Hürtgen Forest - Game Video

Supported by (Turn Off)

Project Entry by oriskany

Ops Center Episode 18: Desert Storm - The Air War

January 16, 2021

Tutoring 10

Skill 10

Idea 10

2 Comments

In this episode, presented on the 30th Anniversary of the opening of the Gulf War, we see Operation “Desert Shield” explode into “Desert Storm” with a gigantic air campaign unleashed against the armed forces of Iraq.

We look at the air forces of the opposing sides, look at what aircraft were contributed by the nations of the Allied Coalition, and what happened starting on January 16 (early morning hours of January 17, local time) when the air phase of this war kicked off.

We also look at some gaming options and suggestions for recreating dogfights of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

I thought I would include a few screen shots from this episode. This is from a segment that discusses how the coalition disassembled Iraqi air defense networks from the inside out. This might provide gamers with ideas for OBJECTIVES and SCENARIOS - describing WHY given fighter planes are fighting over a certain stretch of sky. Gaps in enemy radar coverage have to be opened for those initial strikes to blind and hobble the command and constrol systems that keep the whole network operational.

AirWar C21 is the system I use for modern air combat. Data annexes are available to exand the game all the way from "right now" 2021 or even near future theoreticals all the way back to 1950s "MiG Alley" in Korea. The rules are simple, sensible, and bring a surprising level of "managed realism" to jet combat.