Free Tiger's Claw: A Novel by Dale Brown Page A

and instructors. If the Air Force cancels the program, you get your hardware back, and Sky Masters writes off the personnel costs.”
    “Not that an old warhorse like me knows anything about business, sir,” Cuthbert said, “but I have to wonder: How do you make any money at this? Sky Masters is in this to make money, right?”
    “The company’s shareholders want to make money, Cutlass— I want to support the AirSea Battle strategy and contribute to the defense of our nation by building highly capable long-range reconnaissance and strike aircraft in a short amount of time,” Patrick said. “We make our money by employing the Excaliburs after they’re built. The Air Force is going to need personnel to fly and service the jets—that’ll be Sky Masters’s job. Once the bombers are built and the program validated, the Pentagon pays for the labor to build the bombers, and we sign a contract to operate the jets at the direction of the Air Force or theater commander. We’ll provide fully qualified aircrew and the datalink technology for Air Force personnel to operate the offensive and defensive systems in the plane, and we’ll drive the bus wherever you want. Your folks—or ours, if you prefer—remotely man the weapon systems and do the strikes in case there’s an operational need.”
    “And your board of directors agreed to not getting paid until and unless there’s a contract job?”
    “It was a little bit of a chore to convince them to make the investment,” Patrick admitted. “We got a little help from some local, state, and federal agencies, because we’re bringing in hundreds of skilled laborers and their families into one of the poorest and economically hardest-hit areas of the western United States. But I noticed something when I first created this program: like any government program these days, the workers who moved to Battle Mountain from Palmdale and other places to work at Sky Masters know that this whole deal could never materialize, or it could be canceled at any moment even after the contracts are signed. They’re still willing to move out here and do the work. That’s more than just getting a paycheck, Cutlass—that’s being dedicated to the work and the country. I want to support that, and after I pointed this out to my board, they agreed . . . eventually. After they saw the first refurbished Excalibur fly, they were fully on board—they even authorized the funds to refurbish the F-111 and F-14. The F-111 might be a lower-cost solution to the air arm of AirSea Battle, and we can build about fifty of them, a lot more than the B-1s.”
    They got back to work as they neared the hammerhead area of the active runway at Battle Mountain. Cuthbert pressed the “TTO” switch, which automatically set the trim and spoilers for takeoff, then checked the rows of green dots on the checklist page on the MFDs, indicating that the plane was configured for takeoff, Patrick typed a text message on one of his MFDs. “I told the range controllers at Naval Air Station Fallon that we’re ready for takeoff, and they cleared us into the military operating area and low-level routes,” Patrick said. “The navigation heading bug is on the range entry point. I’ll talk to Battle Mountain Approach after the handoff, then the Fallon range controllers.” Patrick made his own scan of the checklist page and the engine instrument page, then fastened his oxygen mask over his mouth, and checked his straps, and armed his ejection seat. “Seat’s armed. I’m ready to roll, Cutlass.”
    “My seat’s hot. Ready.” Patrick got takeoff clearance, then said, “You have plenty of runway for a rolling takeoff, and we’re extremely light, so no need to lock the brakes to run the engines up. Pedal to the metal.”
    “Coming up,” Cuthbert said. He smoothly applied full military power.
    “Compressors look good,” Patrick said, scanning the engine instruments. “Clear to go into the zone.”
    “Here we go.”