Herman Hum
30 Dec 05, 19:27
Here's another great AAR by Brad Leyte (a.k.a. CV32). It is re-printed here with permission from the author.
AAR: Black Valour – [Spoiler Alert]
By Mark Gellis
A few years in the future... Tensions between Turkey and its neighbors in the Black Sea region have increased during recent years. The causes have ranged from trade issues to environmental concerns. Romania has been among the most vocal in its protests against Turkey, going so far as to threaten the use of force if Turkey continues to interfere with its international agenda. The situation has been made more serious because Ukraine has declared itself a guardian of the slavic Black Sea nations and has made it clear that Turkish aggression against any of these nations, even those it has squabbled with in the past, will not be tolerated. A few months ago, Romania purchased long-range ballistic missiles from China. http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4052/blackvalour3rw.th.gif (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blackvalour3rw.gif)
Romania was unhappy with Turkey, and its big brother, Ukraine, had promised to show up on the playground if there was any trouble. This time, the playground was the Black Sea.
Realizing that a large portion of my front line TuAF fighters (F-16 and F-4) were sitting on the tarmac with no weapons loaded, I immediately set about arming them for air-to-air and suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) missions respectively.
The ex Perry class frigate Gediz and a pair of FPB57 fast attack craft were patrolling in the western Black Sea, but I did not want to reveal their positions just yet by energizing their radars. Rather, I launched two reconnaissance aircraft, an RF-4 and a CN-235MPA, to investigate the general area, and a pair of F-4 Phantoms to provide CAP for them.
It wasn’t long before lookouts aboard the Gediz reported a pair of MiG-21 approaching at low altitude. Once it was certain they had spotted the ship, and yet continued to close the distance, Gediz activated her radars and defensive systems, and splashed both Fishbeds at very short range.
A Naluca torpedo boat was spotted to the north, and a pair of Harpoons from Gediz quickly dispatched it. Almost immediately, a trio of Osa I missile boats were detected closing from the northwest, but Gediz withheld further ASuW action for the moment.
Another pair of MiG-21s strayed within Gediz’s lethal anti-air warfare (AAW) envelope, and these too were claimed by Standard missiles. The orbiting Phantoms joined the rapidly crowding airspace, claiming a pair of L-39 Albatros light attack aircraft and a pair of Beagle bombers.
Two pairs of Su-27 Flankers arrived on the scene, obviously Ukrainian and obviously hostile. My reconnaissance patrols chose to bug out in the face of this new threat, but the CN-235MPA was too slow and ate an Alamo just a few scant miles from its home airfield.
At last, the vaunted F-16s were ready for action, and two were launched immediately to deal with the Flankers. Using the RF-4 as “bait”, they quickly claimed both pairs of Flankers.
Meanwhile, the two F-4s claimed four more Albatros and a pair of Beagles. Again these aircraft types were detected flying together in loose formation, and I wondered why the Romanians would choose to pair them. The passengers aboard a nearby civil registered Boeing 737 – its pilots apparently oblivious to the sudden outbreak of hostilities between Turkey and Romania - were close enough to see the fireballs created by the exploding missiles and aircraft. I could only imagine how many faces and digital cameras were pressed against the fuselage windows. The burning wreckage of these Romanian aircraft fell into the sea very close to the Osa I missile craft.
To the east, the Turkish F-16s, low on fuel and missiles but full of adrenaline, buzzed the luxury yacht Cassiopeia while returning to base. They were scolded by their superior, but not reprimanded – he was much too proud of their performance for that.
It wasn’t long before another furball erupted over the Turkish and Romanian ships at sea, both sides closing rapidly with the other. An antiship strike had been launched against the Osa group, and the escorting F-16s dropped a MiG-21 and an Albatros with AIM-9s, and two Ukrainian Flankers with AIM-120s. Gediz splashed another MiG-21 and Albatros with Standards.
