started to move away from the terminal, crossing the hardstand heading for the taxiway.

All normal, she’d use 10R/28L as usual. The controller looked at the sky, it was going to be another beautiful day. Then it came to a screeching halt.

Mayday Mayday Mayday this is Alpha four two three military internal explosion and on fire diverting Mike Romeo Yankee request all emergency services.

The controller hit the circuit.

Alpha four two three military this is Mike Romeo Yankee state position and souls on board sir.

He flicked frequencies. ‘Allegiant three six I have a mayday, on fire, asking for emergency landing stop where you are on taxiway.’

‘Acknowledged.’

Two on board, rear seater is not responding and appears to be injured, he cannot eject. Position about twenty miles north west, aircraft barely controllable.

‘I have nothing on radar, no transponder and we should get hard return if he’s that close.’

Alpha four two three military I do not have you on radar by transponder or hard return. Cleared to land runway ten romeo twenty-eight lima, emergency services responding.

Monterey I have heavy damage, port engine down starboard engine operating reduced power, heavy vibrations and control degraded. Transponder is down and you won’t get a radar return from this aircraft. Fire in port engine bay. Something blew back there.

‘We won’t get a hard return? Oh, hell he’s an F-117 or something. Jimmy, get the binoculars and try to spot him!’

Alpha four two three military runway ten romeo twenty-eight lima is clear, ceiling four thousand feet thin and broken and visibility’s one five below it, wind three two zero four knots emergency services positioning now.

Monterey acknowledged in steep descent through Angels two zero.

‘Got him, leaving black smoke, he looks to be just falling from the sky.’

‘Just track him.’

‘The Allegiant’s coming back to the hardstand.’

Monterey I have you in sight, tell me if you can see my undercarriage my indication system is dead.

‘Jimmy?’

‘It’s down.’

Alpha eyes on says your undercarriage is down do you expect it to hold?

Dunno, I hope so. Maybe one minute until we find out.

‘What is that thing?’

‘Jimmy, can it unless it’s pertinent!’

‘OK, undercarriage looks down, he’s trailing thick mist – fuel maybe – from the port wing and a lot of black smoke from what looks like the starboard engine. He’s sort of jittering and wobbling all over the place, he looks barely under control.’

‘Alpha eyes on says you are trailing dense white mist from your port wing possibly fuel and thick smoke from your starboard engine. Emergency vehicles deployed, paramedics on the way, civilian traffic warned off, cleared to land on runway or taxiway.’

‘Being fussy and want me to use a runway, eh? I can’t control her much under 300 knots. Coming in too hot and too fast. Ten seconds.’

He jerked his head up to look as the strange aircraft shuddered in the air and was then slammed into the threshold, bouncing back into the air then hitting again, settling on to the nosewheel and screaming down the runway. There was a titanic thuttering roar as a cruciform drag chute popped. The fire trucks accelerated as fast as they could, chasing the jet. Halfway down the runway and slowing rapidly there was a flash and suddenly her port wing was trailing a great banner of flame.

‘What the hell is that thing, Jimmy?’

‘Dunno boss, not our roundels or colour scheme either, black underneath, green and brown on top, weird droopy triangular wings and two curved upwards rear surfaces.’

The fire engines reached the now-stationary aircraft and started to douse the blazing port wing. The pilot had popped his canopy, leaped out and hit the rescue handle before the rescue crew got to him: he was fearsomely close to the fire.

Jimmy lifted his binoculars. Make that in the fire.

oOo

The Prime Minister took a final look at the television.

‘Are the crew all right?’

‘Pilot’s injured but OK, got burned a bit, backseater is badly injured and in a coma. Pilot made the right call, he’d never have survived if he had not managed to land the jet. However, ...’

‘We have video of our advanced test aircraft for the bomber project burning on a civilian airport’s runway on all the news channels,’ finished the PM sourly.

