1.1 OVERVIEW

Syria has started supporting a “native insurgency” in Lebanon, all whilst deepening its ties with the USSR. Fearing that a successful occupation and annexation of Lebanon will further deepen these ties and lead to the establishment of a permanent Soviet naval presence based in the Eastern Mediterranean, USAFE has been tasked with countering Syrian efforts inside and along the border to Lebanon.

1.2 AREA OF OPERATIONS

Coastline of Syria. Mainly undulating hills and light forests.

1.4 AIR THREATS

MiG-15, MiG-19

MiG-15s are known to be the mainstay of the Syrian airforce, with a smaller force of MiG-19s constituting the cutting edge of the Syrian airforces. However, so far their willingness to intercept and challenge USAF flights remains unclear.

1.5 GROUND THREATS

Light, medium and heavy AAA, SA-2.

Intel so far is that substantial amounts of AAA of all calibers are deployed to defend Latakia harbour. SA-2 batteries mostly remain behind to shield Damascus in case of a renewed Arab-Israeli conflict, though occasional batteries have been shifted Westward.

1.6 FRIENDLY FORCES

N/A, we are the only allied forces in the AO.

1.7 CIVILIAN/3RD PART

Civilian air traffic is not a factor in the border region.

2 MISSION

Yesterday an attack on Syrian infiltration routes into Lebanon resulted in the loss of three aircraft shot down, with two further aircraft being damaged, one of which crashed in the ocean due to fuel exhaustion (the pilot has not been recovered, but is suspected to prowl the southeast of Cyprus due to gamekeepers reporting that several cheese doodle traps have recently been subjected to violent scavenging).

Furthermore, an SA-2 Guideline battery was encountered along the flight’s ingress route, which also engaged the flight, marking the first ever time that a Surface to Air Missile battery has engaged US aircraft in the region.

The USAF Europe Cyprus Detachment (USAFE-CD) will conduct a retaliatory air strike against logistics facilities in Latakia harbour.

3 EXECUTION

3.1 COMMANDER’S INTENT

Inflict maximum damage on the designated logistics targets in Latakia harbour.

Due to the presence of Soviet and non aligned shipping, the mooring facilities may neither be directly overflown nor targeted: the IP-target route must be either north to south or south to north, steering clear of the mooring facilities.

3.2 PACKAGES

The mission contains 1 package, callsign Buster. All flights are part of package Buster.

3.3 ORDER OF EVENTS

4 ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTICS

4.1 AIRFIELD OPERATIONS

• RAF Akrotiri
• TCN: 107X
• Active runway: 29
• Departure via …
• Approach via …

4.3 TANKERS

Texaco 1, 25X

5 COMMAND AND CONTROL

5.1 FREQUENCIES

Discord for intraflight, VHF 265 for flights.

5.3 BREVITY

6 ANNEXES

Target Area

Target

AO