“Phoenix is a fool if he really plans to degrade his army and navy in favor of space weapons,” Sokolov said. “And he can build all the cyberweapons he wants—while our troops overrun his cities.”
“It looks to me like Phoenix will not abide by any space treaty for long,” Gryzlov said. “If he wants to industrialize space, he will want to defend it. If we cannot get him to agree not to militarize space, and he wins reelection and goes ahead with this plan, what do we have to counter such moves? What can we use to attack his spacecraft?”
“Our most potent antisatellite weapon currently deployed is the S-500 ‘Autocrat’ surface-to-air missile system, sir,” Khristenko said. “Its maximum target altitude of five hundred kilometers and a maximum range of seven hundred kilometers put it well within range of the American’s military space station. The system is mobile and easily moved and set up, so it can be fired and then moved to evade counterstrike or quickly be placed under the orbital path of a target. The S-500 is also very capable against hypersonic attack missiles, stealthy aircraft, low-flying aircraft or cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. It is by far the most capable surface-to-air missile system in the world.”
“Finally, some good news,” Gryzlov said.
“The one problem with the S-500 is we have built very few of them so far, sir,” Sokolov said. “There are only twelve batteries in service, stationed around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok for defense against stealth aircraft and cruise missiles.”
“Twelve?” Gryzlov retorted loudly. “We should have twelve thousand of them! You will get the funding to build ten a month, and I want several to be deployed to every Russian military base in the world! I want that space station and every Western spacecraft in Russia’s crosshairs around the clock! Go on.”
“The next viable antisatellite system, and the most flexible, is the MiG-31D antisatellite missile carrier,” Khristenko said, changing the slide again. The slide showed a picture of a large twin-tailed muscular-looking jet fighter. “It has a top speed of almost three times the speed of sound and a maximum altitude of over thirty thousand meters. It employs the 9K720 Osa missile, which is the same missile as on the Iskander theater ballistic missile. The MiG-31 is directed toward its target by ground radar stations and deploys the missile as it climbs through twenty thousand meters. The Osa missile optionally carries a micronuclear warhead, so one missile would probably be sufficient to knock the American space station out of the sky. The Osa missile steered by the MiG-31’s radar is capable against other aerial targets as well.”
“That is good,” Gryzlov said. “How many do we have active right now, General?”
“There are only thirty of the antisatellite missile carriers in service right now, sir,” Khristenko replied. “Two squadrons in the west and one in the far east.”
“When in hell did we stop building military equipment?” Gryzlov moaned. “What else?”
“The MiG-31 first flew over forty years ago,” Khristenko said. “Its radar has been updated, but not for several years in favor of newer fifth-generation fighters. In its antisatellite role the MiG-31’s range is limited to only about eight hundred kilometers. But the 9K720 missile has a range of four hundred kilometers, sufficient to reach any American spacecraft in low Earth orbit.”
“Can we build more?”
“We currently have about two hundred and fifty MiG-31s in the inventory, sir,” Khristenko said. “About one hundred are active.”
“More than half the inventory is inactive?” Gryzlov complained again. “If our country is awash in oil money, why have we been allowing half our aircraft to be inactive?” Khristenko did not answer. “Then turn all of the active MiG-31s into antisatellite missile carriers,” Gryzlov said. “I assume you have other fighters that can take over the interceptor role from the MiG-31s?”
“Of course, sir.”
“I want a full report on the conversion, and I want an estimate of how long it will take to build more of the S-500s,” Gryzlov ordered. “What about space assets?”
“We have the Soyuz man-rated cargo spacecraft and the Progress unmanned cargo spacecraft, sir, along with the Proton medium-lift and Angara heavy-lift launch rockets,” Khristenko replied. “We have extensive experience with resupply missions to the International Space Station.”
“That is all? Supply missions?”
“Sir, Russia has been heavily supporting the International Space Station, especially since the Americans stopped flying their shuttle,” Sokolov said. “We needed no other outpost in Earth orbit since we have unlimited access to the Russian Orbital Section of the ISS for scientific experiments.”