Operation: Instant Thunder1st Virtual Fighter Wing

Air Campaign Briefing

NATO CLASSIFIED

When the UCPR (United Communist Party Republic) split up, it was broken into different countries. Almost every country of the former UCPR decided to establish a democratic government similar to the US, except for Viscotia. Viscotia, which is now led by General Kruschev, was the capital of the former UCPR and its boundaries included many of the ‘sacred’ landmarks. Shortly before the fall of the UCPR, General Kruschev executed a military coup of the capital. He led the UCPR for 6 months before NATO got involved and decided to split the UCPR up into independent countries. Although Kruschev and his hard-line supporters strongly opposed NATO’s decision to split up the UCPR, he couldn’t do anything to stop NATO’s decision, as he lacked the military might to stand up against NATO. Gen. Kruschev argued that the UCPR’s former leader was responsible for its current economic crisis, and pleaded to NATO asking for more time to turn things around. NATO denied Gen. Kruschev because they would not recognize his coup as a legitimate claim to power. Gen. Kruschev was a strong proponent of Communism and often referred to democratic and capitalist states as “The Greedy, Selfish, and the Weak”.

It was therefore no surprise when UCPR split, the new country of Viscotia would remain a communist state…

BackgroundThe History…

UCPR

Soverene

Viscotia

Civali

Soverene Flag

Although General Kruschev would never forget what NATO did to his country, he still felt like he got the better end of the deal because Viscotia was the metropolitan capital of the former UCPR, and within its boundaries lay the majority of the former UCPR’s military bases and establishments. Furthermore, Kruschev thought both of his new neighbors Civali (See-Vall-ee) and Soverene (Saw-Ver-Ene) were inhabitable arctic lands out in the middle of nowhere. But as fate would have it, Soverene would soon find an enormous supply of oil along its coast and islands. Over time Soverene would become a major exported of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia. And as a result of the influx of money, Soverene flourished while Viscotia remained in economic peril.

Ten years after NATO’s decision to break up the UCPR, General Kruschev went to NATO and demanded some of Soverene’s oil supply. NATO refused and said their agreement of 10 years ago still stands, and blamed Kruschev for excessive spending on his military. Over the past 10 years Viscotia had developed into a military super power much to the likes of the former UCPR, spending billions of dollars on military spending while its citizens suffered. General Kruschev knew he had do something quick, and reducing the military budget was not an option. He left NATO, but not without a warning that foreshadowed the coming events:

“I will not fail my countrymen again. Viscotia will not fade away into the dark!”

Background Cont’dThe History…

UCPR

Soverene

Viscotia

Civali

Viscotian Flag

The Invasion of Soverene

Viscotia

Soverene

On May 3rd, 2008 General Kruschev ordered his armed forces to invade Soverene. In a lightning strike similar to that of the Nazi’s during WWII, the Viscotian Army, Naval, and Air Forces captured the capital of Soverene (Istanbul) with little resistance. The relatively small Soverene Defense Forces (SDF) had no chance of defending their homeland against the super power Viscotia. Viscotia launched a massive air assault on the SDF air defense forces before its army crossed its borders into Soverene. Only a few days later it was clear why Kruschev set these fateful events in motion: his targets were the oil fields and their production facilities. The Viscotian army captured these facilities and held hostage its production workers while forcing them to continue their work. These innocent Soverene citizens were forced to work around the clock exporting massive amounts of oil to Viscotia only. General Kruschev knew NATO would step in to force him out, and he would need as much oil as he could get to supply his military machine.

A week after the invasion, NATO publicly denounced Viscotia’s actions, and demanded General Kruschev to order his forces home, or he would be forced out of Soverene. General Kruschev said he would not order his forces to retreat until NATO would revise the borders of Viscotia to include many of the oil rich seas of Soverene. NATO, in an attempt to avoid military solution, decided to give Viscotia and General Kruschev a 150 day deadline to reach an agreement and retreat. However, after 149 days, all negotiations have failed, and NATO’s military build up in southern Soverene has peaked in anticipation of the coming war….

