Arma 3 - Recon Like a Russian

In the latest Armor Magazine issue there is an article by Lester Grau about reconnaissance in force. This article caught my interest because reconnaissance in force appears to mix combat and information-gathering just in the right proportion. Which is rich material for wargaming/simming.

It was hard to settle for one of the 3 modern warfare wargames/sims that I do have in my inventory (Steel Beasts ProPE, Combat Mission and Arma 3). In the end I chose Arma 3 because it features the T-140 Angara, an Armata T-14 wannabe which I barely had time for. Apparently, as mentioned in the article, the Armata has a target acquisition system that can relay direct and indirect fire missions to T-90s, air defense systems and also artillery assets.

I am short of time these days and I can't elaborate too much, but you are cordially invited to read the article for details about what I'm trying to do in this scenario.

Our area of operations. I'm in command of 2 T-140s, 2 MSE-3 Marid wheeled vehicles and some foot infantry to engage or drive away the enemy patrols which are operation near our line of departure. The ENY icons are red, which created some weird situations during the scenario playing (my troops have red icons too)

In any case, my mission was to gain a feeling for the enemy's dispostion and will to fight, seize their tactical HQ to capture prisoners and gather information.

The crammed interior of my tank, with an all digital view of the outside world. The turret is on top of us, moving side to side while we sit in the hull of the tank.

We were never short of good observation positions. We were supposed to use indirect fires to cover our movement forward by obscuration and/or suppression. In this image, I directed some artillery fire against an enemy defensive position. The fire was not accurate enough to destroy it, but at least kept the ENY suppressed.

The thermals of the T-140 worked perfectly even at great ranges.The enemy defenses were primarily infantry and easy to pick with the thermals.

The biggest disappointment with the T-140 was the un-buttoned view from the commanders' position. It may be useful in some cases, but the "top of the turret" view was sorely missed.

Greatest asset of the T-140, the ability as a commander to direct and fire a 30 mm cannon (big cross cross hairs, under my command) and the 125 mm main gun (small cross hairs, under the AI-gunner's command). In this screenshot, I chose the target for the gunner, ordered him to fire a HEAT round at an ENY position while I showered another ENY hideout with 30 mm rounds. Just an orgy of firepower. 

The infantry under my command, dismounted from their vehicles, was crucial for seizing the ENY HQ. But sooner than expected, the ENY counterattacked with armor (see cross hairs in the distance).

This allowed us to figure out the ENY's route for a counterattack. In this screenshot I'm directing my gunner's fire against the ENY armor.

But I made a critical mistake: I underestimated the ENY's strength and decided to stay for a fight. I should have not.

In retrospect, I should have made more careful plans for the aftermath of seizing the ENY HQ. I had not thought what would trigger our withdrawal from the depths of the ENY's defensive zone.

Cheers,