The 99th Carrier Task Force has strategically parked itself in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. The combination of ship born surface to air missiles and SU-33s carried by the Kuznetsov have taken a heavy toll on our bomb laden aircraft as they try to make their way to target. Coming back off target low on fuel has been equally hazardous due to this presence. Our squadron had been hit particularly hard by this menace and despite the dangers of widening the war it is time to take it out.
The Plan –
Flights of F16s will ingress at high medium altitude to soak up enemy radar. These flights will attack with High speed Anti-radiation Missiles (HARMS) from stand-off ranges.
Subsequent flights of F16s carrying G-model Mavericks. The Gmavs will penetrate the armor of the enemy ships before their warheads explode thus maximizing the damage. The ingress will be from low level and overlap with the Anti-radar attack.
Finally, a couple of flights of iron bomb carrying F16s should deliver the final blow to the Kuznetsov and maybe even the Kirov. Subsequent missions will finish off the remainder of the enemy fleet.
(It should be noted that these missions will be flown with Falcon 4.0 “Allied Force”. I don’t know if there is any value in the overall campaign to destroying this task force other than the survival of my own aircraft which ultimately is a requirement for my successful completion of this campaign.)
First I had to hijack a several flights and set the waypoints to the last know position of the task force and then arm the planes in order to best accomplish my mission. It looks as though this mission will take place over an entire day and require about six flights of airplanes. I am guesstimating on what it will take to sink the ships as these are big bastards and may require some additional ordinance.
The 78th Fighter Squadron, the Stingers, is operating out of Brindisi-Casale airport in Italy. The first flight is a two ship armed with HARM missiles.
Setting on the active runway I work through the switchology (is that a word? well if not it should be.) setting up my electronic counter measures, master arm on, normally I would turn off my anti-collision light but since we will be primarily over friendly territory I will leave them on for this series of missions. (Note: unlike other variations of Falcon, the Master Arm is default to the off position in Falcon AF) Finishing up the last of my checks I get clearance to take off. On my right and slightly behind is my number two for this flight. Settling back into my ejection seat I push the throttle forward past the afterburner stops to full power. Accelerating rapidly down the runway I rotate the flight controls skyward and my viper lifts off the runway effortlessly. Retracting the landing gear I bank to the right to pick up a heading that will bring the flight into firing position while keeping us out of the effective defensive envelope of the enemy fleet.
Looking over my shoulder, I watch as my number two takes to the air. Once I pick up course I call for number two to close in. Since the fleet has positioned itself so close to our coast it is only a matter of minutes before we are detected. I bring up my HARM Targeting System (HTS) by selecting HARM missiles and making them active. Continuing to climb into firing position I spread the flight and lock up the first radar emitting target. Once locked I give orders to attack my target.
From
this distance we are not in range of the HARMs but also not in range of the
enemy defenses. I am keenly aware that their defensive suite has picked us up
but, at the same time, hopeful that they are under the assumption that we are
but another flight heading into Bosnia. Even with that, there is a strong
possibility that they will send up some SU-33s to investigate. This would be a
very bad development but one we are ready for with our compliment of AMRAAM
missiles. Despite the threat, I believe we can get in, deliver our payload and
get the hell out before the enemy has time to deliver an effective response.
I switch to another target and close the range on the enemy. Watching as my range queue drop within the effective range of the HARM, the targeting queue begins to flash in my Heads Up Display (HUD) to indicate that my weapons are in range and ready for launch. I close in a few more miles before I pickle the first weapon followed a few seconds later by another missile. The flash of the HARM is blinding and lights up the cockpit. I break right, roll inverted and dive away from the enemy ships instinctively dumping flares and chaff as I do. The enemy is now aware of our plan and launched a couple of surface to air missiles in our directions. At this point my number two had yet to release his missiles and was still closing on the target…I am not sure why. Since I am not sure how much damage our HARMS will do I hang on to my remaining pair as I continue to dart out of the range of enemy weapons. I listen as my number two launches his entire payload into the enemy. Just in case he needs to be reminded that loitering is not a good idea, I call him to rejoin and close in. By this point I am some miles away from the carrier task force. But my number two catches up in a matter of just a few minutes. Now we are down on the deck and outside of the effective range of the enemy missiles.
