scoonts.theminotaur-第68章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　〃Aye　aye；　sir。〃　They　came　to　attention　like　plebes　at　the　Naval　Academy；　did　a　smart　about…face　and　marched　out；　Rita　leading。　Jake　Grafton　bit　his　lip　and　resumed　work　on　his　report。
　
　19
　
　〃Somebody　explain　how　this　airplane　is　going　to　be　used。〃　Jake　Grafton　looked　from　bee　to　face。　He　had　his　staff　gathered　around　while　he　stood　at　the　office　blackboard　with　marker　in　hand。　〃Who　wants　the　floor？〃
　〃Captain；　there's　been　two　or　three　studies　on　that　written　during　the　last　three　or　four　years；〃　said　Smoke　Judy。
　〃I　know。　Somebody　dug　them　out　for　me　and　I　read　them。　I　want　to　hear　your　ideas。〃
　〃Seems　to　me；〃　said　Toad　Tarkington；　〃that　the　first　thing　it　has　to　do　is　land　and　take　off　from　a　carrier。　Must　be　carrier…patible。〃
　Jake　wrote　that　down。　Obvious；　but　often　overlooked。　Any　navy　attack　plane　must　have　a　tailhook；　nose　tow；　strong　keel；　routinely　tolerate　a　six…hundred　foot…per…minute　sink　rate　collision　with　the　deck　on　landing；　fit　into　allotted　deck　space　and　accept　electrical　power　and　inertial　alignment　information　from　the　ship's　systems。　It　had　to　be　capable　of　being　launched　from　existing　catapults　and　arrested　with　existing　machinery。　In　addition；　it　would　have　to　be　able　to　fly　down　a　3。5…degree　glide　slope　carrying　enough　power　to　make　a　wave…off　fusible；　and　with　a　low　enough　nose　attitude　so　that　the　pilot　could　see　the　carrier's　optical　landing　system。　Amazingly　enough；　in　the　late　1960s　the　navy　was　almost　forced　to　boy　a　plane　that　wasn't　carrier…patible…the　TFX；　which　the　air　force　called　the　F…11I　and　immediately　began　using　as　an　all…weather　tactical　bomber　with　a　system　identical　to　the　A…6's。
　〃Corrosion…resistant；〃　Tarkington　added　as　Jake　made　furious　notes。　〃Has　to　be　able　to　withstand　long　exposure　to　salty　environment　without　a　lot　of　expensive　maintenance。〃
　〃Maintenance；〃　muttered　Les　Richards。　〃Got　to　have　easy　maintainability　designed　in。　Easy　access　to　engines；　black　boxes　and　so　forth；　without　a　lot　of　special　equipment。〃
　The　requirements　came　thick　and　fast　now；　as　quick　as　Jake　could　write。　Range；　speed；　payload　and　a　lot　of　other　parameters。　After　ten　minutes　he　had　filled　up　most　of　the　board　and　his　staff　paused　for　air。
　〃How're　we　going　to　use　this　thing？〃　he　asked　again。　〃What　I'm　getting　at　is　this：　these　stealth　designs　appear　to　be　optimized　for　high…altitude　ingress　over　heavily　defended　territory。　Presumably　at　night。　Are　all　our　missions　going　to　be　at　night？〃
　〃We　can't　afford　to　give　away　the　day；〃　someone　said。
　〃What's　that　mean　in　the　way　of　aircraft　capability？　Daytime　means　enemy　fighters　and　optically　aimed　surface…to…air　missiles。　They'll　see　our　plane。　Do　we　have　to　be　able　to　engage　the　fighters　and　dodge　the　missiles？　How　much　G　capability　do　we　need？　Sustained　turning　ability？　Dash　speed？　Climb　speed？　Will　we　go　in　low　in　the　daytime？　If　so；　how　about　ability　to　withstand　bird　strikes　and　turbulence？〃
　The　staff　spent　an　hour　on　these　questions。　There　was　no　consensus；　nor　did　Jake　expect　one。　No　plane　in　the　world　could　do　everything；　but　any　design　must　meet　most　of　the　major　requirements　for　its　intended　employment。　Shortings　due　to　design　trade…offs　would　have　to　be　overe　or　endured。
　〃Weapons。〃　The　ideal　plane　would　carry　and　deliver　every　weapon　in　the　U。S。　and　NATO　inventory；　and　a　lot　of　them。　Was　that　a　realistic　goal　with　the　stealth　designs　under　consideration？
　After　four　hours　of　brainstorming；　the　staff　reexamined　the　proposed　test　program　for　the　prototypes。　In　the　five　nights　of　each　airplane　that　SECDEF　had　budgeted　money　and　time　for；　they　needed　to　acquire　as　much　information　as　possible　to　answer　real　questions。　pany　test　pilots　had　already　flown　both　planes。　These　five　nights　of　each　plane　by　the　navy　would　have　to　produce　data　that　verified　or　refuted　the　manufacturers'　claims。　More　importantly；　the　nights　would　determine　which　plane　was　best　suited　to　fill　the　navy's　mission　requirements；　or　which　could　be　made　so　by　cost…effective　modifications。
　〃We　really　need　more　than　five　flights　per　plane；　Captain；〃　Les　Richards　said。
