Shadow of the Condor
Posts: 394
Joined: 2/9/2004
From: Chicago
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Okay everyone, here's the story. I've tried to incorporate the game into the narrative, and I'll post the screenies up after the story, to try and provide a visual perspective:
Mission minus six hours…
At 600 miles above the earth’s surface, the satellite continued its track from south to north. Orbiting the planet once every twelve hours, its ground track spiraled from west to east. Eventually, the satellite would move itself out of the target area, but another would be moving in to take its place. This satellite was an older platform, but its camera still provided resolutions that were almost unbelievably accurate.
As it moved across the target area, its processor dutifully snapped pictures at programmed intervals. The pictures were coded into digital bits of information, and – upon completion of its run – were transmitted directly to a communication satellite orbiting 22,300 miles over a fixed point on the earth. The communication satellite then retransmitted its data back to earth, where a communication station in Virginia received the data. The communication station then relayed the data to various points around the globe – officials and planners in Washington DC received the information via hardwire paths while commanders in the Gulf area received the data via another satellite link.
The entire process took less than 10 seconds…
Mission minus five hours…
The results of the opening strike of the war were heartening. Earlier, Apache helicopters had destroyed the radar sites along the Saudi-Iraqi border, and the new F-117A Nighthawks with their stealth capabilities seriously damaged the command and control capability from Baghdad to their field commanders. A massive radar coverage gap now existed between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and doctrine stated that the gap would be closed with mobile radar emitters and SAM sites.
The coalition commanders were counting on it…
Mission minus one hour…Dhahran Air Base…Saudi Arabia…
At the end of the long runway, the pilots in two EF-111B aircraft moved their throttles forward and their engines rocketed them into the air. They turned east and headed out over the Persian Gulf…
Onboard the carrier America…
Banzai, Thumper, Dino, and Lime were grouped around a map and photographs of the proposed target area. The photos showed only a mobile SA-6 on a BRDM-2 vehicle. Potentially dangerous, the men knew the range of the missile was limited. A ZSU-23 AAA mobile gun was also present. The photos were delivered only 30 minutes earlier, and were less than six hours old. The pilots and planners knew the vehicles might have left by now, but the important piece of information was that there were no fixed sites visible. Most of the squadron was being held back for missions later in the day. The four pilots that were now heading to the flight deck had the mission of eliminating as many opposing fighters as they could…
Mission plus forty minutes…
Having taken off and joined with the Air Force aircraft, the six planes flew north and went “feet dry”. Almost immediately, the escorts turned their jammers on…
Mission plus forty two minutes…
The pair of MiG-23 aircraft saw the jamming to their south and headed toward it. The pilots knew the jamming was trying to hide something, and radioed to their ground controller they were engaging…
Mission plus forty-three…
The E2-C Hawkeye tracked the pair of MiG fighters as they vectored into the direction of the six plane group. The onboard controller then sent a message to both groups of aircraft. The EF-111s shut down their jammers and dove for the deck, turning south back out over the Gulf. The Hornet pilots sent a total of four missiles against the two enemy planes and turned west, out over the desert, along the Saudi-Iraqi border. The enemy pilots evaded the missiles, and then returned north to their area of patrol, confirming the intruders had been turned away – or, at least, turned away from them…
Mission plus forty-five…
Onboard the carrier, the feed from the Hawkeye’s radar displays was being watched by the air staff. At the same time, the feed was being transmitted back to the coalition planners at Dhahran. The EF-111s had climbed back to altitude, heading toward the carrier. Meanwhile, the F/A-18s were continuing along the border towards the gap exposed earlier in the day by the destruction of the radar stations…
Mission plus seventy-five…the Persian Gulf…
On command from the orbiting Hawkeye, the EF-111Bs once again headed north. Once they crossed the Iraqi border, they again switched on their jammers. The Hawkeye radioed that there were two inbound fighters, and the jammers shut down and again dove for the deck, heading back out to the carrier. It was hoped this would dirvert some attention away from the west...
Mission plus seventy-eight…Dhahran airbase…command center…
The photographs from the latest pass of the satellite were now being examined. Forty miles north of the Saudi border, four vehicles that weren’t there in the earlier photographs were now visible. The analysts confirmed the arrival of the new vehicles, and the commander spoke into the phone to the tower. Two minutes later, a pair of A-10 aircraft were in the air…headed north…
Mission plus eighty…over the Saudi-Iraqi border…
Banzai led his formation west for a few more miles and then turned northeast. The result was that they would approach the target area from the west. They were flying at high altitude and were planning to stay away from the SA-6 – hoping instead to draw the fighter cover over the new radar site out to them. Banzai and Thumper both had two long range AIM120 missiles. They each also carried four AIM-7 Sparrow and 2 AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Dino and Lime carried six Sidewinders and two Sparrows each.
