scoonts.theminotaur-第101章

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　〃Yet；　if　I　understand　your　earlier　statement　correctly；　you　think　we　should　use　this　military　advantage　to　convert　the　peoples　of　the　world　to　Christianity？〃
　An　uproar　ensued　as　Duquesne　tried　to　rule　the　question　out　of　order　and　various　members　all　tried　to　talk　at　once。　The　issue　seemed　to　be　whether　the　members　from　the　House　could　ask　the　questions　they　could　have　asked　had　they　not　agreed　to　a　joint　hearing　to　save　time。　While　all　this　was　going　on　Rob　Knight　nudged　Jake。　〃Best　show　in　town；〃　he　whispered。
　On　the　threat　of　being　abandoned　by　the　House　submittee　members；　Duquesne　caved　in。　Dodgers　was　given　free　rein　to　state　his　views　on　religion；　sin；　and　conspiracies　by　each　and　every　minority　he　could　readily　recall。　Duquesne　took　it　like　a　man；　Jake　thought　he　should　have　known　better。　Other　mittee　members　took　it　less　well；　seeming　to　take　offense　that　they　had　to　sit　through　a　recitation　of　Dodgers'　poisonous　inanities。
　Dodgers　was　finally　silenced　by　mutual　consent　and　shown　the　door。　After　a　ten…minute　recess；　it　was　Jake's　turn。　Gazing　upward　at　the　legislators　on　the　dais；　he　immediately　understood　the　psychological　advantage　the　raised　platform　conferred　on　his　interrogators。
　〃Do　you　have　a　statement　to　make？〃　Duquesne　asked　him　when　the　preliminaries　were　pleted。
　〃No；　sir。〃
　A　chuckle　swept　the　room。　That's　a　good　start；　Jake　thought。
　A　mittee　staffer　passed　out　copies　of　Jake's　report　and　led　him　through　it；　page　by　page；　conclusion　by　conclusion。　It　took　the　rest　of　the　morning。　When　Duquesne　announced　a　lunch　break；　Jake　was　surprised　at　how　much　time　had　passed。
　He　and　Knight　walked　back　to　the　bagel　place　for　a　tuna　salad　sandwich。
　〃How　am　I　doing？〃
　〃They　haven't　even　started　on　you　yet。　Ask　me　at　five　o'clock。〃
　〃Are　we　going　to　be　here　that　long？〃
　〃Maybe。　Depends　on　Duquesne。〃
　After　lunch　the　senator　resumed　his　questioning。　〃Tell　me；　Captain；　just　what　were　your　orders　when　you　were　given　your　present　assignment？〃
　〃I　was　told　to　evaluate　the　two　prototypes　and　prepare　a　remendation　as　to　which　one　I　believed　the　navy　should　select　for　production　as　the　A…12　medium　attack　bomber。〃
　〃Did　Vice　Admiral　Henry　or　Secretary　Ludlow　tell　you…let　me　rephrase　that…did　either　of　them　suggest　which　prototype　you　should　remend？〃
　〃No。　They　didn't。〃
　〃They　didn't　even　hint　at　which　one　they　wanted？〃
　〃They　discussed　the　navy's　requirements　for　a　new　medium　attack　bomber　on　numerous　occasions　with　me；　sir；　and　they　did　make　it　clear　to　me　that　the　plane　had　to　be　able　to　meet　the　needs　of　the　navy。　But　they　did　not　tell　me　which　plane　they　thought　would　best　meet　those　needs。　Determining　that　was　the　whole　purpose　of　the　fly…off。〃
　〃So　the　conclusions　stated　in　this　report　and　the　remendations　made　are　yours？〃
　〃Yessir。　And　the　admirals　wrote　endorsements；　and　the　Secretary　of　the　Navy　wrote　one　when　he　forwarded　the　report　to　SECDEF。〃
　〃Did　you　tell　your　superiors　what　the　substance　of　your　report　would　be　before　you　wrote　it？〃
　〃Yessir。　I　kept　them　fully　informed　about　my　activities　and　my　opinions　as　I　reached　them。〃
　〃Did　they　suggest　changes　to　the　draft　document。〃
　〃Yessir。　That　is　normal　practice。　We　were　under　a　time　crunch；　and　I　circulated　a　summary　of　the　report　and　they　mented　upon　it　and　I　made　certain　changes　to　the　report　that　I　felt　were　necessary　based　on　their　ments。　But　this　is　my　report。　I　could　have　refused　to　make　a　suggested　change　and　they　could　have　mented　on　the　matter　in　their　endorsement。　That；　too；　would　be　normal　practice。〃
　〃Did　you　refuse　to　make　any　changes？〃
　〃No；　sir。〃
　〃So　this　report　is　now　the　way　your　superiors　in　the　chain　of　mand　want　it　to　be？〃
　〃I　believe　the　endorsements　speak　for　themselves；　sir。〃
　〃You　remended　the　navy　purchase　the　TRX　plane　in　spite　of　the　fact　that　the　prototype　crashed　during　evaluation　and　you　failed　to　plete　all　the　tests　you　had　planned？〃
　〃That　is　correct。〃
　〃Why？〃
