[Australia]: Operation Accordion II

[Owen]

​

OPERATION ACCORDION II​

DECLASSIFIED​

​

Objective:	Defend the State of Israel. Free Turkish Jews from captivity.
Date:	6 January 2000 - 6 June 2000
Location:	Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea
Status:	Australian/Coalition victory: Majority of Saudi Arabian forces destroyed, Government of Saudi Arabia is overthrown Turkey unconditionally surrenders

BELLIGERENTS​

Australia Support: Israel United States United Kingdom Sweden Canada Russia Congo

Turkey Saudi Arabia

COMMANDERS AND LEADERS​

Quentin Bryce (Governor-General) Kim Beazley (Prime Minister) John Faulkner (Minister for Defence) Admiral Chris Barrie (Chief of the Defence Force) Rear Admiral Chris Oxenbould (Chief of Joint Operations) Lieutenant General Peter Cosgrove (Chief of Army) Air Marshal Ray Funnell (Chief of Air Force) Vice Admiral David Shackleton (Chief of Navy) Air Vice-Marshal Alan Clements (Head of the Australian Defence Staff in Washington, D.C. & Australian Liaison to The United Coalition)

Devlet Bahçeli (President) General Doğan Güreş (Chief of the General Staff) Huluski Akar (Minister of National Defence) General Işık Koşaner (Commander, Turkish Land Forces) General İlhan Kılıç (Commander, Turkish Air Force) Admiral Salim Dervişoğlu (Commander, Turkish Naval Forces) Admiral Ahmet Kendir (Executive Officer, Turkish Coast Guard) Kutlu Aktaş (Executive Officer, Turkish Gendarmerie) Ayaz Ülmut (Executive Officer, Turkish Air Defense Network) Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (King and Prime Minister) Marshal Fayyadh Al Ruwaili (Commander, Royal Saudi Army) Admiral Fahd al-Ghofaily (Commander, Royal Saudi Navy) Marshal Fayud Al Bombai (Commander, Royal Saudi Air Force)

STRENGTH​

600 special forces 100 navy clearance divers 32 reconnaissance vehicles 25 F/A-18 Hornets 12 F-111C Aardvarks 4 Boeing 707s 3 Locheed AP-3C Orions 2 Kanimbla-class Landing Ships 3 Collins-class Submarines 2 Perth-class Destroyers 4 Anzac-class Frigates 3 Adelaide-class Frigates 2 Huon-class Minesweepers

Unknown

CASUALTIES AND LOSSES​

None	Saudi Arabia: 6,800 soldiers killed 24 soldiers captured 200 main battle tanks destroyed 6 armored personnel carriers destroyed 70 multiple-launched rocket launchers destroyed 20 surface-to-air missile systems destroyed 5 destroyers sunk 4 frigates sunk 61 aircraft destroyed

 

[Owen]

The Sydney-based ships would begin departing from Sydney Harbour, with full complement, food, water, fuel and medical supplies. All sailors would be fully clothed. Fleet Air Arm forces from HMAS Albatross would land on the decks of their designated ships. They would head south, through the Bass Strait across the Great Australian Bight to their rally point at Fleet Base West outside Perth on Garden Island. This would take them through transit route QF -> PF -> OF. Once at Fleet Base West, they would meet up with the Fleet Base West based ships with full complement, food, water, fuel and medical supplies. All sailors would be fully clothed. They would also pick up the Special Air Service Regiment for HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora, land the helicopters from 805 Squadron and head off into the Indian Ocean. There would be very little public knowledge of this, Garden Island was a restricted access island in the Indian Ocean. The only views of the naval base were from Rockingham. They would then take transit route OF -> NG -> MH -> MI to Diego Garcia to refuel. HMAS Success would keep refuelling HMAS Hawkesbury and HMAS Diamantina which were small ships with limited range, but the only mine warfare vessels available to the Royal Australian Navy. Once at Diego Garcia, HMAS Success would refuel itself along with its supply of diesel and aviation fuel. Once the vessels were done refueling and restocking at Diego Garcia they would head further towards the Middle East taking transit route MI -> MJ -> LK -> KK -> KL to eventually arrive at the top of the Red Sea. They would turn into the Gulf of Aqaba to refuel at the Israeli Navy Eilat Naval Base and to get some R&R and take in the sites of the beautiful Negev Desert and all the resort luxuries that Eilat has to offer.