‘Not actually a huge problem, PM. We’ve got contingency plans for the maskirovka and this just activates one of them. We praise the pilot for landing a crippled aircraft in a notable feat of airmanship and refuse to comment on a classified program, the Americans do the same. We leak the word that this is a prototype of a bomber we are developing with US assistance and say nothing more.’ He shrugged. ‘The idea is to hide TSRP and what it really is for us, what the real capabilities of both aircraft are, and that this was just an old RA-5C converted to a flying testbed. Ok, this was a bit of bad luck and we change the plan a bit. All the usual suspects will be yowling, but so what?’

‘It’s a little fortuitous that the test aircraft was in the colour scheme she was.’

‘Why?’ asked the PM.

‘Reinforces the bomber and strike theory, and suggests that the aircraft is a night bomber, like F-117. Helps add a layer of misdirection. Basically, after this everyone will think that they know exactly what these new aircraft are.’

‘Hmm.’

oOo

Wing Commander Thynne looked at the young man with both exasperation and considerable compassion. He’d travelled a long way, and he’d made great efforts.

It felt ... slightly dirty. He was going to use him and his father, and use them ruthlessly. That was his duty, and he’d do it without hesitation or compunction. And they’d done research on this man and his father after his persistence had become plain.

‘Mr Ojeda,’ he said gently, ‘I have read your emails and letters. I am a Vietnam veteran myself, two tours in helicopters. So I understand where you are coming from. I know you have put together something from information from all over the place. I know that you have a, perhaps the right word is insatiable, drive to find out, and I fully understand the reason for that. Officially, I am absolutely unable to answer any of your questions, and will not do so.’

Ojeda slumped back a little in his chair. ‘But... I see. The stone wall, I see.’

Thynne shook his head gently. ‘I said officially, Mr Ojeda.’

The young man looked startled, and his face filled with hope.

‘Meet me, with your father, at the entrance plaza to the Skunk Works at Palmdale next Friday morning at 0900 sharp. Blackbird Drive, it turns off Sierra Highway, meet me at the gate guard there. No discussing this at all or the deal’s off, no electronics on either of you, not even a watch. I will tell you exactly what you can say about it. For what it’s worth, Mr Ojeda, I believe your father has raised a splendid son.’

oOo

They were walking towards the gate guard on its display pole. ‘Paulo...’

‘Dad, you know as much as me. I don’t know why, but I am not going to say no! ... There he is.’

Thynne and another man walked over to them. They were dressed similarly in civilian clothing, in jeans and collared T-shirts.

Thynne looked carefully at the older man. Oh yes, he has the eyes, he thought, and the recognition is mutual. He nodded, once. That was enough. And he’d read the man’s file.

‘Lieutenant Commander Manuel Ojeda, USN, retired, Mr Paulo Ojeda, I am Wing Commander John Thynne, this,’ he gestured at his companion, ‘is Wing Commander Ian Spencer. This is very much his show.’

They shook hands amid the usual pleasantries. After Thynne had received assurances that they carried nothing, he pulled out a small UHF radio and spoke into it. A crew van with blanked over windows moved towards them from the car park.

‘If you’d come this way, gentlemen, our chariot awaits.’

All four of them moved into the back, and the door closed. The RAAF officers knew they were going to the ‘new shed’ at the Northrop Grumman facility off Columbia Way of course; not that they went that way, they drove via the taxiways up past the Boeing facility, but the Ojeda’s had no idea where they were going – they could not see out of the van.

When the van door opened, they were inside. At Thynne’s gesture, they were taken into a locker room and asked to change into RAAF flight suits – as both Wing Commanders did. Paulo Ojeda was intrigued to note that they had the right size for he and his father.

He also noted that Spencer had bandaged arms, and raised his eyebrows.

Thynne looked at him, then at Spence, and nodded once.

“Burned when my bird went into Monterey.”

“Ah,” said Ojeda. “I saw the video on the news. You did well to land her.”

Nothing more as said. Or needed to be.

After dressing, they followed both RAAF officers into a break room of some sort.

‘Guys help yourselves to tea, or coffee if you prefer the stuff, I think it’s like drinking used sump oil seasoned with nuclear waste but that’s just me, and then we’ll have a chat.’