Another Naluca torpedo boat that was closing the distance with Gediz was obliterated with a Harpoon.
To the south, not far from Istanbul, the RF-4 practically ran head long into two pairs of MiG-21 that were approaching at low altitude and radar silenct; the RF-4 escaped their lethal zone on afterburner, but they were slow to respond and then turned for home, having lost their opportunity to bag the recon plane.
Just now, the three Osa missile craft came within range of the Gediz, and let loose with their Styx antiship missiles. Three salvoes were launched within minutes of each other, but one by one they were splashed by the orbiting F-16s, F-4s and Standards launched from Gediz. The last missile was brought down a few hundred meters short of the Gediz.
Meanwhile, the strike that had been launched at Kogalniceanu air defences was nearing the coast. The lights of Constanta were now visible in the distance, but so were the blips on the escorting F-16 radar scopes as numerous Romanian fighters launched to intercept the incoming intruders. Three MiG-21s and an Albatros were claimed before the Phantoms were able to penetrate to launch range. Four SA-6 Gainful SAM batteries, but the two closest ones were now targeted for attack. Eight AGM-78 Standard ARM were launched, four at each. At least five of these struck their targets, or exploded close enough to inflict damage on the SA-6 radar systems. The SAM sites were hurt, but not out of the battle.
On the egress from Kogalniceanu, two more ship contacts were detected and identified: a Tetal II and the Marasesti, about 75 nm northeast of the coast and (strangely) heading north. The transit home was not uneventful, however, and two F-4 strikers were jumped by a lone MiG-21, that was then itself taken out by a barrage of AIM-7F Sparrows.
The antiship strike, meanwhile, timed to coincide with the egress of the SEAD mission, arrived at its objective without incident. Two of the three Osa were blown up by Mavericks, and six more MiG-21s were downed as they struggled to defend the airspace above their ships. The surviving Osa was dispatched with a Harpoon from the Gediz, though it did manage to fire off a couple of Grail SAMs in futile self defence.
Perhaps responding to the strike against their sailor comrades, the Tetal II and Marasesti were noted as now changing course and moving south to close the distance with Gediz.
Four more MiG-21s would be downed by F-16s and the Gediz before the Turks turned their attention to the new naval oncomers. Yet, the strike conducted against them yielded disappointing results; only two hits were achieved with six Mavericks against the Marasesti for 25% damage. A follow-on attack put four more Mavericks into the Marasesti and shot down her Alouette helo. Gediz launched its own helo to finish off the Marasesti group, but as it was closing to firing range, the Marasesti blew up. One helicopter then turned to the secondary target, the Tetal II, and inflicted 25% damage with one successful missile hit.
With the Gediz now out of Standards, the pair of FPB57 missile craft arrived on the scene to support her. The crippled Tetal II was sunk with a couple of Harpoons launched from near maximum range by the Turkish missile boats.
With no further opposition arriving from the Ukrainians, the Turks were able to turn their full and undivided attention toward Kogalniceanu. Another SEAD strike was launched to soften the defences around the Romanian airfield, and as a result, three of the four known SA-6 batteries were damaged.
Complacency is a killer, though, and three F-16s were smoked by an unknown assailant as they orbited off the coast – the price of loitering in an area for too long. It wasn’t long before two Romanian MiG-21s were discovered lurking nearby, and both of these were claimed in revenge by Phantoms.
Finally it was time to hit the airfield, one of the most dangerous missions of all. The two SA-6 batteries that had been emplaced closest to the base, previously damaged by Standard ARM hits, were finished off with Shrikes, Rockeyes and 70mm rockets. The airfield’s control tower, hangars, and parking aprons were pasted with GBU-16 LGBs and Rockeyes, inflicting 64% damage and (hopefully) eliminating any further air activity by the Romanians. A second strike, utilizing 500 lb Mk 82 and 1000 lb Mk 83 dumb bombs, finished off Kogalniceanu, and awarded Turkey its minimum victory.
