Chapter 18
1800Z: AN-74TK at FL300: Iran
“Go tell Lt. Colonel Raymond that we are thirty minutes from DISEL intersection. In ten minutes, we will start to slowly depressurize the aircraft. Be sure to take your portable oxygen bottle with you,” the Captain says to the Radio Operator.
He turns back to the First Officer and tells him to put his oxygen mask on and he does the same. Each pilot tests their masks and its radio microphone.
The Radio Operator goes back to the cargo area and gives Colonel Raymond the thumbs up. This is the signal to let him know to start using their wing’s personal high altitude oxygen system. The “Batmen” have already put on their black insulated jumpsuits, black Gryphon wings, gloves and helmet with oxygen masks.
Colonel Raymond does not have his “wing” on yet. He will personally check each of his men’s equipment before he gets himself ready. As he performs each pre-flight inspection, he speaks to each jumper through his communications system with a bone resonance microphone to make sure that each man’s radio system is operating properly.
Each commando is wearing an altimeter on their left wrist and the GPS/PDA on his right wrist that is integrated into their helmet’s HUD (heads up display). Colonel Raymond makes sure that each GPS is reading the same altitude as the aircraft and that the GPS is updating their present location.
As the aircraft starts to slowly depressurize, the noise increases and their ears begin to pop. The men use swallowing exercises to equalize the pressures between the inner and outer ear. Lt. Colonel Raymond lines up the six men and has each person check the back of the person in front of him. Colonel Raymond will check the front and back of the last man. After he is finished checking all of the men, he puts his wing on and the man behind him double checks the Colonel’s equipment.
The Radio Operator is observing all this and calls the Captain on the aircraft interphone. “Captain, Lt. Colonel Raymond and his men are ready.”
The Antonov Captain replies, “Good, at 1824Z, open the rear ramp and stand by the interphone. Time, now, is 1815Z. I will give the signal for them to jump at thirty seconds before we arrive at DISEL intersection.”
“Roger, I will open the rear ramp at 1824Z,” replies the Radio Operator.
1800Z: Kashan County Airport, Iran
It is a moonless night over Iran and the wind is blowing slightly out of the east. The remains of the sand storm that occurred earlier today have obscured the visibility to about two kilometers. It is still quite dusty so there is not much incentive to be walking around outside. The sentries that are at the main gate to the airport are trying to stay protected as much as possible. They don’t seem to be anxious to come out of their guard shack unless a truck needs to enter or exit the airport. This is good news for the two Israeli agents sitting in the Hillman a couple of kilometers from the road that leads into the airport. It seems a fairly quiet night around the airport with only a few trucks arriving or leaving.
The agents watch for a while. A Mercedes military truck is leaving the airport and stops at the main gate. The sentry does not come out of the guard house this time. He just waves the driver through. The truck turns left onto the road towards Natanz. As the truck passes the Hillman, the agents look into the cab and see that there is only a driver seated there. They decide to follow this one so they wait until it is almost out of sight. The driver starts the engine of the Hillman while the other agent climbs into the back seat to get their weapons and satellite telephone from under the back seat.
They are following behind the truck at a safe distance. About two kilometers down the road is a secondary road that leads to Highway 7, the Kashan-Natanz Highway. There is not much traffic on this road at this time of night. The truck turns right onto this road and the agents follow. The agents decide to make their move before the truck gets to Highway 7.
They speed up and pass the truck and try to get as far as they can down the road. About one and a half kilometers down the road is a little village. They drive pass this community and stop in the middle of the road. One of the agents lies down in the middle of the road and the other one prepares to flag down the truck.
The truck approaches and sees the Hillman in the middle of the road with the agent waving his arms. The truck driver slows down but is a little confused about what is happening here. He had just observed this car pass him about two kilometers back. But he sees the other person lying in the road and it looks like an accident so he decides to stop and help.
The agent approaches the truck and starts explaining that he accidently hit this man that was walking in the road. “He just walked out in front of me. I tried to avoid him but he must be drunk. I think that he is still alive but needs to go to the hospital. Can you help me,” pleads the Israeli agent in Farsi.
The truck driver looks at the man in the road and reaches for his cell phone that is on the seat. The Israeli agent pulls out his Sig Sauer 22LR with a silencer and shoots the truck driver in the head. The driver slumps in the seat and the agent climbs into the truck as the other agent gets off the road and into the Hillman. The whole scene took only 1 minute and they are on their way.
They continue down the road and cross under the Highway 7 “flyover”. The road becomes a desolate dirt road except for a few houses that are very scattered about off the road. When they find a secluded stretch of the road they pull over to the side. They take the soldier out of the cab of the truck and one of the agents takes the uniform off the dead soldier. The other agent removes his clothes and puts on the uniform. They dress the dead soldier in the agent’s clothes and put him in the trunk of the Hillman. This action takes about ten minutes and then they turn the truck and Hillman around and drive back to Highway 7 and to the petro stop, where they will wait for Colonel Raymond’s call.
1829Z: DISEL Intersection: FL300: Iran
Colonel Raymond and the “Batmen” stand silently in the minus twenty-five degrees Celsius, darken cargo hold of the AN-74TK, looking out of the rear of the aircraft. They are waiting for the signal from the Captain to jump. The noise from open ramp and the intense cold is trying to hamper the mental concentration of the men. Everyone is thinking about the exit jump and gaining control of the Gryphon wing after the initial tumbling from the wake turbulence of the Antonov. They are also thinking about how to avoid flying into the slipstream of the jumper in front of them so that their wing does not lose its lift. At night, these maneuvers are that much harder to accomplish than during the day.
Suddenly, the red light in the cargo hold comes on and Lt. Colonel Raymond is the first one to jump off the ramp and then he dives to the right. The Gryphon carbon fiber wing and Lt. Colonel Raymond take a tumble after exiting the aircraft. It seems like an eternity before the wing’s stabilization system is able to get the nose pointed downward and wings leveled to begin gliding. Lt. Colonel Raymond then steers the wing on an initial heading of 085 degrees. He puts his feet together to make his “aircraft” more aerodynamic and then checks his GPS and altimeter. He compares this information with what he is reading on his helmet’s heads up display. It checks out. He begins to make a few small corrections to his heading based on the information from his GPS. He feels good that his systems are operating properly and he begins to think about his men. He can’t look back to see if the other members of his team are following him but he knows from previous experience that the “Batmen” are right there.
