nastier than hydrogen bombs.'
'Nor can anyone. When you put it the way you put it, I suppose I should have guessed that you had guessed. Even the Pentagon don't know or won't divulge what type of plane it was. They suggest an advanced design of the C141 Starlifter cargo plane. It was refuelled in the Azores and heading for Greece. From your first message we gathered you saw the plane crash into the sea but couldn't identify it. Why not?'
'Number One, show the Admiral why not.'
Van Gelder produced a sheaf of photographs and handed them to Hawkins who flipped through them quickly, and then, more slowly, a second time. He sighed and looked up.
'Intriguing, I suppose, if you're a connoisseur of the pattern effects of smoke and flame. I'm not. All I can make out is what I take to be the outer port engine and that's no help at all. And it gives no indication as to the source or cause of the ore.'
'I think Van Gelder would disagree with you, sir,' Talbot said. 'He's of the opinion that the fire originated in the nose cone and was caused by an internal explosion. I agree with him. It certainly wasn't brought down by ship-based antiaircraft fire. We would have known. The only alternative is a heat-seeking missile. Two objections to that. Such a missile would have targeted on the engines, not the fuselage and, more importantly, there are no vessels in the area. Our radar would have picked them up. As a corollary to that, the missile didn't come from an aircraft, either. The Admiral will not need reminding that the radar aboard the Ariadne is as advanced as any in the world.'
'That may no longer be true, sir! Denholm's tone was deferential but not hesitant. 'And if it is true, then we can't discount missiles just like that. This is not a dissenting opinion, I'm just exploring another possibility.'
'Explore away, Lieutenant,' Hawkins said. 'Any light that can illumine the darkness of our ignorance, etcetera, etcetera.'
'I'm not sure I'm all that good as a beacon, sir. I do know that I don't go along with the belief that the Soviets always trail the West in technological advancement. Whether this belief is carefully and officially nurtured I do not know. I admit that the Soviets spend a certain amount of time and trouble in extracting military secrets from the West. I say "certain" because they don't have to try all that hard: there appears to be a steady supply of scientists, both American and British, who, along with associates not necessarily involved in direct research at all, are perfectly willing to sell the Soviets anything they want -- provided, that is, the price is right. I believe this to be true in the case of computers where they do lag behind the West: I do not believe it in the case of radar.
'In this field, Plessey, of Britain, probably leads the West. They have developed a revolutionary new radar system, the Type 966, which is fitted, or about to be fitted, to Invincible-class aircraft-carriers, the Type 41 Sheffield-class destroyers and the new Type 2.3 Norfolk-class frigates. This new radar is designed not only to detect and track aircraft and sea-skimming missiles, but it also -- '
Hawkins cleared his throat. 'Sorry to interrupt, Denholm. You may know this but surely it comes under the heading of classified information?'
'If it did, I wouldn't talk about it even in this company, sir. It's in the public domain. As I was about to say, it's also able to control Sea Dart and Seawolf missiles in flight and home them in on their targets with great accuracy. I also understand they're virtually immune to jamming and radar decoys.
'If Plessey have done this, the Soviets may well have also. They're not much given to advertising such things. But I believe they have the know-how.'
Hawkins said: 'And you also believe, in this case, that a missile was the culprit?'
'Not at all, sir. I'm only suggesting a possibility. The Captain and Lieutenant-Commander Van Gelder may well be right. Trouble is, I
'Nor can anyone. When you put it the way you put it, I suppose I should have guessed that you had guessed. Even the Pentagon don't know or won't divulge what type of plane it was. They suggest an advanced design of the C141 Starlifter cargo plane. It was refuelled in the Azores and heading for Greece. From your first message we gathered you saw the plane crash into the sea but couldn't identify it. Why not?'
'Number One, show the Admiral why not.'
Van Gelder produced a sheaf of photographs and handed them to Hawkins who flipped through them quickly, and then, more slowly, a second time. He sighed and looked up.
'Intriguing, I suppose, if you're a connoisseur of the pattern effects of smoke and flame. I'm not. All I can make out is what I take to be the outer port engine and that's no help at all. And it gives no indication as to the source or cause of the ore.'
'I think Van Gelder would disagree with you, sir,' Talbot said. 'He's of the opinion that the fire originated in the nose cone and was caused by an internal explosion. I agree with him. It certainly wasn't brought down by ship-based antiaircraft fire. We would have known. The only alternative is a heat-seeking missile. Two objections to that. Such a missile would have targeted on the engines, not the fuselage and, more importantly, there are no vessels in the area. Our radar would have picked them up. As a corollary to that, the missile didn't come from an aircraft, either. The Admiral will not need reminding that the radar aboard the Ariadne is as advanced as any in the world.'
'That may no longer be true, sir! Denholm's tone was deferential but not hesitant. 'And if it is true, then we can't discount missiles just like that. This is not a dissenting opinion, I'm just exploring another possibility.'
'Explore away, Lieutenant,' Hawkins said. 'Any light that can illumine the darkness of our ignorance, etcetera, etcetera.'
'I'm not sure I'm all that good as a beacon, sir. I do know that I don't go along with the belief that the Soviets always trail the West in technological advancement. Whether this belief is carefully and officially nurtured I do not know. I admit that the Soviets spend a certain amount of time and trouble in extracting military secrets from the West. I say "certain" because they don't have to try all that hard: there appears to be a steady supply of scientists, both American and British, who, along with associates not necessarily involved in direct research at all, are perfectly willing to sell the Soviets anything they want -- provided, that is, the price is right. I believe this to be true in the case of computers where they do lag behind the West: I do not believe it in the case of radar.
'In this field, Plessey, of Britain, probably leads the West. They have developed a revolutionary new radar system, the Type 966, which is fitted, or about to be fitted, to Invincible-class aircraft-carriers, the Type 41 Sheffield-class destroyers and the new Type 2.3 Norfolk-class frigates. This new radar is designed not only to detect and track aircraft and sea-skimming missiles, but it also -- '
Hawkins cleared his throat. 'Sorry to interrupt, Denholm. You may know this but surely it comes under the heading of classified information?'
'If it did, I wouldn't talk about it even in this company, sir. It's in the public domain. As I was about to say, it's also able to control Sea Dart and Seawolf missiles in flight and home them in on their targets with great accuracy. I also understand they're virtually immune to jamming and radar decoys.
'If Plessey have done this, the Soviets may well have also. They're not much given to advertising such things. But I believe they have the know-how.'
Hawkins said: 'And you also believe, in this case, that a missile was the culprit?'
'Not at all, sir. I'm only suggesting a possibility. The Captain and Lieutenant-Commander Van Gelder may well be right. Trouble is, I
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