Mission 1 - First in Weasels Over Syria
We will be carrying a full combat loadout for today’s flight, with two bags and 2 CBU-87’s as well as a
mix of Amraams and Sidewinders for self defense as we will be skirting the Syrian border. This
loadout tops out at just under over 39,000 lb.
The briefing concluded with a discussion of the threats we will see today. We split these into actual
and simulated threats. Actual threats are limited in the area we will be operating in, there will be no
surface to air threats but there is the unlikely possibility of the Syrian Air Force trying to crash our
party, the most likely aircraft we will see in the south of Syria are the Mig-21’s based out of
Khalkhalal and Tha’lah airbases, although the possibility of Mig-23 or 29s also remains. Simulated
threats consist of course of an SA-2, along with a mix of low and medium altitude AAA - ZU-23, S-60
and ZSU-23-4. Popeye reminded us of the importance of studying the threats we will face, knowing
their engagement envelopes and vulnerabilities is a crucial part of our role. There is no such thing
as the perfect weapons system and everything comes with tradeoffs, our expertise is avoiding their
strengths and exploiting their weaknesses. We fight on our own terms.
After taking questions and confirming everyone’s understanding of the plan, Popeye ended the
briefing. Leaving the briefing room we walked back to our tents, excitedly talking about the flight
ahead of us, the energy amongst the group was high and it was clear we were all relishing the
opportunity to get out there and start Weaseling around, even if it’s only against simulated targets.
Returning to our tents we put our heads back into our notes from the briefing and went over the
details again and again, studying the terrain, landmarks and target photos. This might only be a
training flight but our professionalism and pride won’t allow us the possibility of screwing it up, and
even though the threats are simulated, hitting the ground is still a very real danger.
We step to the jets at 12 noon local, takeoff will be at 13:00
#DCS #f16c