As he begins to get his bearings, he begins to see the lights of the Natanz compound starting to come into view. He is descending on a five to one glide ratio with a tailwind so he is moving quickly toward the landing area. As he descends through fifteen thousand feet, Colonel Raymond begins to see Highway 7 and the petro stop. With just a few small corrections and he is able to see the road that he is planning to land nearby. It is located south of the petro stop.
As he descends through six thousand feet, he begins to make a right turn just over the petro stop to line up on the road going south fr
om the highway. By the time that he gets lined up on the road, he is starting to think about deploying his parachute. At two thousand, five hundred feet, Colonel Raymond pulls his ripcord that releases his black TW9-340G parachute. As his chute is beginning to fill, he releases the buckles that are holding the wing to his harness and lets it drop about twenty-five feet below him. A few moments later, Colonel Raymond can see the dry river bed and steers his parachute towards that area. He knows that his men are following his lead. The horizon is well lighted from the lights of nuclear enrichment compound. He touches down on the soft sand and begins the process of disconnecting the wing and gathering his chute. He has pulled his Glock 17 from his tactical thigh rig and is looking around the area for any unwanted visitors. His men are starting to land around him and are following the same routine. It looks like everyone is accounted for and in good condition.
Colonel Raymond retrieves his Tavor assault rifle with night vision scope from his wing’s cargo compartment and begins looking through the scope, scanning the area to see if anyone saw their arrival. He assigns another man with night vision goggles to take up a position down the road to give an advance warning of any visitors. His other men begin to unload their weapons and supplies from their wing’s compartments. They remove their black jumpsuits. Their Iranian IRGC Army uniforms are underneath. The process of disposing of their wings, jumpsuits and parachutes will take about ten minutes and then they will be ready for the truck to come pick them up.
1830Z: Joint Base Balad
In a large field northwest of the base’s two runways, the countdown sequence has begun at the Israeli Harop UCAV battery: the munitions unit, mission control shelter and the launcher vehicles. This remote area of the base provides the most privacy especially at this time of night. These UCAVs will be launched about seventeen minutes before the CV-22 Ospreys takeoff. The UCAV operators have programmed the Harop Killer Drones to fly directly to the Natanz and Fordo nuclear facilities and begin a patrol of the region between them.
There are three Harop UCAVs contained in the munitions unit and the operators have to load them onto the launch vehicle one at a time. Inside the mission control shelter, the operators/technicians will initiate the launch and operate the Harop’s IR unit and camera. As the first Harop takes off from the launcher vehicle, the technicians begin the process of loading the next UCAV from the munitions unit to the launcher. It takes about five minutes and then the second Harop is on its way to Iran. The Harop’s operators inside the mission control shelter have control of the aircraft, now, and will “fly” it to the designated patrol area.
Spread out next to the Harop batteries are the three trucks of the Harpy Air Defense Suppression System. Each truck has eighteen Harpy Radar Killer Drones, a ground control station and a logical support element. They will be launched as soon as the Harop have completed their deployments. Unlike the Harop, which has a quiet propeller driven engine to launch it, the Harpy has a rocket assisted launch from its container. It is a noisy and more spectacular but a faster operation. The night time sky around the base lights up as the Harpy UCAVs streak toward their target areas in Iran.
Some of the Harpy drones have been preprogrammed to the same route of the CV-22 Osprey, some to Natanz and Qom, some to the entry routes for the Israeli F-16i and F-15i jets and others to known or suspected early warning air defense radar sites. Once they are been launched, they will attack any enemy radar that is activated. They can discriminate between friendly radar and enemy but that is about the extent of their control.
At precisely 1850Z, the five CV-22B Ospreys taxi out to Runway 32. Things have quieted down since the launch of the UCAVs. The tower has turned off the runway lights as prearranged. Captain Hart and the other pilots are wearing their night vision goggles. He has ordered to have all the aircraft’s lights extinguished except their navigation lights.
After they have received their takeoff clearance, one by one, they climb to one thousand feet then transition to the airplane/cruise mode. Captain Hart is in the lead Osprey and slowly descends back down to five hundred feet above the ground after making sure that everyone is following him and all of their systems are operating properly.
The terrain between Joint Base Balad and the Iranian frontier is basically flat, so he eases his aircraft down to two hundred feet above the ground to stay out of Iranian Air Traffic Control radar coverage. He is more concerned about the JY-14 early warning surveillance radar sites located near Dezful, Arak, Qom, Isfahan and Hamadan. He takes up an initial heading of 090 degrees to avoid these positions. The terrain does not make any significant elevation changes until the flight gets to the Karkas Mountains. When they get there, they will stay close to the southwestern side of the mountains. He is relying on his aircraft’s Raytheon AN/APQ-186 terrain following and multi mode radar to keep his flight below enemy radar coverage.
1920Z: Highway 7: Petro Stop
The Mossad agent in civilian clothes is inside ordering a tea when the cell phone in his pocket starts to vibrate. He casually pays for his tea and walks out of the snack bar area of the petro concession building and pulls the cell phone out of his pocket. “Hello”, he says in Farsi, in case anyone is listening to him.
Colonel Raymond replies in Farsi, “God is good.” This is the signal for the Mossad agents to come with the truck. The agent replies, “God is great.” He closes the phone to break the connection and walks toward the military truck where the other agent is waiting in the cab. He climbs into the passenger side and tells the driver that the commandos have arrived. The driver starts the truck and they leave the petro stop. They will pick up Lt. Colonel Raymond and his men at the designated pick up location. As they drive out of the parking lot, the agent in the passenger seat throws away the keys to the Hillman that they left at the petro stop.
Lt. Colonel Raymond gives the signal to his men to take up a defensive position in the rocks around the landing zone. He sends another man down the road with night vision goggles to guard the road with the other commando that is already there.
About ten minutes later, Lt. Colonel Raymond receives a call from his men that are about a one half kilometer up the road.
“Colonel, we have a military truck approaching,” says one of the men.
“Roger, let it pass,” replies Lt. Colonel Raymond. He believes that the truck is the one that the two Mossad agents are using to pick his team up. These are tense moments because he does not want to risk calling the agents on the cell phone, again. He will just have to trust his gut feelings as the truck approaches.
The truck begins to slow down and as it gets closer to their position, Lt. Colonel Raymond decides to step out from the rocks and show himself. The truck slows to a stop. Raymond is dressed in the uniform of an IRGC Captain. His men stay hidden. He has given specific orders to evade the enemy if this is a trap. He wants them to complete the mission instead of creating a firefight.