Spence grinned. ‘The tea’s just brewed, and it’s Melbourne Breakfast tea, so it’s a good one. The coffee I cannot vouch for at all as I also never touch the stuff,’ he said.

Paulo noted that both Australians went for the teapot. He shrugged. ‘Might as well try it, I’ve never really had tea before.’

‘And in this country that’s a good thing in oh so many ways,’ Spence said with another grin, ‘they mostly have no idea how to make it, so what you get is truly awful.’

They all settled around the table, the two Americans sipping and looking rather thoughtfully at their cups.

‘OK. Lieutenant-Commander, this is a two-way street. You, and your son, who’s been really active and effective in bugging Wing Commander Thynne here, want an ‘in’ to something you have absolutely no right to be asking for. That said, I and my superiors are not unsympathetic to what your son has been asking for, but you do not know what you are really asking for. And we are at war, and have been at war since 1999. So we propose a trade, because we want something from you, full access to your experience and a year of effective service time from you, after a bunch of retraining. Your record from your service in Vietnam is exemplary, and you are the most experienced surviving RA-5C pilot. You still fly, we know about your airline career and the fill-in work you do with your friend’s corporate jet company. So I’ll throw this dead cat on the table right at the start so we can all enjoy the aroma. We know you are long retired. We know you a leading light in the ex-Vigilante veteran community. We know that you will be able to be re-issued security clearances sufficient for the job. We think you will be able to connect the dots well enough to be able to re-qual on the aircraft although we’ll do that in the sim first. But that won’t be your primary job. So the question is, are you willing to be recalled for a minimum 15 months full time service with the USN, on secondment to us, to help us fast-track some of our training.’

He held up his hand as Manuel opened his mouth, a startled look on his face, ‘not yet, Lieutenant Commander, not yet.’

He glanced at Thynne. ‘Yes, we have purchased some surviving RA-5C airframes. Yes, we have returned them to service to provide certain ... kinds of support for something. I command the Squadron. You would be working for me as part of my training staff. Yes, even if you refuse, you at least get a tour of the basics. I know, I know exactly, why you need that and why your son has been so persistent on your behalf. And you have already earned the favour of us showing you that much.’

‘You are not a recce guy, sir.’

‘No, Lieutenant Commander I am not. I am a fighter guy on something of a transition.’

‘Why were you picked for this job?’

‘I was a Mirage III guy, we did a lot of tactical recce in Timor. Our F-111 recce guys are all busy, and the old Mirage III was at end of life. Most of us are Mirage guys.’

‘There’s more to it than that. You’ve got the look.’

‘Yes, there is, I am the last ace on Mirage III. Seen the elephant as much as you have.’

‘Ace? OK, and you are building a new squadron. Can I give you an answer after we see the basics?’

‘Dad...’

He father interrupted him. ‘Paulo, it’s a bolt from the blue for any man, let alone a man so near sixty. I last few a Vigi in 1978, son, did my 20 and got out as they had an excess of pilots after Vietnam ended. Heh. Beat the rush to the airlines, I did.’

‘I can give you a day.’ Spence shrugged. ‘We are at war. Things have to happen quickly. You know this. Speaking of which, finish up your tea and we’ll get a wriggle on.’

Two minutes later he escorted them into another room, and through that into the edge of a vast space. Spencer and Thynne stopped to let them take in the sight. There were six partially complete, yellow-undercoated airframes under early fitout, all skinning removed, or perhaps not placed on yet. Men and women worked on the six airframes with furiously careful concentration.

‘That’s ... quite something,’ Ojeda the elder said softly. ‘You are not messing about.’

Spence also spoke quietly. ‘No. We are not. And the Skunk Works here is not, either. You may not approach the aircraft, of course, Lieutenant Commander. You do not have the clearances yet. But I will tell you that your old bird is in the next facility, and that we did not replace the skin patch on the starboard side where the shell fragment that killed Lieutenant Camsian hit the aircraft. I had his name be ghostpainted on the starboard side of that cockpit, it is ... fitting, I think.