​

Zak Axis12 Jamie

 

[Owen]

By now the forces would begin arriving into the Red Sea. A sudden change of order would come down, transmitted via Naval Communications Station Harold E. Holt so would be nearly impossible to intercept.

=================================
FORCES TO REMAIN IN THE RED SEA. CONDUCT INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS ON SAUDI ARABIAN PORTS AND COASTAL AREAS. REPORT BACK FINDINGS.

CHIEF OF NAVY, VICE ADMIRAL DAVID SHACKLETON
=================================

Forces would begin slowing down and cruising casually in the Red Sea halfway between Saudi Arabia and Sudan near Jeddah. HMAS Collins would split off from the group and submerge to periscope depth. They would constantly be scanning around for other ships. It would begin approaching the Port of Jeddah, which was well known as the largest port city of Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea and so would be chosen as the target. The Captain would scan around the port area from about 1km out in the ocean with the periscope. There would be container ships and other civilian vessels. They would then spot 3 Udaloy-class destroyers docked there from Operation Occlude. They would take note and pictures of those vessels before heading back to the main fleet. They would be transmitted back to HMAS Harman which would then be diseminated by Naval Intelligence officers and identified as Udaloy-class destroyers, pretty certainly. This would be sent up to the Office of National Assessments and eventually the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister would send off the intelligence to Air Vice-Marshal Alan Clements in Washington. The fleet would continue heading towards the top of the Red Sea at a very slow speed and would be ordered to stop about 50km off the coast of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

​

Meanwhile the Royal Australian Air Force would begin its deployment. The entirety of No. 1 Squadron of 12 F-111C Aardvarks, each armed with 9x GBU-10 Paveway laser guided bombs and 27x Mk 82 free-fall general purpose bombs and 24 pilots would be deployed from RAAF Base Amberley at Brisbane to Diego Garcia, taking refuelling stops at RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Cocos Islands taking transit route QG -> PH -> OH -> NH -> MI. The rest of the squadron support staff (300 personnel) along with 120 support staff from No. 33 Squadron would be transport via the same route on 3 Boeing 707-320Cs which would also be based at Diego Garcia. This would put the F-111s within striking range of Saudi Arabia and Israel, but not Turkey. The 707s would provide air-to-air refuelling for the whole of the Coalition over the eastern side of the theatre. The British would be informed of this deployment. Additionally 3 AP-3C Orions, each armed with 8x Mark 46 Torpedoes and 48x Sonobuoys from No. 10 Squadron would take off from RAAF Base Edinburgh bound for Diego Garcia, refuelling at RAAF Base Pearce. They would take transit map route: PF -> OF -> NG -> MH -> MI.

​

Jamie VBCFan

 

[Owen]

The submarine would safely get away from Jeddah undetected. The fleet would now reach its position 50km off Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Some ships would need to enter Eilat to refuel and replenishment and to get some R&R but the Gulf of Aqaba which was only 24km at its widest point. A very narrow stretch of water would risk two things: the chance of detection by Saudi Arabia from the coast and also vulnerability to coastal defence systems, which it was unknown if Saudi Arabia possessed such equipment. It was decided that some reconnaissance would need to be done before entering the Gulf of Aqaba. This would be done by the two MH-60R Seahawks from HMAS Adelaide. The airspace over the Gulf was shared by Saudi Arabia and Egypt with Israel and Jordan at the very tip. To avoid any escalation with the Saudis it was decided that they would fly over the edge of Egyptian airspace with a view on Saudi Arabia's coastline. Egypt would be made aware of this as a courtesy, they would be told they were simply transporting dignataries from a navy ship in the Red Sea to Eilat. The helicopters would take off from HMAS Adelaide and fly together over their route in Egyptian airspace. They would each be armed with 4 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. They would begin getting a clear picture of Saudi Arabian coastline through the Raytheon AN/AAS-44 electro-optical system. They would make it all the way up the coastline without spotting much, only a few fishing vessels and a few small towns. Eventually they would make it up to the large town of Haql. On the outskirts of Haql the helicopters would pick up something.

"Oh hello, what have we got here." The co-pilot on the lead helicopter who was monitoring the camera.

It was of course the military build up from Operation Damar that was still ongoing.

