Outside the command center, within the Basa Air Base, the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) launchers stood in fixed positions, angled toward the sky. Their rectangular canisters were already elevated, aligned with the tracking data being fed from the radar array.
The AN/MPQ-65 radar rotated steadily, its phased array locked onto the incoming track. Data streamed in real time—range, velocity, trajectory—all updating in rapid intervals as the system computed an intercept solution.
Inside the fire control station, the operators moved fast but controlled.
"Track confirmed. Hostile missile inbound," one of them reported, eyes locked on the screen.
"Interceptor solution ready," another added.
"Launch."
"Copy. Engaging."
A sharp tone echoed through the system.
Outside, one of the PAC-3 launchers reacted.
The canister lid snapped open.
A fraction of a second later, the interceptor missile ignited.
