Command - Kashmir Fire - Killing the SPYDER

If you have played the recently released Kashmir Fire DLC for Command, I'm sure you have faced the SPYDER air defence system that the Indian Corps of Army Air Defence have deployed near FOB Harpy.

The SPYDER is a tough system to defeat: quick reaction, all weather, network-centric, multi-launchers, and self-propelled. It's missiles (Python-5, infrared homing; Derby, active radar guidance) are literally fire and forget mass murderers of aircraft, rockets and cruise missiles.

The Pakistan Air Force's lack of DEAD/SEAD weapons made the destruction of the heavily defended FOB Harpy a great challenge.

Even the weather was wrong. With a cloud ceiling of 5,000 ft AGL the delivery of our plentiful LGBs was to be a suicide. 

So I opted for unconventional tactics. I sent a section of two JF-17s armed with Blue Sky Targeting Pods. The ground radar of the JF-17s was great to pinpoint the location of the air defenses around FOB Harpy. This was a standoff recon, from above the safety of the clouds.

In the meantime, a flight of four Mirage 5Fs took off from Skardu Airport (and FOB of the PAF), loaded with freefall GPBs and starting pushing through the Great Himalayan and Pir Panjal Ranges. The low clouds in their low level route was not for the faint of heart. They were to head south and sanitize the Indian Air defenses around FOB Harpy.

When the Mirage 5Fs were well into the Pir Panjal Range, I launched Hatf-7 cruise missiles to target both the radar and the SPYDER launcher located via the JF-17's radars.

All of the sudden a two aircraft patrol of Indian Mig 29As appear on the rear of the Mirages. Even when our AWACs was active, the Indian aircraft appeared in the screens and in the PAF's radios at the very last minute. Our CAP flight, a flight of four F-16AMs, was just too far away. 

The SPYDER system and the search radar were busy tracking and firing at the incoming cruise missiles. At least something went right.

The Mirage pilots pressed on their bombing run, destroying the SPYDER system with their free fall bombs.

Right after the last bomb left its pylon, the Indian Mig29As proceeded to shoot down all of the Mirage 5Fs. It was tragic.

Retribution was swift. Our CAP F-16s arrived with a vengeance.

With at least one of the SPYDER systems destroyed, the JF-17s had plenty of freedom to destroy FOB Harpy with LGBs.

Cheers,