Wednesday April 10 at 8pm eastern - South Atlantic
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2024 11:00 pm
Sign Up and choose your flight element (Colt, Dodge, or Ford).
See briefing in Alternate History Channel.
Launch order: Ford, Dodge, Colt. Colt to wait as spectators until Dodge off the boat, since the S3's and E2D's occupying elevators 2 and 4.
PILOTS:
COLT: Squirrel, Arribe, Taco, Crazy
DODGE: CAS, Primo, Spectre, Drillin
FORD: Murf, Kestrel, Jazbo, Chunks
PONTIAC (if surplus, will be a low-CAP flight for insurance): TBD, TBD
Notes:
1. Dodge Flight: IF we're detected by Malvin's radars, you're most likely to contact the interceptors (since you'll be approaching El Calafate and have the southernmost flightpath). Recommend your second element be A2A-prepared, especially as you approach target. El Calafate has jets on its aprons, but it lacks a taxiway so it can only launch one at a time. You have 3 explicit targets (Runway, Apron, and EWR dome). These are waypoint-designate-able on WPTS 14, 15, and 16 respectively, plus any additional jets/TOOs on the apron not within blast radius of WPT #15 (Apron).
Loadouts: Runway needs 2,000lbs to make it a lengthy and material-intensive repair process. The Malvins will need to send a large convoy of construction vehicles the 100-150 miles from their nearest airbase either from the East or South to repair it, and we'll have an opportunity to prevent them en-route.
You could forego the TPOD on your second element to add another AIM-120C and plan for those jets to WPT-DESIGNATE bombs only. Prep your JDAMs for jettison as you're the quick-reaction element. Alternatively, put a single bomb on centerline and add 4x AIM-120Cs on the outer pylons. Chances of detection are low, but not zero.
All other targets (Jets on Apron + EWR site) can be destroyed with 500 or 1,000 lb bombs. Feel free to adjust loadouts accordingly given you are self-escorting 4-ship.
2. Detection in-general: The Malvin AWACS is out East by their homeland since they expect a counter-attack to come via the Atlantic; it should be no factor. Therefore, Malvin EWRs are blocked by the Andes in the east which are 5,000-6,000 feet tall in most places. [In testing flying level at 6,000 feet over the AO left me undetected, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule, its just about terrain masking]. As discussed below in #3, the ships could also call in help from Malvin command...if Ford leaves them alive long enough to do so.
3. Ford Flight: You are responsible for clearing Corridor Alpha and Corridor Bravo. Call out to all flights when you've flown through those corridors and either detected no ships or destroyed any ships found. All flights will traverse Alpha and Colt will follow you through Bravo. There is also an element of speed required for your mission, it is uncertain whether or not any of the THREE ships you are hunting are in a sufficient state of readiness to call in your location to Malvin command. Thus destroy the ships as soon as you can as if command loses contact with the ship, it will not know where to send interceptors. Keep a low profile to not expose yourselves to ship radar before you're ready to attack. [Ships are stationary, either 2 Harpoons or ~2,500lbs of bombs will kill a single ship]
4. Colt Flight: Your targets are Andean communication towers hijacked by the Malvins. They are high on mountain peaks, so while you must be above them to drop your ordinance, minimize your time above them because you will silhouette against the empty sky. Consider lofting from near the peak to minimize radar signature. 1,000 lb bombs will work. Colt is the second-most likely element to encounter enemy air, you could similarly drop your TPOD from -3 and -4 to pick up an additional AIM-120C.
5. Fuel: There's essentially no tankers available on this flight, the S3's will only launch after the threat of detection, interception, and getting shot down by ships lurking in the fjords has passed so we should be on our return legs by then. Set your bingo fuels higher than normal and don't be afraid to scrub the mission early if you won't be able to get home.
6. Tomahawks: If you identify a target, but cannot get weapons on it for some reason, call in its full MGRS coordinate to MC. The CSG carries plentiful BGM-109C Tomahawks, whereas jet munitions are limited.
7. Situational Awareness: (or lack thereof) There will be no AWACS during most of the mission to minimize radar frequencies. Watch your RWR and Radars. Enemy likely to approach from East (El Calafate) and Southeast (all other Malvin forward bases).
