Possible Indian Military Scenarios - XII

[Rajat]

awesome, shankar!

a question, though : does it really take that short a time for telemetry to be available?

[Nihat]

mind blasting scenario Vivek Sir

and Shankar's scenario's is building up fantastically too , this is just too good to be true.

[Yogesh]

Over the next 24 hrs the payloads will be switched on and there after high resolution radar as well as optical images will be available to IAF 24/7.
From now on the term surgical strike will acquire a new dimension

That's simply awesome , can not wait longer to see it in reality . .

[Yogesh]

“Yeah, well, we are out of options down here! I have enemy tanks about to roll over us and we are down to throwing stones at them in about a minute! Unless you have a better idea, bring in everything you got on my position. We are in entrenched positions, so use something that won’t penetrate too deep and we might even see the next sunrise. Over and out!” the R/T clicked off.

Hats off to the spirit the major has, also see how selfless and distinguished decision it was considering the raid would sum them up also in their trenches. . .

[panky]

Awesome multiple postings Vivek after a long lull !!! Keep it coming !!! Waiting for the destruction of commie Tu-154 EW aircraft by Migs.

[andy B]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

[vivek_ahuja]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

Okay, I believe I can speak on the issue now that it has cleared up with the publishers:

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008.

Now the firm has a new editor and a new issue which has put the book on back burner at the moment.

The real unspoken reason given by the new editor: I am a first time author. The publishing firm is unsure of what the sales will be. In general, in India, they say, the average size of a military techno-thriller is around 300 pages with large font and excess spaces (like Humphrey Hawksley's book Dragonfire). Unfortunately, with that kind of limitation on size, you cannot go into nearly the kind of nitty gritty detail I had gone into. Anybody who has read Dragonfire and compares it with my scenario will understand the issue. So what happens is that you end up skimming the tops of what is supposed to be happening. Other authors in India in this genre publish smaller scale topics like special operations etc that can finish in 300 pages. But these are small squad tactical scenarios versus the total war scenarios that I had written about. So my book is a new concept from an untested author.

The result: put the 700 page magnum opus on the back burner as a prospective second book. Ask the author to stick to the tried and tested and come out with a first book within 300 pages.

The idea: If the first book works, bring back the 700 page book as a quasi sequel from a by-now established author.

Current status: working on the 300 page book. Wondering how the hell can a war last within 300 pages. Not sure whether to consider other options or actually try writing the smaller version of the book.

-Vivek

[andy B]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

Okay, I believe I can speak on the issue now that it has cleared up with the publishers:

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008....

-Vivek

Oh what!!!

Damn I knew it would be something like this....oh gawd

This just sounds like a big load of BS by the publishers Vivek. I mean the kind of detail that you painstakingly put through in your writings needs those pages otherwise its just another excercise in skimming on the tops as you said. I understand that you are working on the 300 page book however would it be worth to look at other publishers???.

I am sure that there would be other options in this regard, however given your studies and all it will make it that much harder. Is there anyway us at BR can help, sign a petition or may be? (with the due permission from BR bossses of course).
I also suggest that considering the amount of people that read through your book and are fans of your scenarios may be would pay in advance (I am more than happy to be the first to pay) or agree in principal to buy it or something. Surely there would be some way out of this and BR can help in some regard at least.

If we can show you some due support I am sure that it will be looked upon well. I sincerely hope that there is some way of convincing these bureaucrats that it is a worthwile venture and will yield good returns.

[Rajat]

vivek, i cannot even presume i know more than you about writing a book...

but may i offer a suggestion? if the publisher has asked you to write a 300 page book first, why not make it a prologue? you know, establish the scenario, introduce the characters, their fears, their hopes...draw a picture of the upcoming battlefields, perhaps put in a comparison of how the indian government dilly-dallies, while the chicoms start mobilizing. perhaps end it with a grim sentence to set the mood for the real battle?

please feel free to ignore this if i seem too presumptuous...

[Singha]

there is a book "line of control" in bookstores now that adheres to the format
of the first book suggested. starts with a lashkar wiping out a small indian patrol somewhere in J&K.

skimming through, I could see Hind raids on terror camps across border and a pair of intercepting mirage5's knocked down by a roving squad of Mig29s.

sounded like a well written piece of work. has the 'masala' one expects.

[Malay]

I agree with the above mentioned point vivek. If you deem it possible, a 300 page prequel to the main book should be a good idea.

One of the reasons and points that made your scenario's really good was the diplomatic angle to the scenario. You put in the politics going on in GoI as well as the individual political relations with other countries and the talks.

Nitpick-this is one thing you have lost now. You have been driven to being just the military battle commentator(a very good one i might add) and have forgotten that you initially always had the political developments in GoI as well as the political developments with other countries. Dont forget that aspect.

So maybe you could give the background to the war, the reasons, the hustle before the ground war is actually initiated among other things.

Either way, you have an assured readership here!

Regards,
Malay

[Jyotish]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

Okay, I believe I can speak on the issue now that it has cleared up with the publishers:

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008.

Now the firm has a new editor and a new issue which has put the book on back burner at the moment.

The real unspoken reason given by the new editor: I am a first time author. The publishing firm is unsure of what the sales will be. In general, in India, they say, the average size of a military techno-thriller is around 300 pages with large font and excess spaces (like Humphrey Hawksley's book Dragonfire). Unfortunately, with that kind of limitation on size, you cannot go into nearly the kind of nitty gritty detail I had gone into. Anybody who has read Dragonfire and compares it with my scenario will understand the issue. So what happens is that you end up skimming the tops of what is supposed to be happening. Other authors in India in this genre publish smaller scale topics like special operations etc that can finish in 300 pages. But these are small squad tactical scenarios versus the total war scenarios that I had written about. So my book is a new concept from an untested author.

The result: put the 700 page magnum opus on the back burner as a prospective second book. Ask the author to stick to the tried and tested and come out with a first book within 300 pages.

The idea: If the first book works, bring back the 700 page book as a quasi sequel from a by-now established author.

Current status: working on the 300 page book. Wondering how the hell can a war last within 300 pages. Not sure whether to consider other options or actually try writing the smaller version of the book.

-Vivek

Too bad a news for us...

We would love to read your books in which ever form it is. A full 700 page book or 3 books of 300 pages with large fonts.

300 page novel makes sense as most of the novels are read by people like me who like to have a light weight book in my hand.

But one thing I am sure is that once your book is out in the market you are going to be a well known author to the entire world and the size of book will never matter from there on.

Wishing you all the best...

[varghese]

Current status: working on the 300 page book. Wondering how the hell can a war last within 300 pages. Not sure whether to consider other options or actually try writing the smaller version of the book.

-Vivek

Vivek if I may interject my 5 cents worth - why not go for a self contained single mission scenario rather than a "war"? This may be both suitable in terms of page numbers and give you the chance to build up a sufficiently detailed storyline. It could even be a 'prequel' to the big war book. Perhaps a covert special forces mission - incorporating lots of home grown high tech assistance - deep into Tibet/POK/Myanmar/Pakistan proper etc to get accurate intelligence on enemy capabilities or to grab a piece of sensitive technology or to destroy some type of key infrastructre or - and this would really be a first for India with fantastic political/diplomatic overtones - assassination of terror masterminds, etc, etc. I think you get my drift. This is what Delta Force does for the US and if we don't have such capability in India it's certainly about time we had.

[Shankar]

RISAT-M - 600 KM OVER POK -1130HRS

She was the largest spy bird in Indian stable . as she took her first shots of the world turning under her even her designers were spell bound by the quality of the imagery . Years of hard work at last stared paying rich dividend.

Multimode SAR system of Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-M) is planned to provide complementary imaging capability
along with optical images from the well established IRS class of satellites. RISAT-M, based on active antenna technology,
supports variety of resolution and swath requirements in C-band. Both conventional stripmap and scanSAR modes are
supported with dual polarization operation. Additionally a quad polarization strip map mode is provided for availing
additional resource classification. In all these modes resolutions from 0.5m-50 m can be achieved with swath ranging 30
km –240 km. On experimental basis, a sliding spotlight mode is also available. The system is capable of imaging on
either side of flight track depending upon prior programming of the satellite. The satellite will be placed in sun synchronous
orbit with 6am-6pm local time condition. This orbit configuration is chosen to maximize solar power
availability. The satellite has on-board solid state recorder for supporting beyond ground station visibility of operation.
The satellite is planned to be launched in 2009 and is expected to fulfill the requirements of remote sensing with all
weather and day night operation capability.

The RISAT-M is designed for operation from a sun-synchronous orbit of 608 km altitude. The operating frequency is
selected in C-band (5.35 GHz). The SAR system is designed to provide constant swath for all elevation pointing and
almost near constant minimum radar cross section performance. The proposed SAR will operate in following basic
modes (Fig-1):
• Fine Resolution Stripmap Mode-1 (FRS-1): 0.5 m resolution, 30 km swath, co and/or cross polarization
• Fine Resolution Stripmap Mode-2 (FRS-2): 3 m resolution, 30 km swath, Quad polarization.
• Medium Resolution ScanSAR Mode (MRS): 25 m resolution, 120 km swath, co and/or cross polarization.
• Coarse Resolution ScanSAR Mode (CRS): 50 m resolution, 240 km swath, co and/or cross polarization.
• High Resolution Spotlight Mode (HRS): better than 2 m resolution, spot of 10 km (Azimuth) and 10 km (ground
range ), co and/or cross polarization

HRS mode will have an experimental capability to increase the azimuth extent upto 200 km. Further all the images are
available in single look only except in CRS mode where possibility of 2 range looks are provided.
The SAR can image either side of the track by roll tilting of the antenna. However, in one orbit, only one side of the
orbit can be imaged. On either side, imaging area is restricted over 500 km distance starting at stand-off distance of 100
km. Possibility of additional imaging area of 200 km on either side of qualified imaging area of 400km exists on
experimental basis.

The code named Kennan "Keyhole-class" (KH) reconnaissance satellites have been orbiting the Earth for more than 30 years. They are typically used to take overhead photos for military missions. The big question for a lot of people is: "What can they see?"
A KH-12 is a $1 billion satellite that resembles the Hubble Space Telescope, except it is looking at our planet. For security reasons, there are no published orbit schedules for the imagery spacecraft. They are supplemented by the 15-ton Lacrosse-class radar-imaging satellites.
You can think of a KH satellite as a gigantic orbiting digital camera with an incredibly huge lens on it. Optical image reconnaissance satellites use a charge coupled device (CCD) to gather images that make up a digital photograph for transmission back to Earth from an altitude of about 200 miles. Since the satellites are in orbit, they cannot hover over a given area or provide real-time video of a single location.
The satellites are often placed into various secret orbits by NASA space shuttles or Titan 4 rockets and managed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), headquartered in Chantilly, Va. Digital images from the satellites are analyzed, manipulated and combined by powerful computers at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

The black and white images are used by the military and civilian communities. Many of the details about this class of satellites remain classified, but it is known that there are several of these overhead at any given time. They have an imaging resolution of 5-6 inches, which means they can see something 5 inches or larger on the ground. These satellites probably can't read your house number, but they can tell whether there is a bike parked in your driveway.

Corona satellites, the first to do mapping of the Earth from space, had an imaging resolution of 6 feet. Those satellites were built by Lockheed Martin under contract to the CIA and the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1972 and were reportedly launched more than 100 times.
Mapping analysts can use satellite data to create 3-D images of land formations and structures on the ground. These images can then go to the negotiating table as countries try to end a war. Or, as in the case of the television show, the images can prove that the official word from a foreign government about some activity on the ground is not true. The same technology is also used to visualize potential escape routes for criminal activity. One was once reportedly used to observe the underbelly of an orbiting space shuttle for missing ceramic tiles, needed for re-entry.

In the United States, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has been the primary site for the launch of many surveillance satellites during the Cold War and to the present. Some early satellites had capsules aboard to return film canisters to the Earth. The canisters were snatched in the air by Air Force crews over the Pacific Ocean. Since 1958 the special satellites were made by Lockheed Martin, and more recently Boeing has the contract with the National Reconnaissance Office.
KH-11 is a school bus-sized satellite in a polar orbit from where it can deliver very high resolution pictures in visible light and infrared. It can see at night in good weather.

KH-11 sensors operate in visible and near infrared light, as well as thermal infrared to detect heat sources. The sensors have low-light image intensifiers to see at night. Advanced KH-11 infrared heat sensors detect camouflage and buried structures, and can be used to determine whether factories are operating or not. KH-11 satellites transmit images in real time to ground stations via Milstar communications relay satellites.