They stood there for some minutes in silence as the older man struggled briefly to restore his composure, and then just stood and looked at the swarming activity.

‘Wing Commander Spencer.’

‘Yes?’

‘The answer is yes. If my old skills will assist you in any way, then yes. It is not something I can refuse and still call myself a man.’

Spence nodded. ‘You are not so old, and as a senior pilot for United you are still active and current in the air. And United will not raise any issues with a SecNav recall.’

Thynne silently handed an envelope to Spence, who looked at it and sighed.

‘I am a hard taskmaster. Lieutenant Commander. Yet I’ll give you the rest of the day to think about this in some more depth, and to discuss with your wife and son. Nevertheless, I’ll not be here this afternoon, so at 1600 tell Wing Commander Thynne.’

He handed Ojeda the envelope.

‘That contains a signed order from your Secretary of Navy, recalling you to service, but it remains voluntary. For it to be affected, you have to sign it. You do not have to sign it. But if, at 1600, you hand that the Wing Commander Thynne, signed, then you are agreeing. Read it, think about it, talk it over.’

He nodded at Ojeda, then turned and left.

Ojeda nodded, entirely distracted by the sight before him. ‘What are they, and what are you designating them, sir?’

‘That has caused us a lot of thought. They are derived from the Vigilante as a design root. We are designating them the A42 in ADF serial sequence. The new official designation is the CA-37 Darkstar. It’s also our open callsign.’

‘So...’

‘No, stop. This is the show-and-tell, and it’s also really about your experience and to be blunt, a job offer. So let’s finish the dog-and-pony bit, then talk about the job, then you and your family really do need to talk to see if you really want it.’ They started walking, keeping well clear of the airframes.

‘That’s the initial airframe fit line for the pre-production birds. We are, ah, learning, shall we say.’ He continued to discuss the general process for many minutes as they walked through a maze of passages. Then Thynne pushed through a door. Gleaming before them were two smoothly polished aircraft.

‘These are the last two Vigilante in the air. They are now testing a variety of recce kit and carriage stores. This is A42-01, Darkstar 01. Yes, she has exceeded Mach 3. The CO’s bird right now. We are getting a lot more out of this old airframe now. We can walk around these two. Your old bird is the other one. You may not walk around her yet, as she has a few things you are not yet cleared for. The third bird is under repair after that spectacular landing at Monterey Regional.’

‘Heck of a piece of airmanship, that. You’ve done away with the metal canopies.’

‘Yes, all clear now and the back seater really appreciates the change, too. Been a lot of tech advances in that area, really. The RCS is not what we’d want, but these are training and test aircraft and you can’t have everything, and it’s a lot better than it was.’

‘So, sir, 2,051 knots and above 75,000 feet?’

Thynne smiled. ‘I wondered if you’d picked up on both. Lots of weight reduction. Much, much better engines and much lighter too. More range, and fast as a thief down low where it counts, and it counts in a lot of our oparea. No closer than six feet, gentlemen.’

They kept to that, walking slowly around the aircraft, which was painted in low-visibility haze grey, and they saw what the term ghost painting meant.

‘The paint is very thin, and, I don’t know, it looks polished somehow?’

‘Yes and yes. It’s more a sort of semi-ceramic coating than a paint. Saves weight and reduces friction. We call it ‘cottonising’, after a genuine genius and rogue in the last war, bloke called Sidney Cotton. Invented a lot of stuff including the first proper flying suit and photo-recce, built and ran the RAF’s 1 Photographic Development Unit from 1939. One hell of a man. Had a penchant for marrying 18 year old women.’

‘I might look him up. Sounds like an interesting guy.’

‘He’s kind of our patron saint, small S of course, Saint Michael is our patron Saint. 1PRU was called ‘Cotton’s Club’ and they used a saying, CC-11. It means Cotton’s Club followed the 11th Commandment – don’t get caught. We kind of resemble that comment!’

Ojeda smiled. ‘That can be taken two ways.’

