Tornado AAR: Desert Storm Mission #1

Tornado is, in the words of Tom "KC" Basham of the late Computer Gaming World magazine, the most under-rated flight sim of all time. This is perhaps correct. Somehow, Tornado never gets the the huge following it deserves even after the release of the expansion disk (Operation Desert Storm). To the few dedicated hard-core flight sim enthusiasts, though, Tornado is remembered as one of the best flight sims of all time. The flight-, weapons- and avionics-modeling is realistic and the enemy AI is very good. These give us the correct "feel" as to how it's like to fill the boots of a very busy Tornado crew during a combat mission, despite the somewhat "generic" campaigns. Today Tornado fans wanting to relive the action can still do so because Tornado runs very well under DosBox or VDMSound.

Today, we a will join Flight Officer John Trueman and his navigator, Flight Officer Sean Nicholson, as he recounts the mission he flew during the opening night of Operation Desert Storm.

"Our mission today is to hit 2 Iraqi Army camouflaged sites close to the front. There are even more lucrative targets deeper behind enemy lines, but at this stage of the campaign the AAA and SAM threat in those area are still too high. As you can see on the map below, the enemy also maintains fighter CAP stations. We have planned our route to avoid those areas. The intelligence are never perfect, however, so even the most carefully planned route does not guarantee that we are completely safe. At the end of the mission, we are to relocate to another airfield that is better positioned for further missions."


"We will hit our targets with BL.755 bombs. These are cluster bomb units, very well suited to soft targets like the ones we are to hit today. Each site will receive a package of 4 bombs, which should be enough. Our original payload also includes two self-defence AIM-9 Sidewinders. However, we reckon that SAM and AAA are our biggest threat right now, so we elect to replace those missiles with ALARM anti-radiation missiles."


"The sky is a solid grey overcast as our heavily laden Tornado claws into the air. Immediately after we takeoff, I clean up the aircraft and sweep the wings fully aft. Then I turn on the autopilot in waypoint track mode, with a ride height of 200 feet. Hopefully, this will make us invisible to enemy Early Warning Radars, since they can vector fighters to hunt us down if they spot us. I also engage the autothrottle and set the speed to 475 knots."


"As planned, Sean immediately arms the ALARM missiles in Direct mode. In this mode, we will be able to immediately fire on any AAA and SAM in front of our aircraft that lock us up."


"We have an uneventful flight until we approach our first target, waypoint X. Apparently the target is defended by a SAM and an AAA. As they lock us up, I immediately launch an ALARM and switch on ECM. Just before the ALARM destroys the SAM vehicle, it manages to launch a missile at us. The missile is IR-guided so I prepare myself to dump flares. We only carry 28 flare bundles, so I have to wait until the missile proximity klaxon to go off before I drop a flare. Meanwhile, after the first ALARM hits, I launch a second missile at the AAA site. The flare I drop fools the missile launched at us and we get away unscathed."


"After the AAA site is dead, I immediately switch the ECM off and arm the BL.755's as we are rapidly closing on the target. As we approach the target we see the smoldering remains of the SAM and AAA sites. A few seconds before we reach the waypoint, I hold down the trigger and the bombs are released automatically. The bomblets rain down on the camouflaged site, destroying it completely."


"After hitting the first target, we immediately proceed to the second one. This target is apparently more heavily defended. I immediately find ourselves out of ALARM missiles as I launch at the SAM and AAA sites defending the target. We hit another 4 sites with ALARM missiles but there must be at least half a dozen sites down there. A SAM site launch a missile at us and I react a bit too late and the missile hits us. The warning alarm goes off as Sean calmly says, 'Our thrust reversers are out.' Great. That means we will have to rely on the wheelbrakes to stop us when we land. But currently the loss of our thrust reversers are not crucial to the mission. I have to concentrate on hitting the second target. We will worry about the thrust reversers when we return to base. IF we return to base."


"I manage to hit the second target, but as we turn to clear the area we are hit by AAA. I guess it was a ZSU-23-4 Shilka. Again the warning alarm blares. 'Our ECM is out,' says Sean matter-of-factly. Another great news. We still have a lot of SAM and AAA sites targeting us and our ECM is out. Now we have to rely on our Chaff and Flares."


"Miraculously, we survive the barrage of SAM and AAA fire. As we pass waypoint G, enemy activity seems to slacken a bit. I can breathe easier now. And I believe Sean is relieved, too. However, just as we are approaching the last waypoint, some SAM and AAA sites open up on us. They are practically just outside the fences of our new airbase! I guess when they say that we are relocating to an airbase closer to the action, they really mean it. Out of ALARMs and without ECM, I furiously dump flares to ward off the missiles launched at us. No missiles hits us this time, but one Shilka manages to pepper our aircraft with some cannon rounds. As the warning alarm goes off, Sean says,'Our wheelbrakes are out.' Now, this is just great. Without thrust reversers and wheelbrakes, we simply have to hope that the aircraft will stop before we run out of runway."


"I set up the AFDS (autopilot) for an automatic landing. As we approach the runway, I pray that we will be able to stop in time with only wind drag to slow us down. I believe I can hear Sean muttering the same prayer."


"As we are nearing touchdown, I disengage the autopilot to manually flare the aircraft. The aircraft lands with a thump. I'm not flaring the aircraft enough. I immediately shut down the engines as we thunder down the runway. It seems that the aircraft simply would not slow down. After something that feels like an eternity, but can't be more than a minute, the aircraft finally slows down enough for me to be able to steer it using the nosewheel. I start to zigzag the aircraft a bit to help it slow down. Finally, just a couple of yards before we run out of runway, the aircraft stops. 'Nice one, pilot,' says Sean, audibly relieved. We are home at last."


"We have to have the aircraft towed to its parking spot. Then we proceed to the debriefing session. We find out that we did okay on the mission. Both targets destroyed, with another 4 AAA and 2 SAM vehicles destroyed. The airframe is damaged, though, and will have to undergo some serious repairs. We are very thrilled that we survive our first mission. That we also achieve the objectives is but a bonus."