Keyhole satellites are in egg-shaped elliptical orbits ranging from a low of 175 miles to a high of 625 miles above Earth. Each passes over its assigned observation target on the ground twice a day.
• KH-1, also known as Corona, was the United States' first photo-reconnaissance satellite. The system operated from 1960-1972. More about Corona >>
• KH-7 was a film-return satellite operated from 1963-67. The older KH-7 offered about 18-20-in. resolution.
• KH-8, also known as Gambit, also snapped photographs with conventional cameras, then dropped their exposed rolls to Earth. They flew 50 missions from 1966-1984. The satellites in that system each carried a single film pod and could fly down as low as 80 miles over the Soviet Union. That allowed them to show things as small as 3-4-in.
• KH-9, also known as Project Octagon, was a film return system of about 20 satellites from 1971-1986. They also snapped photographs with conventional cameras, then dropped their exposed rolls to Earth. KH-9 satellites referred to as Big Birds carried four film return canisters. A typical KH-9 carried two 60-in.-diameter camera lenses for stereo pictures with 6-in. resolution. It has been reported that five of the satellites also had mapping cameras with 12-in. lenses see 9-24-in. objects on the ground. KH-9 photos have been used in maps programmed into the Tomahawk cruise missile navigation system.
• KH-10 would have been used in a once-proposed military space station, the Manned Orbiting Lab. The Lab never flew.
• KH-11 is digital-imaging non-film satellite with 4-6-in. resolution. The first was launched in 1976.
• KH-12, or Advanced KH-11, weighs 30,000 lbs. and can see 100 miles to the left and right of its ground track. The resolution of the optical images are said to be as fine as 4-6 in. during daytime. At night, other infrared and radar satellites can see things as small as 2-3 ft.
RIASAT-M was more or less in the same class as latest keyhole type with some additional features known only to few . The force enhancement effect of this in Indias war on terror would be remarkable in the coming days. With all the known terrorist camps being monitored on a daily basis along with whatever protection Pakistani army provided for them would be factored in all subsequent strikes in complete co-ordination with US forces in Afghanistan.

In fact the whole concept of warfare changed with the induction of Phalcons and the RIASAT-M . RIASAT-M in conjunction with other Indian remote sensing or earth observation satellites already in orbit provided military planners with a quality of input data never before achieved. It will not be long when these radar images were in great demand by forces operating in Afganistan and a different level of synchronization started taking shape.
About the same time the C-130J s (USAF stock)started arriving as an interim measure along with half a squadron of C-130 based gunships giving IAF a formidable edge in ground strikes all over POK. In return India agreed to send 150 000 troops to support US operations in Afganistan.
Russian support was more discrete and hardly reported in news media but is was there all the same. To start with precision strike weapons were ordered in large quantity along with un restricted access to military grade GPS data.Russia special forces started arriving in small batches along with their special weapons inventory.Russian technicians and engineers arrived and settled down in Pune and Agra to ensure the flankers and A-50 phalcons stay on call 24x 7 .
Slowly India emerged as the global focal point in the war against terror.

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER EASTERN ASSAM
INDIA
DAY 4 + 1725 HRS

The two Mig-21s were climbing steadily over the foothills of the Great Himalayas even as they headed northeast, away from the raging air battle between Indian and Chinese Sukhois to the west. The pilots checked fuel usage: they were using up the external fuel tanks first...

By this time the skies to the east were a shade of dark blue and no stars were visible. On either side of the cockpit glass the inhabited regions of the Assam plains were visible as clusters of lights against a black surface. The silhouettes of the Himalayas were still visible with their western slopes lit by the fading reddish light. A beautiful sight...the flight leader thought. But time to return to war...

He lowered his helmet mounted NVGs and that brought a whole new vision in front of his eyes. The colourfully lit villages on the Assam valley were now large sources of greenish light that even turned the night into a green screen. The stars suddenly became visible almost as if they were light bulbs that had turned on. The Himalayas remained as dark as they were, but now were more clearly silhouetted against the greenish background.

The Mig-21s were burning the external fuel fast as they built up forward velocity and altitude. The engine was roaring but the indigenously developed active noise cancellation helmets removed that source of noise from the pilot’s ears. The HUD showed a climb angle that was steady, attitude stable and forward velocity and altitude increasing. The external fuel tankage level indicators were on their way down. A minute later the two Mig-21s broke through the twenty five thousand feet altitude level and that made the pilots bring their aircrafts on a zero climb angle. Now the aircraft was flying level...and the rate of increase of forward velocity increased.

Several minutes later the external fuel tanks were dry and the aircraft were cruising at very high subsonic velocities. That was when the pilots flipped over a switch to separate the source of unnecessary drag and four long, empty drop tanks punched off their pylons and separated into the slipstream behind the two aircraft over Chinese airspace.

A few seconds after that the two pilots were pushed into their seats as the afterburners lit and the two Mig-21s went supersonic over Chinese airspace...

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION OF CHINA
DAY 4 + 1735 HRS

While the battle over the Se-La skies was being fought, the single TU-154 EW support aircraft loitered over the beautiful vegetated valleys of what had been the real eastern Tibet. On board the aircraft the crew of Chinese EW officers were silently and professionally manning their consoles as they attempted to support their charges, the Su-27s, fighting for their lives to the south over Indian airspace.

Flying to their north was a single KJ-2000 AWACS aircraft on radar picket duty coordinating the air defences of the region. The TU-154 was under the protection of this latter aircraft and its supporting squadron of J-8IIs. On the ground below were HQ-9 SAM batteries deployed across the region, but their deployment was hindered by the presence of the massive Tibetan peaks.

Nevertheless, the defences were formidable. Approaching this force were the two Indian Mig-21s armed with one R-77 and one Israeli made EW pod each, being guided to their target by the Phalcon AWACS flying to the south over Assam. The only other weapons the two Indian pilots inside the Mig-21 cockpits had was the element of surprise. They, along with their squadron, had just tangled with the J-7Bs east of Chabua. That battle had seen massive losses in Mig-21s for the Indian side even as the entire J-7B force had been decimated either through a lack of fuel to return to base or falling prey to Indian missiles. Nevertheless, the Chinese probably would not expect them to be back in the skies so soon after taking such losses. If anything, they would have been expected to go in support of their own side to the west for the Se-La battle. In fact, they would be expected to be flying CAPs over their airbases after receiving such losses, not penetrating one of the most heavily defended airspace west of Chengdu...

The sheer audacity of the operation was in fact the very key to its success. Hitting the enemy exactly where they didn’t expect to be hit was crucial. But executing the operation was not so simple. The two aircraft were going up against a dedicated EW support aircraft, and that meant they could not activate their own radars until the very last moment. That made them passive, dependent on the Phalcon radar picture and somewhat vulnerable to what lay far to the north across the vastness of China. They could not activate their EW pods pre-emptively, or else they would give their game away indirectly. Only when they had been engaged by hostile forces were they to go active on both their radars and self defence jammers. Given this situation, the two pilots could not help but feel naked even as they flew ever so deeper into Chinese airspace, their only other source of information being their RWRs, which had already detected the emissions from the KJ-2000 to the far north. As each second passed, and they neared their intended target without anything happening, the tension in the cockpit increased...

Two minutes away from being close enough to take their R-77 shot at relative close range, the RWRs on board the two Mig-21s started cheeping indicating that a flight of J-8IIs had activated radars to the north and were painting them even as they headed straight towards the two Indian aircraft. The game was up. The KJ-2000 had detected the two intruders and now the enemy cavalry was closing in...

The two Mig-21s did not budge away from their flight-path. Their job was not done, and they weren’t going home empty handed. Deep inside enemy airspace, the two pilots finally activated their EW pods and went active on their missile guidance radars...

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION OF CHINA
DAY 4 + 1745 HRS

Take the shot...Take the shot...a voice inside the flight leader was saying even as his middle finger rested on the launch button without actually depressing it. Every second of delay meant greater chances of killing the target. But give it too much time, and if they got too close then chances were that the enemy EW aircraft would adapt to the threat and jam the Mig-21 radars. It would also mean that they were giving the J-8IIs more time to engage. Optimization of this problem was key.

“BLUE-FIVE. Taking the shot...now!” the flight leader shouted over the R/T and pressed the button that sent a shudder through the cockpit as the R-77 round fell off the pylon, lit its motor and boosted it away. A second later the other Mig-21 released the round as well and the two missiles were away.

*****************

Fifty kilometres to the north, the TU-154 crew were yanking their aircraft to its limits to deal with the sudden and unexpected threat that had appeared to their south. Even as the EW operators behind were shouting at each other and trying to deal with the two missiles heading for them, the pilot and co-pilot had already pushed the engines to full throttle, and were diving as best as the lumbering transport would allow. They had received warning of the threat from the KJ-2000 crew two minutes ago, and that provided barely enough time to react on an airliner. Inside the cockpit they could hear the chatter from the J-8II pilots that were attempting to engage the two Indian intruders even as they raced on full afterburners. But it wasn’t enough...

A few seconds later the flight crew on the TU-154 were shaken in their seats as the first Indian missile slammed into the vertical stabilizer of the aircraft and all of a sudden the cabin to the rear was peppered with shrapnel punctures. These killed a good number of the EW operators where they sat, and sent fires raging through the equipment a second before the cabin suddenly depressurized and the aft fuselage blew apart under the pressure release. By this time all pilot control was gone inside the cockpit cabin even as the aircraft minus its aft section fell from the skies. The horizon had disappeared from the cockpit and had been replaced by the black mountains below.

It was therefore a case of mercy killing for the flight crew when the second R-77 slammed into what remained of the aircraft and this time the aircraft disintegrated in mid air...

******************

The extremely small speck of white light in the night sky being amplified by the NVGs was cue for the Indian pilots that the job was done. Their radar display said the same thing. By now their RWRs were screaming of inbound threats all around them, they had no weapons to release other than cannon rounds and the fuel levels were reducing. As a result, there was every motivation for the two Indian pilots to break flight, dive for the deck, throw chaff and flares all over the sky and begin praying that their fuel would last the extended low level flight through the mountain valleys back to Indian airspace...

[Sanku]

thank you thank you thank you....

now please get the boys home too.

[vivek_ahuja]

AIRSPACE OVER EASTERN ASSAM
DAY 4 + 1805 HRS

There was a raucous cheer from the radar console operators on board the Phalcon when the “CARELESS” support for the Chinese SU-27s suddenly disappeared from their screens. But a few seconds after that it was business as usual. There were several crises at hand. The two Mig-21s over Chinese airspace that were now screeching for Indian controlled airspace were being “chased”, in a manner of speaking, by a flight of J-8IIs from the north. The Indian aircraft were ‘weapons empty’ and low on fuel. And there was no support available at the moment other than alerting a Akash SAM Battery near Tezu that possible J-8IIs were inbound.

To the west the Se-La battle was winding down. Four Chinese SU-27s had disengaged from the flight followed by a similar disengagement by five survivors of the eight Indian SU-30s. Three of these were low on fuel and now over Bhutanese airspace where they were to meet with an Indian IL-78 escorted by Mirage-2000s that were moving there now.

Bhutanese airspace had become "officially" available for Indian operations several minutes previously, when the Bhutanese government had expressed complete and unconditional support for the Indian Armed Forces in response to the invasion of their territory in the Chumbi valley by the Chinese ground forces and the subsequent massacre of the RBA units in the three-lake region few hours before...

[Nitesh]

Today is party both the writers became active

[Chandragupta]

Kickass stuff, Vivek ji.

[mikem]

Pictures of the Chinese PLAAF TU-154 MD, converted from civilian use to PLAAF EW role. Note the aircraft still bears civilian aircraft registration "B-4138" at the time these pictures were taken. The last is the latest picture available which shows Tu-154M/D 'B-4024' with an enlarged under-fuselage fairing reportedly accommodating a ground-mapping synthetic aperture radar. Vivek, could you let us know which one of these were roasted by the 21's









At least four planes (B-4138, B-4015, B-4024, and B-4029) have been converted into electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft designated by the PLAAF as Tu-154M/D.

[nrshah]

It was therefore a case of mercy killing for the flight crew when the second R-77 slammed into what remained of the aircraft and this time the aircraft disintegrated in mid air...

