DCS BLACK SHARK: Georgian Oil War B5.2
Skullsplitter, SMA and I flew a Black Shark mission just now. I took screenshots, because who wants to watch a video of an ENTIRE DCS mission being played? In some instances, due to the nature of screenshots, action was missed; shots, explosions, missiles whizzing by. Text will detail what the pictures don't.
This here is the mission editor. It's a single player mission, but in DCS it's very easy to edit it to become multiplayer. While I'm editing, SMA and Skullsplitter are in the mission planner, a tool that allows you to edit your payload and waypoints, but without being able to add additional entities or edit current ones. Although this may look like cheating, the enemy units shown here are only what is known or suspected by friendly intelligence. Hidden units remain hidden in the mission planner unless I turn an option on specifically. So, using this map we're able to plan out how we're going to fly. On this particular mission, we're tasked with supporting a friendly armored attack. The red lines are a mix of our flight plan, noted as ingress, attack, and egress, and the rest represent the paths the friendly tank platoons will be taking. One T-80 platoon for the Southern end, two for the Northern. The circles with OBJECTIVE in them obviously denote their objectives. In their immediate way are three platoons in the middle of a city, right across the river: two MBT platoons, and one APC. Fortunately, the urban terrain makes the APCs less dangerous as they won't be able to engage from long range with ATGMs. This means our primary focus should be on destroying the Abrams. In any event, with three of us, the destruction of all three platoons should not pose a problem.
We agree upon first flying to ingress, then gaining altitude and attacking the enemy front line in Kutaisi from standoff range, which is about 7 KM for us. A healthy distance should be maintained, because we'll have to gain altitude to see anything in the city. Flying low, only buildings will be visible, and supporting the ground attack would be impossible without getting very close, which would in turn jeopardize us. By staying far behind friendly lines for the first part of the operation, we ought to be able to guarantee our safety against enemy SAMs and AAA. Once the initial line is breached, we'll fly to the Southwestern edge of Kutaisi to engage if at all possible the artillery platoon at Objective 2. Flying south is beneficial in that it allows us to see past a hill that's blocking them. It's important to destroy them because despite the fact that it's merely self-propelled artillery, I have seen main battle tanks destroyed by direct artillery fire in the past, and it'd be a damn shame if we lost because a previously battered MBT platoon showed up to its objective and was destroyed by them. Unfortunately, if we can't engage, we'll have to get closer by flying low - the river is deemed the cutoff for high flying because known enemy Chaparrals begin their engagement envelope around there. They fire AIM-9s which are mercifully infrared, but still dangerous to us. Additionally, caution will have to be taken flying high even BEFORE the river because at the town they could easily have MANPADs or AAA stationed, unbeknownst to intelligence. On the North end, we don't worry as much because there's two platoons going instead of one, and the enemy APC platoons before the objective appear to be out of range to engage their path. We (perhaps foolishly) do not make a flight plan to assist the Northern wing.
Takeoff. Believe that's SMA to my left.
I take lead. Our formation is loose totally on purpose. The choppers have different camo due to me being lazy when I add the additional player slots to the game.
As we approach the Ingress point, signs of battle can already be seen in Kutaisi. On the lower right the ABRIS can be seen displaying a map showing the flight plan, as well as the positions of myself and my wingmen. SMA and Skull are the red circles behind the aircraft icon.
Since we're nearing, I decide to begin scouting with the Shkval, our (not infrared) forward looking camera. As I mentioned earlier, altitude will have to be gained to perceive anything other than buildings. My camera is pointed right at a target point featuring Bradleys, yet none are visible.
But as I gain altitude to kill them, the LWR (laser warning receiver) goes off. I'm being lased, but I'm still far from the objective. Because I can see I'm being lased from the East, the possibility that some unknown platoon to the North is lasing me is impossible. Also impossible would me being lased from the East. Ground forces won't lase you from that far, since they have no hope of hitting you without a SAM, and SAMs aren't laser guided. Two possibilities: that there's a piece of equipment prominently featured in the German missions that lases you constantly (bug, presumably), or there's enemy Apaches around, ready to fuck us up. I immediately slam down the collective and nose down to gain speed and drop altitude, go into a turn to head further back, and inform my wingmen that Apaches may be afoot.
