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First (Excited to get back into air battle management. If you are interested in learning that trade let's talk, it's fun and a neat challenge and as we get more goons flying, having a second body dealing with enemy air is helpful!)
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Sep 23, 2023 23:31
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 22:11 |
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It’s the twilight hour, and you’re heading out to your jet. The APU whines and you hear the metal under tension. There is both howling and roaring. You take one look at the patch on your shoulder before you duck your head and climb aboard your chariot, ready to take the battle to the enemy. You might think you’re about to strap into a F-16 Fighting Falcon but that’s for children. You are a man among men. You are this man:  You are this man:  You are this man:  If it wasn’t clear, you are this man:  Welcome to Air Battle Management. Pro: You don’t need a HOTAS, hell you don’t even need DCS technically. Con: People make fun of you because you aren’t a pilot. Pro: You can delay hostile callouts to those people and let them die as a punishment. You wield ultimate power. All tremble before you. Con: You can get a lot of people killed. Pro: You can get a lot of people killed. So, what’s this all about? When 40 goons pile into the air and try and do stuff, someone has to coordinate. There are two main flavors of coordination. Someone has to keep the air to ground/air to surface planes on task. One strike package might clear it’s target, so you adjust the second package to something else. Alternatively, the first strike package might fly into enemy MANPADS and more bombs need to be dropped. This is pretty simple, you watch the map and keep tabs on what’s going on and talk really seriously on the radios. You don’t have to make the csssht noise, the game does that for you it’s amazing. The other flavor is coordinating air to air operations. Let’s look at an example:  Here we have a small portion of the screen you’ll be looking at. There’s a lot going on but as you get good at it you’ll process things out. At first glance, there’s a friendly tanker with a friendly escort on the left, ok no factor there. There’s a couple carriers in the middle, again, no factor. Some fighters bottom left, that’s someone else's problem. Then on the right there’s two enemy L-39ZAs jumping on our two boys in blue in F-16’s. But, how did we get here? Let’s roll the tape back a few minutes:  This is what you might see. You’ll quickly see that I’ve connected the two with a “BRAA” line. Bearing, Range, Altitude, Aspect. When I get on the radio to the friendlies, I’m going to want to tell them there are hostiles out there but there might be a lot of stuff going on, this is probably one of a half dozen potential engagements. So I’m going to call them, “Venom One-One (them), Condor (me), Bandits Zero-Six-Six (Bearing from Venom 1-1 to the bandits) for One-hundred Thirty Four (range in nautical miles), Twelve Thousand (altitude), Hot (aspect), Pair of L-39’s.” This tells Venom flight what is out there, and in a perfect world they don’t need any more communication from me. They have enough information to prosecute this target. That said, we’ll be talking to them again. The blue lines coming out of each contact are 3 minute vectors. Essentially, where that plane will be in 3 minutes, barring no changes.  A few minutes later, Venom flight has turned and is working towards the intercept. Venom can’t fly directly at the targets, they want to head to the end of the dashed line, that’s the intercept point. I might give them that vector, “Venom One-One, Make Zero-Eight-Eight for 10 minutes for intercept.” Now, the bandits might maneuver too, so I’ll probably be calling them every few minutes to adjust them. I’m also scanning the rest of the battlespace because as I said, there’s probably other kerfuffles happening. It gets pretty busy when there’s a lot going on.  A few minutes later, the key info here is that their tips are almost touching, so in three minutes, these guys will be ontop of each other.  A minute later, they’re getting into visual range, coming up on 20 miles distant.  A few seconds later, missiles are flying (the new airborne blip). What happens next? You’ll have to get yourself into the sky and see for yourself. Do you want to try it out? We almost always need two Air Battle Managers (a2a and a2g/a2s). If we have more interest, we’ll get you trained up you can try it out. It’s a great gateway into the campaign, especially if you’re not comfortable flying or are still getting your HOTAS figured out. Do you have what it takes?
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Sep 26, 2023 02:20
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Sigint code decrypted. What could it mean?code:
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Sep 27, 2023 19:40
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Early Morning, Tortel, Chile Tortel is a small boasting an impressive lumber industry and a less impressive port for a small fleet of fishing ships. The wooden walkways straddle dense jungle that encroaches over the water at every opportunity. Tortel is not receiving a normal visitor this foggy morning. With most of the locals still asleep or quietly hustled on their way, a black shape rises from the channel and slips soundlessly into port.   Men and cargo offloaded from HMS Astute, were picked up by helicopter and brought to El Calafate Airport. As quickly and silently as it arrived, the Astute slipped back out of port and beneath the waves.
