Ronin_Gaijin

On September 12, 1988, a group of MiG-23MLD from the 120th Fighter Aviation Regiment took off to strike targets in the Kunar River valley east of Asadabad. The Pakistanis were showing increasing activity, and the pilots repeatedly reported "visual contact" with F-16s escorting the strike groups from their side. The tension was literally hanging in the air, which erupted that day into an open clash. Gathering over a prominent landmark (Surubi Lake), the group headed toward the border. Two pairs of cover had gone ahead there in advance: the targets were right at the border strip, which is why two pairs of cover were assigned. Over the mountain range 50 km northwest of the attack site, the patrol zone was occupied by fighters of the commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Bunin, and his political officer, Major Nikolay Golosienko, while Major Semyon Petkov and Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Danchenkov were located 40 km to the south. However, the F-16s, attracted by their appearance, were already in the air: from the Kamra base, a pair of fighters led by Lieutenant Khalid Mahmud from the 14th Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force took off, following the MiGs on a parallel course. Within minutes, they were informed from the ground that a column of aircraft had appeared in the air — a strike group was approaching the target. Over Kunar, it turned north, taking a combat course along the border. When the strike group formed a column to approach the target, it was only a few kilometers from the border, which the enemy took advantage of. The cover had gone quite far, and nothing prevented Khalid from reaching the middle of the stretched-out target. The closest to him was a MiG-23MLD (board number 55) of Captain Sergey Privalov, the outermost in the bearing of the second flight. Emerging 13 km from him out of thick clouds, Khalid heard his radiation warning station beep: the MiGs loitering a few minutes away were turning toward him. This was not part of the Pakistani pilot's plan. He began to maneuver, hastily firing two AIM-9L missiles from a half-roll with a 135° bank and exited the fight upside down 1500 m from the attacked MiGs. One missile went far off to the side, but the second Sidewinder exploded over Privalov's plane, showering it with fragments. The shock was severe; the pilot felt a strong impact, even his feet were knocked off the pedals. A large fragment entered the rear cockpit compartment half a meter from his head, the others slashed the flap and left wing panel, piercing the fuel tank box. A whitish trail of fuel trailed behind the plane, but after the initial shock, the pilot confirmed the plane was not on fire, remained airborne, and responded to controls. Both pairs of cover rushed to the scene at full afterburner, and shouts and curses rose on the radio. The Pakistani pilot faced serious trouble — the firing range of the R-24R missiles was enough to hit him even before the border, and on the ground, someone even shouted: "Let me shoot him down!" However, the score could not be evened — the command post ordered everyone to urgently withdraw, fearing a fight over a remote area where the situation was unfavorable: the enemy could bring in new forces, and the MiGs had limited fuel reserves. The Pakistanis had all the advantages here, from numerical superiority to tactical situation, and an open clash with a neighboring state on the eve of the long-awaited ceasefire was undesirable. After dropping bombs, Privalov turned homeward, followed by the rest of the group. Bunin and Golosienko closed the formation, and then a pair of F-16s appeared again from behind. The Pakistanis followed, intending to shoot down the MiGs in pursuit, but they could not catch up: setting their wings to maximum sweep, they accelerated to the speed of sound on afterburner (although with an external tank there was a limit of M=0.8). Approaching Bagram, the damaged MiG was allowed to go ahead to land first. It had almost no fuel left: judging by the fuel gauge, the plane had already lost 1200 liters of kerosene. Leaving a wet trail on the concrete, the fighter taxied to the parking area, where the leak stopped immediately after the engine was shut down — the fuel was gone. Petkov, who landed next, got out of the plane and angrily slammed his helmet on the concrete: "Damn them..! I had that bastard in my sights!". Source: "The Hot Sky of Afghanistan" Viktor Markovsky

I am glad you enjoy it. Fingers have been crossed!