Can't we take KJ2000 also? It would be major break through

[Shankar]

Terror infrastructure in Pakistan is 'existing and active', according to Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, who puts the number of terror camps there between 30 and 50.
"Pakistan seeks to convey an impression that it is taking action against terrorists and their infrastructure but the infrastructure is still active," said Kapoor.
The number of camps 'on the other side' can safely be placed between 30 and 50, he said, adding that there had been a significant increase in such camps from 32 in 2005 to 53 last year.
Kapoor, who has served as chief of the Northern Command which include Jammu and Kashmir [Images], said by and large most of these camps are located parallel along the Line of Control [Images] and between 10 and 50 kms away from the LoC. The numbers of these camps have been varying at times.
"I would rather put it that the infrastructure is active. Yes I would put it that way. I would not talk about the numbers specifically right now because of the fact that some of these are closed. But infrastructure is existing and active," he said.
Kapoor said there were some other camps which were not located along the LoC but possibly in certain other areas.
"So that is from where you find that some of these people who may have either gone from this side, who have may have exfiltrated or those who are in the name of jihad asked to come as volunteers and join these gangs, trained there and thereafter an attempt is made to induct them," he said. At times, Kapoor said, that policy has been varying.
"At times, it is actively supported by the establishment, it happens with their total connivance. When they claim it is not actively supported, it may happen with covert connivance," he said.
He said sometimes they would look at crossing the LoC in the worst kind of weather and most difficult terrain, where the chances of being able to infiltrate through may be better.
"At times, the forces which are on their side can use the tactic of starting some kind of a firing, in which people from the Indian forces get involved in retaliatory fire and possibly in that period of time and diversion, when the patrolling level goes down, they have the methodology to push through," he said.
The army chief expressed concern over the new routes being taken by the infiltrators to come to Jammu and Kashmir, may be through Nepal and Bangladesh.
Asked whether the terror camps have been closed after the Mumbai [Images] attacks, Kapoor said, "It is too difficult to say. It is too short a time-frame. This kind of information takes time to build up." He said post the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumba, the camps that are in Pir Panjal areas in the Valley were dormant because the passes were closed because of the snow.
"Infiltration is just not feasible. Therefore, those camps lie dormant. They may still be there. But we cannot get any definitive information till we start catching people who come from those camps," he explained.
"You are aware of the case of Mendhar, where the Army could not catch hold of anyone. But they have been used. Till February-March you will find that south of Pir Panjal is much more active," Kapoor said
"But what is of greater concern to me is that in an entire year, much larger numbers seem to be coming in from other routes in Jammu and Kashmir." Asked whether it was through Nepal, he said the forces had caught as many as 52 people who have come from the Himalayan country and some of the illegal migrants were Bangladeshis.
"So while we are able to check this number, it is almost ready to be as much and that is a matter of concern. Because we have a free and open border, there is movement and we have caught people who have come by the Nepal route and Kathmandu and thereafter they can travel like any other normal person without being checked," Kapoor said.
"Because the border is open, they come through and come to Gorakhpur or some place and catch a train and travel to Jammu," he said.
On checking infiltration, Kapoor said last year was a tremendous success story.
"I am talking of the success on the infiltration front. After all, the ground is difficult. The terrain is such that you cannot guard each and every metre or yard of that. So there may be people who have been trying to come through. The number of counter-infiltration measures has resulted in the number coming down from 311 in 2007 to 60 or 70 in 2008," the army chief said.

IAF STATION CHANDIGARH- MULE STRIKE FLIGHT -2XC130 SPECTRE 16000 HRS –DAY 6

Wing commander Rajesh Finished his preliminary go-around .He was and still qualified on An 32 recently converted to C-130. Today’s mission called for dusk raid on a designated terrorist camp just 25 km from the line of control. But th final confirmation will come only at 1700 Hrs after the latest RISAT-M data were analyzed and verified .The latest HUMANIT said a top level meeting of Let was scheduled after evening prayer, during which the strategy to counter Indian surgical strikes will be discussed and future attacks planned for Srinagar area. The gun crews were all from USAF who has discreetly joined the strike mission from AFPAK regional base in Kabul. The 105 mm belt fed shells were being uploaded and called for lot of care and effort. Next will be the 40mm shells and finally the 12.7 mm belts.
It was planned to be an out and out low tech saturation strike .Army spotters with laser designators and ground to air radio were already in place .They were supposed to talk the air guys into the target.

The AC-130H Spectre gunship's primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Other missions include perimeter and point defense, escort, landing, drop and extraction zone support, forward air control, limited command and control, and combat search and rescue.
These heavily armed aircraft incorporate side-firing weapons integrated with sophisticated sensor, navigation and fire control systems to provide surgical firepower or area saturation during extended periods, at night and in adverse weather.
During Vietnam, gunships destroyed more than 10,000 trucks and were credited with many life-saving close air support missions. AC-130s suppressed enemy air defense systems and attacked ground forces during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. This enabled the successful assault of Point Salines airfield via airdrop and airland of friendly forces.
The gunships had a primary role during Operation Just Cause in Panama by destroying Panamanian Defense Force Headquarters and numerous command and control facilities by surgical employment of ordnance in an urban environment. As the only close air support platform in the theater, Spectres were credited with saving the lives of many friendly personnel.
During Operation Desert Storm, Spectres provided air base defense and close air support for ground forces. AC-130s were also used during Operations Continue Hope and United Shield in Somalia, providing close air support for United Nations ground forces. The gunships have most recently played a pivotal role during operations in support of the NATO mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, providing air interdiction against key targets in the Sarajevo area.
The AC-130 is an excellent fire support platform with outstanding capabilities. With its extremely accurate fire control system, the AC-130 can place 105mm, 40mm and 25mm munitions on target with first round accuracy. The crew of these aircraft is extremely proficient working in military operations in urban terrain [MOUT] environments.
The Air Force commemorated the end of an era 10 September 1995 with the retirement of the first C-130 aircraft to come off a production line. The aircraft, tail number 53-3129, went into production at the Lockheed Aircraft Co. in Marietta, Ga., in 1953 and was the original prototype of what was to become a long line of C-130 Hercules aircraft designed and built by Lockheed. The aircraft, affectionately dubbed "The First Lady," was one of five AC-130A gunship aircraft retired during an official ceremony. While the other four aircraft were sent to the Aerospace Marketing and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the First Lady went on permanent display at the Eglin Air Force Base Armament Museum. The 919th Special Operations Wing's gunships, all around 40 years old, had reached the age of mandatory retirement. The only other gunships in the Air Force inventory are employed by active-duty members at Hurlburt Field, which has less than 20 gunships assigned.

The AC-130H ALQ-172 ECM Upgrade installs and modifies the ALQ-172 with low band jamming capability for all AC-130H aircraft. It also modifies the ALQ-172 with engineering change proposal-93 to provide increased memory and flight line reprogramming capabilities. The Air Force [WR-ALC/LUKA] issued a sole source, fixed price contract, to International Telephone & Telegraph (ITT) for development of low band jammer and subsequent production. Issue a competitive, firm fixed price contract for the Group A modifications (preparing aircraft to receive jammers).

Currently funded weight reduction and center of gravity (CG) improvements to the AC-130H aircraft include: redesign of 40mm and 105mm ammo racks using lighter weight materials; reverse engineering of 40mm and 105mm trainable gun mounts using lighter weight material; and removal of non-critical armor. These efforts are performed by a sole source contract awarded to Rock Island Arsenal

WESTERN AIR COMMAND – SPACE INTEL SECTION –JODHPUR-1630 HRS

Air commodore finished inspecting the latest RISAT-M photos. The 12/24 inch high resolution radar shots through a partly clouded sky clearly showed a build up of men and vehicles in the terrorist camp over the day .In the open ground behind the camp he could count atleast 114-120 recruits going through the obstacle course. A large number of jeeps and trucks with Pakistani military type marking could also be clearly seen. He had no hesitation in designating the camp as legitimate military target and uploaded the photos and maps to western air command strike group ,sitting some where in a nearby building .The strike authorization should be coming in any minute –he knew.

[jimmyray]

Excellent writing by Vivek and Shankar.

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008....

-Vivek

Vivek you may also want to take a look at self-publishing options e.g at www.pothi (dot) com. Once self-published your book could be promoted on the web by fans like us. or it could even be a e-book with ISBN number et al.

My humble 2 cents

[HariC]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

Okay, I believe I can speak on the issue now that it has cleared up with the publishers:

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008.

Now the firm has a new editor and a new issue which has put the book on back burner at the moment.

The real unspoken reason given by the new editor: I am a first time author. The publishing firm is unsure of what the sales will be. In general, in India, they say, the average size of a military techno-thriller is around 300 pages with large font and excess spaces (like Humphrey Hawksley's book Dragonfire). Unfortunately, with that kind of limitation on size, you cannot go into nearly the kind of nitty gritty detail I had gone into. Anybody who has read Dragonfire and compares it with my scenario will understand the issue. So what happens is that you end up skimming the tops of what is supposed to be happening. Other authors in India in this genre publish smaller scale topics like special operations etc that can finish in 300 pages. But these are small squad tactical scenarios versus the total war scenarios that I had written about. So my book is a new concept from an untested author.

The result: put the 700 page magnum opus on the back burner as a prospective second book. Ask the author to stick to the tried and tested and come out with a first book within 300 pages.

The idea: If the first book works, bring back the 700 page book as a quasi sequel from a by-now established author.

Current status: working on the 300 page book. Wondering how the hell can a war last within 300 pages. Not sure whether to consider other options or actually try writing the smaller version of the book.

-Vivek

that sucks dude. see if you can break it up into two - part 1 with 300 pages that ends with a cliffhangar they have to come begging for the second part.

I think the printing costs may have played a role as well. more pages > more cost

or maybe you can tie up with some of the ideas here .if BR is looking for books to print, why not start with a part 1 with 300 pages?

[aditp]

[quote="Shankar
WESTERN AIR COMMAND – SPACE INTEL SECTION –JODHPUR-1630 HRS

Air commodore finished inspecting the latest RISAT-M photos............ clearly showed a build up of men and vehicles in the terrorist camp over the day .In the open ground behind the camp he could count atleast 114-120 recruits going through the obstacle course. A large number of jeeps and trucks with Pakistani military type marking could also be clearly seen................[/quote]



I thought, human beings were radar transparent. Wonder, how would a radar image show "Military markings".....er shankar, are'nt military markings painted ? Radar should be "paint blind".....no?

[Shankar]

RISAT-M was equipped with both optical cameras and synthetic aperture radar making location of humans and small vehicles possible with an uncanny accuracy. It did take some ideas from other advanced radar imaging satellites of its class –details of which are still classified .However we can have a look at the capability of similar systems operated by other countries.

By: Shawn Davis

Satellite surveillance is one of those things that we have just become used to accepting. We see it depicted on television, and the truth is that surveillance by satellite is often very good. And the space above the planet is full of satellites that can be used to look down on whatever we might be doing. Satellites are used to track the weather, look at enemy bases and territory, and even to find people. However, the protection of privacy restricts law enforcement from using this type of surveillance too much.

Satellite surveillance can also be used by more "regular" people. Anytime you use a GPS tracker or system, you are making use of satellites to figure out position and track the location of your GPS device (whether you are using it to figure out where you are or are using it to find out where your teenager is). Satellites are used in this network to help you keep track of where you and your loved ones are.

Satellite surveillance is also occasionally used to keep track of suspected criminals or people out on parole. This is because satellite picture is so accurate. It can literally see an object three inches wide on a pavement. Of course, satellites do not just randomly "see" these things. In order to see something that small, the satellite has to be trained on that area and then directed to enhance the image. So you are unlikely to be randomly spied on to any effect from a satellite. Most surveillance of that kind on individuals is planned out for a reason.

Because satellites are run by computers, this does mean that it is possible for someone to hack into a satellite’s guidance system and hijack it. So if someone who was very savvy and capable of hacking into a satellite, it is possible that he or she could perform surveillance on you. However, most of the more powerful satellites are specially protected. It is important to note that it is possible to buy time with a satellite as well. That is what a local law enforcement agency does when it needs to use powerful government surveillance satellites to find a fugitive or a suspect.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about: Surveillance

Stealth Radar System Sees Through Trees And Walls Undetected by Pam Frost Gorder
Columbus OH (SPX) Jun 27, 2006
Ohio State engineers have invented a radar system that is virtually undetectable because its signal resembles random noise. The radar could have applications in law enforcement, the military and disaster rescue.
Eric Walton, senior research scientist in Ohio State's ElectroScience Laboratory, said that with further development the technology could even be used for medical imaging. He explained why using random noise makes the radar system invisible.
"Almost all radio receivers in the world are designed to eliminate random noise so that they can clearly receive the signal they're looking for," Walton said. "Radio receivers could search for this radar signal and they wouldn't find it. It also won't interfere with TV, radio or other communication signals."
The radar scatters a very low-intensity signal across a wide range of frequencies, so a TV or radio tuned to any one frequency would interpret the radar signal as a very weak form of static.
"It doesn't interfere because it has a bandwidth that is thousands of times broader than the signals it might otherwise interfere with," Walton said.
Like traditional radar, the "noise" radar detects objects by bouncing a radio signal off them and detecting the rebound. The hardware isn't expensive, either; altogether, the components cost less than $100.
The difference is that the noise radar generates a signal that resembles random noise, and a computer calculates very small differences in the return signal. The calculations happen billions of times every second and the pattern of the signal changes constantly. A receiver couldn't detect the signal unless it knew exactly what random pattern was being used.