They would begin taking pictures both using the onboard systems and a physical handheld camera from crews in the back of the helicopters. The laser rangefinger as apart of the AN/AAS-44 would calculate their distance. They would spot around 200 tanks of an unknown type and around 70 multiple rocket launch systems of an unknown type. They would also record down the coordinates. Once they had enough photos of the Royal Saudi Army deployment to Haql they would turn back around and go back down the Gulf of Aqaba to HMAS Adelaide to land again. Once back onboard they would retrieve the photos they took, all would be sent via very low frequency transmission to Naval Communications Station Harold E. Holt which would be processed onward to HMAS Harman for dissemination. Naval Intelligence officers would analyse the information with the help of Army Intelligence officers from 1st Intelligence Battalion and Defence Intelligence Organisation intelligence officers in the Russell Offices. They would identify the tanks as AMX-30s, an amount of 200 they would count and the MLRS would be identified as Astros IIs, counting 70 in total. This would be sent on to the Office of National Intelligence who would prepare the information as a fully analysed package to the Prime Minister. Once it was received by the Prime Minister he would consult with the National Security Committee about it and pass it on to Air Vice-Marshal Alan Clements in Washington.

VBCFan

 

[Owen]

The helicopter reconnaissance mission would be a success. The threat from Saudi Arabia to the ships was minimal due to the lack of anti-ship warfare. The ships would begin moving up the Gulf of Aqaba to Eilat to replenish and refuel and to allow the sailors ando other personnel a chance to get some R&R in the resort Israeli city. A crew would remain onboard all ships at all time with all sensors and weapons operational as the threat still loomed. Ships would dock only one by one as the port space in Eilat was limited, though there was still plenty of space due to the absence of Israeli Navy forces in Eilat.

​

Meanwhile, the Congolese were continuing to relay intelligence to Australia about what was occurring in Turkey. They would understand that the Congolese Emperor was on a yacht, attempting to flee down the Syrian coastline towards Israel under the threat of the Turkish Navy. The three AP-3C Orions would be readied at Diego Garcia. They would begin taking off one by one, heading towards Hatzerim Air Base in Israel along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba air corridor taking transit route: MJ -> LK -> KL -> KM. To make the distance, the No. 1 engines would be shut down to conserve fuel. This was a common trick used by P-3 Orion pilots that allowed a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion to remain flying for 10 hours in 1972. They would each have 13 crew members on board from No. 10 Squadron's Crew 2, Crew 3 and Crew 6 whose patches are below:

​

​

​

They would each be armed with 10x AGM-84 Harpoons on the wings, 8x Mark 54 Lightweight Torpedoes in the internal bomb bays and 48x Sonobuoys in the sonobuoy chutes. Once at Hatzerim Air Base they would refuel and take off north towards the Syrian coastline within the KM transit map square to meet up with the Congolese Yacht. Primarily they would be searching within the area for it, splitting off a bit. This would done using radars on board and observers eyes. They would be searching for a couple of hours for a ship that matched the size and shape description of the Congolese Yacht off the Syrian coastline.

​

Suddenly a radar operator would pick up something.

"We think we've got it."

The Orion would get closer to its position, the co-pilot would look out the window with his binoculars. He would see the Congolese flag waving from the vessel.

"Yep, we've got old mate, sending grid coordinates now." The other two Orions would head to that position to escort the Congolese Yacht.

​

"We tracking any suspicious vessels or aircraft at the moment?"

"Not right now sir, clear skies and sailing."

The Orion would buzz the yacht, clearing displaying its distinguishable Kangaroo roundel to the crew of the yacht. The thunderous roar of the Orions Allison T56 turboprop engines would almost be deafening to those onboard.

They would begin escorting them towards safer waters in Israel.

VBCFan Zak Kelly the Mad Axis12

 

[Owen]

With the introduction of the F/A-18 Hornets into the Royal Australian Air Force, their first deployment would get underway. No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown near Newcastle would secretly begin a journey to Diego Garcia with 25 of the Hornets. They would refuel at RAAF Base Edinburgh, RAAF Base Pearce, RAAF Base Cocos Islands before arriving at the RAF base at Diego Garcia. 300 support staff, pilots (besides the 25 flying the Hornets) and crew of the squadron would join them and be transported by two Boeing 707s from No. 33 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley who would take them straight to Diego Garcia with a refuel at RAAF Base Pearce. They would all take transit route QF -> PF -> OF -> OG -> OH -> NH -> MI. Once arriving at Diego Garcia they would begin setting up base with the other RAAF units which were based there, including the F-111s. The Hornets would be configured for an air-to-air and anti-SAM role and would be armed with 2x AIM-9 Sidewinders, 3x AGM-88 HARMs and 4x AIM-132 ASRAAMs.

