Revolution by Dale Brown Read Free Book Online Page B

B-1B/L Testbed 2 could simultaneously track 64,237 targets and potential threats anywhere in the world. The number was related to the processing capacity of the chips used in the radar and computers but was still somewhat arbitrary. Ray Rubeo’s answer, when Dog asked him why that number was chosen, had been, “They had to stop somewhere.”
    Gathering the data through the Dreamland communication network—and eventually through standard military systems—the plane’s advanced flight computer could not only keep tabs on any potential enemy in the world, but provide the pilot with a comprehensive plan to evade detection or destroy the enemy before it knew the plane was targeting it.
    Or the computer could do it all itself, without human help—or interference. Which was what today’s test was all about.
    â€œReady any time you are, Colonel,” said the copilot, Marty “Sleek Top” Siechert. A civilian contractor, a former Marine Corps aviator who’d returned to flying fast jets after working as a mid-level manager at McDonnell Douglas, Siechert’s nickname came from his bald head, which looked like a polished cue ball.
    Not that Dog could see it. Both men were dressed in full flight gear, with g suits and brain buckets, even though the cabin was fully pressurized.
    â€œLet’s get this pony into the air,” said Dog, putting his hand on the throttle.
    Dreamland B-1B/L Testbed 2—more commonly and affectionately known as Boomer —rocked as her engines revved to life. The four General Electric F101-GE-102 engines she was born with had been replaced by new GE models that were about seventy percent more powerful and conserved much more fuel. Unlike the Megafortress, the B-1B was a supersonic aircraft to begin with, and thanks to its uprated engines,had pushed out over Mach 2.4 in level flight—probably a record for a B-1B, though no one actually kept track. More impressive—at least if you were paying the gas bill— Boomer could fly to New York and back at just over the speed of sound with a full payload without needing to be refueled.
    â€œI have 520 degrees centigrade on engines three and four,” said Sleek Top.
    â€œRoger that,” replied Dog. The temperature readings were an indication of how well the engines were working. “Five twenty. I have 520 one and two.”
    They ran through the rest of the plane’s vitals, making sure the plane was ready to takeoff. With all systems in the green, Dog got a clearance from the tower and moved down the ramp to the runway.
    â€œBurners,” he told Sleek Top as he put the hammer down.
    The afterburners flashed to life. The plane took a small step forward, then a second; the third was a massive leap. The speed bar at the right of Dog’s screen vaulted to 100 knots; a half breath later it hit 150.
    â€œWe’re go,” said Dog as the airplane passed 160 knots, committing them to takeoff.
    The plane’s nose came up. Boomer had used less than 3,000 feet of runway to become airborne.
    Like the stock models, the B-1B/L’s takeoff attitude was limited to prevent her long tail from scraping, and the eight-degree angle made for a gentle start to the flight. Gentle but not slow—she left the ground at roughly 175 knots, and within a heartbeat or two was pumping over 300.
    Dog checked the wing’s extension, noting that the computer had set them at 25 degrees, the standard angle used for routine climb-outs. Like all B-1s, Boomer ’s wings were adjustable, swinging out to increase lift or maneuverability and tucking back near the body for speed and cruising efficiency. But unlike the original model, where the pilots pulled long levers to manually set the angle, Boomer ’s wings were set automatically by the flight computer even when under manualcontrol. The pilot could override using voice commands, but the computer had first crack at the settings.
    The wings’