16 July 2023 - Operation Enduring Resolve Week 5

[Lion]

SITUATION
The apocalyptic death cult in the south of Syria, concentrated around the airfields of Sayqal and Khalkalah has been causing an increasing amount of trouble for friendly rebel and Coalition forces in the Damascus sector. The cult leader's accumulation of weapons and fuel has positioned him as an immediate threat to regional stability. This aggressive posturing has necessitated a decisive response from the Coalition forces.

Their primary supply hub, an ammo and fuel depot, has been identified in and around Khalkalah airfield, fortified and protected by KS-19 100mm anti-aircraft artillery batteries. The depot serves as the major hub of western cult forces, supplying their vast territory with essential resources.

MISSION
Tonight's objective is to neutralize the ammo and fuel depot. The package tonight includes all three normal Dealer flights to eliminate the facility and its defenses. The primary challenge is the potent KS-19 AA batteries that envelop the depot, as when coupled together with the SON-9 fire control radar, can engage targets at 30,000 feet and above with proximity fused explosive flak.

Each Dealer flight has mostly identical route plans, only diverging at the initial point of Damascus Airport.

1. Dealer 1's primary targets are the known KS-19 batteries in the area, marked by waypoints 3,4,5,6. Other non-radar-guided KS-19 guns may be present in the area, this will be Dealer 1's secondary objective.

• Dealer 2's primary targets will be the fuel and ammo storages, marked by waypoints 3,4,5. Satellite intel analysis indicates only a single 500 pound GBU-12 or GBU-38 each will be sufficient to destroy the targets at all three waypoints.

• Dealer 3's target will be a high speed moving "convoy" patrolling the area around the airfield. The cult is regularly using these miles long groups of vehicles to terrorize and extort the local population. It's sudden disintegration from the skies above should demoralize the cultists and set back military operations in the area.

THREATS
- MANPADs everywhere that friendly forces do not control.
- Possible harassment and unprofessional airmanship from Chinese fighters.
- KS-19 100mm AAA guns.

ROE

WEAPONS FREE (on assigned targets). It is highly likely that given targets will be in dense urban areas. Carrying a FLIR pod is mandatory and verification needed to ensure civilian areas are not struck.

MISSION OVERVIEW

DATE: 16 July, 2023

TIME: 1600 local
Sunset: 1946 local
Temp: 29C / 84 Freedom degrees
29.65 inHg


TASK: Strike / DEAD

WX:
- Clouds: Clear
- Winds:

week5 wind.jpg (38.14 KiB) Viewed 500 times

FLIGHT DURATION: ~250 nm + loitering may be necessary

AVAILABLE SQUADRON ASSETS:
Dealer 1 - 4x F/A-18C
Dealer 2 - 4x F/A-18C
Dealer 3 - 4x F/A-18C

SUPPORTING UNITS:
AWACS / E-3A / DARKSTAR / Freq 266.000 [4]
Tanker / KC-135MPRS / Texaco 1-1 / Freq 290.000 / TACAN 2X
Tanker / KC-135MPRS / Texaco 2-1 / Freq 291.000 / TACAN 4X
Tanker / KC-135MPRS / Texaco 3-1 / Freq 292.000 / TACAN 6X
Tanker / KC-135MPRS / Shell 1-1 / Freq 293.000 / TACAN 8X
Tanker / KC-135MPRS / Shell 2-1 / Freq 294.000 / TACAN 10X

CVN comms info automatically generated on in-game kneeboard. Channel 5 for fast select for mom's frequency.

BULLSEYE: Beirut International

week5 target1.jpg (1.12 MiB) Viewed 500 times

week5 ks19.jpg (1.11 MiB) Viewed 500 times

[Lion]

CAPT Trim assigned as Mission Commander

CAPT Hedgehog on standby

[Lion]

KS-19 100MM AAA + SON-9 Fire Control Radar Threat Information

• SON-9 (will show up and spike RWRs as "FC") has a max detection range of 30 nm.

• The KS-19 gun itself can shoot as far as 10 nm out, and up to nearly 50,000 feet.

• Without a SON-9 radar attached to the battery, the gun itself is extremely limited, as it requires optical detection and engagement without it, and should be considered a low priority threat without the radar.

• The HARM carried by the F/A-18 Hornet is capable of detecting the SON-9 and guiding on it, although recent intelligence shows a consistent tendency to fall short of the actual radar in some instances.

• The cult using this gun is inexperienced in its use, so emissions from the fire control radar should be detected well in advance of the target area.

• Historical Syrian and Soviet doctrine typically employed multiple batteries massed in one area to maximize volume of fire. At this time, this tactic is not used by the cult.