He announces in Farsi, “God is good!”
The agent driving the truck replies, “God is great!”
Lt. Colonel Raymond smiles and turns to give the all clear signal to his men. He walks around to the passenger side of the truck while his men and the other agent climb into the canvas covered bed of the truck. One of the “Batmen” pulls out an extra IRGC Army uniform and gives it to the agent to put on. He also gives the agent a spare Tavor assault rifle that was brought for him. The agent puts on the uniform and like the other “soldiers”, hides his weapon out of sight.
The driver turns the vehicle around and they drive back up the road towards Highway 7 to pick up the other two men. The truck stops and the commandos climb into the back and then it proceeds towards the Kashan-Natanz highway.
Lt. Colonel Raymond knows that they will be early but they have to get inside of the compound as soon as possible. Once the bombing starts, the IRGC guards at the gates may not allow anyone to enter or leave.
1930Z: Joint Base Balad
At the other end of the field, parked in h
ardened revetments that were once the home of the formidable Iraqi Air Force, is one squadron of USAF F-15E Strike Eagles and one squadron of F-16 Block 50/52 that are preparing for their mission tonight. They have been fueled, armed and their flight crews have been briefed. The pilots and ground crews have preflighted their aircraft and inspected their weapons.
Tonight, some of these F-15 Strike Eagles are armed with the GBU-40 SDB and some are carrying the Raytheon AGM-154/A JSOW, both weapons with the BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb submunitions. They are also armed with two AIM-9X Sidewinder and two AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The squadron of F-16C/D Block 50/52 is similarly armed.
The pilots are sitting in the cockpit waiting for the signal to start their engines. They will depart about five minutes before the B-2A and F-22 strikes so that they do not alert the Iranian Air Traffic Controllers with their unusual activity in the Iraqi airspace tonight.
1930Z: Incirlik Air Base: Flight Level 300
Circling at Flight Level 300 over southeast Turkey is “Reach 56”. The USAF Air Combat Command has decided to use that call sign as a disguise for their mission tonight. The Reach call sign is usually reserved for the United States Air Mobility Command and flown by the cargo/ troop transports and the air refueling aircraft. The Turkish government and military have not been informed of this operation since their relations with Israel have been strained, lately.
At intervals that are computer has derived, the B-52H starts ejecting the twelve AGM-129A Advanced Cruise missiles from its two wing pylon launchers to their assigned targets. The missiles that are going to the targets farthest away are released first and the closest targets are ejected last. This will insure that all the cruise missiles will arrive at the same time. These new Advanced Cruise Missiles have not been tested in combat but have proven their stealth effectiveness in the trials that the USAF has put them through. After “Reach 56” has launched all twelve of its cruise missiles; the B-52H turns northwest towards Eastern Europe and RAF Mildenhall.
On the ramp at Incirlik Air Base, twelve USAF pilots are seated in the cockpits of their Raptors. They are waiting for their orders to begin the start sequence of their two Pratt and Whitney F119-PW-100 Turbofan engines. The ground crews are waiting at attention outside each individual aircraft. Each aircraft is fully loaded with fuel and weapons. The ground crews have done their best to prepare these aircraft for probably the most important mission that these aircraft have ever undertaken to date.
This is the first time that these aircraft have gone into combat against such a formidable air defense system. Their anticipation is intense. Each pilot is thinking about their respective objective and how they will handle each threat.
They are planning to release their GBU-40 SBD when they are fifty miles away from their targets. The GBU-40 SBD is able to identify, track and attack the mobile anti-aircraft batteries. Once their precision guided small diameter bombs start hitting their targets, the Iranians will know that the fighters are there. Then the Air Defense Forces will unleash everything that they have to hit the aircraft even if they can’t see them. When the anti-aircraft units begin to activate their detection and acquisition radar, the Israeli Killer Drones will have a surprise for them.
Then, these fighters will only have to worry about the Iranian Air Force fighter jets that may get airborne before their runways are destroyed by the anti-runway submunitions from the B-52’s cruise missile attacks. The F-22s should be able to destroy these aircraft.
At 1945Z, the first F-22A flight is cleared to start its engines and complete its checklists. The teams are being deployed in sequence so that each team arrives at their assigned targets at the same time. The farthest flight will be to Dezful and Isfahan Air Bases. These flights should only take the fighters about thirty-five minutes. This also staggers the departures so that it does not create a lot of attention in the surrounding area of the base.
1930Z: Gulf of Oman
On the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis, three Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAV are being brought up to the flight deck from the ship’s hanger. These experimental Navy UCAVs are being armed with four: GBU-40 SDB, each. Captain Jenkins wants to launch these aircraft first to take care of the threat of the “Ghader” cruise missiles and C-802 Anti-Ship Surface to Surface missiles from the Iranian missile frigates and the Houdong class missile crafts. He knows that the X-47B won’t be able to eliminate the entire Iranian missile craft fleet so he is relying on Phalanx Close in Weapon Systems (CIWS). He believe that it should be able defeat any missiles that the Iranians may launch. The X-47B is his only hope of surprising the Iranian Navy fleet.
Down in the Executive Officer’s Briefing room, the officers are starting to arrive for the final battle briefing. Captain Jenkins is standing at the front of the room along with Vice Admiral Pickett.
“Ok, let’s get started. Everyone has briefed their commands and we know what our jobs are. Our plan of attack will be to launch the X-47Bs, first, then VAQ-132 (EA-18G). I want the EA-18Gs to take out the early warning radar and anti-aircraft radar in Bandar Abbas, Jast and Chabahar. They will be escorted by VFA-66. So they will be launched simultaneously with the Growlers. Then launch VFA-17 to hit the airbase and navy base at Bandar Abbas and Kish. I want the first X-47B launched at 2010Z. Do you have any questions?” He turns to Admiral Picket and he shakes his head. No one else answers, either.
“Ok, let’s get to work, we have a long night ahead of us,” replies Captain Jenkins. The officers file out quietly. Everyone is immersed in their own thoughts.
