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Solid turnout last night chaps. Thanks to @fruitbat, @DD_Fenrir, @BluBear, @PapaBear, @wingflyr, @Zukker, @delta7 and a guest appearance from @Crash along with myself of course. Everyone was able to chip in and make a solid contribution and play their part in the advancement of the campaign. We continue to make good ground managing to take an another airport and FARP in our new drive back to the east. A strong showing by the F16 is starting to show benefits of good team work to attack targets with excellent aircover provided by the F14. Well done chaps.

My friend had to break open the piggy bank and dust off his finest Scottish pound notes to purchase this

Our DCS Server: (This one was massive, over 100GB download and unpack, took several hours!)

@wingflyr You were missed last night Sir. Thank you for the heads up but it all went ok. I had uploaded the very latest version and enabled the splash feature as you suggested. It turned out to be too effective and the guys have requested I turn it off for next time. Other than that it all went ok with the usual smooth performance. The mission started just before dawn but with a small weather front that has moved in with light rain / snow showers in places across the map. Excellent work by myself (well I would say that) @delta7, @fruitbat, @BluBear, @DD_Fenrir and @PapaBear meant by the end of the night we had managed to make more good progress despite some stubborn SAM defences that kept getting repaired. Hopefully we will see a few more faces we are missing and would very much like to have join us next week ( @Squee7e, @Zukker, @Crash, @Squawk, @wingflyr of course) Salute Friar

So following a last little test last night of mission saving and restoring, thanks @fruitbat Syria Mission Control, we are confirming go-live at 20:15 on Thursday. It will start with a small scenario and game play brief. The actual mission will then start at 20:30 for this first mission. Following missions will start probably around the same time, maybe 20:00 but obviously it will live action from the start. I will not be running through the brief again if people join later, which there is absolutely no problem with you doing so. If you need to leave before the end, no problem, just bank your scores. I will NOT be doing the brief multiple times as people join. Happy to answer the odd question when applicable, but that should not be a problem as there will have been lots of people attend the brief so we all know what is going on. I will NOT be acting as a General for this campaign so will not be making tactical decisions. I will advise on potential next objectives but that is all. So please do not ask me "what should I do next Friar?" I have built quite a bit of randomisation into the campaign so even I know may not know what is going to happen next. The mission will also be run with "FOG OF WAR" settings. Icons in game but limited information on the F10 map.

WiWishing you and your family all the best and thank you for all the fun times flying with you during the year. CHEERS

UPDATE 3rd June A difficult night with the enemy putting up strong resistance via multiple air threats and long range SAM defences. After valid efforts from myself, @fruitbat, @BluBear, @delta7, @wingflyr and @DD_Fenrir (well a bit at the end, but still appreciated) we managed to capture Anapa. We have now reached the end of the move up the coast toward the west and will now be starting our fight moving more inland and eastwards. Well done chaps. NOTE: High Command would like to see @delta7 at HQ first thing Monday morning to discuss how he managed to take out our AWACS plane, causing us to have problems locating targets for the rest of the mission. Luckily HQ have been able to call up on the reserves and another unit is on station providing the data-link information.

I know another person who bought the F-16 after he had enough of getting shot down in the sluggish Su 25T when doing SEAD missions over and over again 😉 I've heard he will join you once he finds time to fly again and has prepared the basic controls

Not to blow one's trumpet, but last night I trapped first time on an Essex carrier. (Wingflyer as my witness) I'm not saying it was pretty and it may have been the last available wire, but I done it, honest. This is going to be a fun module!

And some more.....

DCS Server updated to ... latest!

I was sitting on the veranda and suddenly heard something approaching the village. I could get only one shot with my phone camera but I wanted to share it nonetheless. I had never seen one before in real life.

Tamiya Panther Ausf. A 1/35 kit. My first tank for a long while and it took some time to work out how to do the zimmerit. I ended up using Holts knifing putty spread over dry wall jointing tape and I think it worked out not too bad.

I have tweaked the icon settings and uploaded the mission ready for the next time. I have turned on the usual icon detail level but also put on fog-of-war, so its hopefully middle ground difficulty wise.

