Contents (55)
- In Memoriam
- Epigraph
- Cast of Characters
- Americans
- Russians
- Canadian
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Weapons and Acronyms
- Weapons
- Acronyms
- About the Author
- Also by Dale Brown
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
“Good power readings,” Bunin said, closely monitoring the readouts from both engines. “We’re set.”
“Let’s get this bird airborne,” Petrov agreed. He took a deep breath and keyed his mike. “Engels Tower, this is Ten’ Odin, Shadow One. We’re ready to roll.”
“Shadow One, Engels Tower, understood. You are cleared to taxi into position on runway two-two left,” the controller replied.
Petrov released the brakes and throttled up a little more. Slowly, the big blended-wing bomber moved out of the hangar and swung right onto the taxiway. Nearly four hundred meters farther on, it turned back to the left—perfectly positioned along the center line of the leftmost of the base’s two long runways. “Engels Tower, this is Shadow One,” he radioed. “In position, runway two-two left, ready for takeoff.”
“Shadow One, Tower,” he heard through his headset. “Winds light at two-one-six, cleared for takeoff on runway two-two left. Good hunting!”
“Shadow One cleared for takeoff,” Petrov acknowledged. He set the brakes again and throttled up, running the bomber’s twin engines all the way up to full military power. The rumbling roar outside the cockpit built in intensity.
“Compressors look good. Temperatures are good,” Bunin reported from beside him.
Petrov nodded. “Copy that.” He released the brakes. “Rolling.”
Unshackled from artificial constraints, the PAK-DA almost leaped ahead, accelerating fast down the runway. Off to their right side, the long line of stationary Tu-160s blurred together into a continuous stream of bright white aircraft sliding past their speeding plane.
Less than halfway down the runway, Petrov saw the Vr symbol blink onto his heads-up display. They were now moving fast enough to take off safely. Gently, he pulled back on the stick. “Rotating.”
Instantly, the bomber’s nose came up. It soared off the tarmac and climbed rapidly into the air. Hydraulics whined below their feet as the landing gear whirred up and locked into position.
Petrov risked a quick glance over his shoulder at Mavrichev. The general sat transfixed in amazement, with his mouth slightly agape. And no wonder, the colonel thought with an inward laugh. Thanks to its advanced control surfaces and design, the PAK-DA prototype required considerably less runway than Russia’s older Tu-160 bombers. Its takeoff performance was closer to that of a high-powered fighter than to a heavily loaded bomber.
Still climbing, the stealth bomber crossed the Volga and then banked hard right to turn back to the east as it flew over the city of Saratov. For a few moments, its oddly shaped wing was lit from behind by the last rays of the setting sun and then it vanished—swallowed up by the swiftly gathering dusk.
Fifteen
Over the Yenisei River, Central Russia
Three Hours Later
Five thousand meters above a pitch-black landscape of primeval forests and a wide river that wound north toward the distant Arctic Ocean, four aircraft flew onward beneath the vast dome of a star-speckled sky. Green, red, and white navigation lights marked the relative positions of the PAK-DA bomber prototype, a four-engine Ilyushin IL-78M-90A refueling tanker, and the two Su-57 stealth fighters assigned to escort the tanker to this midair rendezvous.