World War 3: Rise of the Dragon (updated 27.07.15)

[Dizzyfugu]

The GDR IL-76 looks nice! The dark colors suit the big bird well - and BTW a nice idea for a whif. Unusual, but: why not?! 

[Spey_Phantom]

i know its been almost 2 months since the last instalment in the story, but things are about to get hot real soon.
the next part of the story is on its way, and with a whole collection of new models that are nearing completion.
so stay tuned....


The Story Continues

[Spey_Phantom]

Chapter 4.1: Crossing over the Iron Curtain.

While the tentions between East and West were winding down after the Peenemunde Crisis and the assasination of Vatjev, the UN was in fear that the crisis might start to heat up again, with Pugalarin in power at the Kremlin. the restart of activities at Peenemunde in East-Germany only added gasoline on the dieing fire.

in a secret meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, the CIA asked NATO for help as they planned to insert a team of CIA intel gathering teams over the East-German border. NATO allies were not to eager to penetrate Soviet occupied territories as the presence of NATO troops in the area could spark retaliatory attack against Europe.
in the end, the Netherlands were prepared to offer the insertation by helicopter.
the aircraft used for the insertation was the UH-60L Blackhawk. the aircraftwere painted in a dark blue scheme to reduce visibility by night.

on August 6 2023, 2 helicopters landed 10 kilometers within east-germany, succesfully dropping of the CIA operatives without being spotted on radar. the extraction a week later ended in a disaster, while on the ground, the helo's and the CIA teams came under attack by a pair of NVA-LSK MIG-29SMT's. one of the 2 blackhawks was destroyed on the ground, another managed to fly back to west-germany. dispite suffering heavy damage, it had managed to bring back the intel the CIA gathered at Peenemunde.

the operation was concidered a succes, as the information showed that the Russians were bringing in short- to medium-range ballistic missiles with a possible nuclear payload.
but the succes of the mission came at a cost, aside from lost RNLAF Blackhawk, the Dutch crews of the helo and 5 CIA agents lost they're lives.

when Moskou furiously asked what the NATO helicopter was doing on they're territory, the US waved it off saying the helicopter strayed of course and had to make an emergency landing, and that the other helicopter was there to retrieve the crew.


UH-60L Blackhawk, RNLAF, 300 squadron,
Gilze Rijen, The Netherlands.

the Royal Netherlands Air Force bought 6 Sikorsky UH-60L Blackhawks in 2016 to replace the 8 NH90-TNFH in the transport role, as these helicopters were transfered to naval amphibious operations, and to replace the Alouette III helicopters in the VIP transport role.
1 aircraft crashed and another was written off in an accident 10km inside East-Germany, both aircraft were replaced by new Blackhawks provided by the CIA via the US Army.

Model: Dragon/DML 1/144 UH-60
Decals: spares box & DIY




Mig-29SMT Fulcrum, JBG-37, DDR-NVA Luftstreitkrafte
Drewitz, East-Germany.

in 2009, East Germany recieved 40 Mig-29SMT to replace the Mig-21 and Mig-23 in the ground attack role.
these were conciderably downgraded version but still attained the same avionics as those used by the Russian Air Force.

model: Academy 1/144 Mig-29 Fulcrum, modified with the nose of a revell F/A-18C/D
Decals: DIY

[Spey_Phantom]

chapter 4.1.1: spying on the North

just as the Americans were suspicious about increased Russian activity in Eastern Europe, there were also movements signaled in North-Korea.
after the first strikes against the DPRK a year earlier, the US and Allied Forces were having problems getting theyre foot on land as the communist regime of Kim Jong Un was better and more modern equiped the the US Inteligence department thought they were.

information was vital to the war effort, and inteligence was vital, but the UAV's the US sent over the country were suffering heavy losses as they were unable to defend themselves against DPRKAF aircraft and ground based air defences. on a daily basis, 3 out of 4 drones were shot down by enemy ground fire. mostly since the UAV's were easely detectable by radar and the fact they had limited mobility.

the awnser was to send out stealthy manned aircraft. and the US Navy started to modify a number of older F-117N's on site.
during one mission, on September 5 2023, an F-117N from VFA-31 "Tomcatters", took,of from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W Bush for a manned recconaisance flight over the Yongbyong Nuclear facility, as sattelite images failed to supply the right ammount of detail on the facility.

flying on high altitude, invisible to enemy radar, the F-117N's performed theyre mission with excelence, gatherng the information the US Forces needed to plan theyre missions on the facility. afterwards, the F-117N contineud to be used in the Recconaisance and ISR role.

from information gathered by the F-117N's, Army Inteligence determined that the reactor was indeed started up gain, and from what theyve seen on the gathered pictures, they were largly rebuild and modernised to a Chinese standard, proving that the PRC indeed had a hand in the North-Korean Nuclear program.