I send my wingman home as he is unarmed and there is no reason to expose him to further danger. As he breaks for home, I turn back towards the target and initiate a 10 degree climb back towards the enemy task force. Our missiles have rained down on the enemy radars and they are damaged, destroyed, and/or turned off as I don’t find any radar emitting targets on my HTS. Now I am thinking that I may have accomplished my mission with only a few HARM missiles. (Hmmm, to tell you the truth I was getting a little disappointed as this would be a complete departure from reality) Just as I think the enemy has been vanquished they come back up in a hostile mode! Quickly I lock up the emitter and pickle off my last two missiles but not before a SAM is launched at me! Again, I dive down and away, this time pumping flares and chaff in earnest as the threat is very real and immediate.
Using my Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) I get a bead on the enemy missile and put it on my 3/9 line. After a few more seconds I am able to get a padlock visual of the missile that, despite my best efforts, is still guiding on my airplane. Skill and timing are everything but sometimes luck is enough. Today luck prevails, as I roll inverted and pull under the enemy SAM that flies harmlessly past me and up into the upper atmosphere. “Damn, that was close” I murmur and I actually have a bead of sweat on my brow. Continuing towards the deck I hug the waves and head for home. However, this day has just begun.
Escape - Back to the mission screen I see my next flight is already in the air so I take the lead and hop in.
This time we are loaded with more HARMS and a pair of G-model mavericks. Again, we should be able to target the enemy radars with our HARM missiles and maybe even sneak in and deliver a couple of mavericks into the hulls of the enemy ships. We are Snake 21 and 22 for this trip and we will ingress at about 12,000 feet so we can duck down to the water in a big hurry since the enemy is now awake and angry. After going feet wet we close in tight and head into the teeth of the enemy defenses. This time there is no waiting for the enemy radar to show up…it is active and searching. As soon as the HARMs come into range, I pickle off both of my missiles and give Snake22 orders to do the same. Following the launch of HARMs we close in tight wing abreast and on the deck. I toggle up my mavericks and switch over to SEA mode in my targeting system. At this point I just want to get my missiles off before we are engaged. I bring up my weapons view and slew into the target area. Because we are so low the angles does not allow for a good look in. Expanding the view, I climb slightly and level off at about 800 feet. Now I can get a quick picture and I slew over the Kirov. I try frantically to get the Kuznetsov but my thumb cannot move fast enough, so I settle on the Kirov and give the order to attack just as I pickle off my missile. Quickly reacquiring I launch my remaining missile and dive away. Snake22 follows suit and in only a matter of seconds we are breaking for home.
This time we were able to get all of our ordinance off without taking any returning fire, to this point it appears that our initial attack has done little damage to the enemy. However, no airplanes have come up to meet us and there have been a limited number of SAMs chasing us. As we egress back towards Brindisi-Casale I spy another flight of strikers heading for the enemy fleet. I will let this one run on it own and see how well the new Artificial Intelligence behaves in Allied Force.
“Maverick, Maverick, Maverick” the call comes across on guard as the AI flight leans into the attack. I quickly toggle through my F8 key and catch a quick glimpse of the action. Initiating auto-pilot I hit the action view and watch the battle unfold.
Escape - Once I am satisfied that the battle is unfolding as I anticipated, actually better than I thought. I escape out just in time to pick up my iron bomb wing. Ok, now to inflict some serious damage. I am sure that the enemy task force is on the defensive and has suffered some considerable damage. A quick check of it’s status shows it at 56 percent with a couple of its escort ships missing…”hmmm this is very good”, I think as I teleport myself onto the runway in the lead aircraft. First things first, master arm-on. OK we are cleared to blast so I throttle up to full after burning and bring my ship skyward. Closing up tight we will ingress on the deck with the hope of getting into the enemy without being seen. We will have to pop up at the last minute to give our bombs enough height to arm before impact so that climb before release will be the most dangerous part of this mission. Down on the deck we continue out towards the target passing the returning flight of strike aircraft.