​

​

​

 

[Kelly the Mad]

The Imperial Yacht would gladly follow the air escort back into Israeli waters. The Emperor would attempt to make radio contact with any of the Aussies, either those in the air above him or other naval deployments nearby, speaking clear English.

"Hello? Hello? This is the Emperor of the Congo. I am on the run from a hostile Turkey that intends to take me captive following their pointless massacre of thousands. If you could help us reach safety in an Israeli port, your efforts would be much appreciated by me, my staff aboard this vessel, and the people at home in the Congo worried for me."

Once arriving in Israeli waters, they would radio the Israeli officials to determine what port they would be welcomed in.

Owen Zak

 

[Owen]

There would now be a need to implement a No-Fly Zone over Saudi Arabia. This would be made public. The Australians would announce that they were to begin a No-Fly Zone operation over Saudi Arabia and that any unauthorised aircraft who fly into Saudi Arabia would be shot down. A movement of assets would now occur secretly. The No. 3 Squadron of 25 F/A-18 Hornets would now be moved to Ramon Air Base, Israel taking MI -> MJ -> LK -> KL -> KM. They would take off from Diego Garcia in ferry range mode, with drop tanks to ensure they meet the range. The 3 Boeing 707 refuellers would take off a lot earlier and meet the F/A-18 Hornets at the 3,300km mark around the Gulf of Aden, taking MI -> MJ -> LK and would refuel them to ensure they continued onwards to Israel. The Boeing 707s would continue on with the F/A-18s towards Ramon where they would also be stationed. The 12 F-111s would also be moved from Diego Garcia to Ramon and would require no aerial refuelling due to their superior range. The Hornets while passing near Jeddah in international airspace would notice the 18 Harriers of the Royal Saudi Air Force on their radars that were flying patrols around Jeddah (as per Operation Overflow). This information would be passed on to the Australian fleet. They would continue with the hopes of being undetected. The Australian Navy fleet except the submarines, HMAS Kanimbla, HMAS Manoora, HMAS Hawkesbury and HMAS Diamantina would begin to head out of the Gulf of Aqaba back into the Red Sea and would head down to Jeddah all within transit route KL. They would approach near Jeddah and begin detecting the Saudi Harriers on their radar. They would again do what they did the F-16s previously. The Perth-class Destroyers would be assigned for the task of shooting down the Harriers as they had the RIM-66 Standard MR missiles onboard. They still had plenty left over from the F-16s they shot down. HMAS Sydney and HMAS Perth would each take 9 targets. As they were radar homing, they would know exactly what their targets were. The destroyers were capable of launching 1 missile per 8 seconds, so all targets would have a missile firing towards them in just a little over a minute.

As the Harriers got within the 74 to 167km range of the ships the Commander of HMAS Sydney would yell "FIRE!".

The desroyers would begin firing off their missiles every 8 seconds to a new Harrier target. The missiles would speed at Mach 3.5 to hit their targets within a matter of a couple of minutes. As it was not stated what countermeasures pods were on the Harriers, as they form apart of the armaments and are interchangeable, there would be none on them in accordance with the rules. There would be little the Saudis could do to counter the RIM-66s closing in on them and all would be destroyed. Air superiority would nearly be achieved with the only Saudi fighters left being 30 F-16s around Riyadh.