1945Z: Al Dhafa Air Base, UAE
Two flight teams of four F-16E/F Block 60, Desert Falcons of the United Arab Emirates Air Force are preparing to launch for their missions tonight. These are some of the most advanced F-16s in the world. Like the F-16i Sufa, these aircraft are also equipped with the conformal fuel tanks. These F-16s and some of the USAF F-16 and F15 are the only ones in the world that are equipped with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-80 AESA radar. This unit is far superior to the APG-68 that most F-16s are equipped with. It can perform simultaneous ground and air scan, track and targeting. Its main feature is the “agile beam” that reduces the odds of detection by opposing aircraft. This also makes the AESA radar harder to detect by the enemy’s air defense radar systems. Another feature of these very expensive “special” F-16 fighter aircraft is the FLIR/laser targeting pod has been relocated internally to reduce its drag and radar signature. This modification also makes another hard point available for ordnance. They have been armed with two AIM-9X Block II Sidewinders, two AIM-120C7 AMRAAM missiles and some with the SLAM (AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile).
One flight will fly west towards the Saudi Arabian airspace then turn to the northwest to protect the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and the guided missile destroyer USS Kidd that are patrolling the Persian Gulf near Qatar and Bahrain. The other four aircraft will fly east towards Al Ain then turn northeast and parallel the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains between the UAE and Oman. They have been given the task of attacking the Imperial Iranian Navy base at Sirri Island and any Iranian Navy PTF vessels that may pose a threat to the shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf. They will be supported and directed against any threats by the USAF E-3A Sentry AWACS from Muscat, Oman through their on board MIDS-LUT/LINK 16 equipment.
The pilots of these eight aircraft are seasoned veterans that have participated in the Red Flag exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in the United States. They also flew combat missions (for NATO) in Libya. The UAE Air Force and Navy are prepared for their role in this rescue mission and to protect the Straits of Hormuz to insure the flow of the Persian Gulf’s oil.
These flights, tonight, will appear as a normal nightly patrol that the Air Force of the UAE has performed for years. So to the Early Warning Radar sites of the Iranian Air Defense Forces, it should appear normal until the Desert Falcons strike. Then it will be too late.
At 1950Z, they receive their orders to start engines and to be ready to t
axi in ten minutes. These pilots are looking forward to eliminating this nuclear threat and in the process, take back Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, the disputed islands in the Gulf that the UAE and Iran, both, claim to own.
1950Z: Persian Gulf, near Bahrain/Qatar
The night sky lights up with a fireball that envelopes the whole bow of the USS Bunker Hill. Milliseconds later, a RGM-109D Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile lifts off from its Mk. 41 Vertical Launcher. Once clear of the ship, the cruise missile’s turbofan engine ignites and it begins its ascent to one thousand feet above the surface of the sea. Then as it turns towards it pre- programmed target, the cruise missile begins to descend to one hundred feet above the ground and accelerates to Mach .9.
The USS Bunker Hill launches two more Tomahawk cruise missiles. The first missile’s target is Omidiyeh Air Base; the second missile’s target is Bushehr Air Base, the third missile’s target is the Shiraz Air Base. These Tomahawks are armed with the BLU-97/B combined effects submunitions to destroy the aircraft, runways and the radar facilities at these bases.
1950Z: Sakhir Air Base, Bahrain
On the ramp at Sakhir Air Base in Bahrain, the USAF YAL-1A, Airborne Laser (ABL) is beginning its taxi to Runway 17, for departure. It will begin its patrol tonight of the airspace between Iraq and the UAE. It will be particularly focused on the underground silos at the Iranian Space Center in the Semnan Province. Of greater concern will be the mobile transporter erector launchers (TELs) that can launch their new Sajjil and Shahab-3 ballistic missiles from anywhere in Iran.
The mission of the ABL is to cover all of the Iranian airspace; so it has to rely on the satellites for the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System (SM-3) of the USS Bunker Hill. The new ballistic missile defense radars in southern Turkey and Romania will also point out any launches from the Iranian airspace.
With its infrared sensors it will then pinpoint the boosting missile and direct a “Track Illuminator” laser to determine a more precise aiming point. Once its computers have the tracking calculations completed and the laser aimed, it sends out a 670 million mile per hour beam to a pressurized section of the missile until it breaks apart.
2000Z: Natanz, Iran
The Captain of the Guards is knocking on the door to Colonel Radan’s quarters. Colonel Radan was asleep and gets up to find out who is knocking on his door at this hour.
“Colonel Radan, we have just received this message from the IRGC Command,” says the Captain as he hands the dispatch to Colonel Radan. He steps back to give the Colonel some privacy but he knows what the dispatch says.
Colonel Radan reads the dispatch and in his gut he knows that the Supreme Council is making another grave mistake. Radan knows that this is not going to be good news to the Israeli hostages.
He has been ordered to prepare sixteen Israelis to be transferred to the other nuclear facilities by 0900 tomorrow morning. That means that he will keep eight hostages at Natanz. How will he determine who goes and who stays? He decides to let their apparent leader, Yosef Rabin, make this decision. So he tells the Captain that he will go to the holding room to inform the Israelis to start getting ready for the transfer. He orders the Captain to get three additional guards and be back at his quarters in ten minutes. Colonel Radan returns to his quarters to get dressed.
While he is putting on his uniform, he turns on the closed circuit camera to get an idea of what he will be facing at the holding room. He sees that most of the Israeli prisoners are asleep and it seems relatively quiet.
2010Z: Front Gate: Natanz Nuclear Facility
At the front gate, IRGC Army trucks are arriving and leaving; some are carrying troops and others are bringing supplies for the IRGC reinforcements. The sentries standing post tonight give a brief inspection to the trucks and their occupants.
The Mercedes military truck with the disguised Israeli commandos stops for the sentries to inspect it. The sentry approaches the driver’s door and asks the driver for his documents. With a look of disgust the driver tells the sentry that this is a special detachment that Colonel Radan has sent for to guard the Israeli prisoners. The sentry looks at the passenger in the other seat and notices the rank of an IRGC Pasdaran Captain. He salutes the IRGC Captain. Colonel Raymond looks at the sentry with an arrogant look and does not return the salute. He reaches into his uniform pocket and produces forged orders for his detachment.
He says to the sentry in Farsi, “Do you really want to awaken Colonel Radan at this time of night? Here are my orders. I will present them to him in the morning.”
He passes the fake papers that were produced by the experts at the Mossad with a look of insolence and irritability on his face. He slides his right hand down to the hand gun on his right leg and waits for a response from the sentry. The sentry nervously looks them over as another sentry walks to the rear of the truck to look inside. The “troops” in the back look bored and tired like they are not happy to have been ordered down to Natanz from their home base. The sentry in the back nods his head and walks back to join the other sentry at the front of the truck.
