The Kremlin Strike Read online

  Dedication

  This novel is dedicated to the visionaries: the leaders and innovators who see beyond fear and mistrust, the ones who aren’t afraid to challenge conventional thought and strive to build something greater for the future.

  Space is one such place where we need fresh ideas and action. I’ve written about a Space Defense Force for many years—and now a sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces, the Space Force, has been proposed.

  Naturally, the howls of fear, distrust, outrage, and anger are sweeping around the world. But space is too important for the United States to ignore. It’s time to plan, organize, build . . . and act.

  Epigraph

  Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.

  —Sun Tzu, The Art of War

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Cast of Characters

  Real-World News Excerpts

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Forty-Three

  Forty-Four

  Forty-Five

  Forty-Six

  Forty-Seven

  Forty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgment

  Weapons and Acronyms

  About the Author

  Also by Dale Brown

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Cast of Characters

  Americans

  john dalton farrell, president of the United States of America

  andrew taliaferro, secretary of state

  dr. lawrence dawson, ph.d., White House science adviser

  elizabeth hildebrand, CIA director

  scott firestone, admiral, U.S. Navy, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  amanda hayes, major general, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Strategic Command Missile and Space Warning CENTER

  thomas nishiyama, commander, U.S. Navy, White House military aide

  dane “viking” thorsen, commander, U.S. Navy, F/A-18E Super Hornet squadron commander, USS Ronald Reagan

  Joint Sky Masters Aerospace, Inc.—Scion Spaceplane Program

  hunter “boomer” noble, ph.d., chief of aerospace engineering, Sky Masters Aerospace, Inc., lead pilot for the reactivated S-series spaceplane program

  brad mclanahan, spaceplane pilot and Cybernetic Orbital Maneuvering System (COMS) pilot

  major nadia rozek, spaceplane pilot and COMS pilot

  peter charles “constable” vasey, former pilot in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm, spaceplane pilot and COMS pilot

  jason richter, ph.d., colonel, U.S. Army (ret.), chief executive officer of Sky Masters Aerospace, Inc.

  SCION

  kevin martindale, president of Scion, former president of the United States of America

  patrick mclanahan, technology and intelligence expert, former lieutenant general, U.S. Air Force (ret.)

  ian schofield, Scion deep-penetration expert, former major in Canada’s Special Operations Regiment

  samantha kerr, operative, Scion Intelligence

  marcus cartwright, operative, Scion Intelligence

  david jones, operative, Scion Intelligence

  zach orlov, computer operations specialist, Scion Intelligence

  liz gallagher, lieutenant colonel, U.S. Air Force (ret.), copilot, S-29B Shadow spaceplane

  javier reyes, data-link officer, S-29B Shadow spaceplane

  paul jacobs, defensive systems officer, S-29B Shadow spaceplane

  jill anderson, lieutenant commander, U.S. Navy (ret.), offensive weapons officer, S-29B Shadow spaceplane

  Russians

  gennadiy anatoliyvich gryzlov, president of the Russian Federation

  colonel general mikhail ivanovich leonov, commander, Aerospace Forces, head of the Mars Project

  viktor kazyanov, minister of state security

  daria titeneva, foreign minister

  major general arkady koshkin, chief of the Federal Security Service’s Q Directorate

  captain dmitry popov, aide to Arkady Koshkin

  lieutenant colonel vasily dragomirov, field operative for Russian military intelligence (GRU)

  major eduard naumov, technical officer, GRU Ninth Directorate

  colonel vadim strelkov, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One commander

  major georgy konnikov, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One sensor officer

  yuri klementiyev, launch director, Vostochny Cosmodrome

  alexei gregorjev, launch director, Baikonur Cosmodrome

  major alexei rykov, Su-27 pilot, former Mars Project cosmonaut candidate

  captain sergei novitski, Su-27 pilot

  lieutenant colonel pavel anikeyev, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One second in command

  major viktor filatyev, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One chief weapons officer

  captain leonid revin, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One deputy weapons officer

  major pyotr romanenko, Space Forces cosmonaut, Mars One engineering and special action officer

  lieutenant nikolay khryukin, Air Force meteorology officer

  colonel vladimir titov, commander, 1529th Guards Air Defense Missile Regiment

  lieutenant general semyon tikhomirov, second in command, Aerospace Forces

  colonel ivan federov, Su-35 pilot and commander, 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment

  Poles

  piotr wilk, president of Poland, former general in the Polish Air Force and commander of the First Air Defense Wing

  karol sikora, sergeant, Polish Special Forces

  tadeusz dombrowski, sergeant, Polish Special Forces

  Canadians

  charles costello, brigadier general, duty controller, North American Aerospace Defense Command

  Real-World News Excerpts

  U.S. MILITARY IS PREPARING FOR THE NEXT FRONTIER: SPACE WAR—CNN.com, 29 November 2016—Since man first explored space, it has been a largely peaceful environment. But now US adversaries are deploying weapons beyond Earth’s atmosphere, leading the US military to prepare for the frightening prospect of war in space.

