King Kong with a noose around my nuts could not drag me down to low altitude again. - Capt. Chris Hill, F-15E driver during the Gulf War.

In this first of a series of articles, we'll take a look at Mission Planning within the campaign structure and single mission options of Jane's F-15.

The quote reflects the general feeling during the Gulf War that for certain sorties, potential SAM threats were actually preferred over the great volume of barrage AAA that was being thrown their way. Traditional F-15E doctrine prior to the Gulf War reflected the fact that the preferred method of attack was fast and low. Unfortunately this method of attack brought them in range of an unexpectedly high AAA threat. The lessons learned during the first days of the Gulf War changed the thinking of air planners, and as a result, sorties were flown at higher altitudes to avoid ground-based AAA.

Mission planning, more commonly referred to as the "frag order", is critical in determining the best way to take out a target. Targets are identified, routes are assigned, ordinance is selected, additional assets (flights) are coordinated, and flight crews/aircraft are chosen for the mission at-hand. This process is akin to an orchestral performance with each element following the score meticulously.

F-15's frag order is the MISSION BRIEFING section. This section supplies a wealth of information for flight planning and gives the pilot the opportunity to modify key mission parameters. I cannot stress this strongly enough: it is important to become familiar with the mission briefing for each mission to the point of memorization. Because key frag order information cannot be recalled during flight, it will be important to have this information available - either by memorization, or in my case keeping copious notes. I like to think of this as my pilot's kneepad and I have it at-the-ready during my flight.

The MISSION BRIEFING is made up of several main sections:

• · Briefing
• · Mission Map
• · Intelligence Information

The following subsections are available within each section:

• · Airframe Select
• · Flight Crew Select
• · Arming - Select Loadout
• · Targeting

Briefing

This area includes most of the mission description text. Key points are usually touched on:

• Mission Background - usually a summary to key points
• Package - how many aircraft in your flight
• Supporting Aircraft - CAP flights, Refueling, AWACs, JSTARS, EW/SEAD, etc.
• Preferred Formation - recommended formation for attack run
• Callsign - fight's ID
• Time on Target (TOT) - the time you should over-fly the target waypoint
• Bullseye - location of "Bullseye" for target/bogey reference
• Weather - meteorological (Met) report
• Expected Threats - possible ground and air threats
• Rules of Engagement (ROE) - be care of missions that specify restricted ROEs
• Targets - target type
• Recommended Loadout - recommended ordinance

Mission Map

Since F-15 doesn't have the ability to recall the mission map in flight, it behooves you to study the mission map beforehand. Is there a Bullseye available? AWACs and JSTARS will identify target location and incoming bogeys by their relative proximity to the Bullseye. Where is the Bullseye in reference to the target waypoint?

Look closely at the mission map. How many waypoints are there? Though the mission map does not label waypoint numbers, you can simply follow the flight path and count the number of WPs. Pay particular attention to the initial point WP (IP - the WP preceding the target WP), the target waypoint, and the egress (exit) waypoint. If refueling is necessary, make sure you know which WP the refueler will be orbiting. Additional flights may form on your flight at a certain waypoint too.

The DATA Up Front Control (UFC) key is an important reference when trying to follow the mission parameters. I regularly use it while I am transiting locations. It gives the pilot a wealth of information including next WP number (plus the ability to switch between WPs), recommended speed and altitude, current time, Estimated Time Enroute/Estimated Time of Arrival, and Fuel Remaining.

The recommended speed and altitude I find are very necessary as the mission planners have probably calculated the necessary Time-on-Target (TOT) and have designed the speed/alt settings to meet the mission criteria. Miss your TOT and its likely that supporting aircraft may not coordinate properly.

Also, take note of any airbases along your flight path. These can be used in the event of mechanical or battle damage. You can locate certain airbases by using the TACAN channels. TACAN identifies not only ground objects, but airborne ones as well. If you ever get turned around and need to locate and airbase or airborne refueler, TACAN can point the way home.

Don't forget you have the ability to add and delete waypoints to the mission. This may be helpful if the default mission WP profile doesn't allow for enough time or a proper angle during High Resolution Map (HRM) generation. Intelligence Information

This section gives the pilot a listing of anticipated ground and air-based threats, at least the ones that they know about. Intelligence is by no means perfect and you should expect the unexpected. That being said, you can probably count on the threats listed in the Intel area showing up. Make sure you've reviewed in your mind how to counter the anticipated threats.

