With our training missions complete, but with a lot left to learn, we embark on our first campaign. We'll be flying with the VMA-542 "Tigers" out of Buldern Highway Strip in Western Germany during the 1986 Soviet invasion. As the status box indicates, our little unit has 12 aircraft and a supply strength of 49% at the beginning of the hostilities. This is my first ever Strike Fighters campaign and I'm interested to see how it unfolds.
The initial campaign map shows the friendly and enemy unit positions.
Our first mission is a strike against Erfurt Airbase - we are tasked with taking out the fuel farm.
Since I'm unsure of our fuel burn rate (I flew the GR7 in earlier training missions, not the AV-8B) and mission length I decide our flight will carry a pair of external fuel tanks each. I'll also carry a pair of Sidewinders and, to keep the mission simple, I'll only carry 3x Mk-82 retarded bombs. I plan on flying a low-low-low (ingress, strike, egress) profile so the Snakeye is a perfect weapon for a low level non-precision strike.
The midday light is a bit dim as it filters down through the mid-level gray overcast...
Our 3-ship flight readies for takeoff from the highway strip. I choose 40 degrees of nozzle and make a rolling takeoff, lifting off at around 130 knots.
At takeoff I take note of my fuel load, about 11,400 lbs. so that I can judge how much I use on this mission profile.
Flying over Stary's beautiful reworked Germany terrain tiles...
I'm immediately impressed with the amount of activity going on in the theater. Using the F-12 "Action" view the camera snaps around to various locations in a similar fashion to the EECH action view. For fans of the Falcon 4 campaign, I have to admit by the end of this mission I was very impressed with the amount of activity that was going on independent from our own flight. Here a pair of Tornados are on a CAP or air-interdiction flight.
The AV-8B HUD displays basic data but that carat at the top actually isn't a bearing carat for the waypoints, so you have to reference a small display just under the HUD to get proper steering cues. Alternatively, you can use the "NORMAL" HUD difficulty setting and you'll get a small white waypoint triangle in the HUD.
Elsewhere a flight of MiG-27s (23? - I can never tell the difference!) are heading west on a strike mission into blue territory..
And another flight of MiGs is on a strike with an escort flight of air-to-air toting wingmen...
Throughout the flight "Red Crown" advises me of air threats and most of them are distant to our north.
The frequency is jammed with other flights engaging all manner of other threats. It is awesome to just watch the air war unfold around you. Here an F-15 launches an AIM-7 Sparrow (no AMRAAMS in this campaign!) at an inbound flight of attackers.
Lucky for the MiG the Sparrow just misses...
And he answers back with his own shot...
But another Sparrow is already on the way and he never gets the satisfaction of downing an Eagle..
Meanwhile I'm down in the weeds trying to make like a black hole to avoid attention from either air or ground units. I keep updated through the Red Crown callouts...
The Eagles are having a field day with the attacking MiG flights and one after another they go down in flames...
The tide of the battle begins to change however and soon and allied F-4 finds itself in a spot of trouble..
The MiG's missile shot is spoofed by the flares and he closes in for a gun pass which damages the F-4...
Eventually even the F-15s get overwhelmed once the MiGs get into heat seeking range and some of the Eagles go down as well evening up the battle...
As we push closer to the target we cross into Red territory and soon a few scattered AA sites are plinking at us with little effect. A SAM vehicle however does get my attention as he gets a solid lock on us at very short range and he fires a missile at us.
Another SAM fires on me and I can see through the canopy that it is tracking so I make a hard pull up and dump flares and chaff to break the lock and it sails under me...
I roll over inverted and pull back down for the ground as a second missile is launched on me..
The second missile goes overhead and I think we might have been within the minimum range since it didn't appear to guide on me...
We are soon approaching the IP. I select my Rockeyes and set max interval and a ripple quantity of three. With so much action going on I know this is a "one pass - haul ass" mission and I won't be loitering around the target area.
At the IP I extend my path just slightly to fly between a gap in the towns that have air defenses on the map (another slight cheat I know) and I make the left turn toward the target and bump down even further to around 200'. There is little room for error or distraction at that altitude.
Suddenly the AWACS comes up with a bandit call and they are close. I glance at the map and am surprised to see enemy aircraft symbols directly over our target!
After the IP I can see the primary target using the padlock command at a bit outside of 5 miles...
Uh-oh..they aren't strikers..they are dedicated anti-air..!
I order my wingman to cover me, and order my 2nd element (only a single aircraft) to "ENGAGE AIR" hoping the two of them can take on the air threat while I press on toward the target under the enemy flight. The target looms large in the HUD and I try to block out all the radio messages as the CCIP marker passes over the fuel tank and I hit the pickle button. I can't help but notice that the enemy airfield has some beautiful juicy transport targets just waiting to be bombed on the ramp, but my hands are completely full at this point.
Boom! The Snakes ripple across the ground scoring a direct hit on the tanks and they erupt in a fireball...
Pulling off the target I stay low and try scooting undetected toward the west and home when I hear one of my wingmen yell out a missile launch.
The proximity fuse of the air-to-air missiles blows chunks out of my left wing and riddles my fuselage with holes. My left fuel tank is ripped from the wing and I break hard trying to get a view of my attacker. One of the MiGs has pulled down onto my tail and has already hit me with one missile...
My Harrier is still under control as I pull around hoping to buy enough time for my wingman to engage the guy on my tail but a few seconds later my Harrier starts burning and I know I've got to punch out.
I'm very disappointed and somewhat shocked by the intensity of the action and the abruptness of my campaign ending. I didn't realize that Strike Fighters campaigns were 1 and out campaigns if you die or are captured (?). The mission was accomplished, but the campaign is over. I'll refly this one though (or restart the campaign) and try to do better next time.
BeachAV8R