“Ok, drive ahead about three hundred meters; the temporary command post is on the left. Check in with the Officer in Charge,” says the sentry as he returns the orders. The driver takes the papers that the sentry hands back through the window, hands them to the “Captain” and puts the truck in gear to pull away. The sentry stands at attention and salutes as the truck pulls away.
2015Z: Holding Room
Colonel Radan, the Captain and the three armed IRGC guards walk to the holding room at the other end of the underground support building. The Captain orders the two guards that are posted there to open the door for Colonel Radan. The Captain and the three guards step inside and turn on the overhead light that awakens most of the Israeli prisoners. Colonel Radan walks in and looks around for Yosef. He sees him beginning to get up from his bed. Colonel Radan turns to the Captain and says to bring Yosef to him.
Yosef sees the Captain coming towards him and looks to see Colonel Radan standing in the room. He has never seen Radan at the holding room and knows that this can’t be good news. The Captain escorts Yosef over to where Colonel Radan is standing.
Colonel Radan steps away from the others and says to Yosef, “Yosef, I have received orders to move sixteen of your men tomorrow morning at 0900. I do not agree with this order but I must comply. So I am letting you decide which men will be staying and which men will be leaving. I need for you to decide now because I have to complete the paperwork tonight. So go talk to your men and I will wait here for your decision. Tell your men that I need their cooperation and will not tolerate any disruptions tonight. That is why these soldiers are with me.”
Yosef turns around, walks back over to the sleeping area and calls the men together. They are still trying to clear their heads from being so abruptly awaken. They begin discussing the matter and do not appear to be accepting the news very well.
2015Z: Tunnel Entrance
About two hundred meters from the main gate, the road to the tunnel is on the right. It leads to the underground buildings of the nuclear enrichment facilities. The truck turns right onto the road and then another right to get on the road that parallels the main entrance road. This is good because they are no longer in sight of the front gate sentries. Colonel Raymond has his handgun out and is attaching a silencer to the barrel.
The truck turns right onto the entrance road that leads into the tunnel. The passageway starts descending down into the tunnel and reverses course and takes a one hundred, eighty degree right turn about half way down the tunnel. This is a planned deterrent against an aerial or rocket attack.
As they make the turn, Colonel Raymond can see the massive steel doors. The doors are large enough to drive a large truck through. Just about fifty meters inside the steel doors is a guard post with a couple of sentries standing guard. As they approach the doors, the sentries come out of the guard house with a surprised look on their faces. There should
not be any traffic coming to the tunnel at this time of night.
The sentries approach the truck as it comes to a stop. Colonel Raymond hands his silenced Glock to the driver as he creates a diversion by getting out of the truck. As the sentries turn to see what this “IRGC Captain” is doing, the driver shoots both sentries at point blank and two commandos exit the back of the truck. They grab the two sentries and put them into the back of the truck and the two commandos take up their positions as the replaced sentries. The driver pulls the truck ahead to a parking area and parks. The Israelis gather their weapons that were hidden under some tarps in the back of the truck and form up behind Colonel Raymond.
Colonel Raymond and his men proceed down the tunnel as if they were a detachment of IRGC soldiers that have been assigned duty inside the underground buildings. Colonel Raymond has memorized the layout of the building where the engineers are supposed to be held according to the Mossad’s sources in Iran.
As they walk down the passageway, they are descending into the underground facility. The only people that they encounter are just a few workers and engineers that are leaving for the night. The passageway goes about fifty meters more then it splits off. One hallway goes right to one of the enrichment centrifuge cascades hall and the other one goes to the left to the support building. They can hear the sound of thousands of centrifuges working hard to turn the 20% uranium into 90% weapons grade uranium.
After entering the support building, Colonel Raymond and his men go into a tactical posture and speed up their pace to get to the holding room as soon as they can. Now, they will shoot anything that gets in their way. They run into a couple of guards but dispense with them quickly. The guards were caught by surprise at this time of night. The commandos move their bodies out of sight and keep moving as quickly as they can.
2020Z: 60 km West: Natanz, Iran: Flight Level 400
Two hours after descending for their aerial refueling, Mission Commander Major Rick Stabler says to his B-2A pilot, “Let’s wake them up down there and get them to light up their anti-aircraft surveillance radars.”
Using the Spirit’s Raytheon AN/APQ-181 Multimode Radar System, he identifies and acquires the targets that he has programmed into the system’s computer. Then the system delivers four of the eight AGM-154A-1 Joint Stand Off Weapons armed with 145 BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bombs from the B-2s internal rotary launcher. Each GPS guided bomb is pre-programmed for known anti-aircraft batteries outside the compound fence at Natanz. He launches a fifth guided bomb to the nuclear facility at Isfahan. HHHe is hoping that the Iranians Air Defenses Forces will expose the locations their mobile S-300PMU-1 anti-aircraft batteries when these bombs start to explode. Then he will launch the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles to destroy these mobile batteries.
Lt. Colonel Warren Bradley is using the same technique at the Fordo nuclear facility near Qom. From this altitude, they will be able to detect any threats that their intelligence reports say maybe at Noushabad, a location about half way between the two main uranium enrichment facilities.
2030Z: Natanz, Iran
Just as they are about to enter the hallway for the holding room, there is a loud explosion outside. The B-52H launched cruise missile hits the Administration Building and destroys about half of it. The ground shakes and the dust flies but Colonel Raymond knows that these underground buildings will not be hit, yet. He smiles to himself because he knows that the American jets have arrived.
A few moments later, multiple explosions begin to occur in the distance as the USAF B-2A AGM-154/A bombs starting hitting their targets around the perimeter of the compound. The Combined Effects Bomb submunitions are laying down a path of destruction that is eliminating most of the known fixed anti-aircraft installations.
Raymond and his men get ready to attack the holding room while there is a distraction taking place outside. They rush around the corner and kill the two guards with their silenced Tavor assault rifles. His men quickly move the dead guards away from the entrance to the room. While his men are standing guard, Raymond begins searching the guards for the keys to the room. He is not aware of what is going on inside the holding room. He grabs the keys and starts for the door.
Colonel Radan and the Captain are startled by the explosions and forget about the Israelis and turn to leave to find out what is going on above ground. The three soldiers that went into the room with them are told to stay with the prisoners.
Outside of the door, the Israeli commandos are waiting against the wall. The Iranian officers open the door to leave. As they step into the hallway, a look of surprise and confusion comes across their faces when they see an IRGC officer and what appear to be IRGC soldiers waiting outside in the hallway pointing foreign assault weapons at them. They see the two IRGC guards lying dead.
