|
LOMAC War Story 2
Since the last war story there have been a number of improvements to
LOMAC, both graphical and functional. The screenshots were taken at 1024
on a Radeon 9700 but were then heavily compressed for the web. Please
note that my tactics in this mission rely heavily on the fact that the
enemy (EuroForce) AWACS has been shot down. Had the AWACS been up I would
have been forced to use very different tactics and the Mirages would have
entered the fight with a distinct advantage over me (as my early Mig-29A
cannot carry the R-77 missile). Still, lest anyone think it was easy,
let me tell you - the Tornado at the end was hard work! FWIW my Mig-29A
is the one with the 33. IAP circular badge on its fin while my wingman
doesn't have it and does have a slightly different camouflage pattern.
This story takes place between Novorossiisk and Tuapse - a familiar battleground
to IL-2/FB pilots - and shows the lower hills of the Caucasus. The higher
mountains will have to wait until the development team finish the Su-25!
Lastly, I wrote this story from Build 39: we are now on Build 41 and there
have been at least two changes that materially affect this story since
it was written - the operation of Tornado radar and the datalink system.
LOMAC continues to develop so please remember these stories may not represent
the final product.
Our Early-Warning Radar picked up the two EuroForce aircraft as they lift
off from their base in Georgia. We are scrambled from Novorossiisk at
once. I start my engines and as they spool up I call for permission from
the tower to taxi to the runway and am told to taxi to runway 04. I am
there well before my wingman and I set the brakes and cut the throttle
while I wait. He lines up behind me and slightly to my right and lets
me know he was ready - I get permission for take-off from the tower, drop
flaps and push the throttle to just short of the detents - the Mig-29A
has a very low fuel capacity and afterburner is strictly combat-only.
Even with a 1500 litre droptank underneath I will have to be very careful
with my fuel.
Brakes off and we accelerate down the runway - as the airflow over the
wings increases my nose lifts gently as the wings take some of the weight
off the nosewheel. I wait until I can see the numbers at the far end before
easing the stick back. Behind me my wingman hits the afterburner a touch
to close up. As our wheels come up the FOD doors open and the dorsal intakes
close. Once I pick up enough speed I lift my flaps and turn off the navigation
lights.
 We swing south-east from Novorossiisk, heading towards Gelendzhik
and towards Georgian airspace well to our front. Since St.Lt. Vorobyov's
victory in shooting down the EuroForce AWACS last night we will for once
have an advantage over the enemy - our early-warning radar and datalink
give us battlespace information that for once the enemy can't match. Another
AWACS will already be on its way from Italy but we can count on a 24 hour
window of opportunity to really hit the enemy if they'll only come far
enough in our direction. It would have been nice to have one of the more
modern Mig-29S, with its greater fuel capacity and wiring for the R-77
missile, but today we'll have to manage with what we have and trust to
our tactics to win.
[PREVIOUS PAGE][NEXT PAGE]
|