234th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Kubinka

"Война не могла ждать, и соседний 156-й полк на аэродроме Мары-2 перевели из ПВО во фронтовую авиацию, оперативно переучив летчиков с перехватчиков Су-15 на Су-17М3. Меры по усилению ударных возможностей авиации южных округов затронули и другие полки и являлись частью предпринятых в ВВС реформ. С 1 декабря 1983 года оба полка объединили в 34-ю авиадивизию истребителейбомбардировщиков ВВС ТуркВО, сюда же влили 217-й апиб, а через год формирование мощного соединения завершил 735-й бомбардировочный полк из Карши на Су-24." Translation: The war could not wait, and the 156th regiment at the Mary-2 airfield was transferred from air defence to frontline aviation, promptly retraining pilots from Su-15 interceptors to Su-17M3. Measures to strengthen the strike capabilities of the aviation of the southern districts also affected other regiments and were part of the reforms undertaken in the Air Force. From December 1, 1983, both regiments were united into the 34th Air Division of Fighter-Bombers of the Air Force of the TurkVO, the 217th Airborne Division was also merged here, and a year later the formation of a powerful unit was completed by the 735th Bomber Regiment from Karshi on Su-24. Source: Выжженное небо Афгана. Боевая авиация в Афганской войне - Виктор Юрьевич Марковский

"At launch, we will provide the Soviet Union and Russia, East Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, North Korea, and Syria. Many more are in the works and will be coming soon."

Yeap, you started already. I appreciate it mate!

I hope so too. I was reading the changelog just 5 minutes ago.

The group included planes and crews of the guards units of the Long-Range Aviation: a squadron of Tu-16 of 251st guards TBAP from Belaya Tserkva and two squadrons Tu-22M3 from Poltava 185th Guards TBAP. They were stationed at two nearby airfields, Mary-1 and Mary-2, the only ones available at that time, even if they were further from the target than the border bases (for the "long-range" the difference of 200-300 km was not significant). Mary-1 was home to the 1521st Fighter Air Base MiG-23 and MiG-29, which "played along" as the enemy during the training and periodic inspections of fighter pilots. Here 11 Tu-16s were deployed - three detachments and two control group vehicles. There was a local airport on the other side of the runway, which was another reason for the division of the Long-Range Aviation group. Mary-1 airfield was also used to receive "transporters" with the withdrawing troops, UN representatives were invited there, and the menacing -looking "Backfires" did not fit well into the ideas of Western diplomats about the implementation of the Geneva Agreements. Photo 01: Tu-22M3 from the 185th TBAP go on a combat mission. Airfield Mary-2, November 1988 Photo 02: The 1984 Panjshir operation involved Tu-16s from the 200th Bobruisk and 251st Belotserkovsky regiments. Source: Камуфляж И Бортовые Эмблемы В Афганской Кампании, Авиатехники Советских Ввс, Виктор Марковский - Игорь Приходченко

Correct. Thank you!

For air cover, an anti-aircraft missile brigade was included in the 40th Army, and one squadron of MiG-21 fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft flew to the airfields of the DRA. The fighters belonged to the 115th Guards IAP, based at the Kokaydi airfield in Turkmenistan Uzbekistan, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel P. I. Nikolaev. Kokaydi was, as they say, right behind the mountain, just fifty kilometres from the border - in the Jarqoʻrgʻon District of the Surxondaryo Region, being one of the airfields closest to the border. MiG-21bis from the 115th Guards IAP. One of the squadrons of the regiment had the honorary name "Soviet Lithuania" since the war. Source: Камуфляж И Бортовые Эмблемы В Афганской Кампании, Авиатехники Советских Ввс, Виктор Марковский - Игорь Приходченко

Good news for everyone!

Thank you very much for coming back to me.

What does appropriate mean in this context? Can you provide an answer for example for the Afghanistan map, or Iraq? Both of them are your products. Regarding other products, it is to my knowledge that Orbx for Kola and Ugra-Media for Germany, are working towards having RSBN in their maps. Thank you.

@BIGNEWY @NineLine Hi, this is my 3rd time asking a MiG-29 9.12A question in the Frequently Asked Questions thread about RSBN and how we can use navigation in the available maps. Could I please have an answer?

My brother the Л203БЭ Гардения system, is an internal modification. There are no pods.