My reasoning for the kits I build.

[chrisonord]

The kits I build all fit into an ulterior motive,I build U>S navy and marines aircraft and vehicles along with some vehicles and aircraft what iffed from the army or airforce, mainly the fighting and assault helicopters. These aircraft consist of current service aircraft and recently and not so recently retired aircraft that have been re enlisted and upgraded to suit their new jobs. I havea P-2 Neptune that I have turbo prop engines for to be a COIN/gunship aircraft, 3 mohawks to be COIN aircraft, 2 NOGS oa-10 Bronco's and 2 longnose Bronco's. A turbo propped S-2 which will also be a Coin aircraft. These will all have self defence sidewinders and modern air to ground ordanance eg Hellfires and maverick missiles etc. I have 3 A-7's which will al be reengined with larger more powerful afterburning engines these will be armed with precision weapons such as LGB's and JDAM's.
I have navalised  some AH-64 Apache longbows,one of which is armed with Penguin ASM's Three comanche helicopters that are now marines helicopters and an Mh -47 chinook  that will belong to the Navy. This task force is a joint  effort between the navy marines and the CIA. Their purpose is to find and neutralise a rich drug cartel in a south American country that has their own army and airforce. Nearly all of the airforce is consisted of ex soviet "museum" grade aircraft consisting of IL-28's modded to carry stand off missiles, mig-21's that have been re engined and upgraded and more modern Mig 29's and Sukhoi su 27,34, 30,33,34, along with some mirages and a Tupolev TU-22 Blinder. The vehicles are also of russian decent and vary also in age from T-55's to T-80's along with various apc's and anti aircraft missile systems.Part of the Tasforces job is to find out how and where the cartel are getting this hard ware,and to regain air and ground supremacy for the government forces, that are now down to their last few Pucara's Turbo mentor, and super Tucano's along with some converted mitsubishi Mu turbo prop aircraft and a Dornier turbo prop ELINT aircraft. The Task force which is primarily based on an assault carrier and an older Nimitz class carrier, has come ashore on an Island used as an airbase during the second world war for maritime patrol aircraft. This airstrip is just about usable by helicopters as the sea has eroded alot of it away thus needing repairing for STOVL and VSTOL Harriers and V-22's to operate from it.
Some of the original buildings are still present including the control tower which will be used to mount the satellite and radio antenae. The comand post will be a pod carried by a CH-54 fitted out with communications equipment and some medical equipment for pre medivac treatment.Hornets from the carriers will take out the airdefence missile systems and radar, and they along with he tomcats will ensure air superiority, Whilst the land force of M-1 abrams, M3 Bradley LAV-25's and Stryker AFV's take care of the land forces. The broncos mohawks and the government coin aircraft aid the land forces.An AV-22 and an AP-2 gunship hep to keep the cartels troops heads down and neutralise any aircraft on the ground.
My idea was to make a large diorama of either the assault landing area with all the vehicles coming ashore and setting up a command post, or making an airfield/ fortress that the cartel uses as its central base, utilising the missile batteries and dug in armour. But... I don't have the room to do this as all my stuff is in 1/72nd scale, so this scenario is just imaginary for now.
Chris.         

[dy031101]

Sounds like the Navy and the Marines have commandeered quite a number of stuff from the Army. 

How much of it have you already purchased and completed?

I was kind of thinking that perhaps you can limit the aircraft used by the US Task Force to those that can takeoff and land from the two aviation vessels- for example, OV-10 for COIN (from the assault carrier), A-7F for tactical strike, F-14 for AAW, navalized AH-64 for littoral combat, V-22 as troop transports and make-shift gunships, and CH-54 for heavy lift (including the command post module).

If that was not enough...... Comanche as scouts, AV-8B (or F/A-18) as backups to fixed-wing aircraft, and leave the rest either given to the local government forces or out until a functioning airfield is obtained?

For the cartel forces, maybe leave out the MiG-29 and the Su-34.  MiG-29 is more expensive and might compete with Su-27 families in maintanence resources while fulfilling the same role as the MiG-21 (which are admittedly inferior but should be cheaper and more plentiful), and would the Su-34 offer significant advantage that the cartel really needs over the Su-30?

You can google for a modified H-5 (reversed-engineered Il-28) used by the PLAN to test the radar used by their JH-7 for inspirations on the cartel's modified Il-28.



You know what, I was actually trying to imagine something similar- primarily based on an assault carrier and using turboprop aircraft that either can fly off it (preferably a pusher-prop attack aircraft) or are commercially available (flown from airfields within range and modified to carry tactical air-to-surface missiles; An-72 and Su-80 are candidates) as well as fire support and artillery vehicles based on APC hulls (with M113, YW-531H, and 8x8 BTR series being candidates).