Lockheed F-117N Sea Goblin, US Navy VFA-31 "Tomcatters"
USS George H.W. Bush, based in the Sea of Japan.

the US Navy aquired the F-117N Sea Goblin, a carrier based version of the F-117A Stealth fighter, in 1992 to replace the A-7 Corsair II and the RA-5 Vigilante. to meet Navy requirements, the aircraft underwent some radical design changes, such as a stronger airframe, a more powerfull engines, redesigned wings and stabilizers, beefed up landinggear and a tailhook (retracted internally).
these changes made the F-117N more superious to the USAF version as it gave the aircraft more stability and better mobility, needed for Carrier based operations. in total, about 60 of the type were built. by 2023, the aircraft was outdated and was in progress of being replaced by the F/A-23C/D Sea Ghost.

Model: Revell 1/144 F-117A, modified with new scratchbuilt wings and tailplanes
Decals: revell F/A-18E Super Hornet.

[NARSES2]

Good stuff Nils

[Spey_Phantom]

(please ignore the watermark on the pictures, my image resizer is on the fritz)

Chapter 4.2: Armageddon Unleached.

February 16 2024, NATO Early warning radars picked up a missile launch from the East-German military base of Peenemunde.
NATO high command issued the Red Alert, and mobilizes all QRA squadrons Europe for emergency launch.
however, its actions were all in vain, as only 30 minutes after launch, the missile impacted on the Isle of Man, the large mushroom cloud could be seen from the coast of West-Britain and Ireland, almost 20.000 people died in the impact, with many more to follow from radiation poisoning.

only hours later, Russian President Pugalarin in a public statement responded to the attack.

"By now the West might have noticed how the Isle of Man has been strucken by one of our nuclear cruise missiles, this is a warning to NATO and the USA. we will no longer tolerate the way you manipulate the United Nations into approving an attack on a country that has no means to defend itsself (reffering to the US/UN led conflict in North-Korea). what you have witnessed is only the tip of our striking power. you better watch out, cause the next desision you make, could be your last!"

the United Nations were truely shocked about the senseless attack on British Soil, and a majority of the partner members voted to bann Russia from the UN counsil as long as Pugalarin is in power. the United States and Britain even went a step further and supported by its NATO partner nations declared fullout war on the re-established Soviet Union.

SS-30 "Splitter" IRBM, Soviet-Russian Federation
Peenemunde launchsite, East Germany

the SS-30 (NATO codename "Splitter") is a short to medium range ballisitic missile with a range of about 600 to 1000 kilometers and is mostly based at Launch facilities close to Russian borders. these weapons act as defensive nuclear shield against potential enemy invaders. the use of the weapons was restricted to last line of defence in compliance od UN resolution 1989, prohibiting its use as an offensive WMD. the missiles can be equiped with either a high-explosive conventional warhead or a 2 Kiloton nuclear warhead.

model: missile from a 1/72 Airfix Stratos TSR2
Decals: DIY






Chapter 4.2.1: The Empires Strike Back.

infuriated by the Soviet-Russian attack on the Isle of Man, NATO began making preperations for an invasion of Soviet occupied Eastern-Europe. in order to defend the Western European countries agains another soviet attack, all forces were put on high alert.
immediatly, Surface to Air Missile emplacements were set up at key locations and major cities and everywhere there were 24 hour fighter and AWACS patrols. if another missile was to be launched they could immediatly intercept and destroy.

every violation of NATO airspace was treated as an act of hostility, and pilots were authorised to shoot and destroy every soviet or warpac aircraft nearing NATO airspace on sight. meanwhile, the United States was ready to launch its OMDLS (Orbital Missile Defence Laser System) into orbit, making any attack by a ICBM from russian side impossible. meanwhile USAF YAL-1B Airborne Lasers were also sent to Ramstein AFB in West-Germany. as it looked NATO spent a lot of effort, to make another missile attack impossible.

on March 20 2024, a group of 6 F-22A Raptors from the USAF 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, flew a patrol allong the East and West German borders when they spotted a flight of 12 Russian Su-35's heading they're way. all 12 were shot down without a single loss to US side.
a few days later, Royal Air Force Raptor F.1's shot down a Tu204 SIGINT aircraft off the coast of Scottland.
what was once a cold war, finally turned hot.

