In the southwest corner of the base, there are yellow iron houses standing. These houses are not large in area and look like earth-yellow containers placed on the ground.
Captain Claire took the mission briefing folder and led Lieutenant Noor to the door of Room A00, and scanned the encrypted door lock with his ID card. With a soft sound, the door was opened.
She looked at the Hamilton military watch in her hand and saw that the time was 10:30 pm.
Today is an ordinary but extraordinary day.
What's ordinary is that this is one of Captain Claire's countless drone control missions; what's extraordinary is that his old partner Lieutenant Alton has been transferred away and replaced by a new partner-Nur
Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Noor is a young mixed-race officer. He is of mixed Asian and European descent, and his pair of gray-brown and extremely deep eyes are impressive.
"I'll be in charge of controlling the plane, and you'll be my second-in-command."
Before Claire pointed to the two seats that looked like game consoles, she took the lead and sat down in front of the screen on the left.
"Okay, I can also take the opportunity to learn some skills from the seniors." Lieutenant Noor was very humble, which made Captain Claire very satisfied. This young officer who came from a prestigious school did not have the arrogance of those new recruits who joined the army.
He always puts himself very low, making people sound like a spring breeze.
"Actually, this mission is very simple, not very complicated." After Claire sat down, she softly comforted Noor next to her.
Nuer put the guard on the control stick, tried the feel, and then looked sideways at Claire, "I feel relieved to hear you say that. After all, this is my first time on a mission."
"Tonight we are just responsible for providing frontline fire support to SEAL members. This kind of mission depends on the situation. If they operate smoothly, maybe we don't need to come out at all."
Claire said: "The previous mission in the Middle East was the most troublesome. Those guerrillas always liked to hide in the living areas of ordinary residents. In fact, they used civilians as shields. Even if the power of our guided munitions is controlled well, it is easy to cause accidental damage.
Once it occurs, things will become very troublesome.”
The two of them opened various electronic instruments and screens while talking.
Drone pilots are pilots themselves and have received professional drone training.
Flying a drone seems very simple, as if you are using a joystick to simulate operating an airplane in front of the screen, but in fact it is not that easy.
Captain Claire, sitting on the left, is the pilot. She is responsible for flying the drone and launching the missile.
As the deputy, Lieutenant Noor is the sensor operator. He is responsible for controlling the camera and aiming the laser at the target to guide the missile.
Various electronic instruments and screens were activated, and the two of them stared intently at the screens, switches, and buttons.
This is not much different from the cabin of a modern fighter jet. It seems to be just the two pilots and co-pilots driving the aircraft.
However, being there does not feel like being on the battlefield in person.
Traditional fighter pilots fire missiles and then return to base, but drones must continue to hover over the target for several hours after bombing to assess the extent of damage.
Drone pilots see images with unusual clarity, often showing the extent of the damage in the form of broken limbs.
If collateral damage occurs, the psychological impact can even cause the drone operator to suffer a mental breakdown.
Under their control, a Predator drone skidded off the runway and shot into the night sky from the Port-au-Prince Air Force Base, thousands of miles away.
In silence, the two of them slowly followed the various data and images obtained from the drone, and combined with the most advanced GPS positioning equipment, gradually navigated the drone to Mexico and flew over the town of Cavallon.
"Enter scheduled airspace."
Claire put the plane on a fixed cruise route, and she switched the channel to the command center's communication channel.
"The drone codenamed AZF11 entered the designated airspace and requested instructions."
Each drone will have a separate mission identification code when it is dispatched, because each container iron house in this center has a two-person crew. They are like white-collar workers commuting to and from work. They come to the base when they receive the mission.
Listen to the briefing, then enter the designated room and start performing various tasks.
The command center will distinguish the nature and specific details of their tasks through identification codes and give them instructions.
"Received, entering the cruise program, standing by in the airspace, waiting for the ground team's request, completed."
"AZF11 received, entering cruise, completed."
According to the instructions given by the center, Claire still has to let the drone hover in the sky for a while, collect all the ground data, and then wait for the SEAL team on the ground to send a request for fire support, and then the command center will ask the drone crew to open fire.
In order to maintain the continuity of firepower tonight, another drone will take off when they are attacking. After they complete their mission, they will take over the work of the two and continue to provide fire cover for the ground team.
It can be said that Captain Claire and Lieutenant Noor were the protagonists in the air in the first half of tonight, because the Mexican side did not know about this secret operation plan, because the locals were unreliable, and they often exchanged information with them, and the drug lords on the other side would
After a phone rings, he disappears without a trace.
"It's such a long night!"
Lieutenant Noor stretched and then said to Captain Claire: "Can I go out for a smoke?"
"I think this is not a good idea." Claire glanced at Noor in surprise. During the mission, even the toilet must be used in the bathroom of the room. She is absolutely not allowed to leave the house until the mission is completed.
This is due to the need for confidentiality.
"A heavy smoker is not suitable for being a drone pilot."
As a senior, she felt it was necessary to remind the young man in front of her who had just graduated from the military academy not to let his bad habit of smoking dim his future.
"Uh... Okay." Noor seemed to have given up on his intention to smoke, stood up from his chair, stretched, and then began to pace slowly in the small space of the house, seeming to relax his nerves.
"Are you nervous?" Captain Claire's eyes never left the screen. She was responsible for controlling the aircraft, and Noor was responsible for collecting shooting data. The battle hadn't started yet, but Noor was much freer than him.
"It seems that this job is really boring. I would rather be a naval pilot on an aircraft carrier. At least I can fly the Hornet or something." He started to complain as he said it.
Claire smiled softly. She had seen more than one male pilot say this.
Compared to women, men are always restless and less patient.
"I said you grown men..."
She planned to ridicule Noor, but just in the middle of her words, a huge impact suddenly pushed her down. She tilted to the left and finally lay limply on the ground.
Lieutenant Noor looked at Captain Claire lying on the ground. This woman was completely dead. The warhead had torn off a large piece of her heavenly cap, and her blood spattered on the wall.
He glanced at the upper right corner of the house. There was a camera there. It was originally used to monitor the situation in the operating room. However, this camera had long been hacked by Noor's accomplices. There was a repetitive picture on it, and the center could not see it at all.
Don't leave what happened in the room.
He quickly put away his pistol and sat in Claire's original position.
Lieutenant Noor's hands and feet have become very nimble and skillful. He is completely different from the unfamiliar rookie before. He operates the drone by himself, but he is calm and calm.
After taking control in his hands, Noor breathed a sigh of relief.
He had to do this because everyone's position is fixed. It would be useless to kill Claire before entering the room and turning on the system. The machine requires biometric identification before it can be turned on.
He took out a phone from his jacket pocket and quickly typed a line of English on it - Predator is in hand, ready to start.
Then, he pressed the send button and the message was sent. (To be continued)