SESSION 1 REPORT Despite the Red forces putting up consistent waves of defending aircraft, the blue air force managed to stem the tide which assisted the ground offence to make some ground. Gaziantep which started out under Red control was re-captured and despite an attempt by Red forces to take it back (they managed to get a convoy very close to the airfield perimeter and were able to take out some of the NASAMS) it remains in Blue control. The ground team have worked hard and have managed to get one of the NASMA launchers operational again. The Alpha FOB is back under Blue control after being briefly taken by a Red patrol. The red held towns of Abu Talhah and Harim were targeted by helicopter and air strikes and have taken losses to their defenses but still need further attention before we can send in troops to capture them. The key Red airfield of Aleppo suffered many hits but still remains fully operational and must be considered a key target for the next attack if Blue forces are to progress into Red territory. Hatay remains the key front line airfield with flights of F4, F14, F16 and F18 being ferried there to be available for the next mission (see below) SCORES Fruitbat was the first pilot to hit 1000 points but was sadly killed on that "one last attack" so suffered a 10 point penalty....... MISSION TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE All players seemed to be reporting good frames (unlike previous attempts to run the mission ) so it looks like my changes have been a good step forward. I have loaded the mission up on my machine this morning in order to grab the screen shots and it loaded with no problems so looking good for the next session. Feedback regarding AI spawns was that it could be spaced a bit more so I will update the enemy spawn delay from between the current 5 to 8 minutes out to 5 to 15 minutes. Many thanks to all those attended and I hope you enjoyed the experience. Friar

PHASE 1 - SESSION 2 Red air resistance continue to be a constant threat, although not as intense as in the first engagement, however, they still managed to claim a number a victories. Blue air force certainly gave as good as they got, if not actually winning more duels and enabling the ground war to continue. Aleppo was again the main target and its defensive units taking multiple hits. It still remains operational however. Ground was made to the South East of Hatay with the town of Abu Talhah being captured by units of the 82nd deployed by Ch-47. Despite being taken there are still some Red resistance units in the area who will no doubt stage an attempt to recapture it at the next opportunity so some thought should be given to protecting the Blue ground units that are occupying. Alpha FOB became fully operational again for rearm and refuel following the arrival of a supply convoy. Harim has again taken significant damage and may well also be ready for an assault. Advise strongly that further recon takes place before committing boots on the ground. SCORES LOGISTICS Hatay was again supplied with ferried aircraft and the stocks are as follows During the course of the mission stocks of Hellfire type "K" missiles were nearly depleted and a re-supply mission was required. Stocks were flown in my Ch-47 from Incirlik. MISSION TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE No major issues were report and the session seemed to run smoothly. From the scores we can see that @DD_Fenrir has flown under different pilot IDs and his score has been split over the two sessions so far. It is therefore recommended pilots join the campaign with the same name to ensure your scores are maintained correctly. SUMMARY I hope you all enjoyed this session and I look forward to next week when we might finally get our hands on Aleppo. Friar

I have just added two new versions of the Caucasus map to our server. I have taken the current v3 (built by Fen) and made them a winter version and also removed the WWII asset pack for those who do not have it YET.... As of Sunday morning 16th Feb I have put the no WWII asset pack version up.

Hey chaps, I have just loaded up the mission as if we were going to run week 2. I am pleased to report that the mission loaded, took a while but it loaded all ok. Alpha FOB is still showing blue as it Abu Talhur, the JTAC is showing as being located there as well (I moved him to the FOB right at the end of the mission). and... The planes that were ferried from Incirlik to Hatay are showing as in stock. I also kicked off the enemy AI and planes started spawning in So... Based on this quick test, I am prepared to say that I think we are now in business to run the Campaign as I had hoped, at last! Many thanks once again for all your trust and patience to get this working.

Ramrod 564 DCS event will be hosted on Sunday 23rd of February; briefing at 2000 GMT. Mossies and Mustangs available. @BluBear @fruitbat @Friar @PapaBear @wingflyr @Zukker @Squawk @DD_Sheriff @FoolTrottel @delta7 @Perfesser @T_O_A_D

on a Friday, early in the evening... 🙃

Blubear Air-to-Air refueling "chuck us a sandwich mate..."

Our DCS Server:

Our DCS Server:

Artie and Wingflyr 530253902_24646901274896488_4480781249929517286_n.mp4 530380699_24142959608680286_3903318214645429065_n.mp4 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNMX3Tby07w/?igsh=dGk4NW01MzBndWYx e Tower at the Show

A bit of advice to those new to Beyond Visual Range weapons employment; the Crank is the most fundamental tactic to be employed and if you don't know it or how to use it you are putting yourself at a significant disadvantage when engaging other BVR capable enemies in DCS. The purpose of the Crank is as follows: To limit your downrange travel by reducing your relative velocity towards the enemy thus keeping you further from the enemy (and potentially out of his weapons employment envelope) till the time your missile impacts than if you had kept driving toward the bandit To reduce the weapons employment envelope of the bandit by significantly offsetting the intercept point, causing (i) any missile he employs to pull a significant amount of lead and thus expend energy, and (ii) extending the flight time of that missile and thus depleting it of further energy and reducing it's terminal phase manoeuvrability and therefore lethality.

UPDATE 26th June 2025 We will be running the latest version this evening. Please see below the changes since our last version 1.4.9 Added NoSA10AndSA11. Now include SA-15 that will be downgraded to SA-8. This can be toggled in the editor. Added to the Escort A10, F15E and Herc. "Flight sweep" and "Engage if engaged" Tweaks to the Dynamic shop items across all. Changed Jtac is now immortal. they get killed by blue players. Also, forced EPLRS ON (Datalink) Changed The shop Select Target menu Now include waypoint number and will be sorted by the numbers, from lowest to highest. Changed Blue side when era is cold war to suit that time period. Fixed issue with Hercules and CTLD they could not be dropped on the ground from the air. Fixed CTLD Capture troops. In some instances they would only capture ( first group) second would not upgrade Performance tweaks to AIEN, zone patrolling. Before, when the ground was about to move, it checked the distance on the road vs offroad, which cost a lot using findPathOnRoads. Now that result of the first check if it decide to use On Road, it will use that path by storing it. Also, zone patrol will not move if AIEN have marked them as UnderAttack since they might move due to reaction. I also store each subzone, if they are near the road and there are many of them. At least 10-15 per zone. This happens at mission start hence the load time might be longer. I even store the distance between each zone and which zone are closest to player zone and much more. All this happens at mission start to keep the flow under the mission. Fixed a bug that could kill the server when bought twice DYNAMIC CAP, Dynamic bomber and Dynamic SEAD. only those 3. Added Dynamic spawn on the CTLD FARP. ( Those don't have any template ) Added CTLD farp zons to be a valid supply zone. Added the possibility to drop off CSAR pilots inside of CTLD zones. Increased CSAR credit payout from 100 to 300 Fixed a bug in CSAR when AI or player without credits ejected, the message of pilot in need of rescue would not come even when asked manually from the CSAR menu. Removed Trace from the script that was i forgot to disable Fixed bugs bugs across the board.

Looks like I will have to buy it. Other news, virtual desktop working and my PointCTRL finger pointing clicky thing isnt f##ked up, virtual kneeboard works, so it is looking promising.

Quick thrown together mission is now live on the server. All WWII planes (inc I16 and trainer P51) are available from the Blue land base. Red targets as marked. Mainly ground attack.

I said no more DCS but now the Cold War map and this makes me think again.

It really is a beautiful beast isn't it? Stunning restoration. I'd love to see this at a show over here, it's been a good 10 years since we've heard a Daimler Benz in these shores. If you can get your hands on a copy, I'd recommend the inaugural Vintage Aviation Echo (https://www.vaemag.com/preview-volume-i). Not only is it a wonderful publication, but one of the chapters is dedicated to Rote 12's restoration and test flight schedule, written by the pilot you see, renowned moustachioed RAF officer and warbird legend, Flt Lt Charlie Brown. Fun fact: Both Fenrir and I flew with this gentleman in a Boeing Stearman many many years ago as RAF cadets on warm summer's evening as a reward for marshalling at an airshow. Ahhh memories.

Salute Following a request from @Squee7e last night regarding his permissions and non-ability to post pictures onto Discord I reviewed who has "DangerDogz" permissions and found a large number of you did not have the correct permission set. I have now corrected this so the next time you sign onto Discord you may see new threads and options. Enjoy and apologies for the oversight when creating this. Regards Friar

To Command the Sky: The Battle for Air Superiority Over Germany, 1942-1944 Examines the people, technology, command decisions, and events in the struggle for control of the skies in World War II https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9781560980698/Command-Sky-Battle-Air-Superiority-1560980699/plp

GBS Servers updated to latest version.

The moment when you realize you never really played the singleplayer part of a game 😄

Our DCS Server:

Ok chaps, I am hoping I have resolved the AI spawn, so,....... I am going to have one last go tomorrow (Thursday) with the mission. (starting from fresh). The score module has been updated so I am afraid you will loose any score that is not banked if you are killed. I will save at the end of the night and then re-load it before the next session to see if it works, rather than save during the first session and then perhaps waster your time if it does not load. Fingers crossed. Hope to see you all in the next session. Friar

Our DCS Server:

Full Briefing - Release V1 Scenario Red forces have pushed out of Syria from Jarabulus in the eastern side of Syria and taken control of the regional airfield of Gaziantep in Turkey. There are also signs that they are planning to push in and take the Forward Operating Base located West of Rayhanli, code named "Alpha". These actions must be countered. Having negated these incursions Blue forces should then commence the push back into Syria and take over airfields, towns and FOBs all the way down to Damascus. Blue forces will start their fight back from Incirlik, Hatay, Adana and Akrotiri airfields as well as a small output FOB at Nurdagi. There is also a Carrier fleet in the locality. Game Play Other than the Carrier, FOBs and Adana all bases will use the Dynamic Spawn capability and hot start will be an option. These missions will track your scores and the impact from any encounters will be carried forward from mission to mission. You should make sure you land safely back at a Blue occupied base to bank your points. The results from each session must be saved via a menu option at the end of play. Menu options allow players to their view their own score and also the score for other players. Some of these menus are specific to certain plane types so depending on what you are flying means you may not see all the menu options. You will also be able to get an update on the status of airfields and towns as to which side is in control via the menu options. Once the controlling forces of an airfield or town have been negated the area can then be captured by the deployment of ground forces. Each new captured area provides the opportunity to pick-up new troops. Captured airfields will also provide new spawn points for aircraft and/or helicopters, thus assisting the move down the map. However should the red forces loose control of a base, they will probably mount an attack to recover any lost assets. Captured airfields will have very limited air defenses and it is strongly recommended that Hercules out of Adana bring in supplies once the airfield is safe and as early as possible after capture. Captured bases may also have limited number of spawns per plane type available so you will need to think about not just throwing away your air frame. Home bases have unlimited spawns and resources. Some bases once captured will not provide new spawns but will enable the option to land and repair, rearm or refuel. Some of these bases will require extra supplies to be brought in by the Hercules. Some captured FOBS will require ground resources to be sent in after capture to provide fuel and supplies before any RRR can take place. All captured bases will provide an opportunity to land and bank any kills you have to save your scores. Threats - Army The Red forces will have multiple ground units placed around the map defending key areas. You can expect to encounter many types of ground and air defenses. Some units may be held back and out of sight until required to take part in the engagement, so do not underestimate their strength. Threats - Air Force The Red air force is made up of an aging fleet of Migs and SU designated aircraft, but do not mistake this for being an easy fight. They will be deployed to patrol and attack where required to maximize their strengths. Threats - Navy There is a limited threat from the Red forces Navy. The only information we have is that there are three "Grisha" class corvettes currently located in Tartus port undergoing refits. Two of these three ships are awaiting sea trials before their weapons systems become fully operational. The other is believed to have completed the sea trials and now has all of its weapons systems functioning.

Here's a little challenge for all of you Viper pilots, a blind landing approach using the ILS to land, utilising the new fog settings in the mission builder for a low visibility landing, mission attached. 2 F-16's are available, one 50 miles out to use TACAN to get on the correct radial before switching to ILS, and the second one 10 miles out on radial and correct height for a straight in ILS approach. If using the second spawn, best to start in active pause and enter the correct Tacan and ILS frequency into the DED before unpausing. Its a relief when the runway comes into view!!! f-16 ILS landing.miz

Then I made them into uploadable movies to YT. Enjoy! I often dig through the gigs of stuff I've saved to hear our voices and Camaraderie. I've been aiming to do this for years, and I might as well do it now and get rid of the large files off my PC. Besides, I'll probably never get that involved in this game again. I had broken my ankle that fall and was off work for 8 weeks, so I had time to brush up on things. This next one is just me finding a flight of Beufighters online while piloting a 109 and after watching it a few times I think Kira was actually in one, thus the reason we were quiet I think.

I have just uploaded a new version which I hope will correct a couple of the issues. The crew chiefs should now all speak English I have removed the display of points / kills to stop the screen being obliterated when @PapaBear does what PapaBear does. Should also help VR users. You now only have to land at the airfield and stop for 10 seconds to bank your points. The whole airfield is a safe zone. I may be on this evening to check these out, but if you want to test it please do. The mission can be re-started via the comss F10 menu, where you will also find other features.