​

The Australian SASR in Eilat would begin loading back onto HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora via LCM-8 Landing Craft. Once all 600 personnel and 32 Long Range Patrol Vehicles were back onto the ships they would head across the Gulf of Aqaba on a short hop to Haql, Saudi Arabia. This was to avoid inadvertendly invading Jordan. They would begin taking LCM-8s from the ships and landing on the north shore of the town of Haql. These were the most highly trained and motivated operatives of the Australian Defence Force, any police or Saudi border guard that dared to engage in a firefight with them would be swiftly shot dead. Once their vehicles were on land, they would begin taking them out, patrolling the streets of Haql. There was little to no Saudi forces in the town since Saudi Arabia withdrew their Armoured Divisions to Tabuk so they would meet little resistance. Their goal was to find the rest of the Shahine surface to air missiles spread sporadically around the town. It was not a very big town so it wouldnt take them long, as they found each SAM they would shoot dead the operators of the SAMs using the machine guns on their Long Range Patrol Vehicles, there would only be 5 operators per SAM and then they would proceed to blow up the SAMs using C4 explosives. This was apart of the overall mission to achieve air superiority and not an attempt to invade Saudi Arabia. Once the mission to destroy all the remaining SAMs was complete, they would head back to the north shore and reload back onto Kanimbla and Manoora who would take them back across to Eilat.

VBCFan Axis12 Zak

 

[Owen]

Secret

With 24 hours passing the actions were successful, all Harriers of the Saudi Air Force were now destroyed and all remaining Shahine SAMs in Haql would be destroyed, a total of 10, leaving only 5 based in Riyadh. With the path now cleared and air superiority now being achieved in the north of Saudi Arabia, the Air Force would begin stirke operations into Saudi Arabia to cripple the rest of their military. The Royal Australian Navy outside Jeddah would watch as Congolese cruise missiles targeted Army installations within the city. A message was sent to the Congolese on a secure and encrypted line.

"Intelligence from Israel shows Saudi forces are built up heavily in Riyadh. Little to no Saudi forces in the rest of the country. We will pick them off one-by-one, Congolese forces should rapidly move to Riyadh and surround the city, giving reconnaissance intelligence to us to launch air strikes."

The Australians would have intelligence from the Israelis that they achieved through hacking Saudi computer systems. They would pick targets around the city of Tabuk: the King Faisal Air Base, 5 S-125 SAMs at that air base, 20 FMA IA-58A Pucaras at the air base and the 7th Infantry Battalion at a barracks in the city. 6 F/A-18 Hornets would be loaded up at Ramon Air Base with: 2x AIM-9 Sidewinders (wingtips), 8x AIM-9 Sidewinders (under-wing, double racks), and 3x AGM-88 HARMs (under-fuselage) and 4 F-111 Aardvarks would be loaded up at Ramon Air Base, two with: 11x GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs (under-wing, under-fuselage and weapons bay) and the other two with: 4x BLU-107 Durandal runway-cratering bombs (under-wing), and 7x GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs (under-wing, under-fuselage and weapons bay). They would take off from Ramon, head south over Israel and out into the Gulf of Aqaba, making a sharp turn over Saudi Arabia and avoiding Jordanian airspace. This was a short flight, only about 20 minutes or so. The F/A-18s would begin picking up the FMA Pucaras on radar as per Operation Overflow.

"Seems like they're airborne. Twenty of them. Don't engage." They would still be over 100 kilometres away. Each Hornet would have a designated SAM site target, the S-125s only having a range of 35km would not be able to target onto the Hornets but they would be able to target onto them, the AGM-88 HARMs having a range of 111km. They would pick up the electronic transmissions coming from the S-125s radar systems. The Hornets would each fire an AGM-88 HARM on each of the 5 S-125 sites around King Faisal Air Base. The AGM-88s would fly at nearly Mach 2 and slam into the SAM sites destroying them. Once it was confirmed they had hit, the Hornets would go in for the kill on the Pucaras flying around Tabuk. The Pucaras, being prop ground attack planes wouldn't stand a chance against the Hornets.

"Close in and fire at will." The lead Hornet pilot would say.

The Hornets would begin roaring across the skies over Tabuk, firing AIM-9 Sidewinders at all 20 airborne Pucaras, blowing them out of the sky with tremendous ease. Each Hornet would lose their 2 wingtip Sidewinders, 1 under-wing Sidewinder with two losing 2 under-wing Sidewinders to make a total of 20. Now the F-111s would go in to do their job. The two F-111s with only Paveways would go to the 7th Infantry Battalion barracks/base and would begin unloading their payload on key buildings such as accomodation quarters, vehicle storage and other buildings at the barracks with laser-guided precision. They wanted to minimise civilian casualties as much as possible. This would completely wipe out the base and destroy the 7th Infantry Battalion or at least kill/wound as much of the battalion to render it useless. The other two F-111s would head to King Faisal Air Base. They would begin unloading their BLU-107s onto the runways and the taxi-ways. These bombs designed to shred through bitumen and tear runways apart. They would then unload their Paveways onto the military installation part of the airport and not the civilian passenger terminal.

