Thx! Edited previous passage so that only one cruise missiles makes it into the cavern (inaccurate targeting caused by control lag pointed out by Ssnake), which only collapses after the explosion. I also changed the section on previous screen above to show this.

In designing the UCAV base I tried to recreate the deck of the new British QE Class carrier which has a Russian style ski-jump flight deck. These are considerably smaller than US carriers but still substantial - 900ft by 250ft. Think of the cavern as an area around the size of half a QE class carrier long - 450ft - and 400ft wide because you have the recovery ‘pond’ next to the flight deck. The pond extends out to the sea another 400 feet as does the ski jump style launch ‘chute’ tunneled through the cliff face. Diagram on previous screen. Say a variable rock ceiling height of 50 - 100 feet over the deck and pond. The chute is 80 feet wide x 20 high to accomodate wingspan and height of F-47s launching with skids, and as mentioned adds another 400 feet in length - and that remains open to the air before and after the missile strikes/door breach.

That’s a large volume of air. and as mentioned in the text the base has a heavy duty air circulation/filter/scrubber system to clear UCAV exhaust which is not knocked out in the strike.

(But concerns about sucking out oxygen might be a reason they don’t try to breach both service doors at once?)



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth-class_aircraft_carrier

So the way I see it the cruise missile hits, but B & R are behind the blast doors, which seal off the rest of the base (and its air). The cavern collapses, but the flight deck is still open to the air through the launch chute. Borisov enters about 30 mins after the strike. Air supply through the chute should be enough to mitigate loss of oxygen from either the cruise missile strike or use of the door breach explosive, even in the amounts needed to effect a positive breach?

PS I modelled the dimensions of the base on the QE class not a US Nimitz or Ford class because it is designed to field a similar sized aircraft wing to the UCAV base (QE carriers field 40 vs the 30 envisaged under the Rock), has a single launch catapult/launch ramp setup and ski jump design that allows a shorter deck.

ALT SCENARIO



An alternative I am leaning toward instead of the base on Little Diomede is to have the UCAVs truck mounted and distributed around Nome. Other elements would remain similar: but R would become pilot and B plus a new character/driver are the launcher operators. Attrition gradually wears R’s units down to just Bunny and her/their last remaining UCAV. Introduces new challenges. Launcher needs radio comms which I guess can be used to locate it? R and other pilots can be at remote base but then I need to have Bondy shot down and captured by Bunny. Doable.

In that scenario I would turn Little Diomede into a submersible base - launching S-FADs which make it impossible for Russia to get naval superiority, thus making airlift the only way to take Nome. but it would no longer be central to plot. Bondarev/Arsharvin’s hunt for the mobile drone launchers would be.