Hatay Airport is now back under allied control, but NATO’s hold on the airfield is tenuous. Crews are working around the clock to repair the runways in order to deploy front line ground attack aircraft and bring in transports with men and equipment to reinforce NATO defenses. Holding the airport over the next several weeks will be critical to the success of the campaign.
While the airport has been liberated, Syrian forces still control the eastern half of Hatay and the conflict has once again been reduced to a one-front war. Syria can once again concentrate its forces, and pushing them further west back into Syria will require a concerted effort by NATO ground and air forces.
As we saw last week, the nearer we operate to the Syrian border, the more Syria’s formidable air defense network in and around Aleppo will become a significant threat. Several US Navy aircraft operating just to the east of Hatay Airport were launched on last Sunday by the Aleppo SA-10 SAM site.
That SA-10 as well as several shorter-range SAMs along the Syria-Hatay border will need to be neutralized before NATO aircraft can safely operate out of and around Hatay Airport.
MISSION
VFA-41 and a squadron of F-16s out of Incirlik have been tasked to eliminate two SAM sites southwest of Aleppo.
In a coordinated strike, the Taftanaz SA-11 site [WP9] will first be targeted by the F-16s of VIPER flight. The Taftanaz SA-11 lies on the ingress route for VFA-41 aircraft, which are tasked with striking the larger SA-10 site [WP3] located approximately 20 miles further to the NE.
VFA-41 aircraft will start up and launch 1645-1700 and should plan to hold offshore near [WP1] until advised that VIPER flight has commenced their attack on the Taftanaz SA-11. VIPER’s ToT is scheduled to be ~1720.
Once cleared to proceed to the target area, Magic will keep us appraised of the status of VIPER’s attack.
Our attack Waypoint [WP3] is centered on the three search and tracking radars. The SA-10 site also has 6 launch vehicles placed north, south, and west of the radars, plus AAA and resupply trucks. (Reference intel photo for site layout detail)
Should VIPER fail to knock out the Taftanaz SA-11’s radar at a minimum, DEALER flights will need to consider their options as our planned ingress route lies squarely within the WEZ of the Taftanaz SA-11.
At Mission Commander’s discretion some options may include (but are certainly not limited to): scrubbing the mission, diverting part or all of the squadron’s assets towards [WP9] attempt to neutralize the SA-11 instead/first, or altering the ingress route to try and avoid the SA-11 entirely.
Two tankers are available for this mission. TEXACO will be available in the Southern part of the AOR along our ingress/egress route, and ARCO will be operating to the north should diversion to Incirlik be required.
THREATS
The Taftanaz SA-11 and Aleppo SA-10 will be today’s primary threats. Multiple shorter-range SAMs exist just to the north of our target in and around the city of Aleppo, as well as at Al-Duhur Airbase, which is located ~20 miles east of our egress route.
In recent days, Syrian fighter aircraft have been primarily patrolling farther inland than our route of flight will take us. USAF CAP will be operating near Hatay Airport.
Note: The political situation in neighboring Lebanon just to the south of our AOR is tense, and large areas of the nation are controlled by Hezbollah. Do not venture in to Lebanese airspace, or you may be fired upon without warning.
ROE
Weapons free- All Syrian forces may be engaged as required.
MISSION OVERVIEW
DATE: 06 February, 2022
TIME: 16:45
SUNRISE: 07:36
SUNSET: 18:05
TASK: DEAD/SEAD
WX: 020@10 / Few 8,000 / T24 / Q30.04
FLIGHT DURATION: 320 nm
AVAILABLE SQUADRON ASSETS:
Dealer 1: 4 x F/A-18c
Dealer 2: 4 x F/A-18c
Dealer 3: 4 x F/A-18c
Dealer 4: 4 x F-14b
CARRIER:
USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN-73) / BRC 030° / Freq 127.5 [6] / TCN 73X "GWH" / ICLS: 13
SUPPORTING UNITS:
AWACS / E-3D / MAGIC / Freq 266.000 [4]
Mission Tanker / KC-135 / TEXACO / Freq: 251.00 [8]/ TCN 55Y
Divert Tanker / KC-130 / ARCO / Freq: 253.00 [9] / TCN 56Y
Recovery Tanker / S-3B / SHELL / Freq: 353.00 [10] / TCN:66Y
DIVERT
Incirlik AB [WP7]
Rwy: 5/23
TCN: 21X
ATC: 360.1
Emergency Divert: Hatay Airport [WP8]
BULLSEYE: Hatay Airport [WP8]
DD-8 Route Overview
- DictKey_Translation_4_Snapshot_20220131192941_DD Week 8 Overview.png (572.33 KiB) Viewed 1370 times
DD-8 Target Area Detail
- DictKey_Translation_4_Snapshot_20220131193302_Target detail.png (370.92 KiB) Viewed 1370 times
Aleppo SA-10 Recon Image
- SA10.png (2.41 MiB) Viewed 1370 times
Taftanaz SA-11 Recon Image
- SA11.png (2.62 MiB) Viewed 1370 times
Mission Datacard
- MDC.png (70.15 KiB) Viewed 1370 times
