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Vipes will reign supreme from any of the couple of air bases from which they can actually operate. 
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Sep 27, 2023 15:19
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BurntCornMuffin posted:Su-25T I agree with your recommendation of the SU-25 parts based on their abysmal readiness rates in Peru around 2010 and the likelihood they catch flak or a MANPADS in utilization (or run out of gas while RTB). otoh, these are legacy SU-25UBs exported by Belarus (represented by the free module) rather than the vaporware SU-25T, so I wouldn’t expect them to be rocking all the PGMs we usually see the fantasy SU-25T missions pulling. Probably still a lot of dumb bomb and rocket slinging. Unless in anime storyline mode, Peru somehow gets access to Russia’s cancelled stores of ~8 SU-25Ts in the world and the weapons to go with them.
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Sep 27, 2023 16:13
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Vahakyla posted:Game master: Good thinking quote:also it is the same hull and humpback as the Su-25UBs in Peru). Peru has humpback UBs as well as the beautiful standard SU-25 single seaters. quote:Some weapons limitations will apply to get it closer to Peruvian capability. Good call, otherwise this campaign would just be AMRAAMs (F-16s), western PGMs (F-16s), and Vikhr vaporware 25Ts all day every day.
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Sep 27, 2023 23:47
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The F-5E Once upon a time, the US decided that it should build a fighter that is good and maneuverable and lightweight and low cost and which can operate from a variety of airstrips and doesn't chug fuel and parts for breakfast. It had to be capable of gunfighting, carrying some air to air missiles, and also have some rudimentary ground attack capability in the form of unguided bombs, rockets, and guns. They didn't want some overweight maintenance queen whose primary job was to funnel sustainment money into the pockets of MIC CEOs and which relied on whizz-bang weapons instead of pilots. Instead, it needed to be affordable for smaller nations and run on a mix of grit and cheap weapons. The initial version of this was the F-5A Freedom Fighter, which entered service in the 1960s and was tested extensively by the USAF and entered operations in the early 1960s. 10 years later, this concept was refined and upgraded with a radar, better missiles, more powerful engines, better aerodynamics, and other features to field the F-5E Tiger II. Compared to contemporaries like the MiG-21, the F-5E didn't have as high a power to weight ratio, but had superior handling, superior visibility, a more intuitive workflow, and was easy to learn and fly. F-5s of various types served with dozens of countries, with thousands of F-5s made across all types, and over 1,300 F-5Es built. Several nations still fly them as combat forces today, and the USN, USMC and US contractors fly them as adversary aircraft for training. IRL, Brazil has some of the most advanced F-5s in the world, with years of dedicated upgrades. In DCS, we are limited to essentially a 1970s basic export model F-5E, so we lack some of those cool features or features other nations added in later years. For the purpose of DCS and this campaign, a quick breakdown: It is lightweight at just over 50% the weight of an F-16 and has features like a parachute and an extendable front nose strut to help generate lift on takeoff roll, and it can land on and get out of tiny little airfields that are impossible for a lot of other aircraft.  F-5E Weapons: 2x M39 revolver cannons. REVOLVER CANNONS. Sounds cool, doesn't it? It is. And they have little popups like an early Miata when you fire them.  Air to Air: Radar: it's not great, but it will help you conduct intercepts, and once you lock a target, it displays a boresight of the radar vs your missile aim point. Put the target in the center of the radar scope, and fair chance you also get tone with your AIM-9 missiles and indicates when the target is in range. RWR: For its time, it has a good radar warning receiver that helps both with awareness of threats and location/aspect of friendly aircraft. It is better than the MiG-21's RWR in every way. Modes: If you flip one thumb switch, you are in dogfight mode. A great way to immediately cut the circuit to ground attack ordnance, change radar function, and let you get an AIM-9 off the rail in a pinch. Missiles: Various AIM-9s ranging from so old and busted you shouldn't use them (B model) up to the AIM-9P5, which is a limited all-aspect AIM-9. You can shoot a MiG-21 in the face with the AIM-9P5, which they say is very unfair! The biggest difference between using heaters in an F-5 compared to using them in some modern lazy jet is that to use AIM-9s from a Tiger (or A-4), you need to do some pilot stuff to put the boresight on your target. You can't just snap a radar on and expect some computer nerd program to aim the missile seeker for you while you fly level and don't even have eyes on the target. Air to Ground: I hope you prefer your weaponry unguided! Rockets: Hydras and FFARs. Low Drag Bombs: Various bombs from 500 pounders up to a 2,000 pounder. All iron, all unguided, all dependent on either Kentucky windage (bad habit but fun) or following flight parameters to release with consistency. No bombing computer. High Drag Bombs: The F-5E can carry snakeye high drag bombs, which look cool and their release profile is basically "Fly low, Fly fast, Pound grass" Cluster Bombs: It has some. Illumination flares: Neat, but honestly the A-4s are usually doing this. Edit It can carry up to 4x laser-guided bombs, but it requires an external laser source and there is no real guidance to the pilot on when they are in release area, so you still typically divebomb them in a bit to be safe. Way, way better than nothing, but it is not something F-5s can be tasked to do without external support. Just get good at dropping bombs and you too can become a dive-bomb jerk who puts a couple big holes on enemy infrastructure.   You can also land the F-5E on aircraft carriers because DCS has realism limitations and sometimes you can take off from them if you are extremely particular on loadout and type of carrier Want to read more words? Here's a cool account from a Soviet test pilot who got to fly a captured F-5E against the MiG-21 and MiG-23: https://theaviationgeekclub.com/sov...ery-engagement/ mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Oct 7, 2023 |
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Sep 28, 2023 02:28
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That Works posted:Gonna be so much Shakira and Ricky Martin I looked at the top hits of Argentina in 2009 and it sure is a lot of U2, Lady Gaga, The Killers, etc, plus a few latin artists.