Colonel Radan and the Captain are grabbed and thrown to the ground by two Israeli commandos as the rest of the team enter the room and shoot two of the startled IRGC soldiers. The third one raises his hands and weapon above his head and surrenders without a fight.
The engineers and Yosef had jumped to the floor when the shooting started. They remain there until the commandos tell them that they are Israelis. About that time, Colonel Raymond walks into the holding room after making sure that the Iranian officers have been bound and secured by his men. He tells his men to take the Iranian soldier to the hallway with the Iranian officers. The team exits the room and takes up a defensive position in the hallway.
“My name is Lt. Colonel Raymond of the Israeli Defense Force, who is Yosef Rabin?” he says as he looks around. Yosef and the engineers begin to get up off the floor.
Yosef steps forward and identifies himself, “I am Captain Yosef Rabin.”
Colonel Raymond walks over to where he is standing and says, “Get your men ready, we must leave immediately.”
Outside the underground facility, there is confusion and chaos as the IRGC Army and the Iranian Air Defense Forces are trying to reorganize. Most of the temporary barracks and the headquarters unit that were located just east of the Administration Building have been destroyed by the B-52 cruise missile attack. Most of the fixed Mersad Air Defenses Systems and GDF-002 twin 35mm cannon batteries around the perimeter have been destroyed by the B-2A JSOW submunitions. But two Russian fully integrated tracked self-propelled TOR-M1E (SA-15 Gauntlet) TLAR batteries with the 9 M 331 Surface to Air Missiles were not near the perimeter when the first attack began.
The Iranians wisely thought that they should keep this twenty-five million dollar surface to air defense system hidden away but close to Natanz. They are located three km north of the nuclear facility in an abandoned rock quarry. The operators heard the explosions going off at the nuclear facility and begin to make preparations to deploy even before they receive orders from Air Defense Command in Tehran. They start taking down the camouflage covering and jump inside the TLAR to move it into a launch position. Unfortunately, they did not consider the Israeli UCAVs.
Overhead Natanz at five thousand feet, Five Israeli Harpy and one Harop Killer Drones are loitering and waiting for any search and tracking radars to be activated. The Harop operators at Joint Base Balad have found the TOR-M1E batteries with the Harop’s visual systems. The Harop operators were just waiting for the attack to begin or for the anti-aircraft radar to activate.
Just as the TOR-M1E units begin to deploy their launchers, the operators sitting inside the tracked vehicle turns on its F-band pulse Doppler acquisition radar and K-band target engagement radar. As the launchers are being raise, the Harop and then a Harpy slams into the two TOR batteries and ignites the eight missiles that are stored between the two radar arrays. A secondary explosion occurs in each TLAR and kills the four Iranian operators inside each vehicle.
Back at Natanz, three Swiss made GDF-002 anti aircraft guns with the towed Super Fledermaus (FC) radar units have survived the initial B-2A attack. Their operators are unaware of the Israeli UCAVs that are loitering overhead or what has
just occurred to the TOR-M1E batteries just moments ago. The GDF crews were stunned by the initial explosions that have wiped out most of the other anti-aircraft batteries around them but they go through the trained procedures that have been taught to them. As the operators are beginning the procedures to power up their E/F band pulse Doppler search radar, the officer in charge of the GDF-002 batteries receives a call from the Air Defense Command. He is being ordered to not turn on his search or tracking radar but the call comes a moment too late.
Three Harpy Killer Drones slam into the remaining FC radar trailers as the operators initiate the radar warm up sequence.
At the Fordo nuclear facility at Qom and at Noushabad, similar events are occurring at the same time to the Iranian anti-aircraft defense systems. The Air Defense Command cannot find the stealth bombers. And when they turn on their detection/acquisition radars, the Israeli UCAVs and the B-2’s anti-radiation missiles find them.
2030Z: Isfahan, Iran
About twenty km northwest of Isfahan, Captain Hart and his flight of five CV-22 Ospreys are just getting ready to make the turn to the northeast through the pass in the Karkas Mountains that will bring him over the city of Natanz. A loud warning comes over his helmet’s headset. The Osprey’s ATK AN/AAR-47 missile warning system has detected someone’s search/acquisition radar and it has found his flight formation. He suspects that it is the JY-14 early warning radar site at Isfahan. He is expecting their HQ-2 or Mersad site to launch a missile at any moment. All he can do, now, is stay as low as he can and as close to the mountains as he dares. He has to be ready to deploy chaff or flares if he detects a missile coming at him because that is the only defense that his Osprey has.
Suddenly, the missile warning stops. In the distance, his co-pilot sees a bright light coming from the direction of Isfahan. He suspects that the B-52s cruise missile has struck the air base there and the Israeli Harop or F-22s have taken out the air defense’s radar. Captain Hart is glad but he can’t allow his thoughts to get distracted. He has to remain in a high concentration mode. The men, in the back of the CV-22s, are not aware of what has just transpired. They have been given the signal for ten minutes to go and are concentrating on their duties.
Captain Hart and his flight make the turn to the northwest after exiting the pass. They know that the enemy probably knows that they are coming so he alerts the Israelis to try to contact Colonel Raymond and tell him that they are ten minutes out. The operator of the Interim Defense Weapon System (IDWS) extends the retractable remote controlled GAU-17/A, a 7.62 mm Gatling minigun turret, from its housing pod in the belly of the aircraft. From his station, the operator uses a color television and FLIR to see his targets. He knows that they are going to have to fight their way in and out of the helipad, tonight. Another crew member is stationed on the rear ramp with a M240G 7.62 mm machine gun to cover the “B” Squadron and the Israelis during the fast rope insertion and during the extraction from the helipad.
2030Z: Hatzerim, Ramon, Nevatim and Ovda Air Bases: Israel
The Israeli Air Force has just launched sixteen F-15i Ra’am, each, with the GBU-28 Bunker Buster and thirty F-16i Sufa fighters escorts from their bases at Ramon, Hatzerim, Nevatim and Ovda Air Bases. These aircraft are flying south across the Negev Desert and will make an eastbound turn around the southern tip of Jordan. They will continue across Saudi Arabian airspace through Iraqi airspace where they will meet the USAF KC-10 tankers for aerial refueling before they enter Iranian air space.
By that time they should have received their final order to attack the nuclear facilities at Qom, Natanz, Arak, Darkhovin and Isfahan. They won’t receive this go ahead until after the engineers and Colonel Raymond’s team are safely clear of the Natanz compound.
