Today the 222nd got to play in the sand box with a mission out of Ben Gurion Israel. Gypsy 5 flight was tasked with a low level runway strike after the area was cleared of SA-6, SA-10, and HAWK defenses by the package SEAD flight. Supporting this mission was an escort flight and a TARCAP flight that cleared out the hostile air to make a safe passage to the target area. This was a well designed campaign mission in the Israel theater with a nice coordinated effort from all flights. The mission was a success since the runway was successfully destroyed, but not without some unfortunate losses along the way.
Pictures from the OCA Strike flight lead - Gypsy 5-1.
The route - just over 2 hours flight time.
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Gamblers on ramp start at Ben Gurion
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About 8 miles out - 100 feet over the desert - strike area smoking from the SEAD flight
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Hit from AAA fire when at 500 kts and 100 feet over the runway - jet still running, but no avionics
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Stud 5-1 to the rescue to find me and escort me back home, even firing on a hostile to drive him away.
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Glad to be on the deck and watch all of the returning flights.
Cowboy 6 looking smooth with a close formation landing!
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