A LOMAC Mission Report: It Happened So Fast! Page 3

By SimHQ on December 2, 2003 in _air, hide

	”712, pince right.”“Two, copy.” Vasily is confident. Good. On the AWACS link I see him swing out right, setting up a funnel for the enemy flight, which is still oblivious to our presence.
	My SPO-15 is beeping with their radar sweep. Soon, the two-man fighters will see us. They have operators in the back seat for their radar sets.I check the APP-50 dispenser, and see I have 32 combined chaff-flare cartridges available.
	The SPO-15 beeps, and then emits a steady tone. The Phantoms have locked onto me!
	I have seconds before a Sparrow-M will be launched. I cut in Music to gain time, and in DVB mode, I see two ranked contacts coming into focus. My DVB HUD is oriented in the same “god’s eye” mode that you Westerners are used to in your APG-63, 68, 70, or 73 radar units.
	I designate the lower one, which is closest to me, and fire an R-27TE…
	…then pull a hard, 9-g turn left, punching APP-50 cartridges.
	The shrill beeping from the SPO-15 is punctuated by a warning from Vasily, “One, missile launch, twelve o’clock!”Immediately, I roll out and put the incoming Sparrow on my beam. We are far enough away that I remain in DVB, with a lock on the element lead. I see the AIM-7’s smoke trail, but the radar lock has been broken; the missile streaks by, behind me, impotent.
	“Missile away.” Vasily is not about to let me be the only one to gain a kill this day. He has fired at the remaining F-4, an R-27ER. As I correct and roll back in, Vasily curses, for the Turk has broken the lock. “One, shooter.” I am calling for the next shot, but Vasily has already let fly with another R-27RE. “Roger. Missile away.” He is concentrating on the second F-4 as I reset into BVB-Vertical Scan mode, and mash the button. The system pops into Autotrack mode, and the arrow at the bottom left of my BVB-ATK display is pointed hard across the HUD, telling me that the element lead is beaming me to break the radar lock. The arrow at the bottom left of my DVB-ATK display is pointed hard across the HUD, telling me that the element lead is beaming me to break the radar lock. In my excitement, I have relied on my radar too much! This would lead to my fast death were my opponent a NATO or American flier. Thankfully, this Turk is too stupid to exploit my error. He and his wingman cross my path, in an effort to evade Vasily’s missile. I will make them dance for their pains. “Fox two, long.”