Thanks for another great scenario, Mark. It was exactly the kind of Christmas gift I like.
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AAR: Black Valour – [Spoiler Alert]
By Mark Gellis
A few years in the future... Tensions between Turkey and its neighbors in the Black Sea region have increased during recent years. The causes have ranged from trade issues to environmental concerns. Romania has been among the most vocal in its protests against Turkey, going so far as to threaten the use of force if Turkey continues to interfere with its international agenda. The situation has been made more serious because Ukraine has declared itself a guardian of the slavic Black Sea nations and has made it clear that Turkish aggression against any of these nations, even those it has squabbled with in the past, will not be tolerated. A few months ago, Romania purchased long-range ballistic missiles from China. http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4052/blackvalour3rw.th.gif (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blackvalour3rw.gif)
Romania was unhappy with Turkey, and its big brother, Ukraine, had promised to show up on the playground if there was any trouble. This time, the playground was the Black Sea.
Realizing that a large portion of my front line TuAF fighters (F-16 and F-4) were sitting on the tarmac with no weapons loaded, I immediately set about arming them for air-to-air and suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) missions respectively.
The ex Perry class frigate Gediz and a pair of FPB57 fast attack craft were patrolling in the western Black Sea, but I did not want to reveal their positions just yet by energizing their radars. Rather, I launched two reconnaissance aircraft, an RF-4 and a CN-235MPA, to investigate the general area, and a pair of F-4 Phantoms to provide CAP for them.
It wasn’t long before lookouts aboard the Gediz reported a pair of MiG-21 approaching at low altitude. Once it was certain they had spotted the ship, and yet continued to close the distance, Gediz activated her radars and defensive systems, and splashed both Fishbeds at very short range.
A Naluca torpedo boat was spotted to the north, and a pair of Harpoons from Gediz quickly dispatched it. Almost immediately, a trio of Osa I missile boats were detected closing from the northwest, but Gediz withheld further ASuW action for the moment.
Another pair of MiG-21s strayed within Gediz’s lethal anti-air warfare (AAW) envelope, and these too were claimed by Standard missiles. The orbiting Phantoms joined the rapidly crowding airspace, claiming a pair of L-39 Albatros light attack aircraft and a pair of Beagle bombers.
Two pairs of Su-27 Flankers arrived on the scene, obviously Ukrainian and obviously hostile. My reconnaissance patrols chose to bug out in the face of this new threat, but the CN-235MPA was too slow and ate an Alamo just a few scant miles from its home airfield.
At last, the vaunted F-16s were ready for action, and two were launched immediately to deal with the Flankers. Using the RF-4 as “bait”, they quickly claimed both pairs of Flankers.
Meanwhile, the two F-4s claimed four more Albatros and a pair of Beagles. Again these aircraft types were detected flying together in loose formation, and I wondered why the Romanians would choose to pair them. The passengers aboard a nearby civil registered Boeing 737 – its pilots apparently oblivious to the sudden outbreak of hostilities between Turkey and Romania - were close enough to see the fireballs created by the exploding missiles and aircraft. I could only imagine how many faces and digital cameras were pressed against the fuselage windows. The burning wreckage of these Romanian aircraft fell into the sea very close to the Osa I missile craft.
To the east, the Turkish F-16s, low on fuel and missiles but full of adrenaline, buzzed the luxury yacht Cassiopeia while returning to base. They were scolded by their superior, but not reprimanded – he was much too proud of their performance for that.
It wasn’t long before another furball erupted over the Turkish and Romanian ships at sea, both sides closing rapidly with the other. An antiship strike had been launched against the Osa group, and the escorting F-16s dropped a MiG-21 and an Albatros with AIM-9s, and two Ukrainian Flankers with AIM-120s. Gediz splashed another MiG-21 and Albatros with Standards.
Another Naluca torpedo boat that was closing the distance with Gediz was obliterated with a Harpoon.