At Ramat David Air Base and Hatzor Air Base, five squadrons of F-16C/D are preparing to patrol Israel’s airspace and act as reinforcements for the F-15i and F-16i, if needed.
The Defense Minister has activated all Iron Dome units to be ready to defend Israel from the anticipated Hamas missile launches from the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah missile launches from Lebanon or Syrian missile attacks. The Israeli Defense Ground Forces and Navy have also been mobilized to expect retaliation of some sort from Iran.
If any Iranian ballistic missiles are launched and are able to evade the USAF YAL-1A (ABL) or US Navy’s AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System, the new Arrows 3 Missile Defense System should be able to act as a last line of defense, according to the Israeli Minister of Defense. It will be complemented by the MIM-104F Patriot (PAC-3) Missile System and older Arrows 2 Missile Defense System. But the high numbers of the Shahab-3 that the Iranians have is what poses the greatest threat.
“The Israeli people know that they are going to be hurt. That is for sure, but a greater concern is the threat of a nuclear Iran,” explains the Minister of Defense. He also knows that this reiterates the secret thoughts of most of the governments in the Middle East.
2030Z: Central Mediterranean
Over the Mediterranean, just south of Sicily, the second flight of two USAF B-2A bombers is flying at Flight Level 400. The aircraft commanders are also waiting for the final orders to attack Natanz and Fordo with their GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
The crews have flown all day and now it is nighttime. They have just completed a very intense night aerial refueling with a KC-10 tanker. It is still two more hours till they reach their targets. It will remain night time for the rest of their mission. They are already feeling the effects of fatigue and are doing their best to stay alert. Soon, they will be very busy and the adrenalin will start flowing.
2035Z: Natanz, Iran
Yosef and the engineers have gotten themselves ready to leave and are waiting for Lt. Colonel Raymond and his men to lead them out of this “prison”. Lt. Colonel Raymond walks back out into the hallway to check with his men. He has the Iranian officers and the soldier brought into the holding room. He leaves them bound and tells his men to put some cloth over their mouths. Before his men gag Colonel Radan, Yosef approaches Radan and says, “Colonel, you treated us well. You are a true soldier and patriot. Do you want to stay here and die or do you want to go with us?”
Colonel Radan looks at Yosef and then to Colonel Raymond. He knows that if he stays here, he will surely die, because the Israelis and Americans will destroy Natanz and end the nuclear enrichment program here. He believes that he can trust these soldiers. He looks back to Yosef and says, “I will go with you. I would die for the Iran that I once knew but not for this.”
Yosef looks at Lt. Colonel Raymond and he nods his approval. One of his men takes out a knife and cuts the plastic cuffs from Colonel Radan’s wrists. Lt. Colonel Raymond tells the men that it is time to leave.
Lt. Colonel Raymond locks the door to the holding room. He has his men take up positions in front of and behind the “prisoners” with Colonel Radan in front with him. It appears that Colonel Radan is escorting a detachment that is moving the prisoners to another location. They start walking back to the tunnel and the truck.
2040Z: Natanz
Just as they exit the underground support building and begin to walk up the tunnel passageway to where they had parked the truck, Lt. Colonel Raymond’s satellite phone begins vibrating. He takes it out of his pocket and answers it. It is his two comrades that are with the Delta Force unit on their way to pick them up. He knows that he has to get to the helipad as soon as possible.
They arrive back at the sentry post and the military truck. The Israelis that were stationed at the sentry post join them at the truck. They take the dead Iranians from the truck and hide the bodies. The engineers and the commando team load up into the back of the truck. Lt. Colonel Raymond and Colonel Radan can see that the massive steel entrance doors to the tunnel have been closed.
Colonel Radan says to Raymond, “they are programmed to close automatically in the event of an attack.”
Lt. Colonel Raymond says, “Can you open them?”
“I
will try but in case I can’t, have your men get ready. There is a smaller door on the side for personnel to enter and leave from,” says Colonel Radan.
They climb into the front of the big truck. Lt. Colonel Raymond starts the engine and turns the truck around and begins driving towards the big steel doors.
Colonel Radan is in the passenger seat. As the truck approaches the doors, they see two IRGC soldiers standing guard there. The soldiers were posted there after the doors were closed.
“There will probably be more soldiers on the other side,” says Radan.
Before Colonel Radan gets out of the truck, Lt. Colonel Raymond looks him in the eye and hands him his Glock. Radan tucks it into the waistband behind his back.
Colonel Radan gets out of the truck and walks over to the guards. He can hear all the explosions that are occurring outside. The soldiers recognize Colonel Radan and salute him. He asks them if they can open the doors and they both shake their heads. He explains that he has the Israeli prisoners and has orders to transport them away from Natanz.
One of the soldiers reaches for his radio to call his immediate superior to tell him that Colonel Radan needs to have the bomb blast doors opened. Before he can say anything into his radio, Colonel Radan shoots him and then shoots the other soldier.
He grabs their radio and walks over to the control panel and to open the doors. Lt. Colonel Raymond has a couple of his men get out of the truck to move the dead IRGC soldiers and standby in case there are more soldiers on the other side of the door, coming into the tunnel.
Colonel Radan swipes his identification card and keys in a code and the massive doors begin to open and as predicted, a couple more soldiers were posted on the other side. There is a surprise look on their faces as the steel doors open and standing there is their commanding officer and two unknown soldiers.
Before they can salute their commander, the Israelis shoot them and move their bodies out of the way of the truck. Colonel Radan and the Israelis climb back into the truck and the truck continues up the passageway. Now, it is going to be pure speed and violence to get from the tunnel to the helipad.
2045Z: Natanz
Captain Hart says to his crew and the other Ospreys over the interphone and radio, “I can see the compound so get ready! We are about one kilometer away; I am transiting to the helicopter mode. Open the ramp and prepare to fast rope. Number 3, 4 and 5, stay about two hundred meters behind us to give us some cover fire. It is going to get real dusty down there so be careful. The visibility at the helipad is going to be reduced so listen up. I will lead and call my turn and we will climb to the right.”
The remote IDWS operators are looking at the landing helipad on their television screen with FLIR images showing numerous soldiers nearby. One of the Israelis on board looks at the screen and says that those soldiers are not friendlies.
The GAU-17A miniguns on all of the Ospreys begin to fire as number 1 and 2; approach the helipad in a hover at ten feet. The Delta Force soldiers and one of the Israelis begin to leave the ramps. They are wearing protective goggles to keep the dust out of their eyes.