  . . . China and Russia are taking aim at America in space with a dizzying array of weapons seemingly borrowed from science fiction. Russia has deployed what could be multiple kamikaze satellites such as “Kosmos 2499”—designed to sidle up to American satellites and then, if ordered, disable or destroy them. China has launched the “Shiyan”—equipped with a grappling arm that could snatch US satellites right out of orbit . . .

  SPACE WAR IS COMING . . . AND THE U.S. IS NOT READY—Politico, 6 April 2018—War is coming to outer space, and the Pentagon warns it is not yet ready, following years of underinvesting while the military focuse
d on a host of threats on Earth.

  Russia and China are years ahead of the United States in developing the means to destroy or disable satellites that the U.S. military depends on for everything from gathering intelligence to guiding precision bombs, missiles and drones . . .

  . . . There is the potential for an actual physical attack—with a missile or laser—to destroy space assets. Some experts worry the most about that scenario, which was exemplified by a 2008 test in which China tested an anti-satellite laser to blow up one of its own satellites . . .

  Space As a War-Fighting Domain—Air and Space Power Journal, Summer 2018— . . . In the future, our potential adversaries will have the capability to hold every one of our critically important national security satellites at risk . . .

  . . . The best way to prevent war from extending to space is: to prepare for that possibility, deter aggressive action in space, and if deterrence fails, be ready to fight and win . . .

  Prologue

  Special Devices Test Center, near Akademgorodok, in Central Siberia, Russia

  Spring 2021

  Flanked by a pair of heavily armed Ka-52 Alligator gunships, a twin-engine HeliVert AW139 helicopter clattered low over a forest of birch and pine, slowing as it turned toward a small clearing in the woods. Its tricycle landing gear swung down and locked in position. Rotors whirling, the helicopter flared in and settled onto a concrete pad painted to look like a natural blend of rock and grass from high altitude. The two Ka-52s veered away, climbing steeply to circle overhead.

  Along the horizon, several dozen buildings rose among the trees. Until recently, Akademgorodok had been a booming center for venture-capital-funded research and development—a place tagged as Russia’s “Silicon Forest.” But now Moscow ran the science city’s labs and research institutes with an iron hand. The billions of rubles allocated to cybernetics, high-powered lasers, and other top secret weapons programs brought with them ever-tighter restrictions. This entire area southeast of the industrial city of Novosibirsk was now forbidden to those without the highest security clearances. And huge efforts were being made to conceal the existence of new factories and other facilities from foreign spy satellites.

  As the AW139’s rotors slowed, soldiers double-timed across the concrete and fanned out to form a defensive perimeter. When the helicopter’s passenger cabin door slid open, they snapped to attention—presenting arms with a polished flourish as Russia’s president emerged. Gennadiy Gryzlov returned their salute with easy grace and dropped lightly down onto the camouflaged landing pad. At forty-five, he retained the rugged good looks that had won so many votes from his own people and, at least early on, the fawning admiration of gullible Western journalists.

  The middle-aged military officer who stepped forward to greet him was cut from a very different cloth. Shorter than his commander in chief, though broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, Colonel General Mikhail Leonov would never be mistaken for a movie star. But any illusion that his round, open-featured face was that of a simple peasant or factory worker was dispelled by the intensity of his cold, appraising gaze. Recently promoted to head Russia’s aerospace forces, the tough-minded fighter pilot and cosmonaut had cut his way to the top of his profession by outflying, outfighting, and outwitting a host of peers and rivals.

  “Welcome to the Special Devices Test Center, Mr. President,” Leonov said. He snapped a crisp salute.

  With a short, sharp laugh, Gryzlov clapped him on the shoulder. “Come now, Mikhail! Why so formal? We’re not still junior cadets on parade, marching around like we’ve got sticks shoved up our asses. Those days are long behind us, thank God.”

  “Old habits die hard, Gennadiy,” Leonov said, donning a dutiful smile at the other man’s crude humor. After all, he and Gryzlov had been classmates for several years, first at the Yuri Gagarin Military Air Academy and later at the Military Space Academy in St. Petersburg. Unlike the president, though, Leonov had completed his cosmonaut training and flown Soyuz spacecraft on several missions to the old International Space Station before transitioning back to fly conventional fighters like the MiG-29 and Su-27.

  “True enough,” Gryzlov agreed. His expression hardened. “But die they must, Leonov. Old habits. Old ways of thinking. Old men unwilling to adapt. All of them. Russia needs agile, innovative warriors who aren’t afraid of the future. Men ready to seize every military advantage new technology offers. For too long, slow-thinking fossils like your late and unlamented predecessor wasted our resources on incremental improvements to existing aircraft, missiles, and other weapons, only to fail miserably against the Americans, the Poles, and their mercenaries when put to the test. The time for half measures and caution is over.”

