Northern Fury – Hammer
Playtest Report by Primarchx Apr 2017
Looking the targets you're going to need ...
Just for DP...
Tunnel Entrances (400DP/Lt Armor): 2 x BLU-109/B hits (363DP each) x 12 = 24 BLU-109s
Ferry Piers (1500DP/Lt Armor): 5 x BLU-109/B hits (363DP each) x 2 = 10 BLU-109s
Bridge (300DP/Lt Armor): 1 x BLU-109/B hit (363DP each) x 1 = 1 BLU-109
HQ Bunker (600DP/Special Armor): 2 x BLU-109/B hits (363DP each) x 1 = 2 BLU-109s
So that's a minimum of 37 BLU-109s out a total of 32 BLU-109s carried on 336FS' Strike Eagles. This tally doesn't count misses, malfunctions, penetration reduction, weapon losses to ADA and a/c losses to ADA. So two separate strikes will be needed. It will take about 2 hours for all 8 KC-135s to fly up to a refueling track in Norway to support the strike. Then three hours for the first strike, 6 more hours to rearm, leaving about an hour to finish the scenario. There can be some overlap with the tankers and strike time so perhaps 2 hours for the second strike? Pretty tight but likely doable.
All combat aircraft should go in one big strike. There's no reason to part the attack in smaller packages. Initial primary targets are the closer tunnel entrances with ferries as secondary. Perhaps lead with the Viper fighters due to their shorter endurance so they attack first and head home. Then WW (F-16/F-4G) go in with Eagles, trailed very slightly by Strike Eagles. Strike Eagles decide how to use stand-off GBU-15s vs LBG GBU-24s depending on ADA situation and suppression. The NF-5As can be sent out right away to test defenses but don't expect any to come home. Realistically you would probably save them for the final strike wave for BDA purposes and checking out the second strike targets.
The second strike would be similar but targeting the Ferries, HQ and Bridge.
Weather isn't good for IIR GBU-15. Cloud deck is 10k. While I can buddy lase for GBU-24s, getting acquisition and being at launch altitude with GBU-15 may not work.
So far I've launched all aircraft and am in the midst of IFR. The RNoAF EW Falcon is up front checking out the electronic OOB. Next come the Viper Fighters to handle the first wave of Sov interceptors. Then teams of F-4Gs and Vipers with ARM-only loadouts to handle Area SAMs/EW radars with Eagles as escorts. Then the Strike Eagles as follows...
- Bridge: 4 x Strike Eagle with GBU-15
- Ferries: 4 x Strike Eagle with GBU-15, 2 x Strike Eagles with GBU-24
- Northern Tunnels: 2 x Strike Eagle with GBU-24
Last up are the RNoAF RF-5s.
I'll ignore the HQ and the Bridge Strike Eagle flight will attack the Ferries from stand-off once the bridge is down. General purpose secondary targets are tunnels as flights egress.
Will split WW into four teams - two of [2 x F-4G (AGM-88/65) + 2 x F-16 (AGM-88)] and two of [4 x F-4G (AGM-88) + 2 x F-16 (AGM-88)]. The first two groups are close escort for the GBU-24 Strike Eagles to suppress near target defenses. The second two groups are for suppressing longer-ranged SAMs and surveillance radars to the north and south of the target area.
After Refueling the Viper fighters took the western track while the stand-off SEAD aircraft preceded the main strike packages by 15nm.
At about 70nm SE of Bodo Vipers began to fire HARMs at the early warning radar sets currently radiating (Long Track P-40) south of the target area. The strike aircraft have set their IP for the Langvatnet (Long Lake) east of the target area, hoping to be able to take advantage of the valleys on their attack runs. A pair of Vipers and a pair of F-4Gs send ARMs in toward the P40s and expose an SA-15 battery covering one of them and an attack on a far Snow Drift EW radar gets the SA-12 to reveal its' position southeast of Bodo. An SA-4 sends a pair of SAMs toward the western fighter screen, missing and getting a HARM show back at it, destroying the radar. One HARM gets through to an apparently unguarded Long Track.
Immediately after that several a/c are launched from Bodo and head toward the NATO strike at high speed which turn out to be Flankers. I send a pair of Vipers toward them and immediately trigger a pair of long-ranged AA-10s. This pair splashed three Flankers at a loss of one. The last kill being a twisting low-level knife fight in the mountain valleys. I divert another pair of Vipers to cover two other Flankers closing from the Southwest. Those two are downed but an AAM hits one of my fleeing Phantoms.
About now the lead Viper fighters have made it to the Long Lake and take cover positions away from any obvious SAM umbrellas. The stand-off SEAD group is right behind them. Lost another Viper on RTB that's hit by a pop-up Flanker off to it's West. This Flanker pursues a WW Phantom but is shot down by an RTBing Viper. A forward pair of Eagles shoots down the Mainstay over Narvik. A pair of Floggers approaches from the north and a pair of Eagles is vectored toward them.
An SA-11 attacks a pair of WW covering the GBU-24 Strike Eagles heading for the northern tunnel entrances. The first SAMs miss and a pair of HARMs are fired back in return. The GBU-24 Strike Eagles need to be config'd for buddy lasing (one in the group below 10k' and the other above 10k') which is a hassle. The group of GBU-15 Strike Eagles tasked with attacking the Ferry Points and Bridge arrive at their firing points and have no problem releasing their payloads.
An SA-10 battery unmasks near the Evenes airbase. It shoots down the first set of 4 GBU-15s headed for the Bridge but gets a good dozen HARMs lofted its' way in return. Four GBU-15s destroy the Drag-Kjøpsvik (Route 827 Ferry Pier). Of course I now realize that the GBU-24 has a 2k' minimum release altitude! (duh) Destroyed 4 tunnel entrances wiht a pair of GBU-24 Strike Eagles, dodging SA-11s and SA-6s while porpoising up from 200' to 4000' to release LGBs. Then two GBU-15s hit the Bognes ferjekai (E6 Ferry Pier) and destroyed that. An AMRAAM fired 'over the shoulder' at the Su-24MP gets a lucky strike and it goes down as well. The backup pair of GBU-15 Strike Eagles successfully destoys the Skjomen Bridge and everyone is heading home.
The remaining pair of GBU-24 Strike Eagles makes a pass over tunnels on it's way out then everyone, especially the Phantoms, makes for the tankers. A few last-second HARMs impact SA-11 radars near Evenes and knock them out. Several MiG-23 and a couple of MiG-31 arrive near Narvik and my rear-guard Eagles begin to engage. Seven out of twelve tunnel entrances are destroyed on the way back south along with a second A-50 lifting off from Bodo. Lost an RF-5A sent up to photorecon the bridge to a pair of MiG-23s but photo runs over the tunnels and ferry points are successful.
Tense BVR battle north of the Long Lake. AMRAAMs swatting MiG-23s out of the air and Eagles twisting around inbound Amos AAMs. Lose two Strike Eagles in the fight but knock down a Foxhound and several other fighters in exchange.
Final Score is 304 MINOR VICTORY even though I destroyed the primary targets and over half the lower-tier as well as a 3:1 air combat ratio.