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Sep 30, 2023 02:47
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Bravo is high risk, but very high reward. Alpha is lower risk and likely an easier way to attrit enemy force through interdiction, but much less reward. Given: Intel posted:We just were briefed that two PLAGF brigades have captured the recently abandoned Punta Arenas airbase. If this intel is accurate, that means the People's Liberation Army (PLA) already controls land several miles north of Punta Arenas the city. So the city has either fallen or is effectively cut off with friendly army troops north of the city. Given the PLA is only attacking at 2:1 ratio (3:1 is the doctrinally sound ratio on even-odds terrain), its supply lines require strait-hopping, and the friendly mech forces can withdraw into terrain. Alpha ground forces can likely fend for themselves more effectively than the mech unit at Franco Bianco, given that the forces at Alpha already lost their key terrain of the urban terrain and airbase. Rabbit Bravo looks pretty risky to aircraft (minimal line of sight cover, exposed to potential naval SAMs off the east coast), but if an enemy delay lets us get the mech forces out in a supported withdrawal, that could preserve a lot of forces. Despite Franco Bianco having an airfield, it's not urban terrain, so the defenders are along a line of hills backed by a bunch of fairly open lowland terrain against water. The local "town" has a population of like 600 people who work in petro-industry. The defenders can occupy hill lines south of the airport, but when the decision is made to withdraw, they're driving on low land (with some dunes and very small hills as cover), overseen by hills to the south and east, giving the attacker good line of sight for indirect fire (IDF) on the airbase and the egress highway. It would require the PLA to either advance or just use rocket artillery to target the chokepoint of ferry loading and unloading points. It's real bad for the defenders at Franco Bianco if they do not hold out or do not have assistance with keeping PLA artillery at bay while they flee the area! The saving grace is that, again, the intel indicates the PLA is attacking with mech forces through a series of hills while only at a 2:1 ratio, which is doctrinally unsound. If the call is for Rabbit, Rabbit Bravo stands to gain us more than Rabbit Alpha. It assumes a lot of risk to air forces in order to try to preserve critical ground force capability. The sole reasons the air forces exist is to support ground operations. BONUS RECOMMENDATION (which no one asked for). Brazil is in the fight and Brazil famously (for people concerned about the financial threat of South American arms development) began indigenous designs of cruise missiles and rocket artillery launchers back in the 90s and early 2000s. Depending on Naval ships alone to secure the Strait of Magellan is folly, and China has some ships that could be a real serious SAM threat for our air forces. Someone should get coastal defense cruise missiles (CDCM) and long-range rockets deployed down to the Strait of Magellan where they can hold the ships large enough to carry serious SAMs at serious risk of cruise missile attack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astros_II [in DCS, pretty sure this means the Silkworm, as it's pretty limited in what anti-ship missile launchers it simulates. Don't think there's a ground-launched Harpoon asset, though you could use a stationary boat with some kind of anti-ship missile as a stand-in, if you didn't let it move] The only saving grace for anyone trying to withdraw from Franco Bianco is that a lot of that lowland is rolling small hills and dunes that give a modicum of defense against massed artillery and direct fire lines of sight.  Out of Character: Attacking island-hopping ships and stuff along the fjords probably cooler than attacking stuff on a highway.
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Oct 1, 2023 17:29
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Vahakyla posted:I like this plan because it implies you're intending desperate heroics later, heh. The desperate heroics come when the South American countries and the PRC come to an agreement, and then the West becomes overly emotional about it.
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Oct 2, 2023 04:37
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While out on a training and familiarization flight, popped a master caution that necessitated either landing the aircraft rapidly or ejecting. Given that I was still 50nm from the nearest airfield and going to lose the aircraft before I could fly that far, I made do with the nearest thing resembling an airfield while my wingman made not of my position, called it in, and went home. The good news is that there are a lot of very straight and surprisingly well kept roads out here.    With emergency poweroff complete and the radios now dead, at least I happened to land with the sun at my back so I can sit in the shade, just chilling at magnetic bearing 84 degrees for ~48 nautical miles from Natales when I lost LOS to the TACAN...  I look forward to my dignified exit.  But at least on a plus side, these roads are rather forgiving for emergency flight ops and might be useful for road base ops in a pinch.
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Oct 2, 2023 04:57
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Aboard the British submarine, this extended global conflict and the hardships have taken a terrific toll on the enlisted sailors. But they still make their tea. Meanwhile, the officers prepare for a sporting adventure! 
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Oct 3, 2023 01:49
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Yooper posted:Navy stuff Look, there's a reason no one was inspired by the "wait for the Navy to save us" option...
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Oct 4, 2023 02:59
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The video below gives a good idea of how the Strait of Magellan is large and has room for large ships, but it would still be a pretty fraught transit if you coudln't be sure there weren't missile or even direct fire or coastal artillery positions along the route. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVdUn4-s87g
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Oct 4, 2023 15:34
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Tell the guard to get bent, Chile has an entire battalion’s worth of Avengers already or at least on order, and California guard has none. This is a scam or info op or phishing scam. https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/chile-avenger-fire-unitsstinger-missiles
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Oct 5, 2023 00:18
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Elendil004 posted:Can we throw this back in their faces when we sink a Los Angeles boat? Hot take: we could misidentify a Los Angeles boat, then very carefully try to go kill it, and then fail anyway. So they're probably just going to say "Hey SSN crews, watch out, those CSAD guys can't be trusted to ID things"
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Oct 6, 2023 19:39
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If I were China, I would probably just missile strike our parking areas since we aren't dispersed even a little bit.