Airframe Select

Although you have the ability to select airframes during mission planning, it doesn't have a significant impact on mission or campaign performance. This may be an area for further improvement for F-15, as the airframes used during a campaign will no doubt require overhaul, maintenance, and improvement during the course of a protracted war. The ability to schedule maintenance, rotate airframes, and possibly cannibalize aircraft for spare parts would be a nice addition for resource management, but doesn't exist quite yet.

Flight Crew Select

Like the Airframe Select section, you have the ability to rotate flight crews. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be much use for this feature. The designers may have intended this to reflect crew experience and performance in their Artificial Intelligence (AI) calculations, but it doesn't appear to be included at this point. Further modification to this area would again improve the campaign's resource management capabilities by allowing the player to optimize mission performance. The more sorties a crew flies, the more experience they gain, and as a result the better they become. Then you could spread the wealth around, or save the best pilots for the hardest missions. We'd need to see the sorties/kills/shacks on a kill-board menu to manage this.

Arming - Select Loadout

The Mission Briefing should give you the rundown on what ordinance to select for the mission. By default, F-15 places 4 Mk84s, 2 AGM-65Gs, 2 AIM-120A, 2 AIM-9Ms, M56 gun ammo, plus FLIR and IR targeting pods. While this may be adequate for most missions, it may not always do the job. Follow the recommended ordinance selection in the mission briefing. Make sure you are aware of the target type, flight range (if extra bags of fuel are required) and expected threats during the mission.

Does your mission require a FLIR or Target IR pod? If not, it may be better to leave them behind. In campaign mode, especially for the Iraq campaign, these are precious items and should not be risked.

Targeting

Close investigation of the target's location is important to mission success. This is magnified when the target is located within the confines of other objects, such as a large city or airbase. Even with a high resolution map, it may become difficult to distinguish the mission objective from other targets of opportunity. Although your wingmen generally are smart enough to find their designated target, you must search for it manually. During target review, identify large objects with distinguished shapes that surround your primary target such as large buildings, runways, or bridges. You can then use these objects to orient yourself relative to the large object's location.

Remember, you have the ability to re-designate targets among your wingmen. You could do this if you have every confidence in your abilities to hit the target, but want to make sure that the other targets are hit as well. Given the number of mission objectives, it may be prudent to designate a particular objective to more than one aircraft in your flight - someone may get shot down prior to ingress.

One final note: there is nothing that prevents you from training for a particular mission. Real F-15E pilots will rehearse an attack plan, possibly several times. This becomes even more important when the route chosen, the ordinance selected, or the ordinance delivery profile is different that what you are use to. You can practice the mission by either using the TRAINING area, or building an INSTANT or custom mission.

Ordnance Delivery Profiles

"I had never flown an eighty-one thousand pound jet before, and we were surprised when we started taxiing. We felt a thump, thump, thump underneath us. We were concerned until we realized that all that weight standing on the tires had molded a temporary flat spot on them" - F-15E Pilot, Capt. Bill "Moons" Mullins

In Part I we discover how to properly plan a ground attack mission. In this article we'll take a closer look at the proper way to accurately "shack" a target.

The F-15E is currently rated to carry a variety of bombs - these include both precision guided munitions (PGMs) as well as dumb gravity bombs. Prior to the Gulf War, the only bombs rated for the F-15E were the Mk82/84 series. The GBU 10/12 were rushed into compliance during the early days of deployment as were the Mk20 cluster bombs.

The F-15E was not rated to use the AGM-65 Maverick or the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles during that period - something to keep in mind for you realism-based freaks. Also, contrary to popular request, the F-15E has not been rated to handle the AGM-88 HARM missile - sorry guys, SEAD missions will have to be left up to the Viper and Hornet drivers for the time-being.

Each type of ordnance has its own unique delivery and blast characteristics. Even so, you can break down the types of bombs into the following categories that reflect delivery/blast profile:

• Mk series (82/84)
• BSU series (49/50)
• CBU series (52/58/71/87/97 + Mk20)
• AGM series (Mavericks)
• BLU series (Durandal)
• GBU series (10/12/24/28)
• GBU-15 series

Given that the REFERENCE section of F-15 provides a wealth of information, I won't go into to much detail on the characteristics of each sub-type of munition. The WEAPONS ADVISOR is a good place to start to understand what types of ordinance will destroy the target you are tasked with destroying. I've also found that Tom Clancy's book "Fighter Wing - A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing" is a good source to better understand the types of munitions available today.

