“It continues in a unique line code of data, being transmitted up to a ChinaSat 2C satellite, then transmitted down to a ground antenna. The unencrypted data was aircrew oxygen and carbon dioxide usage levels.”
Ford looked up, puzzled. “I don’t recall that feature on Devil Dragon.”
Emily nodded in agreement. She knew this was fresh material that did not have much analysis but figured it was worth talking about now since it was related to the matter at hand.
“Why then… would Chen want live feeds of oxygen usage of aircrew? That seems odd,” Mark offered.
“I know, I know. Here’s the kicker. This says they detected a downlink to Xishuangbanna Airport in Yunnan,” Emily said, completing her presentation with all the information she had.
Robert laughed out loud. “Well, isn’t that pretty? That’s where our boy Chen is with his fancy business jet and the maintenance team in the Y-9.”
Ford was already on his fourth page of data when he started to see some trends. Altitudes, airspeeds, and massive electrical drains on power. Generator levels. Unique readouts of volts and amps not previously seen on new, large-capacity batteries. And oxygen readings, too. Something isn’t right here, he thought.
Calvin quietly looked at the screen and went through the slides again silently. “Let’s quietly think this one through. I’d like to see some more information on what Chen wants to do with this aircraft. I’ve got plenty of additional questions, starting with if we should back-brief the director, or even the secretary of defense. Or higher. We are in no rush to…”
“I got it!” Ford yelled out.
“That’s not quietly thinking through, Ford,” Mark told him.
Ford was bursting with energy. “You quiet. Listen. Sir. Excuse me,” he said, excitedly. “Two items. The F-22 Raptor and F/A-18 Hornet have had oxygen problems. You know, where the pilots did not get enough air through the mask, and it caused hypoxia. Pilots were getting light headed at altitude, some even passing out. It was causing mishaps… killing pilots. There was no way to record the oxygen breathing while the aircraft was airborne, but certainly they could see it once on the ground from maintenance. I’m willing to bet money Chen has a problem with oxygen. I’d also bet even more money that he thinks that’s why the Devil Dragon went down.”
Mark was impressed. “How? What do you mean?”
“In flying, you just don’t install a device to begin transmitting oxygen levels unless it’s a problem, a requirement. That equipment is excess weight, which offsets the four forces of flight. Plus, it gives the aircraft away. Very untactical.”
“The what? What are the four forces of flight?” asked Mark.
“Well, rookie, they are lift, thrust, drag, and weight. Basic aerodynamics. Imagine an airplane hung in the air on a string. If it’s too heavy, it comes down. It must produce enough thrust to project it through the air, to overcome the weight and drag. Wings do the aerodynamic magic by providing lift.”
Ford got up out of his seat, then subtlety cleared his throat. “I bet Chen wanted to know why Wu crashed. We know he discovered the two bodies that Mark airdropped as a decoy. In aviation, pilots — and the entire aviation community, frankly — always do an investigation on the mishap. We have an entire academic program in aviation safety at the Naval Postgraduate School, and over at USC for this. I bet Chen thinks they ran out of oxygen, and the aircraft flew on autopilot while the pilots were passed out, until fuel starvation. Then, they impacted in the water at a high rate of speed.”
“Well. That does seem pretty reasonable,” Calvin said.
Robert raised his eyebrows. “What was your second point? You said you had two. A second item?”
“Yeah, yeah. These printouts from Emily here,” Ford said as he pointed to them on the table. “They have strange readings on volts, amps, and batteries. Normally, aircraft only use a battery for starting the engines, and you mostly use a ground power cart when you start. Rarely a start off your own batteries. Once the bird is started, it uses onboard generators and invertors to power the avionics, like lights, radios, air conditioning — items like that. In fact, you can disconnect the battery after start, and the jet runs just fine. All about the generators at that point.”
“Ford, why have powerful batteries like the ones you’re seeing then?” Emily asked.
Ford paused. Ford was guessing on this next idea, but trusted everyone in the room. He’d already had multiple life-and-death experiences with them, was with the love of his life, Emily, and was going to step out on a limb with this next idea. Do I say it? Damn it, he thought, as he hesitated.
“Go ahead, Ford. We’re family now,” Calvin reassured him. “Give it some critical thinking.” Calvin wanted to instill in his young team that it was OK to provide outlandish ideas, as everyone’s opinion was important. He used a few techniques, teaching them to his team, which Mark knew from history. Calvin’s big four on critical thinking were to value it and be open minded, to be alert to opportunities to make decisions and solve problems, and to accept missteps. Bottom line for them was to give your idea up, and it was OK to make a mistake.
“You would have a massive array of batteries like this… to… charge your laser weapon.”
Mark started laughing. “What kind of idea is that? Oh, come on, Ford,” Mark told him. “A laser? This isn’t Star Wars.”
Calvin shot Mark a death stare. “Mark, you come on. You’ve had your day of eccentric ideas, believe me. Let him finish,” Calvin told Mark. Mark nodded.
“All right,” Mark answered, sighing and cracking his knuckles. “This kid…” Mark loved busting his chops.
Ford took a deep breath. “Mr. Burns, lasers have been around since, what, 1960 or so? It’s a device that emits light… you know, optical amplification. That’s fifty-plus years for the world to work on something. Missile Defense Agency tried it on a Boeing 747, the navy tried it on surface ships. Even Special Operations Command on a C-130… the… whatever the name is… the Advanced Tactical Laser Program. Heck, we use it for pulling over speeders and mapping the earth with light. LIDAR. There are cops pulling people over right now for speeding on I-95,” Ford said, pausing briefly. “We even use it for reading compact disks for music! All it is, is stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. And it will cut through a tank or a building like a warm knife through butter.”
Everyone in the room stared at Ford.
“That’s it? That’s all you got?” Mark asked sarcastically, rubbing the tattoo on his forearm.
Ford paused. “Look. This aircraft has enough direct current with batteries to power a small fishing village in Minnesota. I am really having a hard time thinking of why, other than using it for generating enough power for a laser. We use lasers, and that’s what the batteries are for. The evidence is right there. Put the baby to bed; I’m done. I rest my case.”
Ford was spot-on in his assessment of lasers. Recent news becoming public in the press was of the US armed forces seeking a low-kilowatt laser, especially after figuring out in testing that it was inexpensive, effective, and accurate. It was more of a policy discussion at the Pentagon now, with lawyers determining where you could use it on the battlefield.
“Nice job, lawyer,” Mark said, poking fun at Ford.
Calvin leaned forward, picked up his reading glasses again, and put them on the bridge of his nose. He sat in the chair with his arms folded, rubbing his chin. “So, we have a Chinese stealth bomber that can fly undetected anywhere they want at Mach whatever,” waiving his hand around, “that delivers nukes, or… now… can deliver unlimited firepower with a newly developed laser weapon?”