“We have a contract to refuel Indian Air Force aircraft.”
“The Indians are flying over the Gulf now?”
The captain shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I don’t ask too many questions. Refuel the Indians, the Saudis, the Americans. All the same to me. I just make sure that plane is where it’s supposed to be at the time it’s supposed to be there.”
The Kuwaiti chuckled. “Inshallah. We are all just making a living.”
The captain nodded his head in agreement. “Da. That’s right.”
46 — The Kingdom Sleeps
At 3:01 in the afternoon, inside an underground bunker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, General Abdullah al-Ratish, the commander of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, commenced a conference call with the air defense sector command officers located at the five main sector operating centers outside of Riyadh. The nation’s “Peace Shield” early warning radar system was networked through the bunker that General Ratish was seated in at the moment. The bunker was staffed by both Saudis and a large number of American expatriates — many of whom were directly or indirectly employed by Lockheed Martin or Northrup Grumman, the manufacturers of the radars that were the backbone of the Peace Shield system.
Ratish, a member by marriage of the ruling al-Saud family — as were three of the five sector commanders on the phone — conducted the call in Arabic. “We are going to be upgrading the software on our 117 units tonight.” Ratish was referring to the AN/FPS-117 phased array L-band radar built by Lockheed Martin that was the primary long-range radar used by the Saudis. “You must power down all 117 units by 1700 hours today. The upgrade will take ten hours and you will be notified by email when the work is done. As we have done in the past, we will have access to the American theater network.” The Saudi Peace Shield network had been extended to link with Doha, Qatar, where the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command had its own computer network that centralized information from land-based radar, sea-based Aegis radar and various airborne AWACS systems. The information network between Riyadh and Doha could flow in both directions.
In the room with the general was Colonel Robert Peterson, the Land and Air Defense Forces liaison officer of the Joint Advisory Division of the United States Military Training Mission, or USMTM, in Saudi Arabia. USMTM has been in existence since 1953, when it was formed under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Colonel Peterson, the senior U.S. military officer based full time in Saudi Arabia, was known for his diplomatic skills and fluency in Arabic. He had become good friends with many important members of the Saudi royal family during his three years in the Kingdom — in a country in which friendships and blood ties were critical. It was well known that his next rotation would be a stint at U.S. Central Command forward headquarters and include a promotion to brigadier general — as soon as an officer with his skills could be found to replace him inside Saudi Arabia.
Colonel Peterson spoke. “I have recommended to General Ratish that, in addition to the CentCom electronic surveillance feed, two E-3 Sentries maintain airborne surveillance during this period.” The Royal Saudi Air Force had purchased five E-3A Sentry airborne radar platforms many years earlier. “I recommend one maintain station hotel and the other maintain station yankee.” This would place one Sentry in position to oversee the Strait of Hormuz and the other high over Saudi Arabia’s tense southern border with Yemen.
“Thank you, Colonel Peterson. We will follow your advice.” Ratish turned his attention back to the sector commanders on the phone call. “I want confirmation emails in my inbox from each of you when your units have powered down. Any questions?” The call ended without any further questions or comments.
After Robert Peterson left the general’s office and returned to his own, only a small distance down the hall, Ratish picked up his phone again and pressed a single button that dialed the commanding officer of King Faisal Air Base, located just outside of Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The air base was the home of the Wing 7 of the Royal Saudi Air Force and had responsibility for the airspace bordering Israel, Jordan and Iraq. The commanding officer was technically the general’s brother-in-law and their relationship was more cordial than otherwise.
“Yes, General,” answered the base commander.
“How are you, my friend?”
“Good. Inshallah.”
“I need you to put the second squadron on condition yellow tonight.” The 2 Squadron of Wing 7 was comprised of F-15 fighter interceptors and the best pilots in the Royal Saudi Air Force. Condition yellow meant that the squadron would remain grounded on stand-by for the night.
“Yes, yes.” There was frustration in the base commander’s voice. The general could hear it. “This is two nights in a row. Should we outsource our defense to the Zionists now?” There was no mystery among the senior officers on the air base about the many overflights of the Israeli Air Force. But every man with that knowledge knew that it was a state secret and that publicly disclosing it would risk a fate worse than simple demotion.
“Maintain your composure,” replied Ratish. “I understand your frustration. Everything will be okay. You have your orders. Please keep your planes on the ground tonight unless you receive orders from here. I take responsibility.”
“I apologize. My planes will be on the ground.” The base commander had vented and knew better than to push the issue with the officer he was speaking to — General Ratish had married wisely, his wife was the daughter of the King.
“Thank you, my friend.”
47 — Northwind by South
A CASA C-212 turboprop cargo aircraft belonging to Swiss-Arab Air Cargo called into the tower at Qaisumah Airport in Saudi Arabia. The airport was adjacent to the small town of Al Qaisumah in the northern Saudi desert about sixty miles south and a little west of Kuwait. Al Qaisumah and the nearby larger town of Hafar Al Batin were home to about 60,000 Saudis. The towns themselves were inconsequential but for the fact that they helped support the nearby King Khalid Military City, home to elements of three Saudi Royal Land Force brigades and a small number of American advisors.
In addition to the land forces, the military city was also home to an air base that was maintained primarily for the use of friendly air forces in time of crisis and an early warning radar facility just to the north of the city. The entire military facility was strategically located to impede any serious threat to the Kingdom from an enemy like Iran, but conveniently located far from any major Saudi city.
The small twin-engine C-212 landed to the northwest on runway 34 into the prevailing wind. The plane slowed quickly, using less than a quarter of the long runway. It turned around on the single runway, which doubled as the taxiway, and taxied back to turn onto the cargo apron. At 4:26 in the afternoon Saudi time, the plane came to a stop on the tarmac with its nose at a heading of precisely 246 degrees. The plane had left Ras Al-Khaimah earlier in the day and stopped for about an hour at Doha International Airport to refuel before continuing on to Qaisumah.