Each bomb series type can be dropped using at least one of the four types of target designation methods:

• Marking a target that appears from a reflected ground radar image
• Designating a visual target by using the HUD/mouse combination to place the HUD in command
• Performing a "snapshot" quick release on a visual target by using the CDIP targeting mode
• Designating a target viewed through the Targeting IR Pod

By far, the most common bomb delivered in the Gulf War was the Mk series of dumb gravity bombs. Fully 63% of all unguided ordnance and 60% of the entire munition count dropped on Iraq were of the Mk slick (low drag) series. Most missions, if planned carefully, can be conducted successfully with either the Mk82 or Mk84 bomb. When resources are tight such is the case in the Iraq campaign the plentiful nature of the Mks should not be overlooked. The Mk series of munitions is the F-15E's bread-and-butter, let's learn how to spread it around.

I conducted tests to determine the lowest altitude that the bombs can safely be dropped. Though these tests may not model real life bomb fragmentation patterns and blast damage, this is what I found:

• With a LAYDOWN (level flight) profile: Mk82 (500lb) minimum AGL drop height - 700 ft @ 450 IAS.
• With a LAYDOWN (level flight) profile: Mk84 (2000lb) minimum AGL drop height - 850 ft. @ 450 IAS.

In other words, don't go below these recommended minimum heights or you risk damage to your aircraft. If you perform a DIVE profile on your attack run, you'll need to give yourself some extra altitude to pull out of the dive before the bombs explode.

You can designate targets for the Mk series using any of the four targeting methods mentioned earlier. All three bombing modes are applicable for the Mks: CDIP, AUTO, and AUTO LOFT work for bomb delivery. Choosing which targeting method and bombing mode is most appropriate depends on your planned attack profile.

I've found that marking a target using an HRM patch map or using the CDIP mode works best. If you choose the patch map targeting method, go for the AUTO bombing mode, it's more accurate. Make sure you've set up your bomb release quantity and interval to effectively cover your target. Stay tuned for more details in this area.

The BSU series employs a ballute air-inflatable retarding system that slows the bomb down so the aircraft can escape the blast fragmentation envelope. The ballute differs from the traditional "snakeyes" - the earlier retarding system that used spring-loaded fins to slow the bomb's forward progress.

The BSU series is great when a high launch profile is not recommended, such as in a heavy-threat area. Low and fast is the name of the game for dropping the BSUs.

I conducted tests to determine the lowest altitude that the bombs can safely be dropped. Though these tests may not model real life bomb fragmentation patterns and blast damage, this is what I found:

• With a LAYDOWN (level flight) profile: BSU-49 (500lb) minimum AGL drop height - 65 ft @ 500 IAS.
• With a LAYDOWN (level flight) profile: BSU-50 (2000lb) minimum AGL drop height - 110 ft. @ 500 IAS.

You can designate targets for the BSU series using any of the four targeting methods mentioned earlier. All three bombing modes are usable for the BSUs: CDIP, AUTO, and AUTO LOFT work for bomb delivery, though the AUTO LOFT approach is rendered less effective due to the reduced glide characteristics of the BSU. Choosing which one is most appropriate depends on your preferred attack profile.

We'll discuss these methods in more detail in the next article "Attack Profiles".

Note** Bombing modes will be covered in detail in the Attack Profiles article, but a little tidbit to keep you out of trouble: AUTO LOFT bombing mode has been identified as having errors in its implementation. Most notably the ESL is not present and bombs fall short of the target due to a release timing problem.

You can overcome these problems as follows:

• The ESL is actually just an recommended optimal climb path, but it is not the only one. When TPUL occurs, climb between 20 and 45 degrees to achieve success.
• When placing the target designator on a patch map, make sure you correct for the ordinance falling short - usually placing the TD two target designator lengths past the target center is adequate for the .67 HRM patch map.