See briefing in Alternate History Channel.
Launch order: Ford, Dodge, Colt. Colt to wait as spectators until Dodge off the boat, since the S3's and E2D's occupying elevators 2 and 4.
PILOTS:
COLT: Squirrel, Arribe, Taco, Crazy
DODGE: CAS, Primo, Spectre, Drillin
FORD: Murf, Kestrel, Jazbo, Chunks
PONTIAC (if surplus, will be a low-CAP flight for insurance): TBD, TBD
Notes:
1. Dodge Flight: IF we're detected by Malvin's radars, you're most likely to contact the interceptors (since you'll be approaching El Calafate and have the southernmost flightpath). Recommend your second element be A2A-prepared, especially as you approach target. El Calafate has jets on its aprons, but it lacks a taxiway so it can only launch one at a time. You have 3 explicit targets (Runway, Apron, and EWR dome). These are waypoint-designate-able on WPTS 14, 15, and 16 respectively, plus any additional jets/TOOs on the apron not within blast radius of WPT #15 (Apron).
Loadouts: Runway needs 2,000lbs to make it a lengthy and material-intensive repair process. The Malvins will need to send a large convoy of construction vehicles the 100-150 miles from their nearest airbase either from the East or South to repair it, and we'll have an opportunity to prevent them en-route.
You could forego the TPOD on your second element to add another AIM-120C and plan for those jets to WPT-DESIGNATE bombs only. Prep your JDAMs for jettison as you're the quick-reaction element. Alternatively, put a single bomb on centerline and add 4x AIM-120Cs on the outer pylons. Chances of detection are low, but not zero.
All other targets (Jets on Apron + EWR site) can be destroyed with 500 or 1,000 lb bombs. Feel free to adjust loadouts accordingly given you are self-escorting 4-ship.
2. Detection in-general: The Malvin AWACS is out East by their homeland since they expect a counter-attack to come via the Atlantic; it should be no factor. Therefore, Malvin EWRs are blocked by the Andes in the east which are 5,000-6,000 feet tall in most places. [In testing flying level at 6,000 feet over the AO left me undetected, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule, its just about terrain masking]. As discussed below in #3, the ships could also call in help from Malvin command...if Ford leaves them alive long enough to do so.
3. Ford Flight: You are responsible for clearing Corridor Alpha and Corridor Bravo. Call out to all flights when you've flown through those corridors and either detected no ships or destroyed any ships found. All flights will traverse Alpha and Colt will follow you through Bravo. There is also an element of speed required for your mission, it is uncertain whether or not any of the THREE ships you are hunting are in a sufficient state of readiness to call in your location to Malvin command. Thus destroy the ships as soon as you can as if command loses contact with the ship, it will not know where to send interceptors. Keep a low profile to not expose yourselves to ship radar before you're ready to attack. [Ships are stationary, either 2 Harpoons or ~2,500lbs of bombs will kill a single ship]
4. Colt Flight: Your targets are Andean communication towers hijacked by the Malvins. They are high on mountain peaks, so while you must be above them to drop your ordinance, minimize your time above them because you will silhouette against the empty sky. Consider lofting from near the peak to minimize radar signature. 1,000 lb bombs will work. Colt is the second-most likely element to encounter enemy air, you could similarly drop your TPOD from -3 and -4 to pick up an additional AIM-120C.
5. Fuel: There's essentially no tankers available on this flight, the S3's will only launch after the threat of detection, interception, and getting shot down by ships lurking in the fjords has passed so we should be on our return legs by then. Set your bingo fuels higher than normal and don't be afraid to scrub the mission early if you won't be able to get home.
6. Tomahawks: If you identify a target, but cannot get weapons on it for some reason, call in its full MGRS coordinate to MC. The CSG carries plentiful BGM-109C Tomahawks, whereas jet munitions are limited.
7. Situational Awareness: (or lack thereof) There will be no AWACS during most of the mission to minimize radar frequencies. Watch your RWR and Radars. Enemy likely to approach from East (El Calafate) and Southeast (all other Malvin forward bases).