NATO CLASSIFIED

Situational Update

The 150 day deadline has proved to be a mistake on NATO’s part, as Viscotia has used that time to fortify its positions. During the time since the invasion, Viscotia has been expanding its air defense network, KARI, to include the Soverene islands in anticipation of NATO’s air forces. And that’s not the only reason why the 150 day deadline was a mistake. Until today, its been unknown why specifically General Kruschev invaded Soverene. General Kruschev is a 40+ year soldier and military expert. Surely he would know he could not take on NATO and win.

NATO CLASSIFIED

Well, recently some new intelligence has turned up that may explain his plan. It appears General Kruschev’s plan was to get control of Soverene’s oil facilities just long enough to set up underwater pipelines from Soverene’s oil fields to Viscotia. This is known as “Angle Drilling”, where one country drills at angle into its neighbors oil reserves and subsequently steals oil from the host country without their knowledge. This practice is well known among dictatorships. Saddam Hussein was doing it to Kuwait before he invaded, and many military strategists believed he invaded so he could find another (much larger) source of oil. General Kruschev knew NATO would try to avoid a military solution, and therefore would set a deadline buying him enough time to finish the job. It was thought after the 150 days, Kruschev would retreat his forces home. However, for reasons unknown, he remains in Soverene territory.

Our objective is to forcefully remove Viscotia from Soverene, and capture Kruschev. The 1st Fighter Wing, which is comprised of the best fighter pilots from all over the world, has already been deployed, along with it’s allies from all over the world. The following will describe Operation: Instant Thunder, and its air campaign.

Our First Mistake…

Soverene

Viscotia

Civali(Neutral)

Theater of Operations - STOKey Objectives• Cripple KARI

• Obtain Air Supremacy

• Get control of the Seas

• Force Viscotian Forces out of the Soverene Islands and Istanbul

Steps-to-Success

• Phase I – Strategic Air Campaign

• Phase II – Air Superiority in STO

• Phase III – Preparation of the Battlefield

Viscotian Military AB

Soverene Military AB

STO C+150

“Checkmate Part II”

Checkmate, and Instant Thunder…

CHECKMATE Plan – Essentially a series of proposed targets to be attacked over a total of 6 weeks developed by Vice Chief of the USAF Lt. General Mike Loh during Desert Storm.

We have adopted the CHECKMATE philosophy used during Desert Storm to create our air campaign INSTANT THUNDER (with reference to the failed, gradualist, Vietnam War ROLLING THUNDER air campaign). Each day will have the same amount of activity as the prior. We will not let up until we meet our objective. From this day forward, victory is our only option. Here is how it will work:

Phase I – Strategic Air Campaign – To gain control of the air, and hit the Viscotia leadership, NBC, SCUDS, and electric and oil infrastructure. The idea is to deny Kruschev supplies but not necessarily destroy his heavy industry. That is, power and fuel would be attacked, but in such a way that facilities could be reconstituted relatively easy after the war (for both Viscotia AND Soverene).

Phase II – Air Superiority In The STO – In order to achieve success in Phase I, we need to control the skies. Once we control the air, we can set the tempo of the war, and launch attacks unabated. Furthermore, we can continually strike fear in KARI operators so they are afraid to turn on their radars, and strengthen our stranglehold on the Viscotian supplies.

Phase III – Preparation of the Battlefield – This includes isolating the battlefield, killing tanks and artillery, and destroying morale. But most importantly, it refers to destroying 50% of the Viscotian ground units. According to Army doctrine, when a land unit’s effectiveness has been reduced to 50% or less, it is no longer combat-useful. Hence, in essence, when the air effort is over, the war would be over, and little would remain to be done save collecting prisoners.

Viscotian Air Defense NetworkFrench Made KARI…

SA5

SA5

SA2

SA2

SA2

SA2

SA2

SA2

SA6

SA6

SA6

SA6

SA6

SA3

SA3

SA3

SA3

SA3

NAVAL SAM

NAVAL SAM

SA10

SA17

SA17

SA17

SA3

The “How”• This is where we will punch a hole

in KARI, and keep it open throughout the Air Campaign. This will be called the “KARI Window”.