The radar can be tuned to penetrate solid walls - just like the waves that transmit radio and TV signals - so the military could spot enemy soldiers inside a building without the radar signal being detected, Walton said. Traffic police could measure vehicle speed without setting off drivers' radar detectors. Autonomous vehicles could tell whether a bush conceals a more dangerous obstacle, like a tree stump or a gulley.
The radar is inherently able to distinguish between many types of targets because of its ultra-wide-band characteristics. "Unfortunately, there are thousands of everyday objects that look like humans on radar - even chairs and filing cabinets," he said. So the shape of a radar image alone can't be used to identify a human. "What tends to give a human away is that he moves. He breathes, his heart beats, his body makes unintended motions."
These tiny motions could be used to locate disaster survivors who were pinned under rubble. Other radar systems can't do that because they are too far-sighted - they can't see people who are buried only a few yards away. Walton said that the noise radar is inherently able to see objects that are nearby.
"It can see things that are only a couple of inches away with as much clarity as it can see things on the surface of Mars," he added.
That means that with further development, the radar might image tumors, blood clots and foreign objects in the body. It could even measure bone density. As with all forms of medical imaging, studies would first have to determine the radar's effect on the body. The university is expected to license the patented radar s

[Shankar]

IAF STATION CHANDIGARH- MULE STRIKE FLIGHT -2XC130 SPECTRE 1630 HRS –DAY 6

Wing commander Rajesh was still not comfortable with the awesome fire power of the C-130 gunship. He was also not very comfortable with the totally informal behavior of USAF personnel who will be manning the weapon systems of the aircraft during this mission as “advisors” . But he had to admit the superlative force enhancement of brought about by this new platform of IAF, their cost carefully camouflaged in the price of 6 C-130J s supplied a bilateral military agreement. In the distance on the other side of the runway 19 he could see his escorts being armed and fuelled up- the large R-77 s being lifted up to the inner pylons of Mig 29 S which already had a EW pod attached on the central pylon. The R-73 will be loaded last for which the wing tip pylons will have to be split open and the missile loaded into position on the rails.
The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support.[1] It is a variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. The AC-130A Gunship II superseded the AC-47 Gunship I in Vietnam.

The gunship's sole usertill now was is the United States Air Force, which uses AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U Spooky variants.[2] The AC-130 is powered by four turboprops and has an armament ranging from 20 mm Gatling guns to 105 mm howitzers. It has a standard crew of twelve or thirteen airmen, including five officers (two pilots, a navigator, an electronic warfare officer and a fire control officer) and enlisted personnel (flight engineer, electronics operators and aerial gunners).
The US Air Force uses the AC-130 gunships for close air support, air interdiction, and force protection. Close air support roles include supporting ground troops, escorting convoys, and flying urban operations. Air interdiction missions are conducted against planned targets and targets of opportunity. Force protection missions include defending air bases and other facilities. Stationed at Hurlburt Field in Northwest Florida, the gunship squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
The C-130 Hercules was selected to replace the AC-47 Gunship I (known as Spooky or Puff the Magic Dragon) during the Vietnam War, to improve gunship endurance capabilities and increase capacity to carry munitions. In 1967, JC-130A USAF 54-1626 was selected for conversion into the prototype AC-130A gunship. The modifications were done that year at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, by the Aeronautical Systems Division. A direct view night vision telescope was installed in the forward door, an early forward looking infrared (FLIR) in the forward part of the left wheel well, and Gatling guns fixed mounted facing down and aft along the left side. The analog fire control computer prototype was handcrafted by RAF Wing Commander Tom Pinkerton at the USAF Avionics Laboratory. Flight testing of the prototype was subsequently performed primarily at Eglin Air Force Base, followed by further testing and modifications. By September 1967, the aircraft was certified ready for combat testing and was flown to Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam for a 90 day test program. Following these successes, a few more AC-130As were constructed using similar equipment and manufactured versions of the analog computer. The original 54-1626 Gunship is displayed at the USAF Museum.
The AC-130 was supplemented by the AC-119 Shadow Gunship III, which later proved underpowered with a wartime payload, during the Vietnam War. In 1970, an additional dozen AC-130As were acquired under the "Pave Pronto" project. Regardless of their project names, the aircraft were more commonly referred to by the Squadron's call sign: Spectre.

TERRORIST TRAINING AND BASE CAMP XULU ALPHA –POK – 1640 HRS


Md Aziz finished his tour of inspection. To night a large batch nearly 75 Mujahedeen will attempt to cross the line of control and hopefully at least a third of them will manage to sneak in ready to unleash another wave of terror in the valley. As he looked up he saw a PAF chopper smartly hover and land in the adjoining heli- pad. He some times wondered how long the Pakistanis will help his organization in face of mounting international pressure.
Far above TEC SAR made the pas of the day and snapped the compound including the upturned face of Md Aziz. The high resolution photos will be passed on to aero space command and to strike group Mule in a matter of minutes . Though not certain about the identity of Md Aziz – at least IAF became sure of some top Let leadership in the camp and the authorization reached the strike group commander by 1700 hrs .

IAF STATION CHANDIGARH – 1730 HRS –MULE STRIKE FLIGHT -2XC-130 SPECTRE

Wing commander Rajesh eased back on the spacious commander’s seat and strapped himself in. No doubt he liked the layout of the spectre much better than An 32 .Leaning forward he closed the overhead circuit breakers and powered up the avionics .As the flat panel displays came alive first thing he did was to check the intercom functioning and then switched to tower frequency for permission to motor start. His first officer, a major from army aviation corps was busy finishing the pre engine start checklist that included testing the power circuit of heavy air to ground weapons located on the port side.
Rajesh was not a very cool pilot ,he hated the terrorists with an unmatched passion but kept the feeling tightly under wraps . One of his close friends was killed in Mumbai 26/11, who went to Taj on that fateful night to attend a friends wedding.
-tower –mule lead –ready to start motor
-tower mule 2 – ready for motor start
-stand by mule strike flight – we have a pair of IL s on final approach -3 minutes out
Rajesh leaned forward and could spot the two IL-76 coming in for a copy book landing ,full flaps and under carriage down and locked ,perfectly aligned with the runway centre line . One by one they touched down with a wisp of smoke and then used the entire runway before exiting at the last taxi way Zulu at exactly two minutes interval.
- Mule strike flight – tower cleared to start motor and taxi to hold point –over
- Copy that tower –mule lead –starting engines .
Rajesh looked out onec again and closed the ignition circuit on port inner, as the engine rpm picked up and exhaust temperature stabilized he closed contact on starboard inner followed by port outer and finally starboard outer. The sound proofing although good still could not keep all the noise outside as the powerful aircraft vibrated from all the restrained energy
- tower –mule flight ready to taxi –request permission
- mule flight cleared to taxi on taxi way alpha zulu to runway 19 over .
Rajesh released the parking brake and then slowly released the main brakes ,reduced power just at the point of brake release and then pushed up the thrust level once again to get the loaded aircraft rolling and then again powered down to keep her rolling slowly and surely up the taxi way alpha zulu at precisely 30 kmph.
The voice of his first officer broke in over the intercom
- commencing pre take off checklist
- go ahead Nirmal
- flaps set to take off 5 degree
- flaps set
- hydraulic pressure check 180 bar minimum
- checked 187 bar ok
- control surface check for movement
- checked ok

[Nitesh]

Now this is

The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft. The basic airframe is manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support

[kit]

[quote="Shankar
WESTERN AIR COMMAND – SPACE INTEL SECTION –JODHPUR-1630 HRS

Air commodore finished inspecting the latest RISAT-M photos............ clearly showed a build up of men and vehicles in the terrorist camp over the day .In the open ground behind the camp he could count atleast 114-120 recruits going through the obstacle course. A large number of jeeps and trucks with Pakistani military type marking could also be clearly seen................

I thought, human beings were radar transparent. Wonder, how would a radar image show "Military markings".....er shankar, are'nt military markings painted ? Radar should be "paint blind".....no?[/quote]

Yes and no, Human being s do show up in some radar frequencies, the images shown in wall penetrating scanners showing visible humans , if you have seen 'enemy of the state' there are a few scenes using this particular technology.btw it would be invaluable in a hostage situation like mumbai, to pinpoint well hidden adversaries.I think I posted more details of the tech used in the old mumbai thread.

[Jagan]

Mr. Ahuja can you please advise on the status of your book that was supposedly coming out in NOV 08???

Okay, I believe I can speak on the issue now that it has cleared up with the publishers:

So here's the thing: I wrote a book about 700 pages long (and small font ) on the next indo-china war. The publishing firm in general loved it. It kept getting delayed first because of the sensitivity during the incidents around the tibetan revolts during the Beijing olympics etc etc till end of 2008.

Now the firm has a new editor and a new issue which has put the book on back burner at the moment.

The real unspoken reason given by the new editor: I am a first time author. The publishing firm is unsure of what the sales will be. In general, in India, they say, the average size of a military techno-thriller is around 300 pages with large font and excess ....versus the total war scenarios that I had written about. So my book is a new concept from an untested author.
-Vivek

If its any consolation - this seems to be a regular event among publishers. 65 Air War was supposed to go from final draft to print in 9 months - one year at the most. but two editors quit half way through the job - one first then his successor. finally the third editor came on board and finished the job. the result - production time took one year and six months. and note that Manohar is a relatively small scale pbulisher than the national ones like Harper collins etc. They didnt however change much in the text, though at their request we cutdown the photos by half.

[Shankar]

MULE STRIKE FLIGHT – 2 X C-130 SPECTRE –CHANDIGARH AIRFORCE STATION -1735 HRS

As he lined up for the take off and waited for clearance ,Rajesh quickly did the pre take off checklist once again ,from flap setting to turbine exhaust temperature to hydraulic pressure to door close confirmation to status on multitude of sub systems that kept on flashing on the main and auxiliary multi function displays. More importantly he started the mental checklist of possible and the required corrective input he will have to make in event of such a malfunction ,drilled into him during his year long conversion training at Arkansas



T

AKEOFF----------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
BEFORE REFUSAL SPEED?

***** ***** ***** REJECT ENGINES, PROPS, OR SYSTEMS ***** ***** *****

1ST GET CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT…..BRIEF DESCRIPTION TO PILOT…..ESP BOLDFACE


AFTER TAKEOFF SPEED?

***** ACHIEVE 2 ENG INOP VMCA! *****
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


POSSIBLE FAULTS:

ENGINE FIRE “REJECT ENGINES”

PROP LOW OIL LIGHT “REJECT PROPS”

-light on at 2 qts low in pressurized sump (or bad pump?)
-DON’T Feather prop b/c may damage pump seals
-cb, (CP lower) ESS DC “starter bus”
MAIN TANK BOOST PUMP FAILURE “REJECT SYSTEMS”

- do not reset any cb’s that have popped……Mx action req.
-pull all 3 phases A-B-C cb’s for affected pump


TURBINE OVERHEAT “REJECT ENGINES”



ENGINE FLAMEOUT “REJECT PROPS”

-look for Fuel Flow to go towards 0
-possible malfunctions: pressure switch/ valve failure/ pump failure/ fuel line failure
-cb, (P lower) AC Inst. & Eng Fuel Control

* in flt, back-up pilots actions, obtain 2 eng. Inop VMCA, accel to 3 eng.clb out spd


ENGINE OIL PRESSURE LOSS “REJECT ENGINES”

*oil press. Limits (NOR)*
Gearbox = 150 - 250 psi Engine = 50 -60 psi

-possible malfunction: no / low oil lubrication for reduction gearbox assy.
: bad oil pump
: possible blown fuse [check fuse, (P lower)]


NACELLE OVERHEAT “REJECT ENGINES”

-temp reached / exceeded 300 degrees F in nacelle
-light corresponding to engine # will illuminate on (CP) Inst. Panel


GENERATOR OUT LIGHT “REJECT SYSTEMS”

- light on at 70V or less / 368 cycles

Steps for troubleshooting: (make sure to check ALL 3 phases):

*if normal freqs / volts / load = leave on & monitor
(possible bad pwr. Indicator relay, or TR unit w/in generator control panel has failed)

*if normal freqs / volts / no load = 1st place generator to ‘OFF’, then monitor
(possible contactor relay failed to energize)

* if 0 freqs / 0 volts / 0 load = place generator to “RESET, then OFF”
(check freqs / volts, if they are OK, then turn back ‘ON’)
(“ “ “ “ “ , if 0 on ALL 3 phases --- then ESP or DISCONECT ( in flight)




PROP OVERSPEED “REJECT ENGINES”

-RPM in excess of 102%
* note: possible TACH GEN failure will give false indication of prop malfunction



UTILITY SUCTION BOOST PUMP FAILURE “REJECT SYSTEMS”

-BOOST pump ‘OFF’ for affected sys.
-check sys. Static press. & Hydraulic reservoir level…(if less than 2500 psi or level is decreasing, the follow LOSS OF SYSTEM PRESSURE PROCEDURE)

* a 100-200 psi decrease in static sys pressure may be experienced

-if sys. Pressure and levels checkout OK…..then leave sys. ‘OFF’ and continue operation minimizing Hyd. Sys use
*note: pressure output of Utility / Booster pump less than 20 psi caused light to illuminate. Pump motor is protected by thermal cb’s which open @ 11amps.