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Sep 27, 2023 19:52
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 Some signals traffic and regional intelligence from our friends at MI6. The Falklands, or Malvinas, have long been used as a shipping port, a safe harbor, and a waystation for exploration and international shipping. They're about 300 miles east of the Patagonian coast, and have been inhabited by Europeans ever since the 1600s. They might have had settlements before that, likely Fuegians from Patagonia if anyone, but were not inhabited when European claims on them were asserted. The UK had visited it prior but laid its first claim in 1764. It reasserted it more forcefully in 1833, and ever since the Falklands has been inhabited by mostly European-descent Falkland Islanders, populations ranging from 500 to 5000 with ebbs and flows. In addition, is has, or had, RAF Mount Pleasant, an airbase of the South Atlantic for the Royal Air Force. Now, the PLAAF controls it, and PLAN uses Port Stanley as a base. Goose Green is a small town that sits on an isthmus, connecting the main island of East Falklands to the uninhabited part known as Lafonia. This narrow isthmus is not only the only road and thoroughfare between these two major portions, but it also divides a small sound that is the ocean cut between them. For as long as there has been shipping, the Choiseul Sound has been used as a safe anchoring point for cargo ships and military vessels waiting for more favorable winds, warmer weather, or for the storm to pass. For the past 400 years, this has not changed. This same sound is now a shelter for the PLAN mobility sealift fleet, waiting for their turn in the clogged up Port Stanley, unable to accept as many ships as are arriving from Africa. Thus, they sail to Choiseul Sound to wait for their turn. MI6 is also passing along this whatsapp message from a Chinese sailor sent from a cellular network in the Falklands.  We've extracted the images in full resolution.   
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Oct 1, 2023 17:07
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Early morning, Hunter Army Airfield Two pilots, and a handful of crew pile into the plane. Before they get on, a man in khaki slacks stops them at the door, holding out a pouch. They drop their us flag, unit, and other identifying patches in and he wishes them well. He watches as they start their engines, roll out and and turn south. Just gonna fly some lil sigint missions and maybe soak up some intel around the battlespace.
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Oct 2, 2023 15:44
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 The flight started off nice, bright and sunny. Departing SAWG and proceeding southeast along the coast to a safe distance behind the lines. This aircraft, stuffed to the gills with signal gathering equipment was ready to soak up emissions from the enemy side. Everything from cell messages, anti-aircraft radar, even radio messages sent between soldiers. Even a fully encrypted signal can be geolocated and provide intelligence.   A quick circle of Posesion Airport.  First look across the Strait at enemy-held territory.   Things are starting to get soupy, we had to drop down for better signals.   A couple shots of the other operating area.  Back home, safe and sound.  Flight route. So Vaha, what can you tell us about enemy emissions? Any ELINT or SIGINT?
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Oct 2, 2023 21:33
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Happy to take requests for other flights to gather data with the RC-12 guardrail. It would be cool to check out fjords but realistically getting shot down is not my idea of a good time. That SA-16 can reach out and touch us if we get too close  Might be worth trying to HARM it especially if we operate on the NW edge of its envelope.
Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Oct 2, 2023 |
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Oct 2, 2023 21:42
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Kaal, might be of interest to you, two more recent intercepts from somewhere near the Falklands. The Royal Navy might be upto something... Intercept 1 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bN_qvydmAY--7X4DuguP3ES5-GgFSMrh/view?usp=sharing Intercept 2 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1quwARkcImKZrEh8SEHDzqZcHifZXUAG2/view?usp=sharing This sets in motion the Arma 3 tie in mission. Depending on how it goes, shipping for the enemy will be impacted...
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Oct 2, 2023 22:24
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Well, then retreat is not an option, forward only. We just have to pound them into dust from the air.
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Oct 2, 2023 23:42
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Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Oct 3, 2023 |
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Oct 3, 2023 00:27
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Featuring a quote by General José de San Martín I also made some "enemy bad" propaganda but it kind of just makes China look badass.  