My favorite weapon of destruction is the Cluster Bomb Unit or CBU series of bombs. Each sub-type has their own unique characteristics, but are related in that they contain a number of smaller sub-munitions that disperse over the target area and cut a wide swath of destruction.

I conducted tests to determine the lowest altitude that the bombs can safely be dropped. Though this test may not model real life bomb fragmentation patterns and blast damage, this is what I found:

• With a LAYDOWN (level flight) profile: CBU-87 minimum AGL drop height - 150 ft @ 450 IAS.

At 150 ft. AGL, accuracy suffers a bit, as the bombs seem to overshoot their targets. A more effective height to deliver CBUs is between 500-1000 ft. AGL.

Make sure you set the CBU HEIGHT to an effective burst-height based on the types of targets you are attacking. Large, unarmored targets can be engaged with burst-heights of 1000-1500 ft. Smaller armored targets should be set for 300-600 ft. burst-height. Remember to drop a significant number of CBUs to cover the target area. Alter your weapon release option to accommodate your attack profile. More on the WRO, proper bomb quantity, and release interval in my next article.

You can designate targets for the CBU series using any of the four targeting methods mentioned earlier. All three bombing modes are applicable for the CBUs: CDIP, AUTO, and AUTO LOFT work for bomb delivery.

AGM Series

There were 5296 AGM-65 Mavericks fired during the Gulf War, unfortunately none of them were fired from the F-15E. The F-15E has only recently been fully rated to carry the Maverick and use it for its attack role. This is an interesting addition to the Strike Eagle's weapons inventory because it runs a bit counter to the F-15E's primary mission of deep interdiction. Mavericks are best suited to the close air support role. One reason the Air Force wanted the Maverick installed was that the end of the Gulf War saw the F-15E performing some close air support missions. Remember tank plinking?

Although a lot of fun to fire, the Maverick has proven difficult to launch against small or mobile targets. I believe I've developed a way to use the Maverick that guarantees a shack, even on moving targets.

The thing I like about this method is that it doesn't involve use of the HUD/mouse or Target IR Pod - instead you use the IGMT radar mode and the WEAPONS VIDEO. It doesn't require a pause in the game either! It's also realistic and safer given that you can take out your target in one pass. Visual identification prior to lock-on and launch by a fly-over is not necessary.

Here's the process:

1. When in-flight, come down to about 2,000-2,500 AGL and level off (use Autopilot if necessary)
2. Set your speed to ~450 IAS
3. Set to A/G master mode - select an AGM-65 weapon station to enable a Maverick
4. Switch to WSO seat
5. Switch radar to IGMT mode and the 20nm size - Switch IR Pod view to WEAPONS VIDEO view
6. Choose Narrow Field of View (NFOV) if not selected
7. When you can see the "+" (moving targets) or non-moving targets at 20nm or so, make an initial target designation by clicking the mouse on TGT and pointing to the target on the radar map (NO HRM IS NECESSARY)
8. If the target is a moving vehicle, it will move out of the initial target designation, that's ok - keep flying
9. When TGT is within 10nm, switch radar size to 10nm - re-designate carefully
10. When TGT is within 5nm, switch radar size to 5nm - re-designate carefully
11. When TGT is within 3nm, - re-designate carefully
12. At 2.5nm, you should start to see the target as a small black speck in the cross-hairs of the WEAPONS VIDEO
13. You'll notice at this point, the target is not moving out of the cross hairs and should be locked
14. Fire at will!

SHACK! BIGGER THAN DALLAS!

BLU Series

The BLU series of bombs, also known as Durandals, are a specialized weapon used for the denial of runways. The bomb uses a parachute to slow its decent and orient the warhead to the vertical where a rocket motor plunges the bomb deep into the runway pavement.

My testing shows that the BLU can be dropped at a minimum height of 200 ft. AGL. Below this and the rocket motor will not fire. Accuracy suffers at 200 ft., as the bombs seem to overshoot the target a bit. A more realistic altitude for delivery is around 500-1000 ft. AGL. CDIP seems to be a good method for delivery, and the AUTO profile works well if you've designated your target carefully.

Remember to plan your initial point (IP) and target waypoint to bring you over the length of the runway. Unless you are tasked with more than one DMPI, ripple-release your entire BLU load in one pass. The best place to target is 1/4 to 1/3 down from a runway's end. I love to watch them do their work in the F9 view!

