TempestII
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The Battle of Incirlik Airbase - 04 Apr 2026
Duration: 8 Hours.
CMO Build 1147.38; DB 492.
This scenario is inspired by (but not 100% based on) the events of KOBANI: This is the Future of War book by FX Holden (set in 2030).
As CMO's DB doesn't contain many of the assets mentioned in the book, I decided it was best to make the scenario a few years earlier to better take advantage of the current tech on offer.
You do not need to have read the book to understand the scenario and the geopolitical narrative of the events leading to this battle differ to the aforementioned book.
Background:
After Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 SAM system, the country was removed from the F-35 programme amid souring US relations. For several years, Turkey drifted closer to the Russian sphere of influence with Presidents' Putin and Erdogan both often disagreeing with the White House's policies.
While the nation remained a member of NATO, numerous disagreements between Turkey and the rest of the alliance caused issues relating to the conflict in Syria. Much to Syria's displeasure, Turkish ground forces remained inside their country's borders in order to create a buffer-zone from terrorism.
President Erdogan narrowly won the 2023 elections in Turkey but within two years, his government fell apart, leading to the election of a more Western-leaning candidate in late 2025. However, during the political upheaval and unrest that followed, many NATO personnel and all of the nuclear weapons were evacuated from Incirlik Airbase.
Upon his confirmation, the new president was cautiously welcomed by some of NATO's leaders but many were unwilling to forget the manner which the previous regime had treated the alliance. Russia, on the other hand, pulled out of all the assistance programmes and trade deals it had previously agreed with the country under Erdogan's rule.
Now with complete Russian backing, the revitalised Syrian regime in early 2026 began an offensive into the lands that had been controlled by Turkey for almost 10 years.
It quickly became clear that Russia was willing to field-test much of its latest military equipment against the Turkish military. Fifth-Gen platforms consisting of Su-57 FELONs, Su-75 CHECKMATEs and MiG-35 FOXGLOVEs were unleashed against a Turkish Air Force that previously hadn't had much trouble against inferior Syrian fighters.
To make matters worse, it turned out that Russia had implanted a "kill-switch" in Turkey's S-400 SAMs meaning that these were now useless. After weeks of taking heavy losses, Turkey pulled back into its own borders. As many nations in NATO had disagreed with the Turkish presence in northern Syria, it was declared that Article 5 was invalid in these circumstances.
Initially, it was thought that the Syrian forces' only objective was the reclamation of their own lands. This proved to be incorrect. In March 2026, Syrian armour, including T-90s purchased from Russia, pushed across the border. They claimed that their new objective was to establish their own buffer-zone inside Turkey to stop any further Turkish "misadventures".
At this point, NATO did respond, albeit in a limited fashion. Many Western leaders, including the US president, were uneasy about the prospect of direct combat with Russian forces. The small number of NATO combat forces originally sent to help the Turks were given strict ROE to only engage Syrian forces.
While many alliance members, including the US, pledged only ISTAR and logistical support, Germany, Italy, and the UK sent small numbers of combat forces, mostly consisting of airpower, in order to attempt to interdict the Syrian advance. While this aid did slow the enemy advance, Syrian land units captured Antakya and most of Gaziantep.
While many Turkish defenders were sucked into the fighting around Gaziantep, a smaller Syrian force with full Russian backing began its advance towards Incirlik Airbase. While NATO was still reluctant to commit itself to a full shooting-war with Russia, the threat to one of its airbases couldn't be ignored.
The US increased the number of defensive systems at Incirlik, including Direct Energy Weapons while other nations pledged to send aircraft to help Turkey. In late March, Australia and Canada deployed F-35As to join the growing Lightning II force in the region. Several NATO members also began to mobilise ground forces ready for deployment.
With the realisation that the thrust to capture Incirlik could fail should enough NATO forces arrive in the theatre, Syria attacked the base's defenders with a new, rapid-dissipating form of sarin gas. Among the fatalities were over a dozen US service personnel.
The next day, the US president gave the Syrian and Russian forces operating in Turkey a 24-hour ultimatum - pull your troops out of Turkey or face the consequences. Unsurprisingly, this was ignored.
The sarin attack, combined with Russian airpower, allowed the Syrian army to advance to touching distance of the NATO base. The remains of the Turkish 5th Armoured Brigade and 39th Mechanized Infantry Brigade were tasked with holding the line until NATO airpower, now being reinforced with US assets, could destroy the enemy forces.
As the US ultimatum ended on the 2nd April, Russian aircraft struck at several bases across Turkey with both cruise missiles and their new ALBMs. Konya Airport - the base that NATO had been planning to land its ground forces - was knocked out of action. Meanwhile, most NATO aircraft, barring some of the US reinforcements, had been pulled back to RAF Akrotiri.
The imbound American assets from across Europe were moved to Balikesir and Eskisehir ABs; however, due to the rapid turn of events, not all the squadrons could assemble all their aircraft and crews in time. Some were still enroute to Turkey as the battle commenced.
With Incirlik AB and hundreds of NATO personnel now in real danger of falling into enemy hands, an operation was launched to destroy the Syrian forces approaching the base and to degrade both Russian and Syrian airpower, and air defences threating it...
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NOTES:
This scenario starts with your forces in contact with the enemy. You will lose units; it's your job to choose which ones and to minimise loses to manned platforms, especially fifth-gen and support aircraft. Both NATO and the Russians have access to stealth aircraft in this scenario; both also have access to UCAVs armed with air-to-air weapons.
If possible, use your Boeing Airpower Teaming System (BATS) drones (CMO Have Raiders) to flush out enemy fifth-gen jets before using your F-35 "Panthers" to target them. Be-aware that Russian and Syrian air defence units are right out your doorstep, which is why there is a SEAD mission already set up and in progress. It is recommended that the player takes some time to assess all the missions already in progress; feel free to change any existing missions or RPs that aren't locked or are NNZs.
Special Messages should be turned on; otherwise, you may get a rather nasty surprise! Unlimted Base Mags, Aircraft Damage and Effects of Terrian Type settings should all be turned on.
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