When the cb’s cool down the circuits will close to restore pwr to pump motor, & the pump failure light will extinguish.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



VIII. AFTER TAKEOFF CHECKLIST


LANDING GEAR MALFUNCTION -FAILS TO RETRACT B/C LOCK RELEASE REMAINS ON HANDLE

*identify by checking cb’s and Utility Sys. Pressure
-Touchdown Switch, cb (P lower, ISO DC BUS)

* for retraction if manual lock override doesn’t fix it: Pull Landing Gear Control cb, (CP lower), then place handle ‘UP’



FUEL QTY. INDICATOR, VALVE, or PUMP FAILURE WHILE PERFOMING CONTAMINATION CHECK OR GOING ON X-FEED
* see section 3 in dash 1, and FUEL MGT

ENROUTE EMERGENCIES>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


AIR COND. / PRESSURIZATION MALFUNCTION

(PRESS INCREASE) -failure due to malfunctioning of outflow valve in a closed / near closed position
*shut off engine bleed bleed air valves one at a time

(PRESS. DECREASE) -loss of ability to pressurize or maintain pressurization
*don O2
*descend to safe alt. (at least 10,000 ft.)
*depressurize plane 1st, then ‘AUX VENT’
*check for cabin leakage (doors)


BLEED AIR LEAK

*indicated by reduced manifold pressure of less than 125 psi / lower than avg. torque normally marked by an even reduction / warning lights illuminate / GTC fire light / decrease in torque could be transitory, then indications back to normal.

* 2 types of bleed air failures: -uncontrollable loss of bleed air;
-failure of eng. Bleed air valve

*steps to correct: -wing anti-icing / empannage anti-icing ‘OFF’ (watch torque)
-eng. Bleed air valve switches on affected wing ‘CLOSED’..wait 1 min!
-wing isolation valve (for affected wing) ‘CLOSED’
-if uncontrollable bleed air loss? = close ALL eng. Bleeds (note torque--if valve does not close--indicated by torque not increasing--then may be necessary to ESP that engine


WING / EMPANNAGE & WHEEL WELL OVERHEAT

-see pg. E-19, in -5













MULTIPLE ENG. PWR LOSS / RPM ROLLBACK

-indicated by loss of + fuel boost pressure, fuel sys malfunction / erratic or rapidly decreasing FF, torque, TIT. Flameout of all engines is possible if immediate action not taken!

*check bleed air manifold pressure---if less than 125 psi = problem

*Steps to correct:
-main boosts on -#2 gen - OFF
-tank to eng - all mains -synchrophaser - OFF
-prop gov - mech gov -synchrophaser ESS AC cb - PULLED
-TD to null -synchrophaser ESS DC cb - PULLED
-land ASAP




TACH GENERATOR FAILURE
-indications: look for decrease / flux RPM, decrease / flux Torque
* steps to correct: -synchrophaser - OFF
-prop gov - MECH GOV


TD SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
-may cause sudden increase / decrease in TIT w/ accompanying change in torque & FF

*steps to correct: -place affected eng. TD valve to NULL (monitor TIT closely)
-if TIT stabilizes, placed to LOCKED
-if malfunction still exists, ESP by pulling FIRE HANDLE

THROTTLE CONTROL CABLE FAILURE

-indicated by throttle mvmt w/out pilot input / frozen or binding / pwr indication unrelated to throttle position setting

*a broken cable should be suspected

Steps to correct: -don’t touch throttle or condition lever!
-ESP by pulling FIRE HANDLE and continue w//cleanup







ELECTRICAL FIRE / SMOKE & FUMES ELIMINATION

*see -5, pg. E-20

Steps to correct:
-O2 on 100%
-emergency depressurization on (P) command
-check eng. Bleeds, one at a time (don’t turn off yet)
-CLOSE ALL eng. Bleeds if you can’t isolate problem
-AIR COND to ‘AUX VENT’
-escape hatch - OPENED

ESS AC BUS FAILURE
M -mech gov
G -generator OFF
A -anti-skid OFF
V -vert. Ref to VG
I -inverter to DC
R -reduce load……. F -fuel boost #2 OFF (go tank to eng on mains)
A -aux pump OFF
S -suction boost OFF
T -TR cb’s PULLED (ESS AC)-all 6
A -aux hyd. Pump cb’s PULLED-all 3 (auto pilot OFF)
S -synchrophaser cb’s PULLED (P) & (CP) side, -1 ea.

*check cb’s fwd of FS 245 (try to reset--if not or already in…then start ATM


MAIN AC BUS FAILURE

*TURN OFF--, watch if load was picked up

-check freqs / volts…if = normal, turn back ON
-if abnormal …= leave OFF
-if 0 ………= generator disconnect


PITOT HEAT FAILURE
*1st ensure switches were turned on…..may have forgotten it during checklist

-(P) = cb located on copilot’s ESS DC BUS

-(CP) = cb located on pilot’s ESS / ISO BUS, bottom


INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHT MALFUNCTION

*check cb’s forward FS 245


ISO DC BUS ON BATT LIGHT

-failure of RCR (ESS DC < ISO DC)
-BATT voltage = 24V or less

*consider BATTERY conservation measures (t/off certain BATT / ISO loads)


DECOUPLING

-occurs when prop tries to drive eng.
-characterized by really low TIT, FF, Torque flux,---or approx. near 0
-perform ESP



PROP LOW OIL LIGHT (IN FLT)

Steps: -check RPM for over/under or flux
*if within limits, can resume normal operations as permissible

*if RPM NOT w/in normal limits:

-prop gov - MECH GOV
-monitor, if RPM is good, continue operations

-if NOT…(go to -5, pg. E-7)
-Perform PITCHLOCK CHECK

As he lined up for the take off and waited for clearance ,Rajesh quickly did the pre take off checklist once again ,from flap setting to turbine exhaust temperature to hydraulic pressure to door close confirmation to status on multitude of sub systems that kept on flashing on the main and auxiliary multi function displays. More importantly he started the mental checklist of possible and the required corrective input he will have to make in event of such a malfunction ,drilled into him during his year long conversion training at Arkansas


With the long list kept running through his mind ,Rajesh kept on checking the gauges from prop r.pm indicator to alternator voltage ,fuel pressure and prop pitch in the few minutes before he has to commit for a take off and high risk low level combat mission. So far all parameters were in the “green” as his USAF trainers used to say and the radio came alive

-mule strike flight – tower –cleared for immediate take off –fly runway heading –climb to 5000 ft – contact top sight on frequency ------ once in air –good luck and good hunting .

The heavy loaded birds turned into main runway and revved up all the four massive engines to 102 % max power with prop setting on “coarse” .Rajesh allowed the power to build up as he stood on the brakes and the air frame started vibrating from all the restrained power ,one look at his wing man and then he let go .The Hercules picked up speed slowly compared to An 32 but once past 70 knots it accelerated faster quickly reaching 110 knots the V1 or commit speed and even with more than 30 % of the runway left V2 came along and his first officer called up “rotate” when the indicated air speed on the flat display showed 140 knots .Rajesh pulled back on the stick ,lifting the nose off the tarmac and the rest of the aircraft followed . The climb rate was a decent 1000ft/min as he slapped the heavy undercarriage up. Indicated airspeed jumped to 220 knots and climb rate increased to 1200 ft/min with climb angle of 7 degree. The air force station dropped down as he entered the first of the thunder clouds forming up over the base .The altitude showed 3500 ft and it was time to retract the flaps .As he adjusted the flap control lever and reduced the climb angle to 5 degree air speed started climbing faster and registered at 270 knots as he reached the first of the operating altitude


Spectre had its beginning when operational testing of a C-130 as a gunship was conducted at Eglin AFB FL from June through September of 1967. The bird saw its first combat when a C-130A Task Force was deployed to Nha Trang, Republic of Vietnam, on 20 September 1967. The first combat mission was flown shortly thereafter on 27 September 1967. The first AC-130 gunship was known as "Super Spook" during those first few days of operation. The first truck busting mission was flown on 9 November 1967. This task force became Detachment 2, 14th Air Commando Wing. In June 1968, Spectre was deployed to Tan Son Nhut AB near Saigon for support against the TET Offensive. While there, Detachment 2, 14th Air Commando Wing, was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing and became the 16th Special Operations Squadron. It was at this time that the C-130A gunship was designated the AC-130A.

On 30 October 1968, the 16 SOS "Spectre" was activated at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB), Thailand. The unit was equipped first with the AC-l30A gunship and later with the more advanced AC-l30E/H model. Even before Spectre was a squadron, it was utilized by Special Forces in Vietnam. On 18 August 1968, a gunship flying an armed reconnaissance mission in Vietnam's III Corps was diverted to support a Special Forces base at Katum. The ground commander quickly assessed the accurate fire and capabilities of this weapon system and called for fire on his own perimeter when the Viet Cong attempted to bridge the wire on the west side of his position. So began the close working relationship with Special Forces that Spectre enjoys to this day. he early years of Spectre yielded many firsts. On 26 September 1968, Spectre took its first hit from an antiaircraft artillery (AAA) emplacement near a Special Forces camp--Spectre had a new patch and was now battle damaged qualified. December 1968 saw Spectre fly its first mission with F-4 escorts, a tactic implemented to protect the gunship against heavy and concentrated AAA. The first escort was flown by the "Night Owls" of the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) also stationed at Ubon. Thus began another working relationship that is still in existence.
On 24 May 1969, Spectre lost its first gunship and two crew members. At the very moment the aircraft was hit, the 16 SOS sustained its first KIA--the illuminator operator, who died from exploding AAA rounds, but not before he had warned the pilot and crew of the approaching deadly rounds. Most of the crew bailed out over Thailand and were recovered. A skeleton crew brought the aircraft back to Ubon where it crash landed. All escaped the aircraft before it was consumed in flames except the engineer, who became Spectre's second combat fatality. On the brighter side, Spectre accomplished a spectacular first on 8 May 1969, when a gunship shot down an enemy helicopter, to the chagrin of the local fighter squadron, who were getting nothing in the way of air-to-air kills at the time.
In December of 1965, the USAF began Project Black Spot. This test program was designed to give the Air Force a self-contained night attack capability to seek out and destroy targets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In early-1966, the concept was approved by the Department of Defense and two Fairchild C-123K Providers (#54-691 and #54-698) were modified by E-Systems of Greenville, Texas to the redesignated NC-123K (often referred to as AC-123K) configuration.
The aircraft were equipped with a long, 57.75 inch nose fairing that housed an X-band forward-looking radar. Below and aft of the extended radome was a turret with Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), Low-Level Light Television (LLLTV), and a laser range-finder/illuminator. Also, a low-level Doppler navigation radar and weapons release computer were installed.
Two rectangular aluminum weapons dispensers (for CBU bomblets) were stacked within the fuselage. Each container housed 12 cells, each cell containing three Cluster Bomb Units (CBUs). Depending on the type of CBU installed, the containers had a capacity of between 2,664 and 6,372 one pound bomblets. The bomblets were released through 12 openings in the cargo floor that aligned with the cells in the weapons dispenser. The lower fuselage contained 12 inward opening doors that aligned with the openings in the cargo floor, forming a chute. Bomblet release was controlled by a weapons panel in the forward section of the fuselage. In the event of an emergency, the entire load could be jettisoned manually.
It was in South Vietnam where the aircraft operated under the project name and callsign - "Black Spot". Both aircraft began operations on 15 November 1968, flying from Phan Rang Air Base, with mission staging areas at Binh Thuy and Pleiku. During the combat evaluation period, a total of 69 sorties were flown over target areas consisting of the Mekong Delta and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. From November 1968 to May 1969, these "gunships" flew 186 missions, destroyed 415 trucks and damaged 273 more. While operating as armed night surveillance units in the Mekong Delta, the two aircraft destroyed 151 boats/vehicles, damaging another 108 and noted secondary explosions on 161 targets. Both aircraft completed 70 percent of all missions and had an in-commission rate of 84 percent; not bad for an aircraft that was developed as a testbed and never intended to be used operationally!
Both aircraft were later assigned to the 16th Special Operations Squadron at Udon RTAB. On 5 November 1969, ECM and RAHW gear was installed, and the first aircraft received a Black Crow system. They continued their mission from late-1969 till June 1970 from Udon, often with night fighter escorts because of heavy antiaircraft artillery (AAA) fire. Early in 1971, the first use of "smart" bombs used in conjunction with Spectre's guidance took place and the first Soviet-built SAM attack on a Spectre gunship occurred in March. On 25 October 1971, what everyone was excitedly waiting for happened; the first "Cadillac" gunship, the AC-130E arrived. Within a few days, the "E" model flew its first combat mission. At about the same time the new gunship arrived, so did the active TV system, which rapidly became an integral part of the gunship concept. And as if the gunship wasn't awesome enough with its sensitive "eyes" and deadly firepower, Spectre was about to pack an even bigger wallop. On 17 February 1972, the first 105mm cannon arrived for service with Spectre and was installed on Gunship 570. It was used from mid-February until the aircraft received battle damage to its right flap. The 105 was switched to Gunship 571 and was used until March 30 when the aircraft was shot down.
On 22 July 1974, Spectre completed its change of station to Korat RTAFB. Spectre's dedicated training program was tested on 12 April 1975, when Khmer Rouge insurgents were threatening the capital of Phnom Penh. AC-130s were called upon to help in Operation EAGLE PULL, the final evacuation of US and allied officials from Phnom Penh before it fell to the communists. Spectre flew the skies again and assured that the evacuation would be a safe one. Before Spectre could tell of her tales of Phnom Penh, the Saigon government began to deteriorate under the onslaught of the North Vietnamese communists. The AC-130 was over Saigon 30 April 1975 to protect the final evacuation of friendly parties in Operation FREQUENT WIND. Peace was still not to be, as Cambodia tested the will and spirit of the United States when she seized the US Mayaguez on 15 May 1975, on the open sea. Spectre was again called upon. The flash of the guns and effect of her firepower will be remembered by the Khmer Rouge soldiers and sailors. Spectre played a major role in the rescue of the US Mayaguez and her crew. The AC-130 gunship had shown her versatility, firepower, accuracy, and dependability.
For the next several years, the Spectre gunships went through a series of back-to-back deployments that spread across all of America and much of the world. In November 1979, the unit was tasked with flying four AC-I30H gunships nonstop from Hurlburt Field to Anderson AFB, Guam, because of the hostage situation at the Embassy in Iran. Upon return in March 1980, the squadron soon found itself in Egypt to support the ill-fated hostage rescue attempt. Four aircraft deployed to support this operation.