• Also, we will deny any naval vessels from making it to the Viscotian controlled Soverene islands to resupply its forces.

• We will use “Puba’s Party” to cripple KARI. (More Info on this later…)

The “What”• KARI is a ultra sophisticated air

defense network comprised of independent cells that function in concert with all cells.

• We do not have solid Intel on exact size and location of KARI, as many of it’s cells are mobile and well camouflaged.

KARI Window

Viscotian Air Defense NetworkFrench Made KARI Cont’d…

KARI Week 1 Targets

1. Central Communication HUBs

2. EWR sites in the vicinity of the KARI window

3. Power Grids that feed KARI

4. SAM Radar (Puba’s Party)

5. Underground Command Bunkers

WEEK 1 KARI TGTs

1st TFW KARI Priority Targets

1st TFW HMPT’s Phase I

KARI WINDO

W

Cut the Head of the Snake…

Analysis of KARI relies on a centralized command, so like the nervous system, if we take out the brain of the system, the rest will fall and the system would be disorganized.

Fire Sale: Everything Must Go…

To effectively cripple KARI, we will have to attack all means of communication (telephone lines, underground cables, microwave antennas, and radio towers. After that, individual enemy elements -radars, SAM sites, and AAA batteries –have to fight alone and uncoordinated, acting on their own initiative and judgment, and they have not been trained for that.

Each spoke is useless without the Hub. And once the KARI window is open, 1st TFW will re-deploy to Karpathos, closer to the action.

Command Bunker

SA10 Site

Power Plant

ADA Command Bunker

EWR Site

CCC Southern HQ

Power Grid

Telecommunication HUB

Viscotian Air Defense Network“Puba’s Party”…

Some HistoryGeneral Larry “Puba” Henry, a former Wild Weasel, devised a plan during Desert Storm to disable the Iraq’s KARI. His script was simple to build, but difficult to execute. First, BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles and F-117As would arrive unannounced over Baghdad, their exploding bombs and warheads ensuring that the Iraqi defenders who were not awake would get up and report to their units. At that point the air defenses would be on full alert and fully manned, eager for the forthcoming battle. Puba would then send over unmanned drone aircraft (ground launched Northrop BQM-74s) that were designed to look like full-size manned aircraft on SAM radarscopes. Immediately behind the drones would be HARM-ladden Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft. As the drones entered SAM-defended areas over Baghdad, the SAM radars would radiate and the Iraqi operators would track their targets and fire their missiles. What they would not see was almost a hundred HARM missiles being launched from just outside their radar coverage.

And so it happened on the first night of the war. The Iraqi SAM operators succeeded in downing nearly all of the drones, and in so doing they provided dozens of targets for the incoming anti-radiation missiles.

The results had to be horrible. And from the horror came fear. After Puba’s Party, the number of SAM missiles firing remained high, while the number of coalition aircraft shot down remained very low. As expected, the guidance radars were not turned on. That was the feedback that showed Puba’s Party was a stunning success. It was not easy, and it wasn’t cheap (the drones and HARMs cost a bundle!), but it made possible all the efficiencies of precision munitions delivered from medium to high altitude that shortened the war and reduced the loss of life

Applying Puba’s Party Concepts to Instant ThunderAlthough we do not have unmanned drones, we can still implement Puba’s Party in the STO. We will have 1 st TFW act like Wild Weasels by trespassing on Viscotian SAM sites, getting them to turn on their radar, and have HARM-ladden Navy Fighter aircraft (Hornets, and Prowlers) just outside the SAM sites radar coverage launching their HARMs and disabling the SAM radars. We will throw a total of three Puba Party’s for the Viscotian air defense in Phase I, II, and III. Each time we press further north towards the capitol, we will use this method to pave the way for less maneuverable aircraft such as B-52’s, B-1s, and A-10s to remain at medium to high altitudes out of the range of Manpad IR SAMs. It will not be easy, but we are confident in the 1st TFW’s abilities to achieve success.