‘Oh, Spence and the boys know that. With bells on. Anyway, that’s the end of the dog and pony show. I’ll take you and Paulo back to the Plaza. Make your calls and talk it over. It’s a serious, serious decision and I mean that. We are at war and you know exactly what that means, we will be going in harm’s way. And soon. If you pass the medicals, you will be too, I think.’

oOo

Back at the plaza and once more in civilian clothes, Ojeda turned to Thynne. ‘One more question. How has your war affected you all?’

He was not prepared for the look of killing rage which flashed across Thynne’s florid, genial face.

His voice was cold and controlled when he replied. ‘We are facing at least another decade of conflict and we think this is going to go badly pear-shaped before it gets better. We are changing much of our society to deal with it. This new capability will be part of that. We will use any person, any skill, any pool of expertise, to that end; and I know you remember that cost.’

He speared the older man with his look. ‘Do not say yes unless you understand how deadly serious we are about that. We don’t spare ourselves, we certainly won’t spare you. And you’ll be a part of the Squadron as we build up if you requal, and I can see no reason you won’t, you will be flying operational missions. We could be flying combat sorties much faster than you might think. Indonesia is heading towards very dangerous ground, and we cannot accept their alliance with the USSR strategically. There could be fighting without warning. There’s absolutely no guarantee about where you might wind up.’

oOo

Spence glanced at his watch and called Thynne. ‘John. Do I have to be there at 1600?’

‘Yes. Ninety percent chance. Multiple purposes, eh?’

‘Maskirovka, links, known skills and expertise, and it helps a little bit in keeping the US in favour. There’s no downside for us, and he can run the US techs as well.’

‘Bring the Chief?’

‘And the USLO.’

oOo

The operations manager looked up in surprise as Ojeda opened his door and walked in.

He did not have an appointment – but senior pilots could play at least a little loose with the normal state of affairs.

‘Manuel?’

‘Morning Roscoe. Wanted you to be the first to know. I’ve been recalled from reserve by SecNav, effective immediately and it’s not for CRAF work.’

Roscoe leaned back in his chair and gestured at the chair opposite. ‘Not for CRAF? Odd, we have a bunch of guys on CRAF, so what is it?’

Ojeda looked a little uncomfortable, which rang a few alarms.

‘I am sorry, Roscoe, I really am, but I cannot tell you because it’s classified’, he handed over a couple of letters, ‘the first is a recall order effective on acknowledgement of the call up instruction, the second is a copy of my orders. As you can see they refer to the receipt of acknowledgement of the call up instruction.’

He scanned them with the expertise of his own former military service. And his eyebrows shot up when he reached the second paragraph.

‘What, you are reporting to Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program? The Skunk Works, Manuel? What have you gotten yourself into, old friend?’

He paused for a split second. ‘No, you cannot possibly tell me and would not anyway no matter what. And anyway I have zero need to know.’

‘Sorry Roscoe.’

‘No need at all buddy. I understand fully. Things are still happening. How long for?’

‘Over a year initially, but there’s not the slightest chance of being able to say that with any certainty.’

‘I can certainly annotate your file on that...’

‘It probably includes hotzone operational sorties, Roscoe. I do not know for sure. But I can’t see how it could not.’

‘As in...?’

‘Yes.’

‘Manuel. You are not a young man.’

‘Ah, for this I can blame you, my friend. I passed the flight medical. All those medicals and all that fitness advice for our pilots, you have kept me well able to fly operational in this ... role,’ and he smiled.

‘Are you pleased with whatever this is, old friend?’

Ojeda stood and walked to the window, looking at the big airliners on the airside.

‘Yes, Roscoe. Yes I am. It is a special task which I can do really well at this level, and as I told the men who asked me, I could not say no and still look at myself in the mirror every morning, and still be able to call myself a man. The family has agreed. I leave tomorrow.’

The operations manager sighed. ‘Very well, thank you for telling as soon as you could.’

He stood. ‘And now we are going to the lounge, and we will have a beer.’

oOo