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Oct 7, 2023 02:00
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As much as this isn't my personal favorite mission profile, if there are literal miles-long convoy traffic jams covered in PLA combat sustainment support vehicles, the F-5E (Uzi flight) is perfectly capable of employing dumb rockets, bombs, or both on such an obvious and lined up target. This is still high risk to MANPADs compared to SU-25s doing maximum standoff S-13 runs, and pretty moderate to high risk to AAA or even self-defense AA .50/20mm as well. But if risking 2-4 F-5s dropping sticks of snakeyes on a highway are the difference between hundreds or a thousand plus troops escaping/holding or being destroyed/surrendering, the choice may be clear. Snakeye Tutorial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emxHLfuDnPI
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Oct 7, 2023 15:33
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Gridlocked posted:So right now we THINK its at the airfield thats been captured. What's the likelyhood its been moved on? Like are the PLA going to move up something closer to the front to catch out CAS out? I mean, if I were the PLAAF, I would move my air defenses to cover the giant logistical supply train, because it is simply more important than a threatened air base on the front lines, but I would keep it out of range of tube artillery from the mech brigade. And I'd move it 500-5000 meters or so every 8 hours. But maybe they're not that smart (god I hope they aren't or it could get rough for the first wave of ablative aerial armor).
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Oct 7, 2023 16:08
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It's still a maneuver kill if you get the AI to afterburn a lot, then disengage from the fight, and they eject and fall into the South Atlantic before they can get back to Malvinas. Gets more complicated if they divert south.
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Oct 8, 2023 22:35
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Negostrike posted:
 paid for that food and is a stronger nation of over 50 million people. Finland is a country that chose decades of neutrality and lack of preparedness and is only a nation of 5 million. Supreme Commander supremely backing out of paid-for obligations to a member of NATO seems like a poor long-term strategy for a CSAD coalition seeking western aid and facing naval catastrophe...
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Oct 9, 2023 19:16
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Vahakyla posted:FLIGHT PLAN: Flight lead, I ran some calculations, and I worry that your recommended loadout leaves us dangerously close to MTOW and with so much fuel that we would have to try to burn fuel extra fast just to not be severely G-limited when we reach the objective. If we take 5x mk-82s and no fuel tanks at all, and we fly at an inefficient 5,000-7,000 feet the whole way, we can travel about 420 nautical miles. With the ferry tanks you have suggested and 7x mk-82s, we can travel at about 540 nautical miles on a similar profile, but notice how marginal the gains are with all that fuel and only 2x additional bombs. This is because with all those pylons loaded to the max, and 4,008 additional pounds of fuel and fuel tank fittings, we become, to use an aeronautical term, "heavy and draggy as gently caress." The marginal returns of burning fuel to carry fuel really start to kick in, as the fuel tanks make up 49% of the mass of our external loads, plus drag. Also, we would have to ditch these fuel tanks, and we all know how we hate to litter and throw out good fuel tanks. I am begging you not to make our wee Tigers so unfathomably fat and unwieldly, flying with extra fuel only so that we must use burner just to hold altitude and minimum speed, burn the fuel off as fast as possible, and ditch it. We could instead fly sleeker and sill carry thousands of pounds of bombs. if you absolutely want a bunch of extra fuel, for the love of god, 150 gallon tanks exist instead of the absurdly huge, heavy, draggy 275 gallon ferry tanks
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Oct 11, 2023 02:54
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Vahakyla posted:We should have bombed from a higher altitude and pre-flared more, turning away sooner. Higher altitude sure, but flaring pre, during, and even post engagement did not deter Iglas. They are mean to planes releasing bombs from 5,000 feet, but pulling out of the dive at ~3,500 feet.
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Oct 18, 2023 03:32
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I think the time we bought for the friendly forces (11th Mech Inf BDE) around Franco Bianco are wasted if we don't use that time to tactically withdraw them from the area. By bombing the bridges and degrading supply convoys, it will take a few days for PRC forces to reconsolidate and get engineering solutions in place, but once they do that, the situation will be that (if we're lucky and they don't strike them) we still rely on ferries between Punta Delgado and Tierra del Fuego. Meanwhile, the PLA will lay bridges, will reset their combat units, and will continue to kettle friendly forces on the far side of the Strait of Magellan. If we use our small victory to withdraw those forces, they might be preserved while also allowing us to use the significant natural barrier of the Strait of Magellan to prevent a PLA crossing. We have a window to largely preserve those forces and better use them to defend the mainland rather than sacrificing them on an island and then having to pull from reserves or elsewhere on the front line to prevent a water crossing. OOC: I recognize my concerns cannot be actioned for the upcoming mission based on turns taken and building the scenario mission, but something to keep in mind for the future. Right now our strategy seems to be "Why don't we just defend and win everywhereand also go on the offensive to boot." I do not think CSAD is in such a state as to pull that off successfully. Trading space for time and for destruction / overextending of enemy forces seems like a better plan.
