Persian Tomcats is a love letter to military aviation and all that goes into successful operations, from the pilots who fly missions to the maintainers who ensure the air worthiness of the fighter jets. Using the early days of the war on terror as a backdrop, the story follows the US Air Force 55th Fighter Squadron “Shooters” from training in the US to the battlefield in the sky above Iraq and Iran. And if you think this is just another book about hotshot fighter jocks ala Top Gun, then you’ve got another thing coming because it’s way more than that. It’s a story that’s part F-16 flight and maintenance instruction manual, part love story and part dogfighting that comes together with a flourish of deadly action in the end.
Perhaps the most apt way to describe Persian Tomcats is that after reading it you feel like you’ve gone through a multi-layered accelerated course of study in flying and maintaining the F-16 Viper. A large chunk of this book is dedicated to depicting, in exquisite and intricate detail, two key aspects of military aviation: the intense training and unforgiving standards required to become and remain a fighter pilot, and the devotion, enthusiasm and problem-solving abilities of aircraft maintainers. The pilot and the maintainer. One cannot exist without the other and through their partnership and mutual respect is born a competitive advantage for the United States against their adversaries.
Author Mitchell Boling’s clear love for the Air Force, its pilots, and especially its maintainers is evident throughout Persian Tomcats. I’ve never read a novel that focuses on the operations and maintenance parts of fighter jets, and while different than your typical thriller’s content I found it fascinating to get a peek behind that curtain. Airplane maintenance might not be the most exhilarating topic at first glance, but on closer inspection there’s plenty of excitement in trying to troubleshoot issues with a F-16 and get the pilot into the fight in a timely manner when every second could be the difference between victory and defeat. And once the maintenance is complete, the aerial battle that consumes the latter part of the book is edge-of-your-seat stuff that leaves you breathless.
If you’re looking for a military thriller that provides a unique perspective on everything surrounding fighter jet missions, look no further than Persian Tomcats. I promise you haven’t read anything like it.
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