　〃Five　flights　are　enough　for　what　we　want　to　find　out；　if　we　do　it　right。　This　little　evolution　is　just　a　new　car　test　drive　with　us　doing　the　driving。　Five　flights　are　enough　for　what　we　want　to　find　out　if　we　do　it　right；　which　is　precisely　what　we're　going　to　do。　Henry　and　Ludlow　and　Caplinger　want　a　fast　remendation　and　a　fast　decision；〃
　〃Don't　they　always？　Then　the　paper　pushers　in　SECDEPs　office　will　spend　a　couple　years　mulling　it　over；　sending　it　from　in　basket　to　in　basket。〃
　〃Ours　is　not　to　reason　why。。。〃
　The　pace　accelerated　relentlessly　in　the　office。　Working　days　lasted　twelve　hours　now；　and　Jake　ran　everyone　out　and　turned　off　the　lights　himself　at　7　P。M。　He　insisted　that　no　one　work　on　Saturday　and　Sunday；　believing　that　the　break　would　make　people　more　productive　during　the　week。
　The　weeks　slid　by；　one　by　one。
　Jake　spent　less　than　half　his　time　in　the　office　and　the　rest　in　an　endless　series　of　meetings　with　people　from　everywhere　in　government：　SECNAV；　SECDEF；　OPNAV；　NAVAIR；　NAVSEA；　the　FAA；　the　EPA；　the　air　force；　the　marines；　and　a　host　of　others。　Most　of　the　time　he　attended　these　conferences　with　Admiral　Dunedin　or　mander　Rob　Knight。
　The　meetings　went　on　and　on；　the　paper　piled　higher　and　higher。　The　same　subjects　kept　cropping　up　in　different　meetings；　where　they　had　to　be　rehashed　again　and　again。　Government　by　mittee　is　government　by　consensus；　and　key　players　from　every　office　high　and　low　had　to　be　listened　to　and　pacified。
　Jake　felt　like　the　sorcerer's　apprentice　as　he　tried　to　pin　people　down　and　arrive　at　final　resolutions　of　issues。　Meetings　bred　more　meetings：　the　final　item　on　every　agenda　was　to　set　the　times　and　places　for　follow…up　meetings。
　He　discovered　to　his　horror　that　no　one　person　had　a　plete　grasp　of　the　tens　of　thousands　of　regulations　and　directives　that　covered　every　aspect　of　procurement。　At　every　meeting；　it　seemed；　someone　had　another　requirement　that　needed　to　be　at　least　given　lip　service。　He　finally　found　where　all　this　stuff　was　stored；　a　library　that　at　last　measurement　contained　over　1；152　linear　feet　of　statutes；　regulations；　directives；　and　case　law　concerning　defense　procurement。　Jake　Grafton　looked　at　this　collection　in　awe　and　disgust；　and　never　visited　the　place　again。
　The　silent　army　of　faceless　gnomes　who　spent　their　working　lives　writing；　interpreting；　clarifying；　and　applying　these　millions　of　paragraphs　of　〃thou　shafts〃　and　〃thou　shall　note〃　took　on　flesh　and　substance。　They　came　in　all　sexes；　shapes；　and　colors；　each　with　his　or　her　own　coffee　cup　and　a　tiny　circle　of　responsibility；　which；　no　matter　how　small；　of　course　overlapped　with　that　of　three　or　four　others。
　The　key　players　were　all　known　to　Jake's　staff：　〃Witch　out　for　the　Arachnid〃；　someone　would　say　before　a　meeting。　Or　〃Beware　of　the　Sewer　Rat。　He'll　be　there　this　morning〃。　〃The　Gatekeeper　will　grill　you　on　this〃。　The　staff　named　these　key　players　in　the　procurement　process　because　of　their　resemblance　to　the　characters　in　the　game　Dungeons　and　Dragons。　When　he　returned　from　battle　Jake　had　to　contribute　to　the　office　lore　by　recounting　the　latest　exploits　of　the　evil　ones。
　〃It's　a　miracle　that　the　navy　even　owns　a　rowboat；〃　Grafton　remarked　one　day　to　Admiral　Dunedin。
　〃True；　but　the　Russians　are　more　screwed　up　than　we　are。　They　manage　every　single　sector　of　their　economy　like　this；　not　just　the　military。　You　can't　even　buy　toilet　paper　in　a　store　over　there。〃
　〃The　bureaucrat　factor　is　a　multiplier；〃　Jake　decided。　〃The　more　people　there　are　to　do　paperwork；　the　more　paper　there　is　to　be　worked　and　the　slower　everything　goes；　until　finally　the　wheels　stop　dead　and　only　the　paper　moves。〃
　〃The　crat　factor：　it's　a　law　of　physics；〃　Dunedin　agreed。
　Jake　took　a　briefcase　full　of　unclassified　material　borne　every　night；　and　after　Callie　and　Amy　were　in　bed　he　stayed　awake　until　midnight　scribbling　notes；　answering　queries；　and　reading　replies　and　reports　prepared　by　his　staff。
　He　spent　countless　hours　on　the　budget；　trying　to　justify　every　dollar　he　needed　for　the　next　fiscal　year。　He　had　to　make　assumptions　abo