  Leonov nodded. Gryzlov meant what he said. One by one, the advisers who’d tried to temper his aggression and willingness to run risks had fallen by the wayside. Some of them were dead. The rest were disgraced or in prison. Of course, he thought coolly, the same fate awaited those who carried out the president’s bold plans . . . and still failed.

  Serving Gennadiy Gryzlov was a high-wire act, one with very little margin for error.

  “So,” the president said impatiently. “What do you have to offer me, Mikhail?” He waved a hand at the forest around them. Apart from a few ventilation and exhaust pipes disguised to look like trees and a dirt-and-log-covered bunker, there were no other signs of human handiwork. “The wonders of Siberian nature?”

  Smiling more genuinely now, Leonov shook his head and ushered Gryzlov toward the bunker. “What you are about to see is wonderful, Gennadiy,” he said. “But I assure you that nothing about it is at all natural.”

  His meaning became clearer when they pushed through an opening in the camouflage netting draped over the crude-looking shelter and were immediately confronted by a solid steel door. Leonov swiped his ID card through a reader next to the door. It beeped once. Then he pressed his palm against a biometric panel set into the door itself.

  “Leonov, Mikhail Ivanovich. Positive identification,” a computer-generated female voice said with careful precision. “Mars Project Level One security clearance match.”

  He turned to Gryzlov. “Now it’s your turn.”

  The president raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking.”

  “No, sir,” Leonov said. “No one is admitted to this facility without confirming his or her identity and required clearance level. Not even you, sir.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Leonov shrugged. “Alarms will sound. That door will stay locked and sealed. And within moments we will find ourselves answering questions asked by some very unsympathetic security officers.”

  “Otlichno, Mikhail,” Gryzlov said. “Very good. Security lapses have cost us dearly in the past. It’s high time somebody besides me understood the necessity of keeping secrets.” He took out his own ID card and followed the same procedure.

  The massive steel door slid aside, revealing a waiting elevator car. As soon as the two men entered, the door closed. “Place defensive systems on standby,” Leonov ordered. “And then take us to the control level.”

  “M. I. Leonov command authority confirmed. Defensive systems are on standby,” the computer acknowledged.

  The car descended smoothly, swiftly dropping deeper into the earth. Holding on to a railing, Gryzlov turned his head. “Defensive systems?” he asked.

  “A final precaution,” Leonov told him. “Should an enemy force breach the facility’s outer security, there are explosive charges set along the elevator shaft—rigged to kill any intruders and seal off the lower levels.”

  Gryzlov whistled softly. “Entombing everyone inside?”

  “There is a carefully concealed emergency exit,” he said calmly. “But if necessary, yes. The work being done here is vital to the defense of the Motherland. It would be better to sacrifice a few scientists and engineers than risk seeing the Americans or the Chinese get their hands on it.”

  “You are one coldhearted son of a bitch, Mikhail,” Gryzl
ov said with evident approval.

  The elevator slowed and came to a stop, nearly two hundred meters underground. When the door opened, they stepped out into a corridor guarded by a squad of tough-looking soldiers. Beyond the security post, another massive steel door blocked access to the control center. Though it was clear that the officer in charge recognized them, their ID cards were again closely scrutinized before they were allowed through.

  Inside the control center, Gryzlov eyed his surroundings with evident interest. Computer consoles set on three stepped tiers faced a cinema-sized video screen showing the image of a huge, brightly lit chamber. Dozens of civilian scientists, technicians, and engineers wearing headsets manned the consoles, along with a handful of young-looking military officers. Intricate graphs and readouts blinked on each console. An air of keen anticipation filled the room.

  Leonov turned to one of the scientists, an older man with a shock of thick, white hair. “Are you ready to proceed, Dr. Savvin?”

  “We are, General,” the other man said with quiet confidence. “All systems are functioning perfectly.” At Leonov’s silent nod, the scientist spoke into his own headset mike. “All control stations, this is Savvin. Commence weapons test.”

  Immediately Gryzlov heard a muted, high-pitched whine and felt a faint vibration coming through the floor. On the video screen, the appearance of the bright lights illuminating the huge chamber went oddly flat.

  “High-efficiency pumps are emptying the test chamber’s atmosphere,” Leonov explained. “When they finish, it will be in a near-perfect vacuum.”

  Gryzlov nodded. Without air molecules to diffract the light, no wonder it seemed so strange. He focused his attention on the screen.

  At the far end of the chamber, he could see the full-scale mock-up of an American reconnaissance satellite—complete with fully extended solar panels, GPS receivers, downlink antennas, and radar dishes—hanging in midair, attached by wires to the ceiling, walls, and floor. Closer in, a maze of power conduits and fiber-optic cables surrounded a complex assembly of electronic equipment. To his untutored eye, this machine resembled a massive, upright, six-armed starfish with a short, stubby rod projecting from its center.