You will be supporting them. The assault will be launched from a forward base at Dorfl. Your squadron will move forward to Dorfl at 1400, refuel, and prepare for the mission. Your helicopters will be armed here at Chaloupky before you leave. You will carry a full load of S-5 or S-8 rockets, and antitank missiles as well. You will not carry a flight technician on board, only the pilot and weapons officer. We do not expect heavy opposition. However, our intelligence has learned that the Germans have been moving more of their own PAH-1 attack helicopters into the region.[39]
So don't focus only on the ground. Make sure your high flight keeps an eye out for enemy aviation. I'll turn you over to your Air Direction officer, Captain Kurasov."[40]
Captain Vasily Kurasov stood out among the assembled pilots if for no other reason than his age. Forty-five years old, a combat veteran of Afghanistan, he commanded the attention of the helicopter pilots who were a decade younger. Several of the pilots in the 1st Squadron knew Kurasov from lectures he had given to attack pilots during refresher courses for the helicopter units of the Central Group of Forces. He was an experienced and talented pilot, and was widely respected by pilots in the regiment.
"Comrades, I envy you. I'll be stuck on the ground later today with those chuchmyek riflemen, while you boys will be flying overhead!"[41]
The assembled pilots laughed at the racial slur. The aircrews were mostly Russians or Ukrainians. So were most of the elite air assault troops Kurasov would be accompanying into the drop zone. However, the pilots looked down their noses at all ground soldiers, even the elite DShB, as though they were ordinary motor rifle blockheads.
"Pilots, the first part of the mission is the most straightforward. Right out of tactical exercises. Even you nitwits from Leonov's flight should be able to manage this."
Senior Lieutenant Dmitri Leonov looked around sheepishly as the rest of the squadron pilots burst out laughing. He didn't think the remark was so funny. He was the flight leader of the 2d
Flight, and he had already lost one of his four helicopters. During the low-altitude training flight the day before, a Mi-24 had run into power lines. Fortunately, the crew survived. Earlier in the morning Kurasov had flown in on a reserve Mi-24 that would be turned over to Leonov's wingless crew. Kurasov was not the type to humiliate his junior pilots, but he knew how tense these greenhorns were. A joke at Leonov's expense seemed a small price to pay.
"All right, settle down," said Kurasov. "The objective is the area here, on the south bank of this turn on the Danube. The terrain is very open. The 14th Transport Regiment will be dropping the 123d in three areas, marked on these maps. Our reconnaissance from yesterday afternoon shows very few enemy concentrations in the area. That's why we selected it. We will be carrying out a ground reconnaissance this afternoon; it will be completed by 1400 and we will forward your commander the results. Unless something major turns up, we propose to conduct the attack as follows. The first three flights will each cover one of the three drop zones. Captain Nalepka, you and the 1st Flight will cover Landing Zone Kanada to the west. Lieutenant Leonov, your 2d Flight will cover the center Landing Zone Peru. Do a good job there, Dmitri, that's where Fm landing! Lieutenant Reiter and the 3d Flight will cover Landing Zone Afrika to the north. Lieutenant Dudarek's 4th Flight will be in reserve and cover any targets of opportunity we discover. We expect that the landing zones themselves will be clear. This is a secret so keep your mouths shut: We have a special spetsnaz team in there to look over the place. We expect that the main targets will be enemy convoys and other activity along autobahn A92, and along the roads that border the drop zone, like Route 8 and Route 11. You should aim to eliminate anything on these roads, or beyond them away from the landing zones.
'The attacks should be conducted in two passes. On each pass, empty one rocket pod per pylon. Save your cannon ammunition for later. The transport helicopters will follow you about ten minutes after your first attack. Pull back over to our side of the river. Once my team lands, we will give you directions from the ground. Captain Panchev will provide you with maps of the area. The enemy has few forces in the landing zones, but there are heavy concentrations here around Straubing to the west, and Deggendorf to the east. So be careful. Are there any questions?"
Most of the pilots wanted to ask about why the 2d Squadron was suffering such heavy losses.
But they were afraid that asking such questions would display cowardice, or a lack of confidence in the equipment. Lieutenant Leonov, having been mocked earlier, was not so reluctant.
"Comrade Captain, as you know, our 2d Squadron has suffered heavy losses against the Germans. Can you tell us what has been causing these losses? Do the Germans have any new weapons?"
"We at the front aviation command group have been getting a lot of reports back from our forward attack squadrons," answered Kurasov. "Losses have been heavy, but we think that we are finally breaking through the thick crust of the German defenses. As far as specifics… I have to warn you pilots again to keep your eyes out for power lines. Your 2d Squadron lost two Mi-24 helicopters to power lines in one day. Flying low is a good tactic to limit your losses, but it requires real attention.You must instruct your gunners to keep watch for these. On the maps we're handing out now, the main power lines are clearly marked. But remember, there are apt to be smaller telephone and electrical lines elsewhere, like along road and railroad tracks.
"Now, regarding artillery. This is a sensitive subject. We have had real problems coordinating the helicopter attacks with the artillery boys. The forward artillery observers and the Air Direction officers have sometimes been working at cross-purposes. We've had several accidents
where helicopters were called in for fire support when an artillery fire strike was occurring. This is especially a problem with the BM-21 Grad rocket knuckleheads. They have bad dispersion problems. We have lost a number of helicopters to friendly fire from this. You get the picture. Incoming artillery, incoming helicopters, and boom… no more helicopter. You do not need to worry about this on the assault today. The enemy defenses appear to be very modest, so there will be no artillery preparation before the landing. I don't want to worry you needlessly about this. Frankly, there's nothing you guys can do about it.
"Now, as far as weapons are concerned. If you encounter enemy tanks, there's a good chance there will be Gepards.[42]
We've had a lot of complaints from the forward squadrons about the radar warning receivers— there is so much radar activity out there, they are always going off. A lot of flights are turning off their Syrena receivers.[43]
Officially, I cannot recommend this procedure. But I can inform you of the problem. If you turn off the Syrena, you will have to keep a very sharp eye out for Gepards. They can hit you from 2,000 meters. Don't try to duel them with missiles. Those of you on Mi-24Ms, use your 30mm guns. The missiles take too long to get to the Gepard, and their guns will hit you before your missile gets there. The Gepards have proven very dangerous. Our electronic countermeasures have not been entirely successful.
"But don't ignore the ordinary guns. The Germans have a lot of 20mm AA guns with optical sights. You'll run into these when you attack bridges or other targets like these. Your Syrena warners won't do any good. Look for the tracers.
"Now, the missiles. The Germans are using an improved Stinger, what they call Advanced Stinger.[44]
39
The PAH-1 is the antitank version of the MBB Bo-105 light utility helicopter. It is armed with four HOT antitank missiles, but does not normally have a gun system. It roughly corresponds to the McDonnell (Hughes) 500MD. It is much smaller than the Mi-24.
40
The Air Direction officer (ADO) is a forward controller stationed on the ground to direct the attacks of helicopters and strike aircraft. The head of the Air Direction team is usually an experienced pilot. The Soviets use ADOs in a more rigid fashion than do most NATO forces, which usually allow the pilots a certain measure of freedom in picking out targets of opportunity.
41
42
Gepard is the German antiaircraft gun vehicle based on the Leopard 1 tank chassis. It is armed with twin 35mm autocannons, and uses radar fire direction. Although first fielded in the 1970s, it is still effective, especially against helicopters.
43
Syrena is the Soviet name for a type of radar warning receiver (RWR). They are a more sophisticated version of the radar detectors carried in cars to warn of radar speed traps. The receiver picks up radar emissions and warns the pilot that his aircraft has been illuminated by the radar. As in the case of automobile radar detectors, they can be set off by other microwave sources. The modern battlefield has so many radars and microwave sources operating that RWRs can be rendered useless by the sheer number of false alarms.
44
The latest model of Stinger, called the Stinger RMP, has a reprogrammable microprocessor in the seeker, which allows the missile crews to adjust the guidance to overcome new Soviet infrared countermeasures.