The destruction of multiple munition and supply depots has further hampered the Russian logistical situation in western Georgia. Attempts at land and sea resupply have met with failure and the weakened Russian and Abkhazian lines appear to be nearing the breaking point. The Georgians, with further influx of weapons and supplies from the U.S. and NATO, have continued to pressure the front lines, forcing the Russians to fall back to the perimeter of the Senaki airbase and the city center of Senaki itself.
HUMINT assets on the ground in Russia have reported a flurry of activity at the base of the 108th Air Assault Regiment of the Russian VDV in Novorossiysk. Earlier this week reports of eight Il-76 transport aircraft arriving at the base prompted further surveillance and it now appears the Russians may attempt an airborne troop drop and/or resupply over the besieged Senaki area. Formations of troops and BMD-1 airborne infantry fighting vehicles have been observed preparing to load onto the transports. .
MISSION
Launch of the Russian Airborne assault appears imminent and EUCOM doesn’t want to chance an ill timed strike attempt on the heavily defended VDV base in Novorossiysk. Instead, VFA-41 is being tasked to launch on a fairly standard combat air patrol to prevent the VDV transports from making any airborne troop or supply drops near the front lines. To this end, Black Aces aircraft will launch and patrol an area over western Georgia and Abkhazia denoted by WP2-WP6. With any luck, our presence may be enough to encourage the transport pilots to turn back. If not, we are authorized to shoot them down. The rough patrol “Box” made up of WP2-WP6 denotes a free fire area. Any non-friendly aircraft located within it can be engaged at will. Any aircraft approaching that area can also be engaged, but only upon positive ID of a hostile target via FLIR or hostile IFF return, or a demonstration of hostile intent, such as aggressive maneuvering or utilization of fire control radars.
Once airborne, we’ll have a vulnerability time of approximately 90 minutes, with a scheduled RTB time of 1945 hours. An Air Force big wing tanker will be on station near our WP1 and the Mission Commander can cycle individual flights or sections back to the tanker as needed to help keep fuel topped off and ensure at least one flight is always covering the patrol area. It is not necessary to "fly the box" denoted by the waypoints. They are just a guide for the area in which flights should patrol.
THREATS
There are no known major ground threats remaining near the patrol area. The SA-6 Kub near Sukhumi is offline thanks to the work of the Prowlers over the last couple weeks. Large caliber AAA is still present in Sukhumi itself and there are SA-11 batteries along the coast starting near Sochi, so use caution if venturing north of the WP4-WP5 line. MANPADS and other various SHORAD are still abundant lower down, so be aware of your altitude at all times.
Expect the VKS to provide their own CAP flights or possibly even close escort of the transports. VF-211 is airborne with a section of Tomcats to help out, but be wary of Russian fighter aircraft in the AO.
ROE
Weapons free on any Russian aircraft in or approaching the patrol zone.
MISSION OVERVIEW
DATE: 23 April, 2023
TIME: 1800 local
SUNRISE: 0637 local
SUNSET: 2017 local
MOON:
TASK: Combat Air Patrol
WX: 040@06kt / SCT-BKN 16,000 / FEW 36,000 / T18 / Q29.82
FLIGHT DURATION: ~330 nm + loiter time
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 HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN-75) / Freq 127.500 [6] / TCN: 75X / ICLS: 5
SUPPORTING UNITS:
AWACS / E-2D / OVERLORD/ Freq 266.000 [5]
Mission Tanker / KC-135 / SHELL / Freq: 251.000 [8]/ TCN:35Y
Recovery Tanker / S-3B / TEXACO / Freq 353.000 [10] / TCN:61Y
DIVERT
Batumi [WP]
Rwy: 13/31
VOR: TACAN 16X
ATC: 131.000 [16]
BULLSEYE: [WP7]
ROUTE OVERVIEW:
- Route Overview.PNG (4.41 MiB) Viewed 535 times
ROUTE DETAIL:
- Route Detail.PNG (4.89 MiB) Viewed 535 times
INTEL PHOTOS:
- HUMINT 1.jpg (599.15 KiB) Viewed 535 times
- HUMINT 2.jpg (757.59 KiB) Viewed 535 times
MISSION DATA CARD:
- Z_Mission Data Card.PNG (66.89 KiB) Viewed 535 times