F-22A Raptor, USAFE, 32 Tactical Fighter Squadron.
Camp New Amsterdam, Soesterberg AB, The Netherlands.

to improve USAF strike capabilities, and make up for some of the shortcomings of the F-35,
the US Defence Departement approved reopening the production of the F-22 Raptor in 2017.
to reduce costs, the newbuild F-22A's, designated "Block 25", recieved mostly similar avionics and systems that were intigrated on the F-35. this gave the F-22 a new cockpit similar to the F-35 and a whole new Air to Ground capability, using the latest in Laser and GPS guided weaponry. the 32TFS, based at Soesterberg in The Netherlands, was the first of USAF detatchment in Europe to recieve the new raptor in 2020, replacing the old and outdated F-15C/D Eagle.

Model: Trumpter 1/144 F-22A Raptor
Decals: Kit & DIY










Raptor F.Mk.1, Royal Air Force,
111 (F) Squadron, RAF Leuchars.

in 2018, the Royal Air Force bought 30 F-22A Raptors from the US in order to boost its Air Defense Capability.
they had full stormshadow (external carriage) ASRAAM and Meteor integration to comply with RAF requirments.
these replaced the Typhoon in the long-range air defense role. these were equiped by 25 and 111 Squadrons at RAF Leuchars in Scotland.
the typhoons were then transfered to homeland air defence and attack missions.

Model: Trumpter 1/144 F-22A Raptor.
decals: Kit & DIY

[NARSES2]

Going well Nils

[Army of One]

Some smashing little kits there Nils....

[Spey_Phantom]

update:

im taking a small break from this storybuild, in order to find new motivation and inspiration.
the main reason is that i ran into a bit of writers block 
hope to be back at it shortly  

[Spey_Phantom]

The Story Continues



the storybuild contineus as the first of a number of new models are nearing completion.
new updates to follow soon 

[Spey_Phantom]

and were back 


Chapter 4.3: NATO responds

April 2, 2024, as a result of the Soviet nuclear attack, NATO has immediatly deployed all its AEW and SIGINT/ELINT assets to the Euro-Soviet border. withing the timespan of a few weeks, they detected large scale troop movements allong the East-German and Ukraine borders. to bring to picture the signifant numbers of troop camps and armour in the region, the USAF deployed a number of High speed F-16XR reconnaissance aircraft to take pictures.

what they found was astounding, there were about 8 Russian tank divisions on the border with east- and west German, and another 14 on the border with Ukraine and Poland. NATO immediatly put its ground forces on high alert, and Air Defences and surveilance was stepped up in fear of additional nuclear strikes.


Fokker F100 SOSTAR Mk.2, 302 squadron,
Vliegbasis Woensdrecht, The Netherlands.


in 2006, The Royal Netherlands Air Force wanted to support its NATO allies with an own airbourne SIGINT/ELINT system.
to meet this requirement, and to keep cost down, it bought 2 ex-KLM Fokker F100's. the Fokker Company was awarded €30 million contract to modify these aircraft to an upgraded SOSTAR-X configuration. compared to the earlier proposed SOSTAR-X platform, the aircraft featured various improvements to its onboard surveilance systems, Fokker also incorporated the use of winglets, planned for its proposed F100NG regional airliner. the first aircraft was delivered to the RNLAF in February 2010.

during the early days of World War 3, it was used for surveilance flights allong the West- and East German border, where it deteced and warned the allied command of Soviet troop movements in that area. the aircraft are expected to stay in service until 2030, it is expected to be replaced by a joint NATO airbourne surveilance system based on the Boeing EP-8C Rivet Star.