Once they had delivered all their payloads and destroyed all the required targets they would head back to Ramon. On the way back, one co-pilot of the F-111s would see a sea of Astros II MLRs that were sent "inland" from Haql as per Operation Damar. This information was relayed on, the location recorded and it was decided they would be the next targets. All aircraft would return to Ramon and the pilots would get some rest while the aircraft refuelled and configured new payload.

VBCFan Kelly the Mad

 

[Owen]

With 24 hours passing, the F-111s and the F/A-18s would be successful in destroying all their targets. The next sortie will involve taking out the 60 or so Astros II MLRS sitting inland from the city of Haql and to destroy the King Abdulaziz Air Base on the Persian Gulf part of the country and the nearby 5th Infantry Division based on intelligence given by the Israelis. All 12 F-111s would be readied. 6 would go after the Astros and the other 6 would go to the north-east of the country and take out targets there. For the north-east of the country, one would be armed with 11x BLU-107 Durandal runway-catering bombs, one with 11x GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and four with 11x Mark 84 free-fall bombs. For the Astros II MLRS, all six would be armed with 11x GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. They would begin taking off from Ramon, fully fueled and loaded with two pilots each. They would head out over the Gulf of Aqaba before making a sharp turn into Saudi Arabian airspace.

The 6 designated for the MLRS would not take long to reach their targets. They would begin targeting them and the laser-guided bombs would glide their way onto their targets. There was just enough bombs for the 60 or so still remaining. They would begin getting popped one by one before all were destroyed. Those F-111s would then make the short hop back to the base.

As for the other 6, they would skim across the north of the country at 66,000ft. They would travel from KL to LL. The four with free-fall bombs would dive down towards the city of Al Jubail and the 5th Infantry Divisions barracks. They would begin carpet bombing the barracks ruthlessly. A total of 44 bombs would hit the barracks and destroy all of its buildings and killing or injuring most of the 5th Divisions soldiers. Once they had unloaded their payload onto the barracks they would turn back and return to Israel at 66,000ft. The other two would head to Damman to the King Abdulaziz Air Base where the 7th Squadron was based with 8 Aermacchi S-211s. The one F-111 would go after the parked Aermacchis and target them with the laser-guided bombs, unleashing 8 onto them and destroying them all before unleashing the other 3 onto the Headquarters building of the air base. The other F-111 with the runway-catering bombs would unleash them onto the runways and the taxi-ways to ensure the air base was crippled. Once their payloads were delivered they would head back to Israel at 66,000ft.

​

VBCFan

 

[Owen]

Secret

Another 24 hours would pass and the F-111s would be successful in destroying the remaining Astros II MLRS, the 5th Infantry Division, King Abdulaziz Air Base and the 8 Aermacchi S-211s. Based on intelligence given by the Israelis, more targets would be acquired, the remaining known targets of the Saudi Arabian military outside of the Riyadh region. These would be the 8th Armored Company in Afif and the 5 S-125 SAM sites at the King Fahad Air Base in Taif, including the air base itself. 3 F-111s would refuel and load up with 7x GBU-10 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and 4x BLU-107 Durandal runway-catering bombs and would take off to Afif, their target would be the 8th Armored Company's barracks in the city. 2 F/A-18 Hornets would be readied with 2x AIM-9 Sidewinders (wingtips), 8x AIM-9 Sidewinders (under-wing, double racks), and 3x AGM-88 HARMs (under-fuselage). A Boeing 707 would take off sometime before them and head south over the Gulf of Aqaba and down the west coast of Saudi Arabia, they would be designated to refuel the F/A-18s somewhere over Medina where they would be running low on fuel and to refuel them at roughly the same place coming back. The Boeing 707 would be able to maintain itself as airborne for that period of time, roaming the skies above Medina. Once the 707 was taken off and in position the two F/A-18s would head off and so would the 3 F-111s. The 3 F-111s would not require any assistance due to their superior range and would make it to Afif without problem, once there they would drop their GBU-10 payloads onto the 8th Armored Company's buildings with laser-guided precision. A total of 21 bombs would be dropped on the barracks, not a very large one due to it only having 300 men. Once the payload was dropped and the barracks were destroyed and the 8th Armored Company was wiped out, they would head south-west to Jeddah. Before they would reach Jeddah the F/A-18s would approach Jeddah, after being refuelled near Medina by the Boeing 707 and would target onto the 5 S-125 SAMs at the King Fahad Air Base near Taif. This was done by picking up their radar-emitting signals which the AGM-88 was designed to target onto. One would launch an AGM-88 HARM each on 3 sites and one would do it on 2 sites. They would be well outside the range of the S-125s as they only had a range of 35km and they were able to launch AGM-88s from over 100km away. The AGM-88s would skim across the sky and would slam into their targets with precision, homing in on their radar signals. Once their targets were destroyed they would head back to Ramon, being refuelled by the 707 who would also head back to Ramon. The F-111s would then swoop in, delivering their BLU-107 payloads onto the runways and taxiways of the air base, a total of 12 bombs, rendering it useless. They would then head back to Ramon up the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

