Trivia / Red Storm Rising

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: In a half-meta, half-In-Universe example that sits squarely astride the Fourth Wall. NATO intel in the book had evaluated Soviet Tu-22 "Blinder" bombers as being unable to carry missiles, which is disproven when a "Blinder" regiment raids Stornoway airbase with a missile attack. As it turns out, Real Life Tu-22s could carry missiles, as the Iraqis proved in the Iran–Iraq War.
• I Knew It!: Several of Clancy's theories, such as high ammunition expenditure and attack helicopters being surprisingly vulnerable, were later proven correct during the various conflicts in the Middle East.
  • The Novel also points out several weakness in Russian logistics and military, which causes massive losses against a foe in equal-footing. As of 2022, none of these weaknesses pointed out were ever fixed "in real life"
• Referenced by...: Former Top Gear (UK) host Jeremy Clarkson began reading a passage from Red Storm Rising while his cohosts were trying to recite from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in an "outtake" for The Big Read.
• Tech Marches On: Several of Clancy's books set 20 Minutes into the Future make use of proposed weapons systems that never went into production, or never existed in the first place:
  • The "F-19 Frisbee stealth fighter". Clancy fell hook, line, and sinker for a fake description of the rumored stealth fighter's appearance and capabilities leaked by the Pentagon to conceal the real engineering principles behind the actual F-117 Nighthawk.
  • NATO at the time had caught wind of a ZSU-30 antiaircraft gun, and had thought it to be a gatling-type antiaircraft gun, in which role it features in the novel. In actuality, the Soviet 30mm antiaircraft gun would be the 9K22 Tunguska—not a rotary-cannon design at all.

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