The First Three Days (part 1) -Messenger (Mission 3 of 4) - Su-27 Flanker 2.5
0In August 1997, a controversial Partnership for Peace naval exercise pitted warships and naval infantry of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia and the United States against a thinly disguised imaginary opposition of Crimean insurgents. Russia is now keen to prevent these same countries from forming an alliance against the real Crimean rebellion.
Forced by its own Abkhazian crises to grudgingly accept the presence of Russian troops on its soil for years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Georgia has a keen interest in the drama playing out in the Crimea, and is supporting Ukraine with the shipments of the oil and raw materials it can no longer receive from its angry neighbor.
As the beleaguered naval infantry brigade struggles to defend Sevastopol', Stavropol's 21st Airborne Brigade has parachuted into the prized Bagerovo airport just west of Kerch, capturing the longest runway on the peninsula and securing an airborne line of communication with the Russian invaders.
YOUR TASK
You will depart from Khersones, rendezvous with an Il-78M tanker over Novorossiysk for in-flight refuelling, intercept any Georgian Su-25 strike aircraft taking off from Gudauta, and return to land at Kerch.
Airborne time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Estimated time on target: 45 minutes
TARGETS
Intercept mission: Georgian strike aircraft
As a secondary target, you are authorized to attack any deployed Georgian missile boats.
You are NOT authorized to engage US or Turkish aircraft.
WEAPONS LOADOUT
2 x R-77 (AA-12) AR AAM
2 x R-73 (AA-11) IR AAM
80 x S-8M 80 mm rockets
150 x GSh-301 30 mm cannon
FUEL
8500 kg (100%)
SUPPORT
Elements of the Black Sea Fleet have approached Sevastopol' to provide seaborne artillery support to the Russian defenders. Their SAM coverage should prevent Ukrainian fighters from interfering with your evacuation.
Vega 1 and an Il-78M tanker are on station over Novorossiysk.
INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Although the Georgian Armed Forces are no match for the Russian Black Sea Fleet on their own, they are strategically well-positioned, and could contribute to a dangerous two-prong "pincer attack" if deployed simultaneously with Ukrainian forces from the northwest. It is therefore imperative that their air and naval forces be knocked out immediately, sending a clear message to the Georgian leadership that interference in the Crimean situation will not be tolerated.
Having inherited the Su-25 factory at Tbilisi after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Georgia operates a handful of these strike aircraft, and has relocated three of them to the former interceptor base at Gudauta. There, they are ideally positioned to use the Caucasus mountain range to make surprise attacks while avoiding detection and Russian SAMs. Bombing the base, and its dozens of empty hardened shelters, would be an ineffective waste of time. Instead we will lure the aircraft out with a ruse.
A Russian project 183T "Bolshevik" torpedo boat has been deployed to intercept a Georgian oil tanker enroute to Odesa. Russia maintains that the torpedo boat is stolen. It will approach the tanker and begin firing its machine guns at 1840, at which time Georgian Su-25s are expected to take off and conduct a counterattack to rescue the tanker. With the help of your AWACS datalink, you will position yourself behind the Su-25s at 1845 and destroy them with R-73s, without ever turning on your radar. A US E-3 operating in the area may detect any emissions and vector Turkish F-16s to your position. If you are successful and remain undetected, Moscow will blame the loss of Georgian aircraft on the nearby Turkish F-16 CAP.
Although the primary targets of this mission are the Georgian Su-25s, both the Russian torpedo boat and the Georgian tanker are expendable. The torpedo boat crew will abandon ship to be picked up by a Kilo class submarine in the area.
In the event that you are shot down and captured, Moscow will deny all knowledge of this mission.
WEATHER BRIEF
Wind: None
Visibility: Clear
Cloud cover: 5000 m Scattered
MINIMUM VICTORY CONDITIONS
Your Su-33, the US E-3 and the Turkish F-16s must survive. Two Su-25 must be shot down.
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