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Oct 3, 2023 02:04
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Repositioned a King Air maritime patrol aircraft to Norberto Fernandez to support operations here. Flew from SAAI to SAWG without incident. Leaving home base at Punta Indio.  Skies getting a little dark   Dropped down under 20,000 to get below the clouds and drop some practice sonobuoys. Helps to keep skills sharp.   The rest of the trip was fairly clear and easy, almost makes you forget there's a war on.   Banking to line up for SAWG runway.   Home away from home for the forseeable future.   Ready for tasking.
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Oct 3, 2023 19:44
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Yooper posted:The skunks could be anything from trawlers riding out a storm, container ships steering clear of the combat, or Type 037 Frigates prowling for targets. The only way to know is to get them to emit and identify the radar type, drop below the clouds for a visual (don't do this), get someone on the ground to take a look, or overfly them with combat aircraft for a definite ID. The clouds, fog, and rain in that area is legendary, so this could be a tough one to deal with even if we know it's there. I can fly a maritime patrol over/near the area this weekend IF that's something safe to do or sensible. Basically, if one of you SMEs gives me a route to fly, I can do it in MSFS and maybe we can gather into. If it's safe enough.
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Oct 5, 2023 15:46
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At an undisclosed location aboard the HMS Agincourt. Much like what has been going on in this thread, there are strong-willed men doing the same thing. Raid plans are formulated. Elsewhere in the boat...   Keep a weather eye on the horizon folks. A couple of in-game days. October 13th in real time. Get your Arma 3 installs fired up boys...there's a green goose to cook.
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Oct 5, 2023 23:55
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Vahakyla posted:Game Master and the USN: Didn't we drop troops on a sub like two days ago? Can we throw this back in their faces when we sink a Los Angeles boat?
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Oct 6, 2023 19:35
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Kaal posted:Admiral Ileana Maria Sampaio Taking off in the face of almost 50 knot headwinds.  Heading out towards site 1.    Banking away from site 1   Once we made the turn back south for the dogleg loop looking at site 2 things got dicey.   But, after the rain comes the rainbow...   Don't worry about the ice conditions, in our game it's not frozen.  Ended up diverting to Puerto Natales due to weather at Rio Gallegos   Overall a solid, successful mission. A little dicey in the middle, and we're all glad we saved lunch till after we landed instead of flying on full stomachs.
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Oct 6, 2023 19:41
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Good news everybody, the LEGO corporation has agreed to produce some sets showing the military might of our troops.   A little bonus for the Chilean Air Force  As a reminder, if you buy MegaBlocks you are supporting the enemy.  
Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Oct 6, 2023 |
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Oct 6, 2023 23:10
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We know the range on the buk is about 30 miles so we can also not operate with in 30 until we have a better strategy for it. Our first sorties might need to be focused on degrading the enemy air forces and learning their strategy. To that end Flight Leads. In your initial briefing for the upcoming game please provide guidance to GCI/ABMs. We have a few new folks so stuff like "Our mig 21 is best used in pairs attacking down low against opponents, we're only effective within 5 miles, etc." "Our radar is balls" etc.
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Oct 7, 2023 15:28
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Gridlocked posted:I take it you're a NO to Operación Escalpelo then? It's risk vs reward. We have to send in probably 2 strikers and 2 cover planes, OR 2 expensive strikers. And remember, that was simply the emissions we caught on that flight. If there's something else we overfly with its radar off that rams something up our tailpipe we lose planes we can't afford to lose. If we could lob a HARM from 31 miles away go for it, otherwise it doesn't seem like we need to operate in the bubble yet so let's pin it till then.
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Oct 7, 2023 15:42
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Has anyone smarter than me looked at where the enemy is basing planes and made up any threat bubbles?
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Oct 8, 2023 18:54
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All flights can expect to check in with the ABM (Condor) and I will hand strikers off to Wrath and Davin (callsigns tbd).
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Oct 12, 2023 22:17
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Do TARCAP birds want to stay on 261 for CAP or get shunted to 262 so they can better coordinate with their strikers?