GBU Series

The hero of the Gulf War was the "smart" weapon. Based on post-war analysis the laser-guided smart weapons were not as effective as the military originally claimed, but they none-the-less proved to be an indispensable implement of war.

Although the F-15E dropped LGBs in tests prior to the Gulf War, it was not until the early days of Desert Shield that they were given the go-ahead for full deployment. Early in the conflict, the F-15E squadrons were hampered by the availability of the AN/AAQ-14 Targeting Pod. Once the pods became more available, the F-15E crews employed them effectively against targets of all types - mostly against SCUD sites and tanks.

The GBU series, like the Mavericks, has proven to be difficult to effectively drop. The bombs tend to lose their lock if not properly designated.

Here's a method that should correct most bomb designation problems. I like this approach because you do not have to pause the game to keep your designation. It works against non-moving targets only.

1. Delivery profile for LGB release is ~2000-24,000 ft. AGL (10,000-20,000 AGL preferred) and ~350-500 IAS delivered in a LAYDOWN (level) flight path
2. Switch to A/G Master Mode
3. In the Pilot seat, make sure you enable a GBU station - select AUTO delivery mode
4. Go to the WSO seat - Target IR Pod is in AUTO mode, CDES mode turned ON, ground radar on RMB
5. At 20nm out, create an HRM patch map at the .67 resolution (highest resolution)
6. Switch HRM radar sub-mode to from MAP to TGT and designate target with absolute precision
7. Switch back to the Pilot seat - check your steering as necessary - Autopilot helps too
8. Wait for WSO countdown (you must be in the Pilot seat to hear this)
9. At 20 seconds to TREL, switch back to the WSO seat - you should start to see your target in the Target IR Pod - increase field of view if necessary (you must be in the WSO seat to see Target IR Pod view at this point)
10. Verify the Target IR Pod is in AR-TRACK - Switch quickly back to the Pilot seat
11. Release weapon upon WSO command or TREL = 0
12. When WSO calls "20 seconds to impact" switch quickly back to the WSO seat - TURN LASER ON
13. Begin a slow 20-30 degree bank turn (right or left) away from the target - this will allow the pod to continue designation

SHACK! LOOK AT THOSE SECONDARIES!

NOTE: You must reset the Target IR Pod after each bombing run (switch off the Laser, switch off CDES) after bombing run or you will NOT be able to designate another target. I have set up my Thrustmaster gear to HOTAS the Target IR Pod commands such as MODE, LASER, CDES, and TRACK. This allows me to better control the release of the weapons while keeping my eyes on flying.

Thanks to Snow White for doing the initial research in this area. GBU-15 Series

The GBU-15 is unique it its ability to be launched from an incredible standoff range. All GBU-15s can be launched from a maximum range of 8 miles at low altitudes, and up to 20 miles at higher altitudes. The key to this relatively long range are the lift capabilities of the cruciform wings at the front and rear of the GBU-15 - effectively making it an unpowered glider.

Although not part of the F-15Es inventory during the Gulf War, some 70 GBU-15s were expended - mostly by F-111s. They were probably best known when they were used to shut off the flow of oil into the Persian Gulf by an attack on several oil manifolds near Sea Island Terminal, Kuwait.

There are two basic types of GBU-15 - the Electro-Optical (TV) guided GBU-15 (V)-1 and the Infrared Guided GBU-15 (V)-2. Each type comes in comes in a sub-type for regular and hardened targets. Although the EO-guided (V)-1 should be less effective at night, my tests have shown no difference in accuracy or effectiveness for the V-1 or V-2 variants day or night. That being said, contrast for day (use the V-1) and night missions (use the V-2) is enhanced by using the proper targeting head.

Although you can designate a target for the GBU-15 using the HUD/mouse designation method, the preferred approach is to designate your target through an HRM patch map - otherwise you negate the benefits of the GBU-15's standoff range. The only bombing modes available for the GBU-15s are either AUTO or AUTO LOFT methods - the CDIP drop method is not available for this bomb type.

There are two modes for GBU-15 launch - DIRECT and INDIRECT:

DIRECT mode slaves the seeker head to a target based on a designation from a patch map or HUD/mouse designation. DIRECT mode, also known as "lock on before launch", has two sub-modes: Automatic weapons cueing and manual weapons cueing. DIRECT mode is very effect and you will rarely miss.

