Advice on How to Approach Complex Task

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Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/14/2017 11:52:08 PM

apoll

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Joined: 6/20/2007
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Hello. I'm wondering if I might be able to get some advice on how to approach a complex tactical problem of the type that frequently pops up in CMNAO? I thought I'd ask for help because I find myself able to nut out the more simple problems but feel just a tad overwhelmed by the more complex tactical tasking.

The type of mission I'm talking about is the one where you have a well structured and sophisticated IADN to deal with and where you have to get through this sufficiently to destroy a strategic facility or asset. It often involves a whole country and there are radars, SAMs and an airforce to contend with. I intuit that it is not about destroying entirely the enemy capability, but degrading a selected portion of it so you can make holes big enough to push through the planes or missiles that will deliver the knockout blow. I have in the past just decided to launch a bunch of tommohawks at a radar or SAM cluster, only to see them shot down one by one by enemy SAMs or airplanes. Hmmm. Clearly there is a bit of preparatory work involved first to enable the missiles to get to the target in the first place.

So...leaving aside the tactical response of unforeseen events as the plan unfolds, how does one approach such a complex task? Is it about setting suppprt missions in place first, getting recon elements up first to survey and work out where everything is, and in.y then start plinking out specific IADN assets to open holes through which you can push through more planes and missiles? What's an SOP that should be applied generally to such a situation? What's the most important assets to degrade first: I'm assuming it's the IADN? How do I stop all my tommohawks being shot down before they reach their targets? What's the necessary prerequisite for missiles striking land targets to succeed?

Grateful views here. I'm not after detailed gameplans, although if someone wants to spend the time and effort sharing theirs, I'm all ears. More after a set of principles I can apply in Snyder given situation that I can can apply and tweak to the specific tactical situation. Without such an approach, I fear I shall remain a bit overwhelmed by the complexity ofbsome of the missions, particularly those that ask you to get i to a country past its IADN.

Thank you in snticipation.

Regards,

Apoll

Post #: 1

RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/15/2017 3:46:02 AM

Cik

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tomahawks should often be saved for the knockout blow, if the target is non-hardened, if it is, they should be saved for SAMs or soft targets not capable of point defense (that is to say, they are excellent at killing SA-2 through SA-6, but anything above that they will generally get massacred by)

my methodology is this: first i launch all my available ELINT/AEW birds and escorts sufficient to protect them, then after a short spell of standoff reconnaissance to assess the enemy defense and capability. then i begin the attack proper. i usually concentrate on the outer ring of enemy defenses first. if the enemy is patrolling "deep" then you should attack SAM and anti-access stuff first. in particular an effort should be made to totally blind the enemy if possible, the real thing that kills tomahawks is advance warning. concentrate all available force (IE, all the forces that you have that aren't going to be needed to defend yourself from counterstrikes) along a reasonably narrow corridor (but wide enough to make sure the enemy's AD does not overlap) and make attacks with sufficient mass to penetrate the point defense capability of the enemy. once the anti-access units are worn away by repeated anti-radiation/GPS weapon/decoy deployment, decide what is the most expedient way to defang the enemy's aircraft component; this often takes the form of a continuous AAW patrol large enough in size to defeat any attempted intercept, or may take the shape of an OCA strike against the weakest component of the enemy airbase(s).

once those things are worn away, dedicate the recon or strike assets necessary to destroy the target, making sure that they are interrupted as little as possible during ingress and egress, then pull your forces out in waves to assure mutual support is maintained.

if they decide to make the air component the outside layer of their defenses, then simply switch the order around a little. launch sweeps and SEAD escorts for those sweeps (if necessary) and destroy the enemy's air component. note that sometimes these things can happen at the same time, depending on the terrain, the capability of the SAMs and aircraft, your available forces and the length of the front you are engaged on.

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/15/2017 3:50:25 AM

apoll

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Tks Cik. Much appreciated. Makes sense. So...do you attack radars first and SAMs second or the other way around? Or doesn't matter?