After I shake the initial lase, no wingmen report anything, so I cautiously climb again and get eyes on a target. I'm lased as I do so, but I temporarily disregard it in the event that it may indeed be that piece of shit Kraut anti-air that lases you nonstop at huge ranges. Unfortunately, I also fuck up the launch because this mission is a runway start, meaning you don't startup the chopper yourself. I forgot to turn the laser on after taking off, so the missiles won't fire. This is quickly corrected, but not before Skullsplitter is lased as well and blurts out that she just saw an Apache fly behind the target point she was attacking. Shit is NOT a drill.
She takes evasion while attempting to describe as best as she can where she saw it. With her help, I'm able to acquire one Apache. The KA-50 has no real air-to-air armament, but the ATGMs it employs are fast enough to intercept slower moving air targets. It even has a firing mode for them that causes the missile to use a promixity fuse, causing damage on a near miss. I set it on and fire!
Unfortunately, the Apache is moving perpendicular to me and the missile detonates, but too far aft to cause real damage. I fire again for the same result. I'm pretty fuckin pissed, because now Skullsplitter and SMA by now have several MBTs to their name, where I've fired wasted two ATGMs to no effect.
Friendly SAM hits it instead.
And its toast. In some instances I'd have been annoyed at the kill thievery, but AI Apaches are terribly effective against both us and our friendly ground forces, upon which the success of the mission hinges. So really, I'm just glad he's dead. Thing is though, they never fly alone.
I'm lased myself this time, having gone a little ahead to try to engage the Apache. It's from beyond that hill I'm looking at now. I can't tell if it's an Apache or ground forces because I got too damn close. In any event, I'm able to easily drive and break line of sight using the hill and come to no harm before I again search for the remaining Apache.
Like so!
Unfortunately SMA, who had hitherto been engaging the tank platoon assigned to him, has now fallen victim to the remaining enemy chopper. The KA-50 is sort of a piece of shit that has no radar warning/missile plume detection systems. You can't really tell if there's missiles in the air or not. On the bright side, SMA engaged and destroyed the entire platoon he was attacking before going down, so we're a leg up on the attack.
I'm able to locate the second Apache because of missiles plumes, tracers and flares. I fuck up getting a lock though, and before long friendly anti-air takes him out. Thing is though, before the Apaches died, they fired a decent number of missiles. I don't know how many were at us, but it stands to reason that we lost a few tanks to them. Hope the damage wasn't critical.
Shown here. Knowing that I now have to engage the enemy front line and in so doing be high altitude, I move away from the hill knowing that there's enemy ground units behind it who might destroy me if I gain altitude close by.
Finally have a lock on an APC and am perfectly safe. First kill of mission. Gotta play catch up now.
Victoly! The rest of the APCs are destroyed and I'm informed that our friendly platoons have crossed the river and are into enemy territory. This means the next thing to do is travel south and engage the artillery at their objective.
Skullsplitter and I pull up to what we hope is a safe spot to engage the artillery from. Going too far south, we run into known AAA. Also fun shot of ruined town.
Artillery found without too much trouble.
They're destroyed without incident, though I do waste an ATGM trying to kill a dude with a MANPAD just in case we needed to do a close attack. Anyway, with this thread mostly out of the way, we have no doubt that the southern objective will be secured. So what do we do now? As mentioned early, we made no provision for attacking the northern objective since we decided it shouldn't be a problem. But left with nothing else to do, and worried about casualties inflicted by the Apaches, it seems prudent to head northward and ensure there won't be any serious opposition. Now, since we're on the southern end and we're not lased and there's been no AAA or MANPAD fire, I decide the best route would be simply to dive down onto the streets of Kutaisi and head north that way, since we'll be heading into territory cleared by our armored platoons. The buildings will shield us from any other fire, and flying low and using the ABRIS we will hopefully be able to find a decent spot to attack from. We're mindful of the fact that there are likely surviving enemy platoons further West of the objective. We want to be in between - close enough to shoot, but far enough to not be shot from the East, as well as West, or failing that, obscured by terrain from the West.