The Ospreys begin taking ground fire as Captain Hart begins to turn away from the helipad. He calls the other aircrafts to tell the pilots that he is turning and climbing away to the right. The number 2, CV-22, starts his turn and begins to climb above the dust cloud.
Captain Hart calls the assigned USAF E-3C AWACS for ground support help. The rear gunners begin firing out the back as the other Ospreys turn to the right and continue climbing to get out of range of the small arms fire.
The Delta operators take up a defensive position around the helipad and the dust starts to settle. The visibility is improving and they can see the IRGC beginning to move into position on the entrance road next to the helipad. The Iranians soldiers are beginning to advance on the Delta “B” squadron.
One of the IRGC officers with a small squad of IRGC, nearby the entrance road, realizes that these aircraft and soldiers are American and calls for reinforcements to come to the helipad. He tells the reinforcements to bring their shoulder fired SA-7 portable air defense launchers to the helipad area. The squad of Iranian soldiers is beginning to attack the “B” Squadron’s defensive positions on the helipad. A firefight begins but the Delta Force operators quickly overcome this small group of Iranian Pasdaran.
A few moments later, Captain Hart gets a call from Python 41, a USAF F-16 C/D, from Joint Base Balad that is operating in the Isfahan area. Captain Hart requests a strafing run on the western side of the helipad. The pilot of the F-16 acknowledges the request and gives an ETA of two minutes.
Captain Hart tells the Israeli commando to call Lt. Colonel Raymond and tell him that an F-16 will be making a strafing run on the west side of the helipad. Raymond acknowledges and waits before exiting the tunnel.
Captain Hart calls Captain Ray to have his squad to pull back to the east side of the helipad and wait for the F-16 to make its pass. He has positioned his Ospreys out of range of the small arms fire but the moments pass painfully slow as he waits. He knows that the longer he has to sit there the advantage of this surprise attack will deteriorate rapidly. Natanz is one of the most heavily defended places in Iran and its defenders will rally soon against this attack.
Even if the USAF were able to destroy most of the air defenses, Captain Hart knows that they probably did not get all of the anti-aircraft batteries. The firefight continues at the helipad as the Delta squadron is taking heavy fire from the other side as more IRGC reinforcements arrive.
About five seconds before the F-16 arrives, a missile streaks from the IRGC position and hits the number 5, Osprey, in the right engine. The pilots quickly shutdown that engine and the remaining engine automatically takes over the right proprotor. The number 5, CV-22, is still flyable but this aircraft will not be able to keep up with the other Ospreys. It won’t make it back to Joint Base Balad.
Captain Hart makes the decision to order the damaged aircraft to land in a remote area about two kilometers east of the nuclear compound and transfer the crew to number 4. He orders the crew to destroy it. It lands in an open area and the crew sets the explosive charges and then they join the number 4, Osprey. After they are airborne and at a safe distance, the aircraft commander of number 5, Osprey, detonates the explosives.
Moments later, Python 41 checks in with Captain Hart and gives him an ETA of 20 seconds and tells him to clear the area. Captain Hart calls Captain Ray to take cover. Python 41 comes down from over the Karkas Mountains and surprises the Air Defense Forces that are left and the IRGC that are defending the helipads. He lays down a path of 20 mm cannon fire that chops up the west side of the helipad and anyone there. The small arms fire has ceased for now so Captain Hart has got to get his Ospreys back in there and fast!
Lt. Colonel Raymond can’t wait any longer and he decides that it is time to go. He puts the truck in gear and speeds out of the tunnel and takes a left turn towards the main entrance road. Debris is all over the place and he is doing his best to avoid it and the dazed IRGC soldiers. They pass by the destroyed Administration Building. Large pieces of concrete from the cruise missile attack are scattered all over the road. The stunned and shell-shocked soldiers are surprised to see a military truck driving through the destruction so quickly and can barely get out of its way. Raymond turns left onto the main entrance road and heads for the helipad on the right. The pad is about one hundred, fifty meters away.
Out of the corner of his eye, Raymond sees three Ospreys approaching the helipads but he also sees a platoon of IRGC Pastaran approaching the helipad from the south. Captain Ray also sees the approaching enemy and moves his men into position on the south end of the helipad to meet this threat.
They begin firing on the Iranians with their HK416 assault rifles and M249 SPW machine guns. The Iranians take cover and return fire. Using the attached grenade launchers and their machine guns, the “B” Squadron is able to slow down the advance of the IRGC platoon. Capt
ain Ray keeps an eye on the truck and the approaching Ospreys. As the three Ospreys begin to descend to the helipad, a large cloud of dust begins to kick up. He decides that this is a good time to withdraw back into the dust towards the helipads since the visibility is rapidly decreasing.
Just as Captain Hart and the other two Ospreys land, Lt. Colonel Raymond pulls onto the ramp. His men jump out of the truck and they take up a defensive position to allow the engineers to board the aircraft, first. They join in the fight with Captain Ray’s men.
Yosef has the Israelis engineers disperse between the three aircraft. Lt. Colonel Raymond and Colonel Radan join Yosef in Captain Hart’s aircraft. Captain Ray’s men and the Israeli commandos are the last ones to board among the three aircraft. They wait till the pilots start adding Pratt and Whitney power to the proprotors.
Captain Hart makes his turnout to the north, first, and the other two CV-22s follow. The rear gunners are firing their machine guns at the entire helipad area. The GAU-17A minigun operators on all four aircraft also begin spraying the area behind them with a wall of lead as the Ospreys transition from vertical flight to airplane mode.
When out of range of the small arms fire, the rear gunner closes the rear ramp and it suddenly becomes very quiet in the back of the Osprey. Aside from a few superficial wounds, most of Captain Ray’s men are not harmed. The two Israelis with Captain Ray are very happy to see their commander and their team.
2100Z: Natanz
Lt. Colonel Raymond looks around at his men, Yosef and at Captain Ray. He smiles. He pulls out his satellite phone and calls Control. The Prime Minister is waiting for his call.
“Mr. Prime Minister, we have the engineers and we are clear!” says Colonel Raymond.
The Israeli Prime Minister replies,” Thank you, Benjamin, Thank your men and the Americans!”
“You are welcome, Mr. Prime Minister. We will be home soon!”
This Operation is finished but this is not THE END!
Look for more covert operations by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Raymond and his “Batmen”.
Thank you for reading my book. Jason Kramer
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