Op Gauntlet - 26 Oct

[Flyco]

Geoff, Boar Flt turns left (i.e. to the North) after T/O.

The Boar IP is slightly to the North, so as to be well out of range of any mobile SAM units with any of the convoys during the run-in; the resulting angle-off can be adjusted on the run-in if necessary but is not a problem.

Your final point: yes the bridge heights are variable - I think it depends on whether DCS measures bridge ht or the ground ht under the bridge - it is not critical. In general I put my aim point, just on the near side of the bridge - over ground if possible. A bit of a foible on my part I'm afraid. That way, a minor miss to left or right, will hit the ground rather that the river below, making it is more likely to bring down the bridge. I suspect that I am crediting DCS with greater attention to detail than needed.

In fact, I have just remeasured the heights and I make them as follows:

Chihu: Near end 130 ft; Middle 123 ft; Far end 130 ft; My aim Pt 131 ft.

Abasha: Near end 114 ft; Middle 104 ft; Far end 119 ft; My aim Pt 112 ft.

Sorry, just re-read my written outline. The final line does indeed say both Flts depart to the South - that was referring to the departure from the target area, from where Departure is to the south for both Flts.

[309 Geoff]

Alan,
Ok, If I fly Boar, I'll alter my I.P.to TGT run as I get closer to the bridge, so I'm aligned with the length of the bridge.
I disagree with your bridge heights. You say the middle of the bridge is 123ft. That is the actual height of the river. Just move your cursor from the middle of the bridge to the river. Both will show 123ft.
The bridge height is 179ft. As the road/rail touches the bridge, it gives heights of 179ft. Assuming the bridge is level, it gives a bridge height of 179ft. Have a look at the image below.

Chihu BridgeJPG.JPG (80.26 KiB) Viewed 1288 times

I always aim for the middle of a bridge. Any error in bridge height will be magnified if the IP to TGT track is not directly in line with the bridge alignment.

[Flyco]

Point taken, Geoff. One would expect the bridge to be level with the roadway on either side, mea culpa. However, since the bomb pretty-much "rides the Laser beam", any error is going to be minimal.

[309 Geoff]

Alan,
In the past, laser guided bombs and JDAMs have missed bridges because of inaccurate heights being set.

I've just tried to take out the Chihu bridge using your heights. I could not lase the bridge during bomb fall, because of an SA-13 opening fire. Did you add the SA-13 to your miz file, because it didn't appear when I tested my route using Father Cools' miz?

[Flyco]

Geoff, there were 2 SA-13s on the .miz I downloaded. It fired on me when I flew against that bridge, That is why I adjusted the run-in to come further from the north.

I am sure that a wildly incorrect height would throw a GBU, but I have used those figures 2 or 3 times in testing and they hit every time.

[Flyco]

I see that an "updated" .miz has now been issued. Unfortunately, the area we are interested in is covered by 4 layers of coloured zones. As a result I cannot even see Kutaisi!

[Father Cool]

Hi Alan, if you go down to the bottom left of the control panel you will see the draw button, this gives you access to the draw layers which are turned on or off via layer check boxes.

[Father Cool]

Geoff, there were 2 SA-13s on the .miz I downloaded. It fired on me when I flew against that bridge, That is why I adjusted the run-in to come further from the north.

I am sure that a wildly incorrect height would throw a GBU, but I have used those figures 2 or 3 times in testing and they hit every time.

Very odd as I never added any SA-13's to the INTEL miz? In fact there shouldn't be any red units on that file.

[309 Geoff]

Alan,
OK, stick with your bridge heights. I cannot understand the SA-13. I used the first miz for planning, and no SA-13 appeared. That's why I suggested re-aligning the IP to TGT run for Chihu bridge.

In the latest miz, Father Cool said "Here is the latest INTEL miz. I have added rough areas of operation for each squadron which can be turned off in the draw menu". That will remoce the AO areas, and you will see Kutaisi.

[Flyco]

Final (I hope) version of Op Gauntlet is attached. This provides for 2 flts of 2-4 x A-10C-2s.

I will publish an outline brief over the weekend. In the meantime, fly it if you wish and let me know of any problems you find.

I am happy to fly Boar lead, unless anyone wants to. We will need a lead for Hawg also.

Paul will you forward it to Father Cool if you are content with it.