Spectre's next challenge took place over the island of Grenada on 25 October 1983, as AC-130Hs were overhead during Operation URGENT FURY. The 16 SOS provided armed reconnaissance and close air support for the assault by multinational forces which liberated the island. Spectre was praised for "saving the day" by providing last-second intelligence to the air assault forces. Gunship crews silenced numerous AAA emplacements and knocked out several enemy armored personnel carriers.
Operation JUST CAUSE was a National Command Authority-directed intervention into the Republic of Panama, which the gunships of both the 16 SOS and the 711 SOS spearheaded. On 20 December, 1989, seven aircraft simultaneously attacked the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) targets throughout the country. All seven aircraft, two out of Howard AFB, and five out of Hurlburt Field, were over their targets on time. This was no easy task in itself since it required flying two formations; one an 8-hour, 5-ship formation out of CONUS. By 27 December 1989, Spectre crews had flown 355 combat hours. AC-I30 Spectre gunship participation in Operation JUST CAUSE is best summarized by the Commander of the 7th Ranger Regiment in the following quote: "The devastating fire delivered by the AC-130s prior to the airborne assaults at Rio Hato and Torrijos/Tocumen aided the ground forces in quickly overcoming resistance at both objectives. Without your support, friendly casualties would have been much higher.
Soon after JUST CAUSE, Spectre again changed commands and in May 1990 was assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command. On 6 September 1990, the 16 SOS deployed in support of Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, followed by the 711 SOS. The primary objective was to provide close air support (CAS), rear area security (RAS), and interdiction in support of US Central Command objectives. On 16 January, 1991, Operation DESERT STORM kicked off. The primary interdiction targets were early warning/ground control intercept (EW/GCI) sites along the southern border of Iraq. The first gunship to enter the Battle of Khafji was called off airborne alert on 29 January to help stop an Iraqi armored column that was moving south. One day later, three more gunships were called in to provide further aid to the Marines. These gunships pounded Iraqi positions and columns that were again moving south to reinforce their positions north of the city. Aircraft #69-6567, call sign Spirit 03, elected to remain on station during the early morning hours of 31 January 1991, to provide further fire support to the Marines. Unfortunately, Spirit 03 was shot down by a surface to air missile (SAM) and all 14 crew members perished. During the retreat of the Iraqi Army from Kuwait, one AC- I30 gunship provided air cover for Kuwait International Airport. The remainder of DESERT STORM saw the gunships flying airborne alert. On 27 May 1991, the remaining gunships in Saudi Arabia returned to home station at Hurlburt Field

[Shankar]

MULE STRIKE FLIGHT – 2 X C-130 SPECTRE –OVER JAMMU -1800 HRS

Wing commander Rajesh watched the sky darken as the sun went in final descent mode .It should be reasonably dark by the time he will be crossing the line of control for quick dash to the target zone .The army has confirmed the presence of special forces personnel in the area with compatible hand held laser designator and ground beacon transmitter. In case thies high tech gadgets fail (not unlikely) the special forces guy will simply switch on the encrypted ground to air radio and talk them into target and provide real time battle damage assessment. The Mig 29 flight which has just taken off will provide top cover and also carry out SEAD missions as and when required. Enemy ground fire is expected to be heavy and any PAF intervention could not be discounted though they have not been very active in the last few days.

Rajesh welcomed the darkness rather the twilight and dusk hours for more reasons than one .To start with that made his slow moving aircraft a difficult visual target for the air defense gunners .More importantly it allowed him to use the phenomenal night vision capability of the Spectre to devastating effet.The high resolution sat image showed a cluster of low concrete block building on the northern edge of the perimeter fence (which he have been told houses the top boss of the terrorists and must be taken out with first salvo of his guns) .Rest of the compound had a scattering of wooden shacks most likely residential quarters for the terrorists and also possibly the ammo dump for the group.

-mule strike –top sight – do you copy
- top sight –mule strike lead –copy you 5/5 over
- mule lead –top sight – mission orange county is a go –repeat orange county is a go-escort flight black cat on way –join you in ten minutes –over
- message understood –top sight – getting to ingress altitude –over

Rajesh pitched the nose forward and pulled back on the collective power lever .The engine note changed almost immediately and the spectre started its shallow dive to ingress altitude of 500 ft over ground level .Unlike faster interceptors she needed some time to loose altitude and also had to keep a watch on maximum descent speed so that she does not loose more than 2000ft/min and indicated air speed do not exceed 300 knots.

The advanced detection equipment on the AC-130A played an important role in the increased effectiveness of the Spectre gunships. One new mission, designated Pave Sword, teamed the AC-130 and F-4 in a Hunter-Killer team to destroy enemy resources. The AC-130A, in the hunter role, would first detect a target using a combination of onboard sensors: the Black Crow ignition detector, forward looking infrared, low light level television, Night Observation Device, moving target indicator or using offsets from a friendly ground beacon transmitter. Next, the AC-130 would "paint" the target using the laser target designation system. The F-4, in the killer role, would then launch laser guided bombs. The LGBs would then "fly" themselves to the target indicated by the laser spot.

"On Feb. 3, 1971, an AC-130A using call sign Spectre 12 and its F-4 escort successfully destroyed a 37mm antiaircraft artillery (AAA) gun using a laser guided bomb. This was the first time the AC-130 gunship employed this system under actual combat conditions. On Feb. 19, 1971, the effectiveness of the PAVE SWORD concept was again demonstrated when a Spectre aircraft used laser guidance and the F-4 expended four LGBs to destroy two trucks.

"Pave Mace was the code name for a beacon tracking system that utilized a ground beacon in conjunction with the Black Crow sensor for firing during close air support (CAS) missions. The hand-held Tactical Electro-Magnetic Ignition Generator (TEMIG) ground beacon was designed to be as foolproof as possible and was engineered for use by people unable to read any language or speak English. The beacon was also specifically designed to be used in all visibility conditions and without any other means of communication between the aircraft and the man on the ground.

"When the beacon was activated, it transmitted coded signals to the aircraft which included location, beacon identifier, range to target, bearing to target and type of target. The decoder in the AC-130 deciphered the signal and displayed a series of four groups of four digit numbers on the Black Crow console. The Black Crow operator passed this information to the table navigator who, in turn, inserted the appropriate numbers into the fire control computer. The ground beacon was designed with a range of 15 nautical miles through triple canopy jungle foliage and 50 nautical miles when in the open.

"The AC-130 equipped with Pave Mace would navigate to the general target area, acquire the beacon and assimilate the appropriate offset data and then fire on the target without ever communicating with the friendly forces or even seeing the ground. This sophisticated equipment was employed under actual combat conditions and it performed admirably. On June 2, 1971, an AC-130 worked with a Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign Hunter, in the Barrel Roll region of Laos (east central Plain of Jars area). The existing weather consisted of a 2,000-foot overcast, and the AC-130 stayed above the cloud deck, working targets varying in range from 400 to 1,000 meters from the friendly position. The PAVE MACE equipment represented a truly phenomenal capability because it enabled delivery of accurate close air support firepower through an obstructing cloud deck." (Excerpted from "Fixed Wing Gunships in SEA - Project CHECO")

For initial target acquisition, the primary system used was the Black Crow ignition detector. Black Crow accounted for about 60 percent of the targets sighted, the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system accounted for 29 percent of targets sighted and the Low Light Level Television (LLLTV) or Night Observation Device (NOD) accounted for the remaining 11 percent. For actual attack, the primary system used was the FLIR used for 64 percent of attacks. The LLLTV/NOD was used for about 36 percent of attacks. The Black Crow system was almost never used (less than 1 percent) for actual attack because it was not precise enough to pinpoint a specific target

[Shankar]

About the same time India initiated its limited precision strikes on terrorist camps –Russian mindset on Afghanistan was undergoing a rapid change as reflected in news paper articles and internet discussion forums .Even new US government needed Russian support in more ways than one .Slowly a consensus of the civilized world on how the Taliban /Al Quida terror axis need be neutralized began taking shape .It will be still some months before reality on ground will show the effect of these changes in political mindset – but the wheels did start turning albeit slowly.

