VMFA-121 (The Green Knights)
“Tango Foxtrot to Duster Lead. Longsword is a go. Say again, Longsword is a go.”
Captain Charles adjusted his restraints again. He was getting old to be strapped into a jet for hours on end. Being considered “old” at 32 was a little strange for most professions, but being a fighter pilot was a young man’s game.
“OK Marines. If the squids did their jobs the SAMs should mostly be down. Keep on your toes though.”
The plan was simple enough. The squadron would break into four plane elements and overfly each of the target islands. They would observe conditions and bomb the shit out of anything that looked vaguely threatening. Since two full MEUs would be showing up shortly, they wanted to be sure that there was as little resistance as possible. Charles and his flight had drawn Fiery Cross Reef.
Dawn was just breaking as they approached the small artificial island. Roughly bullet shaped, the Chinese had performed extensive dredging to convert the reef to an artificial island. The facilities included housing, radar sites, SAM installations, and most importantly, an airstrip. This made the island very interesting for the United States and a full MEU was about to knock on their front door.
The 11th MEU was basically a reinforced Battalion with over 2,200 marines assigned to it. According to Intel reports, there were less than 200 combat troops on the island and they had been subject to multiple waves of bombardment over the past few days. However, the Marines were taking no chances. Better to be over prepared than under prepared.
“Kit Kat, looks like a mobile SAM is unpacking down at the southwest end there.”
“OK. Designate the target for me and I will set up for a JDAM.”
“Gotcha.”
Like many modern planes, the F-35 had an integrated laser designation and infrared tracking system. Unlike other planes, the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) was tightly integrated into the plane’s systems. Using this system, a pilot in one F-35 could directly attack a ground target, or if the positioning wasn’t good, hand off the target to another F-35. As the first plane placed a laser designator, the second plane automatically acquired the target. All Charles had to do was press the “pickle” to release the bomb. At the current altitude of 20,000 feet, the bomb was able to “fly” directly onto the target even though the aircraft was several miles away. Without a working radar, the troops on the ground likely didn’t know the F-35’s were in the area.
Until, that is, they made their presence felt. “Good strike! That’s a hard kill.”
“I have aircraft on the apron.”
“Taking the shot.”
The squadron quickly and efficiently took down the highest level threats. Aircraft and SAM sites were their top priority in order to protect the two squadrons of attack helicopters which were about to arrive.
“Duster Lead, this is Atlas Lead. Say Status.”
“Atlas Lead we are good up here. All clear for your run. Designate if you need us to drop.”
“Roger that. Coming in.”
As Charles watched from twenty thousand feet, the twelve AH-1Z’s of Atlas flight swept over the small island. Unlike the F-35’s, the attack helicopters were interested in ANYTHING that moved. People, trucks, you name it. They used their 20mm chin mounted Gatling guns to take down soft targets or just individual soldiers running across the tarmac.
“Duster, I have an APC with what looks like a missile mount on the roof. They are targeting me. Lasing it.”
“I have your spot. Get clear. Dropping.”
While the Mark 84 bomb was pretty ancient, the addition of the JDAM package made it a very potent weapon. Unlike laser-guided Paveway’s or other older munitions, they didn’t need to be guided all the way to the target. Once the system knew where to land, the bomb would fly on its own to that designated target without any assistance. In this case, the F-35 had used an assist from the helicopter to designate the APC, but then the helicopter could then duck behind a building or other cover while the JDAM fell. In the past, the helicopter would have had to maintain contact with the enemy, risking counter attack.
Even from 20,000 feet, the secondary explosions from the APC made it clear that the bomb had struck its target. “Hard kill. Good secondaries.”
“Thank you Duster. Moving.”
With high air cover from the F-35’s, the helicopter gunships were the next best thing to unstoppable. Within ten minutes, there was nothing moving on the island.
“Atlas Lead to Zulu Whiskey. LZ secure. Maintaining overwatch.”
“Zulu Whisky to Atlas, confirmed. Friendlies inbound.”
With that confirmation, the ten MV-22A’s which had been lurking safely beyond the horizon came streaking in. Faster and longer ranged than a helicopter, the tilt-rotor MV-22A’s allowed the Marines to perform an “over the horizon amphibious assault” maneuver. In plain English, it meant that they could fly marines from the ship to the target quickly from a distance that didn’t allow the enemy to attack the ships they came from because they were far enough away to be hidden by the horizon. As a tilt-rotor, the MV-22A flew like a plane but could land vertically, like a helicopter.
As the airborne troops established a safe LZ, the LCACs sped in carrying LAV-25 light armored vehicles and a pair of Abrams M1-A1 tanks. Within 30 minutes, all resistance had ceased. The Marines were in full possession of Fiery Cross Reef.