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Oct 13, 2023 22:54
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gently caress it. We'll do it live. Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Oct 14, 2023 |
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Oct 14, 2023 18:55
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Abm debrief We were dealing with an insanely degraded picture. No tracks were identified except some players. LotATC remains bugged and unable filter human/no-human contacts. LotATC unable to classify targets. LotATC freezes the properties window and can't see properties of targets. Basically anything more than two ships of mig 21s would have completely overwhelemed us. The main fix is to change the server profile from "Goons" back to whatever we used to use so at least we can see what things are. That would solve the biggest problem. We also had no intel on waypoints, targets, etc. All we had was a big red line that gets in the way because it's so thick. Yooper used to make a json we could drop into LotATC with info on it, which I can do but someone needs to feed me the information. Or someone else can, but I don't want to just give problems without solutions. CAP did extremely well being vectored onto unknown contacts repeatedly with zero image on ground picture. Edit: A lack of a briefing hurt getting folks into the mission. Nobody told the ABMs we were supposed to join people in, nobody told us we were splitting into channels, etc. Edit 2: the signup briefing page should be more specific (or I should be allowed to edit it). Was very difficult to know who was tarcap for who, who was escorting ascot, etc. We figured it out, it all worked out but we gotta do better. Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Oct 15, 2023 |
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Oct 15, 2023 01:27
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Best practice wise, should we have traditional CAP right ontop of TARCAP? What does one add vs the other? In theory, CAP wasn't vectored onto targets TARCAP was on and vice versa, but once duo's of unknown enemy contacts started going every which way it was pretty hard to tell who was on what.
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Oct 15, 2023 16:12
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INTJ Mastermind posted:If there’s enough space you can position a BARCAP out in front of the objective with a TARCAP over top of it as a backup. Another idea is to pre-designate “lanes” and each CAP flight is responsible for their own lane. In this case that would put our CAP over enemy SAMs and very close to their launch airfields, but is this feasible? With SEAD?
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Oct 15, 2023 17:13
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I believe I made my point VERY clear.
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Oct 20, 2023 23:06
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Questions for someone smarter than me: What are the anti-ship missile capabilities of the A4? Can we ripple off a large salvo at these lone frigates and destroyers and overwhelm their defenses? Do we have any aircraft that can buddy tank? Can/Do we order the "last" units at Franco Bianco to blow the runway before surrendering or retreating? Are there any natural defensive barriers between the collapsed western front and either Rio Gallagos or the Puerto Natales area?
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Oct 22, 2023 15:14
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Sadenisa posted:It's about neck and neck at this point. We lost 12-13 aircraft yesterday. The PLA lost somewhere around 15, plus a helicopter or two. 12-13 sounds high for our losses.
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Oct 22, 2023 15:44
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I am looking for a little help putting something together for the next flight day (and all future, probably). Would someone generate a safety message? General stuff like stay high or stay low, bail out over friendlies, friendly call and response for ground units is X, anything else that feels right, top ten things the pilots need to worry about. If anything is airfield specific, note that (such as at airfield X, watch out for extra right parking , etc.)
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Oct 22, 2023 19:49
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Fast Forward a couple years and listen to this tale told by PLA Naval sailors on the midwatch Beware the ghost submarine, Chinese sailors! It is the Tikuna, a Brazilian vessel sunk with all hands by our forces off the coast of the Falklands. But it is said that the Tikuna did not die with its crew. On moonless nights, it rises from the depths to seek revenge on those who wronged it. Those who have seen the Tikuna tell tales of a spectral blip on sonar screens, a ghostly hull glowing in the moonlight, and the muffled screams of its lost crew echoing through the waves. Some say that the Tikuna is cursed, and that anyone who sees it is doomed to die. Others say that it is a warning from the spirits of the lost crew, warning others to stay away from the dangerous waters off the coast of the Falklands. Whatever the truth may be, one thing is for sure: the ghost of the Tikuna is still out there, lurking in the depths, waiting for its next victim. So, Chinese sailors, be warned! If you ever find yourself sailing off the coast of the Falklands on a moonless night, keep your ears open for the muffled screams of the lost crew. And if you see a strange blip on your sonar screens, or a ghostly hull glowing in the moonlight, turn your ship around and sail away as fast as you can. For if you stay too long, the Tikuna may claim you as its next victim. 
Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Oct 23, 2023 |
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Oct 23, 2023 03:02
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Shirts already cropping up for sale. Remember the Tik! folks shout in the streets (probably).
