Page 42 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight

“Without God, neither of us would have,” Dzhabrailov was quick to add. The journey had taken longer than expected, partly to avoid the Russians, who’d managed to pick up their trail early on.

Brkic stepped closer to the workbench. “How close are you to completion?”

“I have everything I need, but the work requires precision and is time-consuming.”

The big Chechen bent close to the soldered electrical components, examining them with his one good eye. “We only have nine days to prepare, and there are still other pieces we need to put in place.”

“I have already checked out the flight systems on the Skylark. Of course, it’s an Israeli unit, so it’s in perfect condition.”

“Israeli?” Brkic asked.

“They make the best equipment, so naturally the Russians buy their drones from them, or copy them.”

“I thought the Americans made the best drones, like the Predator.”

“Interesting that you mention the Predator. It was the first drone the CIA used in live combat reconnaissance, and the first place they flew it was in the Bosnian War. That experience is what began the modern drone revolution. But the Predator was invented by an Israeli engineer who emigrated to America to start his company. The Predator is a great machine, and Abraham Karem will go down in history as one of the great inventors.”

Brkic’s darkening face told Walib what the Chechen thought about Jewish engineers.

The Syrian pressed on. “The Skylark is a portable unit, hand-launched, quiet, and fully automated, with a three-hour flight time for its electric engine. Two men can set it up in the field and launch it within eight minutes.”

“Shafiq has trained me how to do it,” Dzhabrailov said, smiling. “I’m a drone pilot now, though in truth, the operation is mostly automated.”

“What is the purpose of the drone?” Brkic asked. “We know the GLONASS coordinates of the target.”

“Aslan will ‘paint’ the target with the onboard laser. The Starfire missiles are equipped with a laser guidance system, which is the most accurate guidance system available. It drops the CEP—circular error probable—to less than one meter.”

“Practically a sniper rifle,” Dzhabrailov said.

Brkic’s white eye flared. “But lasers don’t work in bad weather.”

“The weather forecast is sunny and cloudless for launch day,” Walib said.

“But weather changes, especially around here.”

“In case there is a problem, each missile is also equipped with a GLONASS guidance system. Also more than accurate enough for our purposes, with a CEP of less than thirteen meters.”

“Like Uber, but for missiles?” Emir asked.

Walib smiled. “Perhaps. But at least with these, you don’t have to tip the driver.”

“And what if the GLONASS system fails?” Brkic asked.

“Highly unlikely, sir.”

“Humor me, Captain.”

“Then there is an onboard inertial navigation system, computerized gyroscopes and accelerometers. No guarantees at that point we will hit the target, but even so, we will land close enough to cause enormous casualties.”

“Computerized, eh? And what if that fails as well?”

“Three system failures? It isn’t possible,” Dzhabrailov said.

Brkic jabbed a finger on the larger man’s chest. “In war, anything is possible, especially the unexpected.”

“Your commander is right. Technology can fail.” Walib nodded at the big green 6x6 truck. “I first trained on the Grad system. It’s old technology, but reliable. The rocket motors are reliable and the fuel burn rates are known quantities. A straight launch with no electronic guidance systems at all will still result in a satisfactory strike. Think of it as a very long-range, very effective mortar system.”

“We cannot fail,” Emir said.