Meanwhile, the A-10s were beginning to approach the Iraqi border…
Mission plus eighty-one…over the target area…
Banzai led his formation into battle, and detected and tracked a Mig-23 that was identified on his display. The two AAMRAM missiles were downloading the navigation data from the plane’s sensors, as well as the target’s range, heading and speed. Banzai fired the two missiles and they flew toward a point that was predicted by the missiles onboard computer. Once that point was reached, the missile’s radar activated. The pilot of the MiG-23 barely had time to register the fact that his warning tone had gone off before both missiles closed the remaining distance and exploded under his belly. The resulting fireball alerted the remaining defenders that the Hornets had arrived…
Mission plus eighty-two…
The MiG-29 that was in the same sector as the now destroyed MiG-23 had his own radar systems illuminated. South of the target a pair of MiG-25s were patrolling, and now both pilots of the had locked onto Thumper. Thumper was able to fire a Sparrow at the first MiG, but the second MiG was able to get a shot off, which Thumper evaded. The MiG-29 pilot had finally locked onto Banzai, and Dino fired a Sidewinder at the MiG, but it went wide. It did, however, alert the MiG that he was now up against two Hornets.
Mission plus eighty-three…
Lime had froze for a split second at the explosion of the MiG-23, but had recovered when Dino fired his Sidewinder at the MiG-29. The Iraqi pilot had skillfully evaded the missile, but had not reacted to the third Hornet that was on his display. Lime wasted no time and fired all six of his Sidewinders at the MiG that was so close to them. The MiG-29 was destroyed, and Lime’s first confirmed kill was against arguably the Iraqi’s most advanced fighter…
Mission plus eighty-four…
The MiG-25 pilot over the target area had locked onto Banzai and fired an AA-9 Aphid missile. Banzai barely avoided the shot, and swung his planes back west, away from the target. Thumper had locked onto one of the MiGs that had fired at him and loosed a pair of Sparrows at the enemy. The Sparrows flew true and the MiG was eliminated. Thumper turned west away from the target…
Mission plus eighty-five…
The MiG-25 over the target had watched three of his fighters destroyed without any damage inflicted to his attackers…He wanted to head east and try to draw the Americans into the missile envelope of the SA-9, but the replacement mobile radar system was being set up just ten miles behind him. The Americans were still in his missile range, but the MiG-23 to his north had to close to maintain contact. He decided to move forward as well, and try to overwhelm one of the Americans…
Mission plus eighty-six…
Banzai turned his planes back west and made another pass into the target area. Dino reported a target lock on the MiG-25 that was closing from the target area. Dino fired his two Sparrows and claimed his first kill.
The remaining MiG-25 on station south of the target fired on Dino and barely missed when Dino finally evaded hard right. The MiG-23 that closed from the north fired at Lime, but Lime successfully evaded the attack. Dino’s evasive maneuver had brought him in range of the MiG-23 that fired on Lime and Dino scored his second kill with a pair of Sparrows.
Thumper had been tracking a lone MiG-23 far to the east. His computer system transferred the target’s data into the missile’s own processor and the missile began its long journey toward the target at Mach 4. The missile ate up the distance rapidly, and the MiG-23 was also destroyed.
Mission plus eighty-seven…
Banzai switched his display to long-range radar and saw the A-10s closing slowly onto his position. With one more fighter in their path, Banzai ordered his planes to close and destroy the remaining MiG. The MiG, however had anticipated that the Americans were not going to fly into the range of the SA-9, and flew west after them. When he realized his mistake he tried to fly past the Americans, but Banzai’s two Sidewinders eliminated the last fighter.
Mission plus eighty-eight…
The commander in the BRDM-2 finally had his chance. He launched against the Hornet that was targeted by his system. The missile barely missed, and the Hornets had cleared the area. Moments later, his vehicle was incinerated by a Maverick missile launched from the A-10s that had arrived as the Hornets were leaving…
Mission debriefing…
The Hornets claimed seven air-to-air kills, and the news from the A-10s was that all ground targets had been eliminated. The pilots were relieved to have lived on the edge and have survived. Their reward was a shower, a meal, and more of the same on the next day…
Mission plus three hours…
600 miles overhead, a satellite continued its west to east spiral coverage of the earth. At the proper time, the processor dutifully began to take pictures, and the computer converted the images to data bits, which would ultimately be transmitted to the commanders and planners of missions…
< Message edited by Shadow of the Condor -- 10/14/2007 6:54:34 AM >
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"Shouldn't we be leading the shark back to shore, instead of him leading us out to sea?"
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