Mission 4 of the Pirate Voyage - this time you're escorting an aid convoy.
This mission was inspired by events and sorties described in "617 - Going to war with today's Dambusters" by Tim Bouquet - about the deployment of RAF Tornadoes fr om 617 squadron to Afganistan in 2011 - squadron motto "Apres moi - le deluge". They took over from a Harrier squadron, and this is one of the types of missions they frequently flew, although it's a tad busier.
All the same, it's a change of pace from the missions so far - just babysitting a convoy - what could possibly go wrong?
Expect to get a lot of use out of the targetting pod, and lots of practice finding and wh ere neccesary engaging targets, once again with a little help from Marine Force recon team Barbossa.
Updated 4th Jan 2021, added pdf briefing and maps, minor edits to the mission itself.
Updated 6th November 2021 to reflect changes to Harrier ordnance options.
Pirate Voyage Mission 4 – The Davy Jones Locker
Installation:
Download the zip file, use 7zip or similar to unpack it, copy the .miz file to your DCS Missions folder:
C:\Users\User’s name\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta (if you’re using the DCS OpenBeta)\Missions
If you’ve got loads of missions, you might want to save it to a sub folder marked ‘Harrier’ or similar so you can find it more easily.
Short briefing:
Take off, follow the waypoints, look for a convoy to protect, listen out for contact from the ground.
Full briefing:
Situation
Qeshm airport is being used to ferry relief supplies to the island from the UAE and Jordan. The local government very grateful and is due to petition the UN to recognise their independence and authorise a stronger military presence from US and Gulf state forces, but in the mean time, the Tarawa’s complement and limited help from the UAE is what we’ve got to work with.
The UN is keen not to antagonise the Iranian government, but it leaves us with a relatively small resource to work with.
Another earthquake has struck during the night. A medical centre in the town of Chahu Sharghi, approximately 20 miles to the west, has been especially badly hit and an aid convoy has set off to help. They’ve just left the airport, eta. Chahu Sharghi 0850.
Iranian government forces may be in the area and may try to interfere with the operation to discredit our relief effort and put pressure on the local government to submit to mainland rule.
The Black Pearl (The Tarawa group) has left the harbour after unloading supplies through the night, and is steaming east along the coast.
On the positive side, it’s a beautiful morning in the Gulf, and NATO has freed up AWACs support!
Objective:
Protect the convoy. If they take significant casualties, they’ll be no use to the people of Chahu Sharghi and will have to turn back.
Friendly Units in the area:
Marine Force Recon team – callsign Barbossa:
Set out early this morning and have an observation post in the hills approximately half way to your destination. They’ll make contact when they see you approach and advise on any threats to the convoy that they need your help with. They’re in radio contact with them and will act as liaison to keep the convoy moving or holding up as needed.
Aid Convoy – callsign Davy Jones:
A mixed group of trucks - mainly unarmed, but with a BMP3 in the point position.
Hostile forces:
Ground threats:
There’s a lot of support for independence on the island, but local ex-government forces are still around, and are likely to want to disrupt operations, possibly supported by the mainland.
Anti-Aircraft defences:
None in the area, but there’s always a chance that local Iranian government forces may have AAA and MANPADS, so keep your eyes open.
On the mainland, SA6 and SA2 batteries are based to the north east, so don’t stray too far that way. The air defences at Bandar Lengeh are still out of action after last night’s operation, so shouldn’t present any threat.
Air Threats:
As before, Iranian mainland forces may be patrolling the area to the north – try and stay out of their way if you can. Along with CAP from the UAE, air defences at Qeshm and the Black Pearl group will hopefully keep the Iranians out of the way.
Flights:
Dodge flight
Type: 1x AV8B
Freq: 243MHz
Task: Convoy protection
Ordnance: 2xAIM 9M, 2x AGM65E2, 2xHydra rocket pods, Litening pod
Primary targets: Any threats to the target, once authorised to strike by Barbossa
Waypoints:
1. Kavarzin town
2. Tabl village
3. Guran village
4. Chahu Sharghi medical centre
5. FARP Tortuga
6. Divert – Black Pearl - Tarawa
Colt flight
Type: 2x UAE Mirage 2000
Freq: 251MHz
Task: CAP
Uzi flight
Type: 2x UAE Mirage 2000
Freq: 251MHz
Task: CAP
Darkstar
Type: E3A Sentry
Freq: 243MHz
Task: AWACS
Other Frequencies:
Tarawa – Black Pearl: 127.5MHz
Qeshm: 38.550MHz, 118.050MHz, 250.150MHz
Bullseye:
Queshm Airport
