Operation/Patrol Time:
-1730Local (UTC+5), 17SEP23
Weather/Forecast Information:
Current temp: 77 degrees, with low of day being 66 degrees at around 2 AM. Wind speeds from 15mph to 25 mph towards the South-East.
Lighting/Visibility Factors:
Light to heavy showers. Fog is already starting to creep in, and will likely become more of an issue after sunset, which is expected to happen at 1828. Sunrise tomorrow morning is at 0631, in case you were wondering.
Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs) & Aviation Advisory Information
Various OPFOR Anti-Air assets have been spotted both to the far North and South, scattered across the many satellite islands surrounding the main islands of the Republic, one of which we are looking to destroy tonight. Thunder 6-1 has also identified two OPFOR ships hanging around Seliu island at GRIDREF 0903, and D/Co has also confirmed their anti-air radar capability. As such, S-2 recommends an 8km wide no-fly zone around said island and Anti-Air ships, depending on their current positions.
Theater/Strategic-level News & Intelligence Updates, Activity, and Analysis
S-2 is hard at work collating all the various intel reports that have been submitted throughout the deployment so far, and we expect to have the OPFOR profile ready for publication by next week. For now, I have a summary: the KMN is employing a mix of modern NATO small arms and shoulder launchers, combined with Cold War era armor and military vehicles of French design, for the most part. It should come as no surprise that due to the terrain, they have opted for:
- Light-weight, wheeled vehicle options for land, from the Panhard AML-30 armoured cars to gun trucks mounted with small arms.
- Frigates and the afore-mentioned cargo ships with radar, anti-air and helicopter deck capabilities for sea.
- Small-sized landing crafts for amphibious assaults, likely launched from said ships.
- UH-1 Iroquois Hueys for air assault and CAS.
- Quad-copter drones for surveillance.
S-2 is aware of the OPFOR fixed wing CAS threat, but we have yet to find any clear images or footage of them. From the brief glimpses we've got via helmet cam footage, it's a propeller plane with at least 4 hardpoint mounts, but that's just our best guess. Any further reports on OPFOR fixed wing would be greatly appreciated.
It should also be noted that aside from Anti-Air vehicles, S-2 has yet to come across any evidence of OPFOR tracked armor presence so far.
Local/Tactical-level News & Intelligence Updates, Activity, and Analysis
During the course of Phase 2, Task Force Alpha was ambushed along the ASR that runs between the MSR connecting the airbase to Jaya and the sea. They were successful in clearing out the threat, but due to the lack of understanding of how OPFOR is maneuvering through the terrain combined with our lack of manpower to commit to security efforts, S-2 cannot in good conscience declare the route secure. Be vigilant while travelling from the Airbase to Jaya, or from any BLUFOR strongpoint to another.
Special Info/Patrol Objective-specific Intelligence
Thanks to Warlord 2-1, we now know that the OPFOR Anti-Air position we are assaulting this evening is spread out across all of these small islands consisting of static auto-cannons and tracked vehicles mounted with surface-to-air missiles. The positions are only accessible via tiny bridges or small landing craft due to the surrounding sand bars. Further more, they are also heavily entrenched thanks to pre-existing Japanese WW2 bunkers, making the approach incredibly treacherous.
An OPFOR cargo ship was also last sighted at the town of Nirwana on 20AUG23. Therefore, it is a distinct possibility that besides what's already been included in the WARNO and OPORD, there may also be another vector of attack from the sea, be it amphibious or otherwise.