Afghanistan: war on demand
11 February, 2009, 14:03
Twenty years ago next Sunday, February 15, the last Soviet soldiers marched out of Afghanistan. The longest ‘hot’ conflict of the Cold war was over, but the spin wasn’t.
Even with the embers of the Cold war having given out their last whiff of smoke, the spin created around the Afghan conflict by every side involved, survives to this day, and is now in demand again.
Afghanistan as a special ‘field of spin’
Much has been written on that conflict and it’s hard to add anything new to the pile of the amassed military, historical, psychological and medical knowledge, but if we look upon that war from the angle of media spin, as many did already before us, we will see a unique situation.
Usually media spin precedes a war to make it acceptable to general public, then goes on during the war in order to hail victories, hush down the failures and spread disinformation that affects the enemy, and then stays on for a while after the war, to reaffirm the planted ideas about the rights and wrongs of the conflict in the minds of the public.
It happened that way with the Gulf war, with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, with Yugoslavia in 1999. The latter is the most perfect example of the media spin cycle, with the media actually proving to the worldwide audience that the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo started with the nonexistent Belgrade-backed campaign of ethnic cleansing rather then with the beginning of NATO air raids.
The spin stopped the moment when Kosovo Albanian armed groups found themselves the sole force on the ground, the only heirs to the whole region cleansed of its Serbian and Albanian population alike by the NATO bombs, but ready to be populated anew – by the returning Albanians only. That spin ended right after the war, but it worked its way into the people’s minds so deep that Kosovo’s independence turned out to be quite an easy ride for its supporters.
Afghanistan is different. The spin goes on there permanently for decades. Only the intensity and speed increase with every escalation, and then gets back to ‘normal’ when the escalation ends. Afghanistan is special in one sense: war there never stops, nor does the spin. Or, to be exact, the war, born and facilitated by spin, goes on and on, feeding on more spin.
The pre-spin background
The only considerably peaceful period in Afghanistan’s recent history is the era of the Afghan monarchy from 1919, the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan war, till the revolution of April 27, 1978. In the XIX Century and most of the XX Century Afghanistan as a country was isolated from the outside world except for the three attempts of the British to subdue it to their colonial rule. At those moments the Pashto and Uzbek tribes populating the country often built temporary alliances to fight off the invaders, but in times of relative peace they were isolated even from each other by the vast spaces and barely traversable mountainous terrain.
There were conflicts and wars between the tribes, and in the second half of the XX Century the Pashto peoples often fought each other, their allegiances divided between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Apart from that, fights between the Pashto and the Uzbeks became more often with the elementary development of communications and infrastructure brought about by the XX Century.
The factor of Islamic fundamentalism entered the scene in the second half of the XX Century and added to the fires of war periodically erupting here and there around the country. The notion of Afghan patriotism, therefore, was not based on the sentiment of nationhood, as only in the 1920–1960s was Afghanistan getting close to forming a single multi-ethnic nation. Later, conflict and war nullified the effects of that period, but was much more grassroots-related, standing on the simple notion of tribal ownership and control over certain areas of land in a mostly isolated country where a visit by a foreigner to a rural community was always an extraordinary event.
War revisited Afghanistan in 1979 with the beginning of the Soviet invasion, and war remains there to today. The hostilities started in earnest only in 1980, when the situation in the country became well-exposed to the influence from abroad on both sides, pro-government and anti-government, and Afghanistan smoothly sailed into the straits of the Cold war.
The soviet invasion – from spin-free to spun inside out
When Soviet troops marched into Afghanistan I was in my last year of high school. I remember it well: there was no spin on Afghanistan in our media. There was outright propaganda and it worked perfectly well: spin needs publicised facts to turn inside out or show at an angle, while propaganda is based on ignorance.
In 1979 the Soviet public knew nothing about Afghanistan beyond what it had seen in a much earlier TV series ‘The Mission in Kabul’ that depicted the genuinely heroic efforts of Soviet diplomats and spies in 1919–1922 aimed at ending British influence in the Central Asian underbelly of the Soviet Union. Afghanistan was perceived as a friendly neighbouring country, where a social-democratic revolution occurred in April, 1978. It was a country well on its way to join the fold of the permanent allies of the Soviet Union.
Before 1980 there was no intensive coverage of Afghanistan on Soviet television, and after a short period of hailing the successful reforms by Babrak Karmal’s government the country, in which Soviet soldiers fought and died, it fell back into relative oblivion until the days of Gorbachev’s Perestroika.
That was not the case with the democratic West. Media coverage of Afghanistan was not as much ‘hands-on’ as what we have today with correspondents ‘embedded’ with the troops – before the CIA operations with the Mujaheddin fighters commenced in 1980–81 there was virtually no opportunity for a Western correspondent to enter the country either through Pakistan or through the USSR.
The lack of footage was well compensated for by a great concerted effort in media spin: the Soviet invasion was branded ‘aggression’ long before the actual fighting started, if we do not count the initial assault on Hafizulla Amin’s palace by a group of KGB spetsnaz, of which the world still knew nothing at all. To understand the situation in the Western media at the time it is sufficient to look up the media campaign for the boycott of the Moscow Olympiad: it took much more newspaper space and media time than actual reports from Afghanistan.
The Soviet contingent entered Afghanistan to uphold a pro-Soviet government which had problems in the form of occasional mutiny by a regiment or two or by tribal separatism, but was not yet at war with its own people. From the point of view of international law the invasion was not kosher at all, but it was not outright illegal either. The Soviet troops entered the country on an invitation by its legitimate government, recognised by all the key members of the international community.
So, the spin was not based on matters of international law, it was much more intricate and elaborate. The spin doctors, at first those working for the intelligence community, later those who were in the media, took notice of Islamic fundamentalism as a relatively new movement gaining strength among the Pashto tribes, and concentrated on the notion of Soviet invaders being infidels and enemies of Islam and the Kabul government as traitors to the religion of the ancestors – collaborators of the invading infidels. The fact that among government loyalists there were many Uzbeks and members of other non-Pashto ethnic groups fanned the flames.
The spin that arrived too late
This was the beginning of the anti-Soviet jihad. The spin was instrumental in its making as much as other key factors. It started first with a series of U.S. intelligence propaganda operations aimed at the Pashto tribes, and with the competing efforts by the spiritual leadership of Iran and various Arab religious fundamentalist organisations in increasing their influence on the Afghan Islamic fundamentalists. Then it moved into the realm of the media and caused a massive press, radio and television campaign in support of the Afghan ‘fighters for their ancestral home and religion.’
As the war went on, escalating along the way, a drastic change occurred in Soviet public opinion. It was not so much prompted by the Western media spin – the Soviet people had very limited access to Western media – as by the steady flow into the country of closed coffins containing young Russian soldiers who died in the war, which was not being referred to as a war. The general attitude to the Soviet government’s efforts in Afghanistan became largely negative, and in the absence of free media it turned onto the veterans returning from the war and finding no place for themselves in the peaceful embrace of their Motherland.
By 1987-88 the Russian media were freer than anyone could have predicted in 1985 at the start of Perestroika. Then the Western spin on Afghanistan hit Russia in earnest, and, together with truthful accounts of the war published in the West and translated into Russian, a lot of unchecked information from unreliable foreign, as well as domestic, sources splashed over the Russian media, both print and electronic. The negative attitude turned into despise and humiliation.
I remember how in late 1987 two of my university friends went to the Sheremetevo airport to pick up a coffin containing their dead classmate, a student on a temporary one-year active duty commission as a Pashto interpreter with an airborne division. He had been killed in an ambush together with his divisional commander. When they arrived at the airport earlier than the truck provided by the military, the Aeroflot cargo staffers started kicking the coffin and badmouthing my friends and the dead officer, telling them to ‘take their box of rotting meat away’. Only the airport police saved the staffers from heavier injuries than a broken jaw and my friends from lengthy jail terms.
In February 1989 the Soviet troops were withdrawn. The general sentiment in Russian society turned again – this time to grief over the dead and pity for the veterans with injured bodies or souls. With the spin seemingly over, parallels were drawn between the fate of Vietnam veterans in the U.S. and Afghanistan veterans in Russia.
In my heart and mind Billy Joel’s song ‘Farewell Saigon’ sung together with the Musical Ensemble of the Russian Army, became the strongest symbol of reconciliation between the two opposite sides in the Cold war, who were now regretting their role in the conflicts they had entered out of idealism tightly mixed with the pragmatic purpose of geopolitical interest, and were now mourning their own and their enemies’ dead together.
Fruits of the spin
However, in Afghanistan, the war, and the spin, continued. They were picked up by others where the West and the Soviet Union had left them. Religious and ethnic differences and power ambitions of local warlords born by the nine-year-long war continued fuelling the conflict abandoned by the ‘civilized’ great powers to its own devices.
From the hot and bloody mist of that new civil war came the Taliban. It took the ‘civilized’ world a couple of years to grasp the picture. The new threat included an unlimited flow of illicit opiates (fundamental Islam prohibits alcohol consumption but is very mild on narcotics) and unprecedented opportunities for Islamic militants and terrorists presented by the new government of Afghanistan.
Spin specialists were called upon again, and within several months the perception of an evil state harbouring terrorists and drug dealers completely replaced the shock and stun of the first encounters with the Taliban.
Meanwhile the media coverage again omitted a few important facts. For instance: under Taliban the opium growing and processing of illicit drugs became organised and fell under tight control. Another was the fact that in the Taliban-held areas there were law and order, even if the law was Sharia and the order held together by fear of religious and physical punishment.
The picture was not pretty, but for millions of Afghanistan’s civilians it was the first form of peace they had known in decades. The allied operation to oust the Taliban brought the war back. Media coverage of the humanitarian catastrophe it caused was this time scarce, while the access to hundreds of thousands fleeing to Pakistan was not a problem.
Today’s spin is tomorrow’s sin
The problem was the spin: it always operates in clear categories of good and evil, which in most cases exist exclusively in the ‘field of spin’ but not in reality. How could the operation supposed to free the Afghan people from the tyranny of the Taliban cause something as evil as a flow of refugees into a neighbouring country?! Most of the mainstream media acted as if they didn’t even notice.
Today it is evident that the allied, as well as the single-handed efforts of the U.S., have not had the desired effect. The Taliban is alive and kicking. The foreign forces have trouble controlling the countryside where over 80% of the Afghan population lives. Allied attacks on the Taliban, due to mistakes and communication problems, often cause heavy civilian casualties.
The spin continues to run at full throttle once again. The new U.S. administration is preparing to shift the emphasis of its military involvement from Iraq to Afghanistan, which would mean an escalation of the conflict there nearly to the scale of the Soviet war of the 1980s. Washington is showing signs of willing to cooperate with Moscow in the fight against the Taliban and asking its European allies for more troops, and we see all this in the media…
…but do we see reports from the refugee camps in Pakistan, where frightened people are still waiting for the time when it will be safe to return to their homes? Do we see reports from the battlefields of the war against the Taliban? Are there many correspondents embedded with the U.S. or allied forces inside Afghanistan? Do we have any perception of what awaits American and European soldiers if their numbers in-country reach 100,000 and the war escalates into an all-out jihad?
The Taliban does present a prominent threat – not only to the Western world but also to the neighbouring countries in Central Asia, as well as southern Russia, and to moderate mainstream Islam as well. This time foreign soldiers and diplomats cannot just turn their backs and go – we are all committed to the creation of a democratic and peaceful Afghanistan. We are bound to cooperate in the effort necessary for its creation. The simple idea of asking questions first and shooting later may be the key to a successful fulfillment of this collective dream.
One of the big obstacles on that path is the Afghanistan spin, which started in the first months of the Soviet invasion and is still running to this day. Spin has a way of letting itself into the thinking and decision-making process of statesmen. It is a side effect, but it is strong enough to affect government policies and war plans. There is a good example in the recent past: Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.
It is known that a good liar has to believe his own lies so that he can deceive others. In the case of the media spin around the situation in Afghanistan, it would be great if those who conduct it avoid believing it themselves. The world will be much safer if they didn’t.
Evgeny Belenkiy, RT.
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/200 ... emand.html

Russia must come back to Afghanistan'

15 February, 2009, 13:59
A coalition of the major world powers can save Afghanistan, believes Yury Krupnov, Russian political analyst and the head of the Development movement and the Institute for Demography, Migration and Regional Development.
He has recently visited Afghanistan, where he met the leading politicians and experts from both the government and the opposition.
Yury Krupnov: Afghanistan is now in a state of humanitarian catastrophe. It is enough to say that more than a quarter of its population starves for the second year running. Up to 80 per cent of Afghan people do not have any job and there are no chances to get it in the future. The average daily income per capita is only one U.S. dollar.
The world’s leading countries have to change the way they deal with Afghanistan profoundly. Russia and the United States must form a coalition with the main task of promoting complete recovery of Afghanistan and its further development.
RT: Does it mean that NATO operation in Afghanistan is a failure?
Yury Krupnov: The question is what the real NATO goals in Afghanistan are. So far it seems that NATO presence in the country is actually an attempt to preserve this organization which would otherwise be absolutely useless and out of date. That is why the Alliance actually works to prolong its own existence and create a military and strategic bridgehead in the heart of Eurasia, according to the recommendations of Zbigniew Brzezinski, who openly called Central Eurasia and Afghanistan "the main geopolitical prize for America" ten years ago.
RT: Maybe, the Soviet troops had similar goals thirty years ago?
Yury Krupnov: It would be wrong to compare what was done by the Soviet forces and what is being done by NATO. The Soviet presence in the first place was providing security for economic, scientific, educational and humanitarian development of Afghanistan. The United States and NATO are fighting terrorism and creating a geostrategic bridgehead on the borders of Iran, India, China and Russia. The mujaheddin military operations against Soviet troops were generously supported and financed by the United States and NATO, China and a number of Arab countries, including Iran, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. These days no country would fight with the United States or NATO through Afghan opposition. Thus, these are absolutely different cases.
RT: What would your say about Afghanistan’s neighbours in their present conditions? What is the situation in the region?
Yury Krupnov: It is very unstable, because the region is being torn in pieces by interests of the world’s major players. The governments are weakened by drug-corruption and transnational crime.
RT: Were the terrorist acts in Mumbai somehow connected with Afghanistan, in your opinion?
Yury Krupnov: I think that the main goal of the terrorist attacks on India’s Mumbai was to force India to get involved into the war in Afghanistan and to restrain India’s development. On the whole, Afghanistan has become a global dark hole which sucks in all the neighbouring countries.
The role of Pakistan is a tragic one. On the one hand it is surrounded by a hostile environment and is deeply concerned with the threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. On the other hand the United States and China use it as an instrument of promoting their interests in the region. Thus Pakistan has become a staging area for clashes between global players.
The U.S. policies towards Iran are also connected with the situation in Afghanistan.
Actually the United States use Afghanistan to talk to the countries of the region from the position of strength and at the same time to put difficult questions to their governments.
RT: Many experts say that the main threat Afghanistan poses to the world is a drug threat.
Yury Krupnov: Indeed, it is a world problem and a threat which is constantly being underestimated. After the NATO intrusion in Afghanistan opium production in the country has grown by at least 300 per cent. The main victim of Afghan opiates is Russia, where the consumption of heroin and other opiates is five-to-ten times more than in Europe, let alone the United States. The problem of the Afghan narco-state should be brought to the forefront of the world politics by the United Nations and other international organizations.
RT: But last autumn NATO decided to fight against drugs production in Afghanistan. Has anything changed since then?
Yury Krupnov: No, nothing has changed, because there were no serious efforts. Actually it could not, because the opiates production in Afghanistan is of no interest for the United States and NATO. They are not affected by this problem. On the other hand there are numerous transnational mediators, who get vast profits from sales of heroin and share these profits with those who control infrastructures and police regimes in Afghanistan and around it. These people also stay behind attempts to legalise drugs usage all over the world.
RT: What can change the situation?
Yury Krupnov: Russia must take a more active position. This is what we said in our report “The path to peace and concord in Afghanistan will be determined by the position Russia takes”. Russia can and must offer a comprehensive plan for Afghanistan’s development, while the United States and NATO could support and sponsor it. There is no other way. We need a strong coalition of Russia, the United States and some other leading countries in NATO – first of all Germany and Italy. Thus, the friendship of allied powers of WW2 could get a second wind.
RT: What particular steps would such a development plan propose?
Yury Krupnov: The main task for the Afghan government and the international community is to set up a life-support infrastructure, able to provide no less than 1 kWh of electricity, one litre of drinking water and 10 litres of process water per day for each citizen of Afghanistan. So, there is a great need for an Afghanistan State Electrification Plan, similar to the early 20th century GOELRO (State Plan for the Electrification of Russia), which provided the impulse for the Russian and Soviet industrialisation. In particular, full cascades of power plants must be built on the rivers of Afghanistan, primarily on the Kunduz, Kokcha, Kabul, Helmand and Hari Rivers. Furthermore, it is necessary to build or modernise the electric power lines from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to Afghanistan to provide additional electricity for the country's needs.
Efforts must also be focused on solving the problem of providing Afghanistan with adequate drinking and process water. This is a crucial factor in overcoming the imbalance between population growth and the reduction of overall land under cultivation and agricultural output.
One of the strategic objectives must be the construction of a railway line on the Mashhad (Iran) – Herat – Kandahar – Quetta (Pakistan) route, which would integrate Afghanistan into the global railway network and goods circulation system. This line must become the backbone of the Afghan Development Corridor, which would be a place of concentrated implementation of development projects and would make Afghanistan a strong and economically self-sufficient state, able to take care of its further development and prosperity independently.
RT: But these plans seem unrealistic at a time when all countries in the world are affected by the global economic and financial crisis.
Yury Krupnov: On the contrary, I would call all other proposals unrealistic. The global crisis is the basis for transition from speculative financial political models to the models of industrial development. It would be unwise to reject positive economic projects at this time.
Daria Sologub for RT
http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/200 ... stan_.html