The Ground WarSupporting the Push…

Force Levels

1. As you can see we are heavily outnumbered in ground forces

2. Viscotia has the 3rd largest ground forces in the world

3. All Viscotian ground forces are Soviet made tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles

4. The chart does not show enemy AAA and SCUD battalions, see the next slide for those.

WEEK 1 KARI TGTs

Viscotian Armored Battalion

NATO Armored Battalion

Preparing the Battlefield…

It is especially important in the STO to sufficiently prepare the battlefield for our ground forces. NATO ground units will not move on Viscotian forces until the air campaign, Instant Thunder, is completed. This will allow us to attrit as many enemy forces as possible in addition to buying NATO more time to build up their forces and plan of attack.

East and Western Walls…

General Kruschev has spent the last 150 days building up two very large walls of tanks and artillery (see dashed yellow lines on the chart). The plan will be to create two holes in each of those walls so our ground forces can push and flank the rest of the enemy forces that make the wall.

Viscotian Infantry Battalion

NATO Infantry Battalion

Viscotian Area Of Interest

NATO Artillery

Viscotian Artillery

Viscotia Capital

Carrier Bay

51st, 2nd,3rd, Armor Battalion

Reinforcements

Fog of War is still thick. Targets shown only represent 1/3 of entire Viscotian Ground Forces

High Priority TargetsCommand and Conquer…

Priority 1

1. The Liberation Army Strongholds – These units are the ultra loyalists of General Kruschev, and the most highly trained

2. The Secret Police – These guys are accused of hundreds of war crimes, including public executions of protesters of General Krushchev's administration.

3. Leadership Targets – These are known hideouts of the Viscotian Leadership, including top military Generals, and Government Officials

4. SCUD Launchers – One of Soverene’s top priorities is to destroy Viscotian land based SCUD missile launchers capable of launching attacks on Soverene metropolitan cities.

High Priority Targets

HV Command, Control, and Communications

SCUD Launchers

The Information War…

It is important we destroy as many Viscotian leadership targets as soon as possible to win the information war. We will be jamming Viscotian TV and Radio and broadcasting information to Viscotian civilians and soldiers. It is well known that Viscotian army is afraid of its leaders. So if we eliminate their leaders, they will be more willing to surrender then fight after the “Shock and Awe” of our air campaign.

Viscotian Leadership Targets

Known AAA

The Naval BattleControl the Seas…

What We Know

1. The Viscotian Navy is huge. We know they have at least 2 full size Russian Kuznetsov class Aircraft Carriers escorted by sophisticated missile ship escorts. What we don’t know is what type of aircraft they have on those carriers. There isn’t a long list of “Eastern Block” aircraft capable of launching and landing on a aircraft carrier, but still, it’s a concern.

2. It appears Kruschev is keeping his higher value naval assets north of the FLOT, well protect by KARI and several groups of cruisers and destroyers. We will have to chip away at those defenses to get to the carrier groups.

3. We know the location of one Viscotian aircraft carrier, The Admiral Kuznetsov, which is located in carrier bay. It appears as though she is protecting three of the largest Viscotian airbase that lie along that bay.

High Priority Naval Targets

Cruisers

Viscotian Aircraft Carrier Groups

Destroyers

Frigates & Patrol Vessels

Concerns & CommentsWhere Did the Aircraft Go?

After Before

One very large concern is that a couple of the Viscotian Military airbases appear to abandoned. As you can see in the satellite shots above, there are 100s of MIGs missing from Viscotia Airbase. There were several squadrons of MIG-21’s, MIG-17s, Mirage-F1’s, and MIG-29s there only a few weeks before the invasion, but the satellite shot above on the left (taken the day of the invasion) shows no aircraft there. The primary reason we are concerned about this is that we don’t know where they went. It is virtually impossible to hide that many aircraft, so our intelligence experts believe they are at a Viscotian ally base. The question is who? If in fact they are at an Viscotian ally airfield, then there is the possibility that ally could get involved with the conflict. We will monitor the situation closely, and keep you updated.