　〃Senator；　I　think　the　report　addresses　that　point　much　better　than　I　could　orally。　I　felt　that　the　TRX　plane　had　fewer　technical　problems　than　the　Consolidated　prototype　and　was　a　better　promise　of　mission　capability　and　stealthiness。　I　also　felt　it　was　better　suited　to　carrier　operations。　I　thought　that　it　would　require　less　preproduction　modifications　to　achieve　the　performance　goals。　All　this　is　in　the　report。　In　short；　I　thought　this　plane　gave　the　navy　the　most　bang　for　its　bucks。〃
　〃Did　you　personally　fly　either　plane？〃
　〃No；　sir。　A　test　pilot　did。〃
　〃How　much　experience　did　this　test　pilot　have？〃
　〃I　believe　she　has　about　sixteen　hundred　hours　total　flight　time。〃
　〃That　isn't　much；　is　it？〃
　〃Everything　is　relative。〃
　〃How　much　flight　time　do　you　have；　Captain？〃
　〃About　forty…five　hundred　hours。〃
　〃Do　you　have　any　previous　experience　testing　prototypes？〃
　〃No；　sir。〃
　〃Did　your　test　pilot　have　any　previous　prototype　testing　experience？〃
　〃No；　sir。〃
　〃Yet　you　used　her　anyway。　Why　is　that？〃
　〃She　had　an　outstanding　record　at　the　Test　Pilot　School　at　Patuxent　River。　She　finished　first　in　her　class。　My　predecessor　was　on　the　staff　at　TPS　and　picked　her　for　this　project。　I　saw　no　reason　to　fire　her　and　get　someone　else。〃
　〃Yet　she　crashed　the　TRX　prototype？〃
　〃It　crashed　while　she　was　flying　it。　The　E…PROM　chips　in　the　fly…by…wire　system　were　defective。〃
　〃Would　the　plane　have　crashed　with　a　more　experienced　pilot　at　the　controls？〃
　〃Well；　that's　impossible　to　say；　really。〃
　〃You；　for　instance？〃
　〃Senator；　any　answer　I　gave　to　that　question　would　be　pure　speculation。　I　feel　Lieutenant　Moravia　did　a　fine　job　handling　that　plane　before　and　after　it　went　out　of　control。　There　may　be　a　pilot　somewhere　on　this　planet　who　could　have　saved　it；　but　I　don't　know。〃
　Duquesne　led　him　into　the　buy…rate　and　cost　projections　for　the　A…12。　〃I　see　here　that　you　remend　a　total　buy　of　three　hundred　sixty　planes：　a　dozen　the　first　year；　twenty…four　the　second；　then　forty…eight　each　year　subsequently。〃
　〃That's　correct。〃　Jake　went　into　the　cost　equations。　Before　he　could　get　very　deep　into　the　subject；　Duquesne　moved　on。
　Finally　Duquesne　got　down　to　it。
　〃Captain；　you　have　also　been　in　charge　of　the　Athena　program；　have　you　not？〃
　〃Yes；　sir。〃
　〃This　morning　Dr。　Dodgers　testified　that　this　device　would　be　cheap　to　build〃…he　gave　the　figures…〃could　be　in　production　in　a　year　or　fifteen　months　and　could　protect　any　object　it　was　placed　upon。　In　view　of　that；　why　does　the　navy　want　a　stealth　attack　plane？〃
　〃Athena　can　be　made　to　work；　with　enough　research；　time　and　money。　But　it's　not　going　to　be　easy。　Right　now　the　only　way　to　determine　the　radar…reflective　characteristics　of　an　object　is　to　test　the　entire　object　on　a　specially　constructed　range。　And　these　characteristics　change　based　on　the　frequency　of　the　radar　doing　the　looking。　So　every　frequency　must　be　tested。　Consequently　the　data　base　that　the　Athena　puter　must　use　is　very；　very　large。　That's　why　we　need　a　superconductive　puter　to　perform　all　the　calculations　required　in　a　minimum　amount　of　time。　Still；　it　is　impossible　to　build　a　system　that　could　effectively　counter　every　conceivable　frequency。　Athena　will　counter　every　frequency　the　Soviets　are　known　to　use。　Yet　if　they　shift　frequencies　quickly　enough；　with　a　semi…stealthy　aircraft　design　we　would　not　lose　all　our　airplanes　before　Athena　could　be　modified。
　〃Secondly；　Athena　will　not　be　ready　for　the　fleet　in　a　year。　More　like　three　or　four。　Third；　new　technology　may　be　developed　to　counter　Athena。　Ws　believe；　based　on　what　we　know　now；　that　we　need　an　attack　plane　with　at　least　A…6　performance　and　payload　capabilities；　state…of…the…art　avionics；　and　stealthy　characteristics。　That's　the　A…12。　The　TRX　plane　is　the　best　that　American　industry　can　give　us　now；　and　now　is　the　time　when　we　need　to　put　this　airplane　into　production。〃
　〃Why　not　kill　the　A…12　program　and　build　a　conventional　attack　plane　that　uses　Athena　to　hide？〃
　〃As　I　mentioned；　Athena　is　added　protection　for　our　aircraft。　but　not　the　sole　source；　due　to　the　limitations　inherent　in　the　technology。　Quick　change　is　the　rule　in　electronic　warfare；　not　the　exception。　The　Israelis　almost　lost　their　1973　war