Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King For X-Plane 10

I've waited for this add-on forever and it's finally out since a couple of weeks. It's available from the X-Plane store, for X-Plane 10.20 and above.

I have some screenshots and impressions from my first flight in this beauty.

ArmA 3 - Modern Peltasts, a Tale of Infantry Hunting Tanks - AAR

A peltast was a type of Greek light infantry that fought in open ranks and in a skirmish role. According to Archer Jones' famous classification of ancient combat arms, the peltast was one of the three types of "missile infantry" the Greeks had at their disposal. The peltasts would throw javelins at the compact heavy infantry formations and disrupt their cohesion. At the sign of any trouble, the peltasts would flee at high speed without the hindrance of heavy armor equipment. Centuries later, a NATO anti-tank infantry team finds itself sharing the same strengths and weaknesses of the warriors of ancient times.

This is the debrief for a custom-made single player ArmA 3 mission. I made every member of my team playable, to increase enjoyment and control over my forces. I used this old trick to be in charge no matter which position I was playing. For more details about this mission, please check my previous blog entry.

Falcon 4 BMS - Debrief: Sortie 25929

Is the late afternoon of the first day of hostilities and we take off to a battlefield air interdiction mission.

The skies are clear and we don't expect too many surprises.

ArmA 3 - Modern Peltasts, a Tale of Infantry Hunting Tanks - Briefing

In the spring of 480 BC the Persian emperor Xerxes invaded mainland Greece with the most formidable army ever heard of. He almost succeeded in subduing the loose coalition of city-states. His defeat came from the sea at the mercy of Greek ships attacking his supply lines. Centuries later, when CSAT strategists outlined their war plans, they made sure that control of the seas was a top priority. The invasion of the island of Altis, a vital strongpoint for the CSAT anti-access naval strategy, has overrun the meager NATO forces. For the time being, the west powers have no navies to summon for help.

This is the briefing for a custom-made single player ArmA 3 mission. The case is made that, no matter the era, light infantry has strengths and weaknesses that need careful attention by the tactician.

Combat Mission: Market Garden Module - Mechanisms of Defeat, Part 2: Functional Dislocation

This is the second and last part of the two-entry series based around a stock Combat Mission Market Garden scenario ("Out on a limb", by Steve Burke).

The crucial enemy strength on one side of the creek is a German AAA gun located on top of a hill. From this position, the enemy gun controls all avenues of approach to the bridge.

This second tactical vignette contains some spoilers. You have been warned.

Combat Mission: Market Garden Module - Mechanisms of Defeat, Part 1: Preemption

Combat Mission got patched last week (both Battles for Normandy and Fortress Italy). This was not an earth shattering patch content and features wise if you already have Market Garden. But it shows a strong commitment to take Combat Mission towards its full potential at a steady pace.

This two-entry series is based around a stock Combat Mission Market Garden scenario ("Out on a limb", by Steve Burke). It is a devil of an scenario and I highly recommend it. I will present two very short vignettes during my play of this scenario, at the cost of spoilers for you.

IL-2 Cliffs of Dover Fusion Mod - Landing the Spitfire

... and stopping without tipping on the nose. I finally can do it. It was a matter of airspeed at touchdown.

Inbound to an unnamed airstrip in England. Landing flaps and gear down, the canopy open. Finding these air bases is quite difficult at the beginning, and its supposed to be that way. Anything different would be like a neon sign "Bomb here, please". 

Steel Beasts ProPE 3.0 - Bounding Overwatch: Why, When and Where?

I played a very nice Steel Beasts ProPE 3.0 scenario ("Platoon Recon"), in which I commanded a platoon of 3 Leopard 2A4s in an armed reconnaissance mission.

This scenario is small but packs a lot of good punches against the player. It is small and allows the player to focus in its tactics. The enemy forces are randomized, so the replay value is above average.

Command Modern Air Naval Operations - ASW Exercise

Naval warfare strains my poor tactical skills but the feeling of accomplishment, even after a not so successful Command mission, keeps me coming back for more. Today, this devil of an scenario entitled "advanced ASW (anti submarine warfare) exercise".

Massive spoilers ahead.

ArmA 3 - Mission Editor Goodies: The "Observation Post Site"

For the tactical nerd with a copious imagination and an urgent itch to fight the firefight he just imagined, there is nothing more convenient than ArmA's mission editor.The editor always allowed to create a rapid prototype and dive straight into it to tune it up into an exciting new mission.

NATO infantry infiltrating enemy positions north of Kavala.

Today I thought of an ArmA 3 mission about the control of those bridges north of Kavala. The CSAT forces would be controlling the bridges and the mission needs computer controlled bots that would hold positions around them and continuously patrol the nearby areas. In ArmA 2 and before this could have been edited in several ways. From scripting to a clever combination of waypoints. The new ArmA 3 offers a click and drop module named "observation post site" that takes care of everything I needed.