I look back to the town to see friendly MLRS slamming it. Perty. Though, its already secured, so maybe they should stop...
I begin to pass by the burned wrecks of MBTs and APCs lying in the wake of our ever victorious army.
After leaving the town and cresting a hill without incident or lase, we discover this nice valley with a river running through it. It's got mountains East and West, and we haven't been attacked yet. Likely the perfect place to make our attack.
http://i.imgur.com/xMfof.png[/img]
I'm suddenly spooked by a missile that neither of us saw. It was behind me, and I only heard it. Turns out, it's a friendly ATGM engaging some Humvees further north. I decide to help in case the Humvees have ATGMs themselves and try to fuck up the friendly platoon that is evidently passing very close to us.
I engage the remaining one with cannon, not wanting to waste precious ATGMs. It offers no return fire and burns shortly.
I now turn towards the target, gain altitude and creep left, getting that hill on the right out of the way and revealing the target...to find that I am far too close. But fuck it, I'm here, I'll fire one then turn. The issue with command units and artillery is that even if there's no readily apparently anti-air, they pretty much invariably have MANDPADs defending them. I can't see them now, but I know they're there.
The ATGM connects and I turn away, preemptively flaring as I do so. I failed to take screenshots of it unfortunately, but as you can see Skullsplitter was watching from further back and witnessed a SAM launch towards me. The flaring probably saved my ass.
We both get back and engage from a safe distance...but we're running low on ATGMs. There's two artillery pieces left, and I spot dudes with MANPADs. Sometimes the Vikhr missile employed by the KA-50 will miss slightly, causing it to fail against an armored target. So I figure I'll use the last ATGMs to kill the only anti-air I can see and finish the M109s with rockets or cannon fire. Shit is, my first ATGM misses one of the Stinger crew...I have two fire TWO to kill him. Good lot of sense that made. Now I have to run in with cannon to kill the remaining Stinger guy then finish off the artillery battery.
Cannon rounds explode around him, killing him before I'm shot. Probably, his dead partner had the actual launcher, though I was flaring already just in case. Now for the M109s...but shit.
Before joining me, Skullsplitter evidently got too high or too far back or some combination thereof and was targeting by a Bradley of one of the Westward platoons I mentioned earlier. It takes her tail off, but the Black Shark has no tail rotor and she survives for now, attempting to RTB. It's up to me.
I decide to make a rocket run, using the powerful S-13 variant. I bore sight the Shkval to the impact point and line it up on the first piece. Sadly, no screenshots were taken of either exploding. Maybe I need to set the screenshots to 2 seconds instead of 3.
The artillery destroyed, I finish off the remaining softies. Evidently there were no APCs guarding this particular battery. Sadly, no real screenshots were taken of cannon rounds or rockets impacting, so yeah I'll use 2 second screenshot intervals next time. Now it's time to RTB. I head back the way I came, knowing its safe having traversed it already.
I leave after firing rounds into the last truck, flying over it as it smokes....
and explodes.
Back along the river...
Past some newly burning shit...
over some civilian traffic that I begin to shoot because why not.
That'll show you to get occupied by Russians. Also, mission complete. The friendly platoons made it to their objectives.
And finally back to base, precariously perched as I am wont to position myself for whatever reason. Sadly, Skullsplitter's damage proved too much and she crashed before she was able to RTB.
The sole survivor of the lead northern platoon stands among the wreckage of the artillery battery I just attacked. He might not have survived if we didn't attack, although there WAS a backup platoon that would have certainly gotten the job done.
The southern platoon has taken no casualties though. At the cost of two KA-50s. Maybe we'll learn not to die some day. But to be fair, we did have to deal with Apaches. It's harder than it looks.