BATTLE OF TABUK
​

It was decided the Australian SASR would now officially launch a ground invasion of Saudi Arabia, with the Saudis now crippled enough that they would face minimal resistance. This was an attempt to meet up with the Congolese and to take Riyadh and to put an end to Saudi Arabia's involvement in this war. HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora would sail back from Eilat to Haql, a short hop which they did before and would begin conducting an amphibious landing of all 600 SASR troops and 32 Long Range Patrol Vehicles done via 2 LCM-8 landing craft on each ship. They would land where they did before to conduct their small skirmish, on the northern beach front of the city of Haql (29.299701, 34.948226). Once they were all landed, the ships would anchor in position, Manoora having 100 medics onboard and acting as a hospital ship. They would also maintain a helicopter fleet onboard. HMAS Kanimbla's other complement; the 100 clearance divers, would stay in the city of Eilat, Israel, providing necessary security to the vital port. Once they were all geared up and ready to go they would begin moving inland on Long Range Patrol Vehicles. They would say hello to locals and would engage any local security forces, such as police, who may resist them. They would be split into 200 fire-teams of 3 members each. In the fire-teams, each soldier would be issued with a Heckler & Koch USP, two would have a M4 Carbine and the other one would have a Carl Gustaf M3 8.4cm recoilless rifle. Each Long Range Patrol Vehicle would have 5 extra rounds for the Carl Gustafs. This was because intelligence had shown that Saudi Arabia had a large arsenal of armoured vehicles at their disposal, primarily concentrated around Riyadh. The troops would move inland via Routes 55 to Alsharaf, 394 to Bir Ibn Hirmas and then National Route 15 to Tabuk. Along the way they would bater with the desperate and needy people of Saudi Arabia, having plenty of Saudi Arabian currency on them to buy things with from compliant locals. The SASR would begin moving into the city of Tabuk, their first major Saudi Arabian city to enter. There was 0 Saudi Arabian military resistance along the way, it had either been destroyed in air strikes or wasn't based anywhere. It was about a 2 and a half hour drive to get to Tabuk. They would begin noticing Saudi Arabian forces dispersed amongst the city, they knew they had just entered their first battle. These were the leftovers from Operation Damar where just before the first shelling by the Royal Australian Navy on the city of Haql, they retreated and dispersed in the city of Tabuk. In total the Saudi Arabians had 200 AMX-30 Tanks, 6 TAM VCPCs (personnel carriers) and 824 crew of those vehicles in the city. It was decided that the Saudi forces needed to be engaged, moving from the north in a sweeping motion, the troops would begin moving through the city, they would shoot dead any of the 824 crew that may be lurking around the city along with other resistance from police officers, by foot or Long Range Patrol Vehicle mounted machine guns. The sheer superiority of the Australian SASR in their training and expertise would mean the Saudi tank crews wouldn't stand a chance, even if they were armed. Tanks would begin getting picked out one by one by fire teams on foot operating the Carl Gustaf recoilles rifles. They would fire on tanks before they even knew they were nearby, destroying or at least crippling them to the point they were incapable of operating. Any tank crews spotted would be shot dead by the two other members of the fire teams who had M4 carbines. The Battle of Tabuk has begun.