Automatic Weapons Cueing (AWC) - You simply designate your target and release the bomb when the TREL reaches 0. Target designation is automatically handed off (slaved) from the patch map target designation. For AWC to be enabled, the WEAPONS VIDEO PBs must show AUTO targeting mode and DIR weapons launch mode. The view from the WEAPONS VIDEO after launch will switch to the next GBU-15 remaining on the plane, even if you have the AN/AXQ-14 datalink pod mounted.

Manual Weapons Cueing (MWC) - Before launching the weapon, switch to the WEAPONS VIDEO MPD. Turn AUTO targeting mode off (MAN should appear) and change DIR weapons launch mode to IND (indirect weapons launch mode). With MWC, you have the ability to slew your seeker head prior to launch to designate a new target. You must remove weapons tracking by pressing the TRK PB so that it is not enabled. Then use the seeker head slew keys - PBs 3, 13, 18, 8 (left, right, up, down arrows) to move the seeker head.

After you've found your target new, enable tracking again by pushing the TRK PB. If you change MAN back to AUTO you will re-acquire your original target designation, so be careful. Drop the bomb as normal. The view from the WEAPONS VIDEO after launch will be from the seeker head in the dropped weapon, but you must have the AN/AXQ-14 datalink pod mounted in order to see the video through the head of the bomb. It's really cool to watch the target rushing up!

How to use INDIRECT mode to manually guide the bomb to target:

The F-15 manual is incorrect in stating that for INDIRECT mode, the TRANS profile allows you to control the weapon's yaw only while the TERM profile allows you to control pitch and yaw. While this may be the way it was intended to work, the description of the launch profiles is not what is reflected in the sim. TRANS allows you to control pitch and yaw while the TERM doesn't work at all.

The following instructions allow you to control pitch and yaw of the GBU-15. This works with both EO and IR GBU-15s.

Note** The forthcoming patch might correct this approach and make it work as intended in the manual.

1. Make sure you are in A/G master mode - enable a GBU-15 weapons station
2. Designate a target as normal
3. From the WSO seat, change the Targeting IR Pod view to WEAPONS VIDEO view
4. On the WEAPONS VIDEO MFD, change the AUTO targeting mode to MAN and change the launch mode from DIR to IND
5. Wait for the IN RANGE message to display on the MFD - Pickle weapon
6. After 2 seconds, the launch profile will change automatically from NORM to TRANS
7. Press the TRK PB so weapons tracking if now off
8. Use the PBs 3, 13, 18, 8 (left, right, up, down arrows) and choose your new target or readjust your old one
9. Once you have your new target designated, click the TRK PB to enable weapons tracking
10. Before the square drops below the second horizontal line, you MUST change the launch profile to from TRANS to TERM - after this step, nothing can be done or changed

SHACK! BURN BABY BURN!

Thanks to Alex for doing the initial research in this area.

The keyboard keys to control both the Weapon Video and Weapon Flight are not set by default; you have to enter the CUSTOM keyboard mapping area to map them to available keys.

I would suggest mapping them to available un-shifted or shifted keys - mapping them to ALT or CNTL key combinations is suspect at best if you use HOTAS gear. Look for the keys entitled WEAPON_RGT, LFT, UP and DWN for the In-flight GBU-15 steering keys and the WPN_??? keys for the Weapon video keys (to slew a Maverick or GBU-15 using the seeker's head instead of the Targeting IR POD slew).

And the Gun Ammo Choices

In case you were wondering, there are two types of cannon ammo supplied with F-15: the venerable M-56A3 and the newer PGU-28. The M-56A3 is a HEI (high explosive, incendiary) round, that travels ~3,380 fps. The PGU-28 is a SAPHEI (semi-armor piercing, high explosive, incendiary) round, travels ~3,450 fps.

In Jane's F-15, the damage value associated with the PGU round is greater, so if you've got 'em, use 'em.

The next instalment next week will address "Attack Profiles" for ordinance delivery. Suffice to say that target type and selected munition are only part of the equation - anticipated threats and terrain features will alter the delivery profile as well! Stay tuned.

Many thanks to Ian for his assistance in verifying these techniques!

Write to Snacko with your questions and comments.