Model: Revell 1/144 Fokker F100 from the boneyard, fitted with winglets from a revell 737-800 and SOSTAR antennae made from spares.
decals: DIY






Lockheed F-16XR RecceFalcon, 398TFW,
87 Tactical reconnaissance squadron, Hill AFB.

when the USAF selected the F-15E Strike Eagle as its next strike aircraft to replace the F-111 and F-105's, the future of Lockheeds F-16XL seemed bleak. but when a requirement came up for a new tactical recconaisance aircraft, Lockheed offered a lightened stripped down version of the F-16XL. with most its ground strike sensors, weapons, onboard combat computers removed and the addition of a more powerfull F110-GE-220 Engine, the aircraft would be able to archieve a speed of Mach 2.7 in clean configuraation.
equiped with a powerfull high-resolution panoramic camera in the wing leading edges, it was concidered to be more of a mini-blackbird.
the first F-16XR aircraft were delivered in December 1989, a total of 60 aircraft were ordered and replaced the RF-4C and RF-4E.

in 2009, the aircraft's retirement was postponed as UAV's were not fast and reliable enough for fast reccon.
the F-16XR was upgraded with new avionics and its outdated microfilm-based system was replaced by a new and lighter Pentax XTR-20 digital reccon camera. the aircraft was expected to be retired in 2030.

Model: Airfix 1/144 F-16XL (salvaged from the boneyard), upgraded and modified with parts from revell's new 1/144 F-16C.
Decals: Dragon/DML F-16A/C








and as an added extra for the long delay 

Mikoyan Mig-UT, Zhukovsky test center
Moskou, Russia.

in 2008, the need arose for a new trainer/light attack aircraft for the Russian Air Force to replace the L-39 and some Su-25's.
Mikoyan and Yakolev both presented its aircraft to meet this requirement. Yakovlev offered an armed and up-armoured version of its Yak-130. but Mikoyan, instead of reviving the Mig-AT, decided to come up with a cleat-sheet design.

this aircraft, developed under the designation Mig-UT, was developed in cooperation with France, who was looking for a new trainer to replace the Alpha Jet. combining the best features of the Alpha Jet and the MIG-AT, they came up with a new advanced trainer and light attack aircraft, that looked similar to the Japanese Kawasaki T-4 (witch was based on the Alpha Jets design).

in France, Dassault marketed it as the Alpha jet IV.
when the Russian Air Force selected the Yak-130 in 2016, as it was already in service as a trainer, Mikoyan stopped the developemnt of the Mig-UT. in France, Dassault did not have the budget to continue developent on its own, so it also decided to cancel the project. in the end, France went for the PC-21 and the Aermacchi M346 to replace the Alpha Jet and Epsilons.

Model: Revell 1/144 Alpha Jet, modified with a shorter tail, new tailplanes and rudder, lower set wings and reconfigured landinggear.
decals: from the spares box

[NARSES2]

I really don't know how you make this teeny weeny stuff 

[Spey_Phantom]

Chapter 4.3.1: Allies assemble!

in preperation for operations over East-Germany, NATO and EU countries started preperations for war.
the British RAF sent out a squadron of Lightning FGR.1's and Spectre DGR.2's to Baden-Baden in West-Germany to strenghen its positions, a squadron of Raptor F.1's could also be dispatched to Germany at a moments notice.

Canada also strenghened the Air Defence parameter with a detatchment of 8 CF-188E Super Hornets at CFB Baden-Soellingen in West-Germany. it was the first time in over 20 years that the 421TFS was operational at the base, with many wrelics from the cold war still present on the base. the RCAF aircraft were responcible for QRA in that sector and to intercept Russian or eastern-block aircraft attempting to enter western Europe.

meanwhile, other NATO countries were increasing they're readiness and mobilising the reserves.

in the morning of July 16, 2024, a NATO surveilance aircraft detected a SCUD missile launch from inside East-germany, the missile was tracked and heading for London. to catch the missile in its final stage, a pair of Belgian Air Force F/A-18E's was scrambled to intercept and shoot down the threat over the north sea. in a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, a Belgian Defence spokesman stated that 2 Belgian fighterjets succesfully intercepted and destroyed a SCUD missile on final to London. the missile was shot down by an F/A-18E, with an AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM at 27.000 feet, 20km off the coast of Belgium. the next day, a Belgian Navy recovery team was sent out to recover the missile, a team of weapons specialist discovered that the missile was armed with a conventional warhead, and not a nuclear warhead, as first feared.

it was clear that the SCUD fired was just a warningshot from neo-Soviet Russia, telling NATO to back off.
although the SCUD was an outdated and strategicly unimportant short-range ballistic missile, the impact on Civilian areas made it a viable threat to politicians, who are mostly being blamed for any holes in the defence of Europe. shortly afterwards, more movements were noted at the East/West German borders, it was clear the current conflict aws gonna break out in an all-out war.



Boeing CF-188E Super Hornet, 421 Tactical Fighter Squadron,
Royal Canadian Air Force, Baden-Soellingen, West-Germany.

the RCAF ordered 30 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from Boeing in 2014, as a result of coninuing delays in the Lockheed CF-35A delivery shedule.
the aircraft were designated CF-188E/F in Canadian Service (or CF-18E/F by NATO). in total, the RCAF recieved 24 single-seat E- and 6 twin-seat F-models. the aircraft were given the same RCAF modifications as the CF-188A/B Legacy Hornets, including a searchlight on one side of the forward fuselage for night operations. they were split 15/15 into 2 squadrons, 421 and 436 TFS based at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta.

the Super Hornet met all RCAF requirements, and the RCAF decided to keep them as interceptors for operations over the NWT, where the single Engine CF-35 would have problems with the cold weather. the CF-188E was praised by its pilots, not least for its increase in range and easier maintainance.

in 2024, the 421TFS was relocated to CFB Baden-Soellingen in West-germany, almost 20 years after the unit left that base and was disbanded. its mission was also the same as back then in the cold war, protect NATO airspace from any Soviet aggressors.



Model: Revell 1/144 F/A-18E Super Hornet
Decals: Kit + DIY













Boeing/SABCA F/A-18E Super Hornet, 1ste Smaldeel.
Belgian Air Component, Florennes AB.

in 2016, the Belgian Defence Forces selected the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as the replacement for its ageing Lockheed F-16AM/BM fighters. under a $4.5 Billion contract, Belgium ordered 40 Super Hornets (32 E- and 8 F-models) to be operated by 4 squadrons, 2 at Kleine Brogel (31 and 349 squadron) and 2 at Florennes (1 and 350 squadron). included in the contract is 15 years of factory-support, a full technology transfer, a licence-building contract for 36 of the aircraft, 18 pairs of Conformal Fueltanks, 18 enclosed weapons pods and the same cockpit avionics as the F-35A. all aircraft can be configured to the Advanced Super Hornet standard.

the first 4 aircraft (all 2-seat F/A-18F's) arrived in Belgium in June 2018 and all 40 were delivered by 2021, when the last F-16's were to be retired. in 2022, an order was placed for 8 secondhand additional aircraft (4 E's and 4 F's, ex-US Navy), being delivered by 2023.


Model: Revell 1/144 F/A-18E
Decals: Kit + DIY.









Spectre DGR.2, 11 (AC) Squadron
Royal Air Force, RAF Conningsby.

in 2019, the RAF bought 32 secondhand Lockheed F-19A's from the US, to supplement its strike capability, following the imminent retirement of its Tornado GR4 aircraft. the F-19 was designated Spectre GR.1 in RAF service and was operated by 11 squadron (converting from the Typhoon) and 2 (AC) squadron.

only a few weeks in service and the pilots were sending in complaints to the MoD. althought the aircraft was a great strike aircraft, the crews mostly complained that the space in the cockpit was limited and very uncomfortable for the pilots. there was also little room for upgrades in the aircraft due to the limited space and size.

in 2022, the RAF decided to convert the aircraft from manned attack aircraft into a UCAV, following delays with the delivery of the new BAe Taranis UCAV. British Aerospace was contracted for the conversion. by 2024, all 32 aircraft were converted from GR.1 to DGR.2 standard (with the D-designation assigned to Drones and UAV's). since the converted aircraft were now unmanned, the space freed up could be used for additional sensors and fuel.

Kit: Revell 1/144 F-19, built earlier but with its cockpit whited out.
original post: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,32017.msg560773.html#msg560773

[Captain Canada]

Nice work Nils ! Love the Canadian Super Hornet especially.....( surprise surprise ) looks right doesn't it ?

[McColm]

Wow,
Great story and great builds!