[chrisonord]

The aircraft I have built are as above, with quite a few others waiting to be commissioned. I have a couple of Aero Albatross's also for the cartel air arm and they also have two (one built) IL-28's, that will be upgraded as stand off missile platforms.The vehicles that the U.S taskforce has includes LAV-25 air defence variants, 2 Hummer Avengers, and 2 bradley linebackers these will be used as area defence on the makeshift command post and whilst on the move. The vehicles that are built for the task force are, 4 Bradley AFV's 2 Linebacker versions, 2 strykers, 2 M113's(ambulances), 6 Abrams, 5 AMTRACKS 2 recovery AMTRACKS, 5 LAV 25's 1 air defence, one assault gun version, one TOW version and 2 infantry fighting versions.
There are also 9 Hummers of various versions including the 2 avengers and three 2.5 6x6 trucks. The troops are a joint force of Marines navy seal's and CIA operatives. The Bradleys, M1123's and the Strykers are CIA command vehicles and medical vehicles. The government aircraft will also be complimented by 2 A-37 Dragonflies that have been scrubbed up and up armed accordingly, these have yet to be built. An armed assault landing craft in 1/72nd scale has been scratch built, and is 2/3 finished. This craft will carry 6 Abrams tanks and 4 Hummers in one go, and is able to defend itself from aircraft and other shipping, and can also lay down covering fire with its 25 mm bushmasters and 50 cal machine guns.The v-22's  would also give covering fire as gunships and as anti-sipping platforms armed with harpoon missiles. both of which I have built.
The cartel vehicles compared tpo the aircraft are a bit thin on the numbers but by no means less lethal. T-55, T-62's T-72 and T80's offer the main heavy armour, along with BTR armoured personnel carriers Tunguka air defense, Gvodika howitzers and AT spiral anti tank platforms.
The aircraft are also complimented by two SU-15 Flagons and 2 SU-24 Fencers. The pilots for all the aircraft are as intelligence reports suggest are of limited experience and will not stand a chance against any air to air engagement. The main aim is to disable the runway and capture most of the aircraft to ascertain their origins. Firstly though a standoff attack of the air defences with slamer missiles and HARM's.
Chris.

[chrisonord]

I have some more aircraft that the cartel can use, I have an un built Aero L-39, and two on their way, I have enough suitable weapons for these aircraft, and I also have 2 SU-22's and a SU-17 to add to the air fleet. My reasoning for using retired aircraft is that most if not all of the frontline aircraft in the U.S service will be tied up in Afghanistan and Iraq, so recommissioning some older but operational equipment seems more viable. plus the CIA will get what they want anyway I am sure.An aircraft I am currently whatiffing, is an A-5 Vigilante, I have so far added bigger engine nozzles, 2 extra pylons and will be adding an F-18 nose cone and the tail fins from a F-14, and a chin pod from the same aircraft.
LGB's and LANTIRN pod will be an armament option along with a twin sidewinder rail and vulcan cannon port.I was going to add ECM pods but I think these can  be installed in where the camera equipment was.         

[chrisonord]

Right then, since I last posted on this thread, I have had a good think about the situation. The place is Honduras, the cartel is on the Nicaraguan border with Honduras...... somewhere. What is left of the government aircraft involved is part of a specially formed air wing, which specifically is tasked with the control of drug smuggling and the cartels involved. The aircraft ( which I have either built or waiting to be built) consist of 2 Mirage2000, one mirage 3, 2 of which were shot down, 2 A-37's, 1 AC-160 Transall gunship,1 skyvan, 1 Turboproped AC-119z,1 DHC-4, 2 Gazelles, 1 AH-65 Dauphin, 1 mitsubishi mu COIN bird, 1 Dornier  Elint platform. 2 Alpha jet COIN birds, 2 Tucano coin birds, one turbomentor coin bird, 1 Fouga magister observation FAC , 1 Turbo Nord Atlas, 1 jet tracker Coin bird, 1 super Etendard 2 others shot down.
The us aircraft will be operating from their carrier and from the Honduran airstrip where the government forces are stationed. The eason that the Americans have such aircraft is because the main contingent of aircraft is still  involved in Afganistan and Iraq, so, Davis Monthan airbase has been raided of its goodies, and some new model aircraft (2 f-35's) are getting a good testing and evaluating.
The vehicles and aircraft of the cartel are indeed of Russian origin and, are obtained through a Nicaraguan government official who is in the back pocket of the Cartel leaders. The cartel orders what it wants and an official requisition order goes out from the Nicaraguan  govt, for what the Cartel wants and it gets shipped "officially" to Nicaragua and then delivered to the Cartel, with the govt non the wiser.
The old US Patrol airbase that has been commandeered by the Us Navy? Marines/CIA is close to the shipping routes to Nicaragua, and from here covert observation of all shipping can be carried out. The base is on an island that is off the Honduran/Nicaraguan coast.