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Oct 20, 2023 15:04
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Hippocrass posted:So, how much longer until we can get fresh brigades down to TdF and reinforce? Completely abandoning our beach head will absolutely be politically unacceptable, but may be inevitable in a few days if we can't stuff more bodies in the combat zone. This current set of missions seem at least geared toward getting naval assets safely to the region to support the operations, but we can't hold off the whole PLA with two brigades forever. I'm just a Brazilian fighter pilot who can do some napkin math, attended some maneuver courses, and has flown over that patch of water (and got an uncomfortably close look at the water when jogging to a rescue point after I got shot down). It's Chile's problem to figure out that political fallout of losing the last small piece of Tierra del Fuego they still hold, but it seems like a much easier one than politically messaging why they would just sacrifice their troops, fighting against a numerically superior force, while having to sustain those troops across a very fragile sea and air bridge. The total population of Cerro Sombrero was less than a thousand petro field workers, and they've left by now. If China takes the hills or even establishes footholds within the hills, they can just destroy reinforcements from Chile or Argentina in detail, even if they don't cut off the supply lines entirely. This is the single operational "seaport" for supplying the troops on TdF.  Meanwhile, China has captured Cabo Negro and the associated peninsula only 50-55 kilometers away, which gives them a clean line of sight at the ferry routes and can threaten the Strait of Magellan anyway. What is key terrain about holding TdF? 
mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Oct 20, 2023 |
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Oct 20, 2023 21:23
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Elendil004 posted:I believe I made my point VERY clear. Uncanny. 
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Oct 20, 2023 23:09
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“In addition, PLAN had sent a submarine to interdict the precious shipping channel. The boat also was intending to lay a SF team to the island of Isla Carlos III, spending some few moments surfaced. During this moment, Tenente Jerik from the Argentine Navy attacked the sub with rockets with his A-4.” More proof that using your submarines as a special forces taxi is stupid.
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Oct 22, 2023 03:01
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Trip Report: Sergeant Gonzalez, Marksman of Mountain Troop, Lautaro Special Ops Brigade. I was tasked at the last minute to join an operation to capture and turn on a radar station. We were supposed to parachute jump onto a mountainous glacier, but thank god the airplane was broken. Instead, we hitched a ride in a helicopter and simply stepped off the aircraft. Just prior to the mission, we were issued some new gear, rumored to be delivered by some European or North American assistance or something, which sounded great at first. However, this was not a rifle or sight I was familiar with, and 1 minute skimming through the manual in the dark only told me that I am supposed to store it in dry conditions and only use brand-name cleaning cloths to wipe down the optic, which can be ordered for $9.95 USD per cloth. Between that and the cold and climbing several hills and minor mountains, my marksmanship was piss-poor. Most of my job was staring through the scope and telling people what I saw. I shot and killed a couple of officers and a couple engineering troops. We had a few close calls with unobserved PRC marines walking up on us or otherwise engaging us. Thankfully, it seems most of them didn't have batteries for their NVGs or weren't afforded time to get issued glasses before their deployment, because they made me look like an expert shot by comparison. And I am glad their reinforcements drove their trucks directly up to our killzones before dismounting. If they had dismounted and walked up on us in tactical formation, probably a much worse day. But... I'm sure the enemy will wisen up with experience. In any case, I flipped on the radar once we had power, and then I saw the second worst thing of the whole mission. I felt a sharp sting, and then looked down and boy was I losing a lot of blood. My squad leader (Vahakyla) patched me up enough to get me barely ambulatory. Then we went to clear out the final base, where I saw the most horrifying thing of the whole mission:  making GBS threads in a freezing poratpotty is already terrible. What kind of monster makes you do that on a 20-degree sideways angle, uphill of the entrance to a lookout tower. The enemy we face is a truly nefarious and brutal group of assholes. I lost my faith in humanity a bit when I saw this. I also grabbed a map and GPS off a PRC Marine officer, though I wouldn't be surprised if these characters I can't read just list guard shifts and food/fuel stores. I was more fortunate than some, in that I survived. However, given the seriousness of my injury, the doctor says I'm probably out of this war for good unless it goes on for another year or so. Which knowing my luck, it will  Kills: 1 Officer, 1 Scout Leader, 2 combat engineers. Losses: I got shot real bad, but I lived. E: I also had a nightmare before the mission that we all got together to learn what we were going to do, but instead people just kept killing each other and laughing, laughing at the death and destruction of throwing grenades at their superior officers. mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Oct 22, 2023 |
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Oct 22, 2023 20:11
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Lord Stimperor posted:There are some developments. This offer of peace is bullshit. Why? Because if we accept it, some fail-sons from the School of the Americas will declare themselves Presidents in exile, we will face CIA rightwing death squads, and sanctions. Western leaders, chiefly the UK and Us, will renegotiate their belief in the sovereignty of our nations and may outright attack our forces. As appealing as sueing for peace may be, we might be better off fighting off the PRC than dealing with the West becoming overly emotional if we make any sovereign decisions without them. (And if we fight and fail, the West might not emotionally react and punish us as hard as if we choose peace while casualties and civilian hardship are still low). We are between a rock and a hard place in CSAD. but if this changes, will gladly start flying missions alongside the PRC against a western battle fleet
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Oct 23, 2023 15:56
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  17 1930Z FEB 2010 Colonel Forsythe, US Army, Deputy J3 (J3D) (Operations), United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Doral, Florida. Colonel Forsythe did one tour as an enlisted Marine, serving in San Diego and a MEU tour in the Pacific. He then attended Texas A&M University and commissioned as an Army Aviation Officer. He flew Kiowas before transitioning to Blackhawks, where he flew extensively in the Philippines, Iraq, and then South America, mostly ferrying around a mix of diplomats, training advisors, special forces, and 3-letter agency men and women with questionable morals. He commanded an Aviation Battalion, but was passed over for tactical brigade command on his first look. However, he was still able to get an assignment prestigious by duty title, if not the most impressive set of operations, as the Future Operations Planner for USSOUTHCOM's J3. In a manning crunch, he was selected to serve as the J3D, where he has been eagerly pursuing expanding the relevance and prestige of USSOUTHCOM beyond drug interdiction, cartel wrangling, and friendly games of soccer and days at the range with the South American armed forces. He sought to turn this into a true warfighting command. He was also a psychopath. After days of frustration, Colonel Forsythe finally had approval from the foreign disclosure office to give some critical information to the "CSAD" forces who had decided to come together in earnest for the first time. In the past the CSAD had met one time per year, and now they were scrambling to put on multinational operations on the fly. He kept having to remind himself of four main things: 1. At least they weren't cutting and running. 2. It's not like USSOUTHCOM had more than a handful of helicopters, some SOF guys (who he always worried were getting too friendly with the locals rather than focusing on building warfighting capability), and they couldn't even get one of those new little crappy ships assigned to the AOR. 3. They were killing PLA Soldiers, and he liked the idea of killing PLA Soldiers. 4. If he didn't help them win, they might do something despicable. Like try some kind of "peace" deal with the PRC. And that thought disgusted him. Intel and Unasked for US Advice Drop Colonel Forsythe managed to get through on a secure line to his counterparts in Argentina and Brazil, by way of a liaison officer in-country. He passed them information good enough for a 1x2 km ellipsoidal fix on a probable Brigade Support Area or other traffic control and logistical hub just southwest of the intersection in Chilean Routes Y-71 and Y-85. There was also a likely BSA southwest of the intersection of Highway 257 and Y-79, but signals intelligence indicated presence of more than one SA-11 TELAR, the active Big Bird coverage at Rio Grande, and reports of other unspecified air defenses in the area. He did not recognize attempting any aerial strike on the the latter target. PLA forces continue to unload combat power at Rio Grande; it is not yet clear whether or not this amounted to a full brigade, or just additional regiments or supporting units. What was clear was that the divisional artillery, including rocket artillery and some conventional ballistic missiles, likely short-range or close-range, had been offloaded and were likely undergoing reception and staging, before onward movement and integration. The forces on TdF and their lines of communication would be vulnerable to these strikes once the PLA developed proper targets for its divisional rocket artillery and tactical ballistic missile forces. In the middle of his screed, a mix of praise for their bravery, but emphatic warnings, a Navy Lieutenant assigned as his exec rapped his knuckles on the frame of his door. "Sir, do you want me to wake all the officers?!" Colonel Forsythe stared. "What?" The Lieutenant disappeared from his doorway. Finally, Colonel Forsythe gave the good and bad news of support to his South American compatriots. He had all of a couple C-130s, some helicopters, zero ships, some coast guard cutters, etc. Most all of that was still operating in the Caribbean and unavailable. However, his available liaisons, rangers, and special forces teams were working with the mobilizing forces for weapons training, engineering training, and generally trying to assist where they could. Additionally, he would insert one long range reconnaissance team via HAHO to operate in TdF's rear areas with strict orders not to engage the PRC forces, but to establish and maintain contact with high value targets. "Keep up the defense, you just gotta buy some time for yourselves. They'll outrun their supplies trying to chase you in a land war, even if they outmatch you at sea." He laughed at the end of the call. "It's a good thing you guys have fighting spirit in you. Otherwise, who knows what might happen." mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Oct 24, 2023 |
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Oct 24, 2023 04:24
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 Seeking one more for an F-5 mission. Two of the F-5 squadron said they're too shaken up after seeing past missions, and they put in transfers to other squadrons. The Flight Leader even left his office locked on the way out, but now that we've knocked the doorknob off his office, the Tigers of Uzi flight are back in business. We've heard there are a bunch of airborne troopers complaining about stuff like "unsafe wind speeds" and "rain" and "wtf are we going to do against a mechanized battalion (reinforced)?" And it sounds to me like those guys might like to know that at least for a moment, they have the full power of the CSAD Air-Ground Taskforce backing them up as they look down the barrel of that rifle or as they slip away from autocannon fire. Final planning to be completed, but I'd recommend a pilot with the ability to take off, tune some TACAN, read a mils depression chart, and they should have up to date Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training and certification. Ability to land a plus. Ability to eject a must. I've never heard of a downed pilot, but I've heard of an extra paratrooper. Now, if you'll pardon me, I am going to go ask the weaponeers if they're sure that the dud rate of our cluster bombs in muddy conditions approaches 25-35%...
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Oct 25, 2023 01:25
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Gridlocked posted:Colonel Forsythe as USSOUTHCOM Liason I present the above letter to you in the hopes that the Comandante may achieve this ambitious plan. Please consider it as these sorts of modifications could make all the difference in the fight. COL Forsythe, USSOUTHCOM J3D He read over the letter and was surprised that the request was so small, but also knew it was exactly the kind of request likely to be bogged down in red tape and parts availability for a while. But at least they were engaging in dialogue. He forwarded the letter to a massive distro of beancounters, legal advisors, political advisors, logisticians, foreign military sales representatives, the "building partner capacity" planning team, half a dozen other red tape aficionados, and the "PRC Invasion of South America" Crisis Action Team shift leaders. Twenty-four minutes later, he sent a reply. quote:General, He stood and prepared himself to go check in on the crisis action planners, who were probably in a furious mix of arguing over a map, confidently stating half-remembered poo poo learned six years ago, and building PowerPoint slides to the command format standards. On his way out the door, he snagged two items of critical importance: a green notebook and a whiteboard marker.
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Oct 25, 2023 03:16
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UZI 1 Flight Brief Change of mission from higher HQs, UZI is no longer supporting the light infantry attacking on highway 257. Good luck riflemen, enjoy your C-130 ride! UZI is now tasked to bomb a forward supply point along Highway Y-65, in and among a small hamlet.  Takeoff, fly ~198 magnetic for 69nm from Gallegos to BULLS, checkin with Buzzard on 262. Flight will switch TACAN to 66X (BULLS) enroute in order to assist with navigation and as reference if required by ABM. Will hold north of BULLS, just north of Strait of Magellan until CAP (VENOM 2) in place. Target is roughly 133 for 17 from BULLS. Helpfully, the path from BULLS to the target follows an obvious coastline. Below is an unlimited visibility view from BULLS to target from about 6,500 feet.  . The Acceptable Level of Risk (ALR) for aircraft on this mission is HIGH.  Air to Ground ALR Matrix If time/threat allows, potential to re-arm re-attack, since this is a simple flight in and out. Command called for clusters, but flight is likely going to ignore that based on weather conditions (windy plus muddy earth plus low ceiling are all bad for CBU employment) and threat, which is likely HQ-7s, AAA/HMG fire, and IR SAMs of unknown location and number! Ok, mission brief to myself complete. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-YqvcSGNPs mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Oct 26, 2023 |
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Oct 26, 2023 03:24
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COL Forsythe, USSOUTHCOM J3D (in the interest in time, imagine he's smattered these responses into an Email) Kaal posted:
Our logisticians are pushing the supplies to Buenos Aires and then assisting with truck contracting, but once they hit that release point it will be up to your local authorities to orchestrate their movement according to your plans and needs. quote:In addition, Col. Forsythe requested Named Areas of Interest (NAI) for reconnaissance gathering. For this I would identify the major logistical sites servicing the PLA invasion forces - in particular the PLAN Magellan Strait supply route consisting of Puerto Punta Arenas, Port Harris, Puerto Ushuaia, Puerto Williams, and Port Stanley. Understanding the reinforcement and resupply capacity of the PLA forces will surely prove critical in targeting those assets and winning this war. Our J2 identified their SPODs and APODs as priorities for collection, but understand that we are reliant mostly on photographic ISR, and the weather is not often cooperative. Finally the admiralty can identify three significant operational needs that may be submitted to USSOUTHCOM for review. They are as follows: quote:1. The HMS Invincible is known to have recently run aground near Comodoro Rivadavia, We are in communication with the United Kingdom regarding the ongoing and unfortunate situation with the HMS Invincible. All communications regarding this incident and the investigation into the incident should be referred to the United Kingdom, who can speak on behalf of their forces and recovery efforts. quote:2. An unknown fleet believed to be led by a PLAN Liaoning-class carrier has been rumored to have been sailing towards our area of operations, and was last spotted some 6,000 km / 3,250 nmi away near the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. The carrier remains in the USAFRICOM AOR, and recently departed Saint Helena. It is likely either headed toward the shipping lanes between North Africa/West Med and Natal or may patrol and replenish vicinity of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. File Photo:  quote:3. The Lockheed S-3 Viking utility aircraft has been recently retired by the US Navy in 2009... I can run that up the chain. One of our staff aviators says there are still some flying doing range work or even flying weather and NASA stuff, but none of them are carrier-serviceable anymore, based on airframe stress, so they only do land ops now. In any case, it sounds like you are looking for a capability to aerial refuel and to increase your maritime patrol, right? I can be more helpful if you all identify capabilities required rather than naming specific items or systems. That will get more answers instead of the bureaucracy answering literally on whether a specific asset is available or not. Similarly, if you or your components have priority intelligence requirements, like questions we can answer for your command to enable decision points, that would be helpful. I know that all of the above might not sound that helpful, but we are working this through the appropriate channels and echelons. The US is committed to ensuring you all have the tools to be successful in this war of self defense against PRC aggression. Separately, USSOUTHCOM is authorized to facilitate the transfer of 1,500 LAW and AT-4 Rockets, 30 million rounds of small arms ammunition, repair parts for Avenger and Vulcan Fire Units, over 1,000 anti-tank mines, 40,000 rounds of field artillery ammunition, 100 TOW Missiles, and ~100 M47 Dragons. These will be shipped via a mix of US cargo aircraft and surface vessel, frontloading AT weapons and artillery ammunition. These weapons transfers are not to be messaged publicly. If and when they become public due to use on the battlefield, a condition of being issued the weapons is that the US controls all messaging on this military assistance. This batch was rapidly developed based on expected needs and combat so far, but as your forces shape their requirements, the US may be able to better match our ability to assist with your requirements.
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Oct 26, 2023 04:33
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Elendil004 posted:Crazy how one cruise missile do that Natales (and all of our airbases) are packed so tightly that we're chain-exploding secondaries if we get hit once. We should spread out and do some exceptionally dangerous crosswind roadbase ops.
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Oct 29, 2023 00:18
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CSAD Command, I have two major updates for you: 1. Attached you will find satellite photos to confirm the location of the BSA previously suspected based on signals intelligence. It is at roughly 53°21'20.52"S, 69°15'51.11"W. This location has been doing final refit and staging for units unloading at Rio Grande before pushing them to the front line, supporting front line operations with logistical convoys, and accepting units for field repair. Circled below is a probable SA-11. Based on upcoming ISR availability, I do not expect we will get another picture of this site before your next major operation. It is unlikely that the entire site will move in the next 48-72 hours, but individual units and defenses may relocate, especially in light of your recent efforts to strike their SAMs and other critical enablers.   2. We detected the a surface action group departing Port Stanley and headed in the general direction of Puerto San Julian. It is likely that this SAG seeks to conduct anti-shipping operations and cruise missile strikes and then withdraw. USSOUTHCOM already has a small Marine Air Traffic Control team with some maintainers established in Brasilia Air Force Base, which up to this point have been assisting with humanitarian assistance and downloading the military aid already pledged. In order to maintain freedom of manevuer for your merchant marine and deter PLAN ships encroaching farther north, USSOUTHCOM has access to 2x USMC F/A-18C Block 20s in order to conduct an anti-shipping strike. We understand that your naval forces are at numerical and technological disadvantage, so we are doing what we can to ensure that you are still able to ship supplies along your coast with some level of acceptable risk. The SAG consists, at minimum, of 1x Type 52 DDG, 1x Grisha, 1x fueler, and at least one more unidentified ship. The F/A-18s will fly from Brasilia AFB, refuel, and join your AO to strike the DDG. In order to execute this mission, they will require CAP escort to the target area, which is to be determined. I expect the engagement will be at sea and out of visual range of the coast. We will not object if CSAD forces engage the rest of the SAG once the DDG is destroyed. The F/A-18s will be loaded with fuel and Harpoons and little else, so escort is a must. Upon completion of the mission, they will conduct aerial refueling and RTB. I cannot promise that we will often get much access to aircraft, but when able, we are seeking options to support your operations with US fighter, strike, and bomber support.