To the south, not far from Istanbul, the RF-4 practically ran head long into two pairs of MiG-21 that were approaching at low altitude and radar silenct; the RF-4 escaped their lethal zone on afterburner, but they were slow to respond and then turned for home, having lost their opportunity to bag the recon plane.
Just now, the three Osa missile craft came within range of the Gediz, and let loose with their Styx antiship missiles. Three salvoes were launched within minutes of each other, but one by one they were splashed by the orbiting F-16s, F-4s and Standards launched from Gediz. The last missile was brought down a few hundred meters short of the Gediz.
Meanwhile, the strike that had been launched at Kogalniceanu air defences was nearing the coast. The lights of Constanta were now visible in the distance, but so were the blips on the escorting F-16 radar scopes as numerous Romanian fighters launched to intercept the incoming intruders. Three MiG-21s and an Albatros were claimed before the Phantoms were able to penetrate to launch range. Four SA-6 Gainful SAM batteries, but the two closest ones were now targeted for attack. Eight AGM-78 Standard ARM were launched, four at each. At least five of these struck their targets, or exploded close enough to inflict damage on the SA-6 radar systems. The SAM sites were hurt, but not out of the battle.
On the egress from Kogalniceanu, two more ship contacts were detected and identified: a Tetal II and the Marasesti, about 75 nm northeast of the coast and (strangely) heading north. The transit home was not uneventful, however, and two F-4 strikers were jumped by a lone MiG-21, that was then itself taken out by a barrage of AIM-7F Sparrows.
The antiship strike, meanwhile, timed to coincide with the egress of the SEAD mission, arrived at its objective without incident. Two of the three Osa were blown up by Mavericks, and six more MiG-21s were downed as they struggled to defend the airspace above their ships. The surviving Osa was dispatched with a Harpoon from the Gediz, though it did manage to fire off a couple of Grail SAMs in futile self defence.
Perhaps responding to the strike against their sailor comrades, the Tetal II and Marasesti were noted as now changing course and moving south to close the distance with Gediz.
Four more MiG-21s would be downed by F-16s and the Gediz before the Turks turned their attention to the new naval oncomers. Yet, the strike conducted against them yielded disappointing results; only two hits were achieved with six Mavericks against the Marasesti for 25% damage. A follow-on attack put four more Mavericks into the Marasesti and shot down her Alouette helo. Gediz launched its own helo to finish off the Marasesti group, but as it was closing to firing range, the Marasesti blew up. One helicopter then turned to the secondary target, the Tetal II, and inflicted 25% damage with one successful missile hit.
With the Gediz now out of Standards, the pair of FPB57 missile craft arrived on the scene to support her. The crippled Tetal II was sunk with a couple of Harpoons launched from near maximum range by the Turkish missile boats.
With no further opposition arriving from the Ukrainians, the Turks were able to turn their full and undivided attention toward Kogalniceanu. Another SEAD strike was launched to soften the defences around the Romanian airfield, and as a result, three of the four known SA-6 batteries were damaged.
Complacency is a killer, though, and three F-16s were smoked by an unknown assailant as they orbited off the coast – the price of loitering in an area for too long. It wasn’t long before two Romanian MiG-21s were discovered lurking nearby, and both of these were claimed in revenge by Phantoms.
Finally it was time to hit the airfield, one of the most dangerous missions of all. The two SA-6 batteries that had been emplaced closest to the base, previously damaged by Standard ARM hits, were finished off with Shrikes, Rockeyes and 70mm rockets. The airfield’s control tower, hangars, and parking aprons were pasted with GBU-16 LGBs and Rockeyes, inflicting 64% damage and (hopefully) eliminating any further air activity by the Romanians. A second strike, utilizing 500 lb Mk 82 and 1000 lb Mk 83 dumb bombs, finished off Kogalniceanu, and awarded Turkey its minimum victory.
Thanks for another great scenario, Mark. It was exactly the kind of Christmas gift I like.
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