How to defeat Scenario 1

[Eboreg]

Let's be perfectly clear here: The aircraft at your disposal are a trap!

This scenario is based on conducting a well-planned cruise missile attack and you can beat it with cruise missiles alone. Do not send your aircraft after the Indians because they're just going to get shot down losing you a lot of points so please! Do yourself a favor! Do not launch any of your aircraft, they're just going to end up being a liability!

[dadizonline]

Point but having awacs in the air is good to collect some info atleast

[stww2]

If you time it right you can use the GBU-armed F-16s to take out the two closer FOBs (leaving the farther ones for the cruise missiles). I've previously described this elsewhere on the forum:

The key is to use the F-16s armed with the GBU-24s to take out the Northern and Southern FOBs. Approach at 2000ft at a slight offset and release weapons from max range. Either slightly before or around weapons release, the SAM battery protecting the FOB will have opened fire. The moment you release weapons, turn away and go to afterburner (I went to min alt as well, don't know if that is required). If everything goes correctly, the SAMs should run out of energy just before reaching your F-16s and the GBUs will strike the FOB at around the same time.

The Indian vehicles are all positioned on the edge of the SAM battery ranges, so you can easily take them out with helicopters and aircraft without taking fire from the air defenses.

Using the above tactics I was able to complete the scenario with no aircraft losses. Granted, if you aren't going for as many points as possible and simply want to progress past the scenario, and that can be done with just cruise missiles, then by all means do so. But the loss of aircraft if employed is by no means a foregone conclusion.