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Oct 29, 2023 01:41
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mlmp08 posted:
UZI Flight (Singleton) AAR: What was supposed to happen: Bomb (single) and 38x rockets against a target labeled as a Brigade Support Area (BSA). What did happen: Made a weather and air defense call not to try to pop up and dive-bomb with a 2,000 pound bomb. Too much risk of high winds blowing it off target, blowing myself up, or eating a SAM or AAA fire while popping up or diving down. Fired 76x Rockets against the target area, which looks to have been a forward support company or something smaller than a BSA. While I expected soft-skin vehicles for a supply point, most of the vehicles were main battle tanks, so a mix of HE and HEAT Hydras aren't the best weapon for that kind of heavy target, but maybe some sights, dismounted crew, tracks, etc were damaged. Estimate of damage is "moderate." There were some tents and stores, many of which went untouched (DCS-ism - Live units have dots to help you pick them out on a computer monitor, and static tents and the like do not. So by the time I picked those up, I was hard committed to a run against vehicles staged for repair/refueling and a communications tower). However, I damaged several vehicles, one exploded as I egressed, multiple rockets impacted the communications tower, and multiple rockets impacted the buildings behind the vehicles, which are certainly being used by the enemy for logistical stores and bedding down. What went well: 1. Did not die. 2. Comms were clear from Buzzard on when I could ingress, Venom 2 was informative over comms, so that my very low-SA aircraft had a bit more SA before I committed. 3. Map recon and TACAN navigation paid off, as the view out the cockpit was almost exactly as expected when I dropped through the clouds around 8,500 feet and transitioned to approaching along the coastline at 100 feet. 4. Maintained decent safety flare programs for duration of time over enemy forces, kept up a gentle weave, which so far is enough to throw off HQ-7s. What could have gone better: 1. Aim with rockets can always be more precise, and maybe I could have picked out the tents more clearly if I was paying more attention to seeing the whole scene and not distracted by the vehicles and giant comm tower. 2. I approached with intent to egress east, in a left-hand turn to avoid flying behind the enemy combat lines for longer than necessary. Once I lined up, I broke right to avoid the tower, flying me west past more enemy units. None of them hit me, but they engaged with MG fire, and if there had been a properly dangerous air defense unit present, it might have killed me. I stayed clear of the enemy artillery site, which was known to have radar-sighted AAA. 3. It wasn't freezing at sea level, but my pitot started to freeze up as I was orbiting and waiting to attack. Easy fix to turn on the heater, but I could've avoided seeing my airspeed mysteriously appear to drop despite flying level if I just set the plane for the weather conditions ahead of time. Would have been rather confusing if it froze as I was committed to a dive bomb or rocket attack. Overall: Successful mission, probably moderate or light damage, no loss or significant damage to my aircraft (heard one single "thunk" of MG fire, never found a spot of even cosmetic damage on the airplane though) Holding above the weather until CAP/SEAD in place.  After descending through the clouds using BULLS TACAN ref, pretty much on azimuth, just had to slide a little left and then take handrail the coastline on my right to get to target.  Rocket run replay:  This is why pilots say "I killed like everyone" even though a lot of that armor might not be so hurt.  HQ-7 either missed due to gentle jinks or I may have broken line of sight by this point. Missiles appeared dumb as they passed in front of me (but the sonic booms are exciting!) If you fly dead straight, they will kill you, but seem thrown by even gentle maneuvering you'd use to throw off AAA and MG gunners.  Headed home. Pretty dope view of the high ridgeline on the north side of the Strait of Magellan, marking relative safety and friendly dirt. it's a significant bluff, about 1,100 feet ground elevation.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-YqvcSGNPs mlmp08 fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Oct 29, 2023 |
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Oct 29, 2023 02:35
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Vahakyla posted:-------------------------------------------------- Rude erasure of strikes against the logistical unit in AO Arrow. Just cause you quit the flight doesn't mean it didn't happen...
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Oct 29, 2023 03:28
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mlmp08 posted:
Update to Topic 2. We were able to type the DDG emitter as they established an air defense posture post-strike on Gallegos and probable sinking of the Cargo Ship Sierra. SAG composition: 1x Type 52B DDG. 1x Grisha Class Corvette 2x Unknown, likely corvette class. The oiler and 1x Grisha escort appear to have broken east shortly before the strike, though imagery is poor. It looks like these two two ships are making speed out of the area to avoid any potential counter-attacks. We see no indication of a permanent CAP over the SAG, but some of the J-11 CAPs out of the Falklands have trended further north, possibly to be on call in case required to support the SAG.
