20 November, 2022 - Operation Noble Tempest Week 7

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Mon Nov 14, 2022 8:20 pm

SITUATION

With the Roki Tunnel destroyed in last week's precision strike, the Russian forces have lost their only direct overland supply route to their bases and troops in South Ossetia. In increasing desperation, elements of the Russian 58th Army based in Vladikavkaz are attempting to run a battalion of troops and supply convoys through the Terek River Valley via the Darial Gorge. This paved route is the only other road link between Russia and Georgia through the Caucasus Mountains. However, this route directly links Russia with Georgia proper, without a breakaway buffer state offering sanctuary. As such Georgian Border Guard and Army units are putting up stiff resistance near the border town of Kazbegi. Fierce fighting has been raging here for the last two days, but so far the Georgians are managing to hold a defensive line at the northern outskirts of the town.

The resulting stalemate has bottlenecked a sizable element of Russian ground vehicles in the mountain pass. This presents an opportunity to relieve some of the pressure on the Georgian Board Guards and deal a further significant blow to Russian material and logistics in the AO.

Additionally, it seems significant progress has been made in negotiations with Turkey regarding the Montreux Convention and use of the Turkish Straits. While not finalized yet, it is looking like Turkey may permit the passage of the Truman CSG within the next few days. As more US and NATO forces arrive in the AO, it appears VFA-41’s Forward Deployment period is soon coming to an end.

MISSION

There are three bridges that cross the Terek River in the area immediately north of the Georgian town of Kazbegi. Two of them are on the Georgian side of the border and the third is just inside Russian territory. Command has ordered all three bridges destroyed in order to further hamper Russian ground forces from moving combat and logistics vehicles along the last land route between southern Russia and eastern Georgia. With winter closing in and the bridges destroyed, the route will become all but impassable until well into the spring thaw in late April or early May.

The three bridges are the primary targets of today’s strike. From south to north they are designated “Ruby” (WP3), “Coral” (WP4) and “Opal” (WP5). All three are designatable for GPS ordinance. Intelligence analysis suggests a pair of GBU-31 v2’s per bridge should be sufficient to drop the spans into the river. Given the confines of the target area within a steep valley and one of the targets being inside Russian territory, EUCOM has authorized our aircraft to cross into Russian airspace as required, but great care should be taken not to venture too far north of the border as the extensive SA-11 Battalion threat is still present and online.

The secondary objective is to destroy any Russian ground vehicles in the vicinity of the target waypoints and any Russian aircraft encountered in the mission area. This will relieve the pressure on the Georgian Border Guards force while further straining Russian logistics and combat power in the AO. The Russian columns are known to consist of armor, IFVs and soft logistics vehicles.

THREATS

In addition to the above mentioned SA-11 threat north of the border, expect short range IR SAM and/or MANPADs with AAA among the Russian ground convoys. Russian fighter sorties have been noticeably reduced in recent days, but the VKS has been launching sorties of attack and fighter- bomber aircraft to attack the Georgian Border Guard positions near Kazbegi. If manpower and airframes allow, a dedicated counter air element would be useful in attriting the aerial threat to friendly forces in the AO. A friendly CAP flight of newly arrived F-15’s will also be on station to assist with air threats.

Additionally, a flight of four RAF Tornados from the UK are scheduled to arrive in Tbilisi just prior to our departure time. Be sure to check for approaching traffic before taking the active runway if they haven’t arrived before we taxi.
***Note to Mission Commander/Flight Leads: No Dealer aircraft should take the runway until after 10:08 hours to avoid interference with a F-15 CAP flight departure.***

ROE

Weapons free on primary target waypoints and any enemy units in their vicinity. Be advised, friendly ground forces are located along the northern outskirts of Kazbegi, approximately 3nm south of WP3.

MISSION OVERVIEW

DATE: 20 November, 2022

TIME: 1000 Local

SUNRISE: 0836 local
SUNSET: 1753 local
MOON:

TASK: Bridge Strike/Battlefield Interdiction

WX: 320@18kt /SCT 7,000 & 23,000 / T10 / Q30.12

FLIGHT DURATION: ~240nm

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

CARRIER:
USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN-75) / / Freq [] / TCN / ICLS:

SUPPORTING UNITS:
AWACS / E-3A / WIZARD/ Freq 266.000 [4]
Mission Tanker / / / Freq: []/ TCN:
Recovery Tanker / / / Freq [] / TCN:

DIVERT:
Kutaisi [WP]
Rwy: 07/25
VOR: TACAN 44X
ATC: 134.000 [18]

BULLSEYE: Gori [WP6]

Route Overview: