Red Tide Role Cards

Operation Red Tide — Role Kneeboard Cards

Print-and-fly quick-reference, one card per player role in the Campaign Briefing Handbook roster. Each card is a kneeboard page: mission, period loadout, game plan, threat-defeat, comms, SAR. Pair with the mission brief for the day's specifics.

Loadouts are period-correct for 1988 (it's a Cold-War-gone-hot fight). By default the campaign does not date-restrict weapons (restrict_weapons_by_date defaults off; only the Veteran/Ace difficulty presets turn it on), so the payload editor may offer later stores — fly the era kit for the feel, and expect only period weapons if you're on Veteran/Ace or the restriction is on. Exact stores vary by what the loadout editor grants per mission; treat these as the recommended baseline, not a hard list.

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DEAD — F-16CM Voodoo (414th Voodoo Sqn · Hahn)

=================  DEAD · F-16CM BLOCK 50 · "VOODOO"  =================
JOB: Kill the SAM. You are the lid-opener — lead the corridor in, hold it open.

LOADOUT ('88): AGM-88 HARM ×2 · AGM-65 Maverick ×2 (mobile killers) ·
               AIM-120 ×2 + AIM-9 ×2 · ALQ-jammer pod · 2× bag · chaff/flare full

GAME PLAN
  • Pre-emptive HARM to push sites down on the run-in; reactive HARM on pop-ups.
  • Service the MOBILE belt (SA-6 ~13nm / SA-11 ~22nm) with HARM+Mav, then CRANK away.
  • Route AROUND the FIXED rings (S-300 ~45nm / S-200) — you can't out-climb them.
  • Declare the corridor open ("GATEWAY" ex.) before strikers push. Hold it through their run.
THREAT-DEFEAT
  • S-300/S-200: don't duel from inside the ring — stand off / terrain-mask / HARM from edge.
  • Fencer (Su-24M) is red's SEAD-killer — check six on egress, drag with the escort.
COMMS: "MAGNUM" every HARM (deconflict). Give MUD type + direction. SPIKE = clock + type.
SAR: KING overhead. If down in the belt, get clear of the site, guard freq, KING runs it.
======================================================================

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SEAD — F/A-18C Hornet (414th JFG Hornets · Hahn)

=================  SEAD · F/A-18C LOT 20 · "HORNET"  =================
JOB: Suppress for the package. Keep heads down so the DEAD/strikers do their work.

LOADOUT ('88): AGM-88 HARM ×2 · AIM-120 ×2 + AIM-9 ×2 · ALQ jammer · 2–3× bag ·
               (drogue receiver — plan ARCO/MPRS, not the boom)
GAME PLAN
  • Escort the corridor: reactive HARM on any site that lights the package.
  • Stay between the strikers and the threat axis; don't chase kills out of position.
  • Self-escort A2A capable — but your job is suppression, not the merge.
THREAT-DEFEAT
  • Mobile SHORAD/ZSU near the FLOT — keep the package above the gun floor.
  • Fencer on egress — sanitize the egress lane with the CAP.
COMMS: "MAGNUM" on every HARM. Call MUD + bearing for the package. Coordinate with VOODOO.
TANKER: drogue only (ARCO / KC-135 MPRS). Don't get sent to the boom.
SAR: KING overhead; eject contract per handbook §11.
======================================================================

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F-4E Phantom II — the multi-role workhorse (Ramstein / Spangdahlem / Hahn)

====================  F-4E-45MC PHANTOM II  ====================
Four player Phantom squadrons, four jobs. Heatblur module required.

480th TFS (Ramstein) — SEAD SWEEP "the Weasel sweep"
  Load: AGM-88/AGM-45 ×2 · AIM-7 ×2 + AIM-9 ×4 · jammer · bags
  Plan: sweep the corridor ahead of the package; hunt/suppress emitters.
512th TFS (Hahn) — OCA/RUNWAY
  Load: Mk-82 / cluster / runway craters · AIM-7/9 self-defense · bags
  Plan: strangle the fields (Haina, later Hamburg) — crater + kill parked jets.
526th TFS (Spangdahlem) — BAI / interdiction
  Load: Mk-82 / CBU / Maverick · AIM-7/9 · bags
  Plan: kill the convoys/echelons feeding the front — this MOVES the line.
GAF JG 74 "Mölders" (Spangdahlem) — TARCAP (Luftwaffe)
  Load: AIM-7 ×2 + AIM-9 ×4 (or period AA) · bags
  Plan: forward CAP, mop up GCI-vectored Floggers/Fishbeds; protect the package.
ALL PHANTOMS
  • No turn-fight with Fulcrums (R-73+HMS) — BVR with the Sparrow / extend.
  • Heavy jet — energy is life; don't bleed it in the merge.
SAR: KING overhead; eject contract §11.
================================================================

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Escort / CAP — F-14B Tomcat (VMF-29 · Spangdahlem)

==================  ESCORT/CAP · F-14B · "SLAYER"  ==================
JOB: Own the air picture. You are the long stick — protect the package, deny the merge.

LOADOUT ('88): AIM-54 Phoenix ×4 · AIM-7 ×2 · AIM-9 ×2 · 2× bag · chaff/flare
               (probe receiver — drogue tanker: ARCO / KC-135 MPRS)
GAME PLAN
  • High BARCAP/TARCAP ahead of the strikers; commit on the AWACS picture.
  • Phoenix the bombers/raiders early (Backfire/Fencer/Badger-type); Sparrow/Sidewinder the fighters.
  • CRANK after your shot; don't drag a hot bandit back over the package.
  • Long-stick recce role: range/ID the A-50 for the enabler hunt — but don't overcommit solo.
THREAT-DEFEAT
  • MiG-29: kill BVR or extend — never turn-fight the Archer/HMS.
  • Su-27 (831st): respect R-27ER first-shot range; notch/crank, fight as a section.
COMMS: lead the picture — DECLARE/PICTURE with AWACS; FOX calls; "DEFENDING" = section supports.
TANKER: drogue (ARCO / MPRS). SAR: KING overhead; §11.
======================================================================

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Strike / BAI — F-15E Strike Eagle (414th TFS · Hahn)

================  BAI/STRIKE · F-15E SUITE 4+ · "BOLT"  ================
JOB: Put iron on what moves the line — convoys, echelons, then fixed targets in the corridor.

LOADOUT ('88): CBU / Mk-82 / Mk-84 / AGM-65 (per target) · AIM-120 ×2 + AIM-9 ×2 ·
               TGP · bags (boom receiver — TEXACO / KC-135)
GAME PLAN
  • Run in ONLY inside the declared SEAD corridor. No corridor → hold or re-task.
  • BAI: hit the Haina-bound columns; deliberate strike: fixed targets after SEAD has worked.
  • Self-escort A2A capable — but get in, deliver, get out; let the CAP fight.
THREAT-DEFEAT
  • Stay above the SHORAD/ZSU floor near the FLOT; toss/standoff where you can.
  • Fencer hunts strikers too — check six off target, egress with the package.
COMMS: TOT discipline; call IN/OFF target; "MAGNUM" awareness from the SEAD.
TANKER: boom (TEXACO / KC-135). SAR: KING overhead; §11.
======================================================================

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CAS — A-10C Suite 3 & AH-64D Apache (Ramstein / Fulda / Frankfurt)

====================  CAS · A-10C "HOG" + AH-64D "WIDOW"  ===================
JOB: Work the FLOT with the ground commander. Push the line; protect the troops.

A-10C SUITE 3 (81st TFS, Ramstein)
  Load: AGM-65 Maverick · GAU-8 gun · rockets · Mk-82/CBU · AIM-9 self-defense · ECM/flares
  Plan: kill armor/vehicles on the front; stay above the ZSU floor or treetop-fast between pop-ups.
AH-64D (1-1 ARB Fulda · 12th CAB Frankfurt) + OH-58D scout
  Load: Hellfire · 70mm rockets · 30mm · (Stinger where fitted)
  Plan: terrain-mask, pop to shoot, work with the OH-58D scout/FAC; closest base to the front = Fulda.
THREAT-DEFEAT
  • SHORAD/MANPADS/ZSU are the killers down here — never loiter predictable, never silhouette.
  • Hand off to CAP if fighters push; you are not the air-to-air answer.
COMMS: work the JTAC/FAC + ground net; KING/Sandy if a rescue spins up.
TANKER: A-10 = boom (TEXACO). SAR: you may BE the Sandy — see CSAR card. §11.
======================================================================

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King & Sandy — Combat SAR (C-130J · A-10C/AH-64D · CH-47F)

==================  COMBAT SAR · KING / SANDY / JOLLY  ==================
🟡 Built but still in in-game testing (handbook §11) — fly it, brief it as shaking-out.

KING — C-130J-30 (910th AW, Frankfurt)  [on-scene commander, a TALKING player on SRS]
  • Overhead orbit: EW/ISR jam + ELINT picture; TACAN-only beacon + F10 LARS survivor locator.
  • Runs the rescue by voice. Put KING up on ANY deep/contested push so it's already there.
SANDY — A-10C / AH-64D (2–4)
  • Protect the survivor, suppress the threats around them, walk JOLLY in. Load = CAS kit.
JOLLY — CH-47F (5-159) / UH-1H
  • The pickup. Comes in under Sandy cover once the area's suppressed.
THE CAPTURE RACE (design)
  • On ejection a red snatch party may race for the survivor. Kill it + recover → pilot SPARED
    at debrief (airframe still lost). Lose the race → CAPTURED = POW at an enemy field (CSAR
    objective). Recapture the field or a CSAR raid frees them; abandoned past 4 turns = killed.
DOWNED-PILOT CONTRACT: get clear, high/defensible ground, guard/SAR freq, authenticate, KING runs it.
========================================================================

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Companion docs: Campaign Briefing Handbook · First three turns worked example · Intel assessment (lore) · Visual briefing. Loadouts are recommended period baselines; actual stores depend on the mission's loadout editor and difficulty settings.

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This page is the online copy of docs/campaigns/red-tide-role-cards.md in the repo. Edit that file; the wiki is mirrored from docs/wiki/ on merge to main.