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Oct 29, 2023 18:11
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Vahakyla posted:General Carlos, Having been delegated the task of figuring out this logistical challenge, Tomas, a career Argentine logistics officer, was on the case. Tomas' background was not in maritime shipments and most of his contracting experience was in line hauling or local contracting, but he was sure this would be a simple enough endeavor. Tomas started calling around to various logisticians, contracting officials, and military surface deployment specialists who he had contacted for past exercises and movements to ship military equipment and government equipment up and down the coastline. He also called the legal advisor. They informed him that he had no real authority to redirect a foreign motor vessel, already slated to go to port in Puerto San Julian. But he had been given a mission. By the most superior officer. The supreme commander had to schedule the delivery of 200 pieces of cargo personally, which the Commandante had delegated to Tomas! Surely Tomas could to figure out how to ship 200 housing units that were presently loaded on a foreign vessel and only 50 miles from Puerto San Julian. He looked up the vessel on google and was impressed to find that it is capable of carrying up to 5,390 TEUs. He hoped the 200 housing units were packed on top. He tried contacting the commercial shipper directly. They asked for verification and credentials to prove that he was authorized to make financial commitments on behalf of the government. He told them that the Supreme Commander required options for changes in delivery, and they advised that for changes to the bill of lading, they would require verification that the Argentine government was willing to incur all costs associated with this change, which could be exceptionally high given the delay to the other several thousand containers of goods. This concerned Tomas. However, they gave him the contact information for the Argentine Ministry of Transport as well as the Vessel Traffic Services of the Prefectura Naval Argentina. He spent a few hours exchanging Emails and phone calls, trying to figure out how to redirect this cargo ship and where best to have it deliver its cargo. For hours he was bounced around, redirected, told this was impossible or unwise or financially uninformed, or informed that it was simply illegal, because the military had not been granted any authority to redirect commercial traffic nor to incur costs associated with redirecting commercial traffic. But finally, someone let him explain the situation, and a shipping scheduler with government credentials, and the authority to redirect ships! He was elated, and she sounded equally so! Martina let him know that she could order the ship redirected and would be happy to do so right away. Tomas was relieved, happy to hear an expert on the other end of the phone, finally resolving the problem. She was thanking him repeatedly for bringing this to her attention. The surprise and relief in her voice started to worry Tomas. "I am so happy you are helping, but why do you sound so relieved yourself? Do you have family in Natales?" "Oh, no," she said. "I live in Buenos Aires with my family. I am pleased because it was only due to what is a very stupid mistake that this ship was ever scheduled to sail for Puerto San Julian in the first place! It cannot possibly unload there; it could never fit. And I am doubly pleased, because the shipper's acceptance of this port as a destination allows us to divert the ship to a proper port at the carrier's expense. Thank you, Tomas! Had this ship continued, not only might it have been sunk by the Chinese fleet, but it would have arrived at some tiny little port where it could never have begun to unload!" Tomas started to sweat. This was either very good or very bad for him. "Tomas, your ship problem is solved. I have redirected this impressive ship to a port that can handle her. She will sail north to Buenos Aires and unload there. We have these really cool cranes that unload them. Sometimes I watch them unload with my daughter; I like to point out the ones that I scheduled! Anyway, please let your Commandante know that we have taken care of his problem. Let me pass you a phone number to call to schedule the line haul of your cargo units once the downloading begins." She clicked her tongue. "They have about 1,050 nautical miles to go once they turn around, and then with it being an unscheduled delivery, could be a wait in the harbor, too. This is what happens when people copy and paste delivery forms, Tomas. Thank you again for calling, and good luck!" Tomas knew that it was good that a giant ship was not about to sail into some tiny harbor or be attacked by the Chinese fleet, but he was still terrified that this would somehow become his fault. After a moment of thought, he called a number on his list of useful inter-agency phone numbers. He called Ejercito, who he had worked with during a natural disaster training exercise, as well as couple times booking trucks during flooding and wildfire events. Tomas rambled, explaining the ship, the Chinese fleet, housing units from the Netherlands, too many details for Ejercito to keep track of. "You just need some tents for a few weeks? Yeah we have tents, just get me a couple trucks and drivers with authority to approach the military exclusion zone around Natales," said Ejercito. "Box houses. From the Netherlands. What the gently caress. Man, just ask for some tents next time! Some of them even have little portable transformers and generators, but you gotta sign for those separate. We could have handled this internally if anyone from the military ever thought to just, I don't know, call us civilian disaster relief experts and explain what you need. Also, you didn't ask, but make sure you contract some portable shitters at no more than a 10:1 ratio, handwashing, etc. There are two different authorized dealers in that area. Don't worry about buses to move them out of Natales, civilian agencies do that stuff for a living. Now go do some army stuff and win the war while the experts manage civilian health and housing." Tomas was spent. He began writing a note to his boss and and filling out the line haul contract paperwork to ship tents to Natales. Puerto San Julian:   Puerto Rio Gallegos:  
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Oct 31, 2023 03:12
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Mederlock posted:
C-5s and C-17s are USTRANSCOM assets. And they are so very busy fighting WW3.
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Nov 2, 2023 00:39
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Jarmak posted:To: USSOUTHCOM Check. I've heard from one of the Naval Aviators on staff that the Corps' F-18s are "older than dirt" and that Marines rarely train for Harpoon employment, so we've authorized the rest of your division to fly, making the total Hornet flight a 4-ship. Once you land at Brazil, it will be a turn and burn to pack up and return to the states. Get those other two Hornets combat ready or else I have to release them to do some partnership photo op bullshit. [Any slots still unfilled on fly day will just be counted as "broke Marine Hornet" syndrome.]
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Nov 2, 2023 05:46
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 13:38 |
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Vahakyla posted:PLAN SAG: Type 52B. Unless you guys flew into the future.
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Nov 5, 2023 00:53
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