Apoll

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/15/2017 1:45:22 PM

Cik

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neutralize every radar you can that covers the approaches to the SAMs, so the SAMs are forced to emit themselves if they want to know if they are under attack. often enough they will be very intermixed though, and you will have to attack both at the same time. tomahawks are excellent for this, as long as they are not under the umbrella of S-300+

generally speaking, you should be whacking anything that emits a signal stronger than a cell phone, to make sure that any low-level ingress strike missions, tomahawks or incoming weapons are detected as late as possible by the enemy.

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/15/2017 11:05:29 PM

apoll

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Tks Cik. Much appreciated. I'm currently in the opening stages of the rogue Pakistani airbase with nukes, so will apply your suggestions and report back.

Regards,

Apoll

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/16/2017 2:51:03 PM

Cik

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ah, that one. it's one of my favorite missions but it is quite the tangle to figure out. if you want more specific advice, i always chop through east iran (path of least resistance)then set up your ELINT/AEW/tankers in afghanistan's relatively clear skies, then from there start driving into pakistan's north sector directly at the mad general.

spotting the TELs with recce is pretty hard, and coordinating the strike to get all of them simultaneously is even harder.

probably my favorite mission of all the ones included with the game though, interesting scenario and very "wide" with multiple approaches.

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/16/2017 4:21:41 PM

ExNusquam

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cik
probably my favorite mission of all the ones included with the game though, interesting scenario and very "wide" with multiple approaches.

I wholeheartedly agree - the scenario gives you plenty of assets and time to make use of them. Last time I played it I only made one strike into Pakistan (F-22s and B-2s) and only had to kill a few PAF fighters that thought my CAP in Afghanistan got to close to the border. Other people have been just as successful by kicking the door down with TACTOMs and B-52s.

< Message edited by ExNusquam -- 4/16/2017 4:22:11 PM >

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/17/2017 6:36:25 AM

apoll

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Ok. didn't do too well. Opened up a corridor through Iran into Afghanistan and placed all my hopes on the Raptors. They had a long journey after 6 hours of prep from the Gulf into striking position in eastern Afghanistan. Strange behaviour in many cases. however.They, and other aircraft on missions as well, would suddenly start going off somewhere completely on their own accord, and no amount of plotting course or assigning and reassigning would stop their wayward journeys. About the only thing that would stop them would be to RTB. This happened with the Raptors and the F-16 Cap and the Growler support. I found the Growler support had flown all the way across Pakistan, only to be shot down by some angry Pakistani planes after a whacked a radar and airfield on the way to the Mad general'
s nuclear dump. Not sure why they did that. If anyone can suggest a reason. Just started going off in a straight line after a while on station; nothing could pull them back. Also, finally got the GBU armed Raptors to attack the nuclear dump, but didn't work. Did not destroy the storage facilities for some reason so I guess had better pay more attention to what ordnance they are carrying. Also, how do you stop a CAP from firing their missiles at extreme range of the envelope? Happened all the blessed time. The other strange thing that happened was the Iranian planes: after got rid of some radar sights, the Iranians naturally laucned a bunch of planes. One minute they were in the air, the next suddenly idssapeared, never to be seen again. is this a bug?

Anyway, fun learning, even though my score was 'DISASTER'.

Apoll

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/17/2017 7:53:12 AM

Tailhook

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Your planes were probably off to refuel. They can get pretty consumed by this task, rightfully so. Make sure tankers are on-station in an area appropriate, safe, and entoute to the target.

CAP range and ROE can be adjusted under the EMCON/ROE/WRA settings. I usually fire my missiles at 70-80% max range to increase kill rate for minimal increased risk. Also be careful with the investigating contacts boxes because they can go way off station if not monitored.

You chose one of, if not the most difficult scenarios in the game. It sounds like you're still pretty new to the game. I would recommend getting the community scenario pack and trying some of the simpler scenarios in order to get a grasp on some of the concepts without being overwhelmed by others, then coming back to this fun but hard one.

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RE: Advice on How to Approach Complex Task - 4/17/2017 4:50:38 PM

Cik

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the scenario requires several tanker tracks and lots of no-navs to work out. otherwise your aircraft will either spend all of their time refueling or get shot down wandering through heavily-defended corridors.

like tailhook says, the scenario is complicated and very hard. you can keep playing it if you like, of course, but you may want to try something easier first.

< Message edited by Cik -- 4/17/2017 4:54:12 PM >

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Post #: 10