​

VBCFan

 

[Owen]

Secret

With more than 24 hours passing the Australian forces at Tabuk would clear through the city, destroying all 200 AMX-30 tanks and the 6 TAM VCPCs which were scattered around the city. Nearly all of the 824 Saudi personnel in the city would be killed, those who surrendered would be arrested and would become prisoners of war. They would be transported back by Long Range Patrol Vehicle to HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla where cells onboard those ships would lock the prisoners up until they could be transferred to an Israeli prison by helicopter. The SASR would continue advancing through Saudi Arabia. They were the last of the Saudi Arabian forces which remained outside the Riyadh region, the Saudi government had now essentially lost all control of the country beyond Riyadh. The Australian Government would request all civilian Saudi authorities outside Riyadh, such as the police, to lay down their arms against Australian or foreign forces and to remain on civilian law enforcement duties. The SASR would move along Highways 15 down to Al Jahra, Highway 70 across to Hail, before heading down Highway 65 via Buraydah to head to Malham on the northern outskirts of Riyadh. They would have plenty of cash on them to pay for fuel from local service station owners. Once in Malham, the Australians would set up camps on the outskirts of the town. They would be some 40km out of Riyadh where the Congolese forces were advancing on and the Turkish forces were beginning to arrive. They would begin preparing themselves for what could be a lengthy Battle for Riyadh and would await further orders at Malham.

​

VBCFan

 

[Owen]

Secret

With the Saudi Arabian forces being defeated, with the remainder now surrendering to Turkish forces in Riyadh, the goal of eliminating Saudi Arabia from the conflict had now been achieved, albeit now with the added caveat of Turkish forces being stationed in Saudi Arabia and occupying Riyadh. Australian forces would now begin a withdrawal from the Saudi Arabian theatre to reposition to the Mediterranean. All 600 SASR and their 32 Long Range Patrol Vehicles would take the route they took to Riyadh back to Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba, buying fuel from local service stations by paying above the going rate for petrol. The 100 Clearance Divers in Eilat, Israel would board back on HMAS Manoora via LCM-8 Landing Craft. Once the SASR made their way back to Haql they would board back onto HMAS Kanimbla and Manoora with their vehicles via LCM-8 Landing Craft. Once everybody was loaded back on board they would head out of the Gulf of Aqaba along with HMAS Hawkesbury and HMAS Diamantina. The remaining Royal Australian Navy ships near Jeddah would head north up the Red Sea and meet back up with the other ships at the head of the Red Sea before proceeding through the Suez Canal before heading to a position south of Cyprus, awaiting further orders. They would take transit route KL -> KM. All Royal Australian Air Force aircraft currently stationed at Ramon Air Base in Israel would move to the north of Israel to Ramat David Air Base.

​

VBCFan Zak

 

[Owen]

All vessels of the Royal Australian Navy and everything onboard them would begin heading home through the Suez Canal and across the Indian Ocean to Fleet Base West in Perth. The submarines at Diego Garcia would also head back to HMAS Platypus. There the vessels based at Fleet Base West would return to base and the Special Air Service Regiment would be unloaded and sent back to Campbell Barracks in the eastern suburbs of Perth. The remaining vessels which were based at Fleet Base East would cut across the Great Australian Bight back to Fleet Base East in Sydney. They would take transit route: KM -> KL -> KK -> LK -> MJ -> NI -> OH -> OG -> OF -> Fleet Base West -> PF -> QF -> Fleet Base East. All forces would return back to regular duties and would return to base.

The air assets at Ramat David would begin to head back, the F-111s, the F/A-18s, the Boeing 707s and the AP-3C Orions. The Boeing 707s would refuel the Hornets over to Diego Garcia. All air forces would land at Diego Garcia to refuel. All would continue onwards to RAAF Base Pearce to refuel and then head back across to their bases across the country. The F/A-18s with limited range would head across to RAAF Base Cocos Islands and RAAF Base Darwin to refuel before heading back to their base at RAAF Base Williamtown. All air force assets would return to their bases and would resume regular duties. They would take transit route: KM -> LL -> LK -> MJ -> NI -> NH -> OG -> OF and KM -> LL -> LK -> MJ -> NI -> NH -> OH -> PH -> QG -> QF for the Hornets.