Early on the same morning that the opening salvo was fired by the Apache's, one of the newest weapons in the United State's arsenal was roaming the skies over Iraq: the F-117A Nighthawk. Tasked with deep strike missions against high value targets and infrastructure, the mislabeled "Strike Fighter" was a useful tool against targets in the heavily defended Baghdad area.
Our mission will take our single ship F-117A from Qatar to downtown Baghdad...
Though modeled lightly to SF2 standards, the cockpit is pretty cool looking...
Heading into the darkness. Actual F-117A missions required multiple tanker connections. The compressed airspace of the SF2 world and the lack of tanker modeling make this a non-stop flight tonight...
Crossing the coast near the Kuwaiti / Iraqi border...
At the initial point - and not a peep from enemy air defenses...
With the target located, I select a GBU, snap the bomb bay doors open for a brief second, pickle the bomb, then shut the doors...
Direct hit!
As the fire subsides, just a smoking ruin remains where the building once stood...
The enemy AAA wakes up after the attack as more coalition forces start working on areas south of Baghdad...
The F-117A remains invisible to enemy radars, but other flights are not so fortunate. Here an F/A-18 is targeted by a surface-to-air missile...
Other units are taking out enemy air defenses...
..but it is give and take..
The mission is a success. The opening night of hostilities is just a precursor to the extensive air war campaign...
BeachAV8R
Rivet counters be aware - this campaign is only vaguely following history. No doubt some units, weapons, locations, etc, will differ from those actually flown and used in the real Gulf War. Try to suspend your disbelief..<wink>