1st Fighter WingCombat Mission Ready…

HMPT 1 – 1st Fighter Wing HQ for Week 1 25 x F16C-52

About Us: 1st Fighter WingThe 1st Fighter Wing was established by NATO in 2008 as an attempt at integrating NATO nation air forces. However, over time it become a type of “special forces” for NATO air. The 1st FW is comprised of the best pilots from all around the world. Every 3 years, each country that makes up NATO selects pilots to go to the 1st FW for training, and if the world needs them, goes to war. The amount of pilots a country sends to 1st FW depends on the size of the host nations air force. Countries with larger air forces are allocated more pilots then countries that have smaller air forces. The 1 st FW flies the most modern version of the Lockheed Martin F-16 “Flying Falcon” (also known as the “Viper”), and utilizes the newest weaponry and technology. The 1st has proven itself as a valuable military asset in past world conflicts. Their motto of “First In, Last Out” stands true as they were the first to arrive in the STO, and the first to engage the enemy when they were vectored to destroy two enemy naval vessels during a training mission near the FLOT. True to their squadron name, The Dragoons, they are the tip of the spear… A VERY large spear.

HVAAHigh Value Air Assets…

NATO CLASSIFIED

NATO HVAA’s

• AWACS

• A-10

• B-1

• B-2

• B-52

• F-15E

• F-15

• F-16

• F-18

• Tanker A/C

• Support

• ECM/JSTAR

• Apache Helicopters

• Black Hawk Helicopters

Aircraft Number

14

132

10

2

21

48

109

210

197

23

76

87

90

124

Target 1 – Anvar Island Airfield“Tip of the Spear”

Deep Strike• Destroyed the runway. Put 3 JDAMS on the runway, and 1 on any of their administrative structures (Tower,

Hangar, Radar, etc..). This will help air future strike packages, but maintaining a hole in the VAF air defense network (known as KARI).

• Destroy the VN Cruiser and any cargo ships outside the airfield.

• Destroy any SCUD Missile Launchers in the vicinity

• Protect the Strike package from any surface threats, and fly CAP if needed.

SEAD ESCORT

Objective

• Obtain air superiority over the target, and engage any and all air threats to the strike package.

TARCAP

• All aircraft must declare any air threats as hostile before engaging. If no AWACS is available, you must VID

• Only the targets listed in this presentation are allowed to be engaged. Any hostile act on a surface target not listed in this brief will result in legal action against the pilot

ROE

ATO Day 1 – Anvar Island Airfield“Tip of the Spear” Priority 1 Target – The Airfield

Priority 2 Target – VN Cruiser

Potential Surface Threats• AAA

• Naval SAMS

• IR SAMs

Potential Air Threats• MIG-21

• MIG-23

• Mirage F1

Viscotia Naval Cruiser Class Surface Vessel. Intel suspects it is escorting Cargo Ships carrying SA-10 Missile and SCUD Launchers.

Disable the runway to prevent supplying the airbase with more SAMs, SCUDs, and weapons. Intel is limited in the type of aircraft at the base, but any HVAAs should be destroyed

Priority 3 Target – SCUDSCUD Launchers pose a threat to Soverene civilians, and are suspected to be in the vicinity of the airfield.

HMPT – C+150 - ATO Day 1If all goes well, this is where we’ll land

3 x F16C-52• 4 x Aim-120C, 4 x GBU12, 1 X ALQ 131, 510 x 20mm

• 2 x 370G Fuel Stores

2 x F16C-52• 4 x Aim-120C, 2 x HARM, 1 X ALQ 131, 510 x 20mm

• 2 x 600G Fuel Stores

SEAD ESCORT

DEEP STRIKE

4 x EF-2000 UK• LOADOUT UNKNOWN

TARCAP

1 x F16C-52• 4 x Aim-120C, 4 x GBU JDAMS, 1 x ALQ131, 510x20mm