Command Modern Air and Naval Operations - The Battle for Poti: Fighting the Russian Beachhead, The Seaborne Invasion Comes to a Halt (2 of 2)

Continued from a previous entry. The two  F/A-18 Super Hornets of group 165 with their AN/ASQ-228 advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR) system have identified the Russian vessels. From an impressive 29 nm, both aircraft are attack ready.

Despite the presence of significant SAM coverage from  the Grisha-class corvette, and the Neustrashimy-class destroyer (this one being the most troublesome, with its SA-N-9 missiles), the bomb run is a go. Two GBU-12D/B Paveway II LGBs are released from high altitude. The target, as per the crews' briefing is any type of landing craft that could be used to disembark mechanized forces. 

Note: I'm not making any claim of authenticity for weapons employment/performance, tactics or doctrine. Indeed, NATO doctrine discourages the use of laser guided weapons in an target area covered by enemy SAMs because of the medium altitude requirement for weapons' launch. In this scenario, I launched my LGBs from an altitude of 12,000 m.

The two laser guided bombs impact and sunk the landing craft Ondatra. The clean impact of the weapons was a great relief because the vessel was moving at a speed of 5 kt. Not a single missile is fired from the Russian warships.

The two  F/A-18 Super Hornets are now RTB, somewhat under pressure from incoming Russian fighters (red and yellow icons). The SAM battery at Senaki airbase has started launching Patriot missiles (blue icons with an "M").

Despite two Russian losses, the tense and protracted bullfight between the Patriot missiles and the fighters appears to be tipping in favor of the bandits. They are just too many. Group 152 (two F-15s just south of Senaki) are vectored in. They are not expected to do much (they only carry 4 AIM-120D AMRAAMs, but I am particularly worried about that unidentified flight (yellow icons), moving straight onto Senaki (bombers?). I am hoping that the extra pressure from the F-15s will improve the chances of our SAMs.

The trick works. All Su-27 Russian fighters are shot down by Patriot or AMRAAM missiles. In this screenshot, the unknown group is finally engaged. They are Mig-17 Floggers, inbound in a SEAD mission towards Senaki. The F-15s of Group 152 engage them con gusto. And Sidewinders. Plus guns.

One lone Su-27 temporarily escapes the onslaught but eventually a Patriot missile catches up with it.  Both F-15s are winchester are returning to base.

The scenario ends with egregious losses (4x Su-27SM Flanker Bs, 4x MiG-27K Flogger J and 2 x MiG-29SMT Fulcrum Cs). The US-Georgia side has no losses, and has expended Patriot missiles in the low forties. This amount of SAMs seems very unrealistic and I will have to adjust the unit's magazines accordingly during scenario editing.

This fake war will carry on in one form or another. Stay tuned.

Cheers,