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Oct 23, 2023 03:39
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Apologies for the double post, but the zamacueca is traditional folk music of Chile, usually played with guitar and a tambourine, sometimes with brass (tuba, trumpet). It's said that a popular new tune is being heard...they're calling it the Batalla del glaciar Vasquez (Verse 1) En una noche fría de febrero, Los soldados del Lautaro paracaídos, Se dividieron en dos fuerzas, Y se acercaron sigilosamente a su objetivo. (Chorus) Oh, la batalla del glaciar Vásquez, Una victoria chilena gloriosa, Los soldados del Lautaro pelearon, Con valentía y coraje, sin pausa. (Verse 2) Neutralizaron puestos de guardia en el camino, Avanzando dos kilómetros en la oscuridad, Alchenar y Big Soda, dos soldados de gran valor, Lideraron el ataque con determinación. (Chorus) Oh, la batalla del glaciar Vásquez, Una victoria chilena gloriosa, Los soldados del Lautaro pelearon, Con valentía y coraje, sin pausa. (Bridge) La lucha fue feroz, Pero los chilenos prevalecieron, Defendieron su patria con honor, Y a sus enemigos vencieron. (Chorus) Oh, la batalla del glaciar Vásquez, Una victoria chilena gloriosa, Los soldados del Lautaro pelearon, Con valentía y coraje, sin pausa. (Outro) Gloria a los soldados del Lautaro, Héroes de la batalla del glaciar Vásquez, Su valor y su sacrificio, Nunca serán olvidados.
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Oct 23, 2023 03:44
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Weather Forecast!
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Oct 24, 2023 03:13
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Elendil004 posted:I am looking for a little help putting something together for the next flight day (and all future, probably). This thread moves quick but I am still seeking assistance with this.
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Oct 24, 2023 13:43
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Corky Romanovsky posted:Are you looking for text, voice recording, cartoon drawing? Text, please. Yooper posted:Recruiting for Team Spreadsheet Did you go to a prestigious engineering university and now your day job consists of spreadsheeting? Then come, join Team Spreadsheet! Ping me if you're interested. I dont see a drop down, maybe because it's view only. I also inquired about team spreadsheet and was laughed at by vaha so y'all on your own I made my own spreadsheet with blackjack and hookers. Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Oct 24, 2023 |
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Oct 24, 2023 23:31
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I see you've reinvented the Mogadishu Mile, I'm sure our airborne troopers will be thrilled to run out of the area being the armor that didn't wait for them.
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Oct 25, 2023 13:19
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Let’s talk about SMART objectives. Leadership in this war needs to promulgate between 2 and 6 SMART objectives to drive all the other planning. An objective is a Flexible, High level action statement that specifies what our operations should do to accomplish defined problems. It reflects the priorities of high command and our political leaders. S – Specific. Both the verb, and the object of the verb should be specific. Example: Stop the enemy vs Destroy that armored battalion. M - Measurable in amount and area. Example: Destroy that armored battalion vs Degrade that armored battalion by 50% A – Action oriented (sometimes Attainable). These should be doing something about the problem. Should someone be researching 5th generation fighters. Absolutely. Does that solve our problem today? No. R – Realistic. Can it be done? With the resources we have? A great objective would be to drive the PLA off South America, but a better one would be to drive them off a small, attainable portion. T – Time specific. Degrade that armored battalion by 50% vs. Degrade that armored battalion by 50% over the next two sorties/over the next 12 hours/before they reach the bridge/etc. These simply need to be in textual form and should be professional rather than conversational (though I can tweak for that). Some real world examples: quote:Operations Section ensures a comprehensive medical assessment is completed on each subject to the NASAR Search and Rescue Technician Level 2 or higher, including referral to higher care within 5 minutes of discovery. quote:Operations Section assigns appropriate resources to the identified search areas, and those searches are briefed, conducted, and debriefed in accordance with NASAR standards before ENDEX.
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Oct 26, 2023 20:43
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 22:11 |
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Goons, behold the full power of my operational planning abilities (on a volunteer basis, for fun, when I'm not working) Incident Action Plan 3 (though it's the first one, it would be 3 given the operational period). I'd love to hash out objectives, a safety brief, and maybe not have flight briefs come in so late for the next one.
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Oct 27, 2023 21:15
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