19 March 2023 - Operation Noble Tempest Week 19

[MrBean]

Yesterday afternoon, two flights of F/A-18 Hornets from VFA-41 conducted a battlefield interdiction mission against Russian targets along the Tskhenistskali River.

DEALER flights launched at 1600 and were on station by 1630 where they were put in contact with US SOF forward air controllers operating with Georgian ground troops.

Shortly after arriving on station, a group of Russian self-propelled artillery were spotted and the coordinates passed to DEALER aircraft. DEALER 1 was dispatched to begin prosecuting those targets with GBU-12 laser guided munitions. Multiple Russian vehicles were destroyed as well as two Russian SU-34 aircraft that were encountered by DEALER 1 enroute to the front lines. Smoke from the target area obscured some of the remaining targets and DEALER 1 aircraft returned to their marshalling position south of the front lines.

DEALER 2 aircraft then attempted to locate and destroy the remaining artillery. Three more Russian vehicles were destroyed by DEALER 2, but all flights soon were alerted about two Russian SU-30 aircraft that had engaged US CAP flights to the north and were still approaching the target area. Two aircraft from DEALER 2 were dispatched northwards to assist engaged US F-15s with the Russian fighters while the remaining DEALER aircraft cleared to the South.

With both F-15s eventually shot down, one SU-30 remained alive and vectored towards the front. DEALER2 aircraft fired two AIM-120 missiles and the remaining SU-30 was destroyed before posing a threat to the ongoing BAI efforts.

With the SU-30 threat neutralized, BAI efforts resumed and aircraft from both DEALER flights were assigned a new group of T-72/T-90 targets embedded along the edge of a forest west of the river. The tanks proved difficult to spot amongst the trees, but several of them were destroyed before DEALER aircraft were scheduled to depart the area at 1745.

No DEALER aircraft were damaged or lost over the target area, but one airframe was lost on on recovery, landing in the water short of the TRUMAN. The pilot was retrieved by USS STOCKDALE (DDG-106) which was in position on plane guard aft of the TRUMAN.


DEALER 1
1-1 Rhino - 2x SU-34, Ground Targets, Trapped
1-2 Crash - aircraft lost on recovery
1-3 Mad Dog - Trapped

DEALER2
2-1 Mr Bean - SU-30, Ground Targets, Trapped
2-2 Trim - Ground Targets, Trapped
2-3 Maniac - Ground Targets, Trapped
2-4 Chaos - Ground Targets, Trapped

[Hedgehog]

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[Hedgehog]

Pilot records and Greenie Board updated.