Night of the Hawk

Night of the Hawk is a 1992 Technothriller written by Dale Brown. It is also the sequel to the events of the Flight of the Old Dog in which a crew member - Dr. David Luger sacrifices himself to save the Old Dog crew

Plot

After the Old Dog mission, one of the crew members - Dr. David Luger sacrificed himself to allow his comrades escape from the airbase at Anadyr. Although everyone thought he was dead, he is not. Years later, he is now a completely brainwashed Soviet aircraft designer working for an aircraft design bureau called Fisikous is Lithuania.

His whereabouts are found about by the Americans while they are extracting a Lithuanian defector. Now, known to the Old Dog crew and the high ranking officials in Whitehouse as Dr. Ozerov, Luger must be saved from the grips of the old KGB. Luger has been forced to work on a stealth bomber called Fisikous Fi-170 which rivals the EB-52 Megafortress he had developed in the States.

Parallelly the former Soviet state of Belarus is planning to invade Lithuania. Its Military commander Gen. Voschanka plans a decisive attack and use their nuclear arsenal if necessary, to force Lithuania to surrender. The Americans learn of this move by intelligence gathering and mount a covert mission to stop Belarus from invading Lithuania.

An air squadron with CH-53E Superstallions and AH-1 Cobra choppers is first sent to evacuate the citizens at the American Embassy in Lithuania, followed by an air assault to destroy Belarusian ground targets. Meanwhile, a special Marines team in V-22 Ospreys, along with Patrick McLanahan, Jon Ormack and Hal briggs arrive at the Fisikous institute which is now run over with Lithuanian soldiers, to save Dave Luger. After a V-22 crash, followed by fierce gun battles, Patrick, Luger, Ormack escape in the Fi-170. On their way, they destroy several Belarusian ground units and take out a MiG-29 fighter, after which they make their way to Scotland.

The EB-52 Megafortresses are sent to aid the Lithuanian ground troops led by Maj. Dominikas Palcikas in defending their soil. They take out nuclear missiles bound for Lithuania, detonating one of them with an AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, causing a small blast. Voschanka's entire command centre is taken out by the Russian Commonwealth forces, during which he is shot dead. The Belarusian troops finally withdraw after suffering heavy casualties. Luger finally reunites with the Old Dog crew at HAWC, amidst potential military investigations into his recent past.

Characters

• Gen. Bradley Elliot - Commander of HAWC
• Maj. Patrick McLanahan - EB-52 bombadier
• Dr. David Luger/Ivan Ozerov - Radar navigator at HAWC / Designer of Fi-170 at Fisikous
• Jon Ormack - Old Dog crew member
• Hal Briggs - Senior security chief at HAWC
• Maj. Dominikas Palcikas - Commander of Lithuanian armed forces

Reception

Publishers Weekly said "the Old Dog's frequently recycled crew is becoming somewhat shopworn," but still called it a "blockbuster" and said it "demonstrates the exciting possibilities open to the techno-thriller in a post-Soviet world."^[1] Kirkus Reviews said the novel was "Longer than Desert Storm--but with much more satisfactory results."^[2] It reached number 7 on the New York Times fiction bestseller list in September 1992.^[3]

References

1. ^ [1] Fiction review: "Night of the Hawk," Publishers Weekly, August 3, 1992. Retrieved August 30, 2011
2. ^ "Night of the Hawk," Kirkus Reviews, August 12, 1992. Retrieved August 30, 2011
3. ^ The New York Times Book Review Best Sellers, September 13, 1992, page BR38. ProQuest Document ID108898127, ProQuest Historical Newspapers (subscription). Says "This week number 8, last week number 7". Sept 6, 1992 list:[2]. Entered the list August 30, 1992 at number 9. Retrieved August 30, 2011.