[Shankar]

MULE STRIKE FLIGHT – 2xC-130 SPECTRE -1815 HRS APPRAOCHING LINE OF CONTROL – 5000FT

Wing commander Rajesh scanned the instrument bank in the green glow of flight deck. The moving map display showed his position quite accurately and he decided to cross the line of control at this altitude to avoid the anti aircraft fire. The four Mig 29s have formed up and in a matter of minutes should be clearing up his ingress route by taking out the known surface to air missile sites.

The four Alison T-56A-15 turbo prop engines hummed in concert at 80% maximum power delivering almost 13000 shaft horsepower to the four props .The indiacted air speed at the moment was 235 knots which he planned to increase to maximum allowed in less than 5 minutes once clearance to cross the LOC comes in from battle co ordinator on board the PHALCON.

Behind him the USAF gun crew finished the final ammo load check for the 40 mm cannon and 105 mm howitzer poking out of the port fuselage.His first officer squadron leader Nitesh was busy rechecking the flight path hunched over the keyboard .He switched on the intercom and started the final check

- xo- prepare for combat operations –ingress in 5 minutes
- copy that captain –all ok
- nav – confirm we are on planned ingress route –any last minute changes
- yes sir ,we are getting strong head wind –suggest small course correction to 283
- Ok thanks – turning now to 283
- Elctronics –confirm everything ok –bandit country in less than 5 minutes
- Everything on green sir –standing by
- Infra console and tv guys on stand by
- TV ok – Infra ok came in the confirmations immediately.
- Engineer confirm power status and condition on all systems
- Engine power 80%-turbine exhaust normal-hydraulic and fuel pressure ok-alternator output ok –ready to go
- Gun station one Frank –confirm status (105 mm Howitzer)
- Everything ok boss – loaded and ready to rock
- Gun station 2 (40mm cannon) Jim are we ready
- Sure sir – ready as can be

Rajesh nudged the stick to port for the required course correction suggested by navigator (accuracy was everything after all in precision strike with flying cannons) and straightened up almost immediately as the aircraft came on to new heading smoothly if some what slowly.

[Nitesh]

I am lucky

His first officer squadron leader Nitesh was busy rechecking the flight path hunched over the keyboard .

Time to kick a$$

[neerajb]

Where is Vivek?

You shouldn't keep you fans waiting for 6 days in a row!

Cheers....

[nrshah]

Our heroes are in air for quite some days, i am sure they would be running low on fuel

Please bring our heroes home..

- Nitin

[Shankar]

TOP SIGHT FLIGHT –A-50I- PHALCON X1 + 4 X SU-30MKI -1827 HRS -11000 MTR

Air commodore Rao was tense as he was about to commit the Spectres to battle in a heavily defended air space as they cross the line of control but a show of capability had to be made a specific target needed to be neutralized with all concerned to achieve the main objective of the current series of precision strikes.
For todays battle the entire port bank of monitors was used just to take out the air defense gun and missile radars. The flight of four Mig 29s escorting the Spectres into hostile airspace were all armed with a pair of latest version of KH 31P anti radiation missiles . As they approached the line of control more and more radars started illuminating them .The C-130 s were just a few minutes out .It was time to take the first step in the complex choreograph of death about to unfold
The Pakistani air defense in the ingress zone was based around two surface to air missile batteries and about double that number of radar controlled anti aircraft guns .So far no mobile radars have been detected –either there is none or more likely not yet on active mode . The blue sweeping cones on his monitor showed the principal surface to air missile search radars were still on search mode may or may getting enough signal return to go on track mode for a missile launch .It was just the right time to take them out .

THUNDER STRIKE FLIGHT -4XMIG 29 -1829 HRS

Squadron leader D Souza scanned the darkening horizon. For last few minutes he had been getting intermittent warning blips from his radar warning receiver as he approached the line of control from south east . The UHF radio link from PHALCON came alive
- Thunder strike lead – top sight – authentication code orange zulu – confirm over
- Code confirmed – go ahead top sight
- Mid spike at grid co ordinate ---- and at ---- take them out – now
- Copy that top sight – over
His hands moved over the circuit breakers arming up the anti radiation missiles to fire in salvo and thumb flicked open the fire button. Two black boxes appeared on the head up display almost immediately and the “SHOOT” prompt came up after 10 seconds .He squeezed the fire button once waited and then again. Two high speeds anti radiation missiles dropped free and raced forward and then curved downwards unerringly towards the target radars .Both radars switched off but it was a bit too late. Their position now firmly etched into the robotic brain of the fast moving missiles.D souza reduced power and maintained the heading as waited for the inevitable small explosions in the distance . They came in a quick sucession in form of orange puffs on ground and his radar warning receiver stopped blipping.
- top sight –thunder strike lead –target neutralized –over
- good work thunder strike lead –standby for more target info
With the main surface to air missile radars knocked off the lone back up mobile radar came on but intermittently in pre programmed 15 second on 10 second off mode .The powerful electronic scanning radars on board PHALCON noted the pattern and triangulated its position before displaying them as flashing red dot on the master display.
-thunder strike two-top sight- authentication code alpha romeo –confirm over
-top sight –thunder strike two – code confirmed –standing by for weapon launch
- your target co ordinates are ----- -you are weapns free on these targets only –take them out pronto –over
Two more high speed KH 31P s launched in a blaze of fire and smoke and raced towards the unseen targets with deadly accuracy
-Mule strike –top sight – go –go go
- copy that top sight –mule strike lead – going in –request weapons free
- mule strike –top sight –you are weapons free on all targets – good luck and good hunting

Boris Obnosov, general director of Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation, has said that he does not regard the group's new Kh-31PM and Kh-31AM supersonic air-to-surface missiles as upgrades. "I would not call this activity modernization," he said. "In essence, we are creating a new missile which will be twice as good as the existing designs... I think, that in one or two years time we shall submit it to official state testing." Given the weapon’s speed and flight profile, he does not envisage that improved ship defenses able to counter the Kh-31A will be fielded in the near future.
Two years ago, a representative of the Zvezda-Strela State Research and Production Centre (now part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation) said that baseline design of the Kh-31 gave "ample opportunities for further modernization. Optimization of propellant consumption and the missile's flight path can allow a substantial increase in range while preserving the high mean trajectory speed". Modernizing the passive and active versions of the Kh-31 would improve their capability, and make these missiles more competitive in the export market. A year ago, Boris Obnosov said that within two or three years, the group would be able to offer "qualitatively new products".
While the company had declined to provide details of these improved missiles, some information is available from unofficial sources and Russian press reports.
The new Kh-31PM is an improved version of the Kh-31P, a passive-homing anti-radiation missile designed to counter air-defence radars, particularly those associated with the US Nike Hercules, Improved Hawk and Patriot systems. It retains the proven aerodynamic configuration and layout of the Kh-31P, which uses an integral solid-propellant boost motor, followed by a kerosene-fuelled ramjet sustainer motor.
For the Kh-31PM and the Kh-31AM anti-ship variant, the Soyuz Engineering Design Bureau at Turaevo and the Iskra Engineering Design Bureau at Kartukov have developed an improved 31DP propulsion system. Suitable for use at speeds of up to Mach 4.5, it has been teamed with an increased amount of internal fuel and a modified control system. These modifications considerably increase the range of the missile, but have minimal effect on its weight.
The Kh-31P is reported to have three optional seeker heads (L-111, L-112, L-113), but for the Kh-31PM the Omsk Plant "Avtomatika" (CKBA) has developed an improved multiband seeker. Designated L-130, this can be used against a wide range of radiating targets, detecting these at a range beyond that of the air-defence system being attacked. The resistance to countermeasures has also been increased. The fuze has also been modified to increase its efficiency.
Developed in parallel with the Kh-31PM, the Kh-31AM is an improved version of the existing Kh-31A anti-ship missile. It uses an improved RGS-31 (U505E) active-radar terminal seeker developed by the Radar-MMS Scientific and Research Enterprise, which offers improved performance and increased resistance to jamming.
The Tactical Missiles Corporation was set up as the result of Russian Federation President's decree no.84 on 24 January 2002. It initially consisted of Zvezda-Strela, Soyuz, Bureau Soyuz, Avtomatika at Omsk, the Ural Design Bureau Detal, Iskra and the Krasny Gidropress plant. A second stage of the expansion was ordered by presidential decree in May 2004, and the company will now include the Horizont and Salyut Joint Stock Companies, the Smolensk Aircraft Plant, the Region State Scientific and Research Enterprise, the Vympel (Toropov) State Engineering Design Bureau, and the Raduga State Engineering Design Bureau from Bereznyak.

MULE STRIKE FLIGHT – 2xC-130 SPECTRE -1815 HRS APPRAOCHING LINE OF CONTROL – 5000FT

Wing commander Rajesh checked the displays once again before putting the lumbering gunship on a shallow dive to the target terrorist camp . Just after he crossed the imaginary line on ground he put the air aircraft on a shallow 10 degree bank to port to allow the guns to bear and started flying a circular track around the camp
- gun station 1 you are weapons free –your targets the 3 anti aircraft guns placements around the camp and the concrete building complex –take them out
The 105 mm flying howitzer boomed almost immediately. Three rounds went out and after a gap of 30 seconds another three fired arcing through sky and landing exactly on target as demonstrated by the scores of secondary explosions around the perimeter of the camp
- good work main gun –reload and stand by
- gun station 2 open fire –fire at will – no friend lies in the area except hill top at 8 o clock –over
The 40 mm Gatling gun started its macabre statco burst of death in short 3 second bursts as the C-130 circled the sky like a vulture – hungry for death.

The terrorists have never seen anything like this. They had no defense against a flying Howitzer supported by 40 mm Gatling. As they tried to run out of their ramshackle shelters into open ground shocked by the first onslaught of 105 mm cannon shells the 40 mm Gatling took over and cut them down where they stood on ground, dazed and awe stuck.

The terror camp became the killing field –with no escape as the aerial bombardment continued without respite for all of 4 minutes .After that there was nothing to shoot at any way .All that remained was a mass of smoking embers and charred corpse scatter red all over what was once an infrastructure for training worlds best civilian killers. At last the terrorists started realizing what terror is all about.
It was almost dark before the ammo ran out and Rajesh set course for home. It was a mission well accomplished but he was not elated. The image of hundreds of humans shot and burnt to death even if they were the scum of the earth will haunt him for long time to come .
As he leveled out at 6000 ft ,he felt like vomiting .As he handed over controls to his co pilot for a few seconds he found one polythene bag used to cover the documents and retched uncontrollablyinto it till he could no more .Put back the oxygen mask and took over control as he keyed in the PHALCON .
-top sight –mule strike lead –target destroyed –over