As we ride in towards the target, I set up my electronic counter measures and stage my bombs to drop in two pairs. This will ensure that all my bombs come off in one pass because one pass is all I am going to get. This is the most dangerous part of this plan as there will be no standing off lobbing missiles into the target. However, if we are able to get hits we should be able to take a couple of the big ships out. Of course our focus will be the Kuznetsov and the Kirov. The fact that we have yet to encounter any enemy CAP around the task force indicate that our initial attack came as a complete surprise and we inflicted enough damage as to not allow for launch and recovery on the carrier.
We continue inbound and I bring my weapons into air-to-ground mode. I switch over to SEA. Little dots indicate that the task force is within 30 miles traveling from southeast to northwest. Expanding the view I only see four dots but I cannot tell if any is bigger than the other so I take my best guess and use my thumb to move the targeting designator over a target. The designator box is moving with the ships so I hit the L key and get a larger view of what is going on. Hmmm, I never attacked ships with iron bombs before and I guess they are doing about 30 knots so the targeting computer is having a hard time computing the impact point. Actually it is probably not having a hard time but my mind is not comfortable with so much movement. Now we are closing in on 15 miles so I give my wing dog orders to attack right before I break the CCRP lock and go into CCIP. My comfort level is greater with my own estimate rather than the computer. OK since I am doing this by eyeball I want to maximize my chances of a hit so I maneuver so that I can fly the length of the ship. No doubt this technique maximizes my changes of a hit it also dramatically increases my chances of being hit. However, my fangs are out and I continue inbound as I want to kill this ship. At about 7 miles I start to climb. Thus far we have been pretty lucky as the enemy has not taken much action in his defense.
Our luck does not hold…as we pop up to a reasonable height every thing in the world opens up on us. My wingman went to a height about three times my own and paid the price. I watched as missiles crisscross the sky and a pair tracks my number two. I frantically call out SAM breaks but the missile barrage is too intense. Looking up I see my number two take a hit and eject. A few seconds after the ejection a second missile blows through the fuselage of Snake22 turning it into a tumbling ball of fire. “Damn” I think as I call for a SAR. The chances of him being picked up by friendlies, with the enemy fleet so close are quite remote. There is a much greater possibility that he will be picked up by enemy forces and spend the rest of the war in a POW camp. While the focus was on my number two they either forgot about me are were unable to lock me due to my ingress profile. In any event, the Kuznetsov came beautifully into view and I maneuvered my death dot for what I considered the perfect hit.
Bugging out as fast as I can, I head back home without so much as another shot being fired at me. OK, this time I will ride all the way back home and take it in for a landing. I stay on the deck for most of my trip home as I would hate to lose another plane, especially one that I am riding in. The return trip is pretty uneventful. I take a spot in line and follow the instruction of the Air Traffic Controller, coming in on runway 19, clearing the perimeter fence and touching down right on the numbers. I taxi over to parking and exit to get to the debriefing screen. It shows four bombs dropped and four hits. “Beautiful” I grin. I look at the status of the target fleet and what was a carrier task force of four destroyers, a cruiser and an aircraft carrier now only consists of a cruiser and a destroyer! To make matters even better they appear to be heading now southeast and away from the theater of operations. Damn that, I want those ships so I set up a couple more missions that ultimately destroys both vessels.
It has been just over one day since I took out the 99th Carrier task force. Our situation has gone from fluid to excellent; no airplanes have been lost to enemy air, or to ship launched SAMS. As a matter of fact the only enemy planes I have seen up since taking out the Kusnetsov have been the AN-124, hardly a threat. There has been some debate about the value of committing resources to taking out this fleet. I guess it all depends on the location of the task force. If it is in a area out of the combat zone it poises no threat and may not be worth the effort. However, it you find this menace parked on your coast or in your flight path you are going to have to deal with it, the sooner the better.
Puma-