Operation STRIKE OF THE SWORD or Operation KHANJAR was a US-led 2009 offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

About 4,000 Marines fr om the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as well as 650 Afghan troops were involved, supported by NATO planes.

The operation began when units moved into the Helmand River valley in the early hours of July 2, 2009. This operation was the largest Marine offensive since the Battle of Fallujah in 2004.. The operation was also the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since the Vietnam War.

Key targets of the assault include the districts of Garmsir and Nawa which are towards the southern border with Pakistan, wh ere many of the insurgents are said to take refuge, and are involved in the opium trade funding the Taliban.

Source: AFP 2009


CAS Sorties from: Kandahar AB, Camp Leatherneck (Bastion), Camp Dwyer, Camp Holland and Shindand AB.  Missions increase in difficulty. Missions 2 & 4 have MQ-9 FAC(A) 'Drone Command' ISR Option. Missions 6 & 7 have JTAC option.

Credits: Thank you to jls1980 for permission to use Nowzad and Nad Ali static templates. DaleRFU for NATO installation locations: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3339577/ . Don Rudi for JTAC Scripts. cfrag for Reaper, JTAC UI, CSAR, and Persistence DML.

Recommendations:
1. Required Mods: French Pack 5.0
Recommended Mods: Civilian Assets Pack-Vehicles, Military Aircraft Mod, Secret Squirrel JTAC and Special Mission Aircraft.
2. If you do not want to install the required Mods. Remove all required mods from the .miz using https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3322208/
3. Insurgents (Red) are hidden in Map Options

Insurgents are Persistent. ATIS Kandahar, Random Air Traffic, JTAC, MQ-9 FAC(A) and CSAR are Enabled.

Tips:
1. Enter all WYPTs and IP geolocations before take off. DCS-DTC Recommended
2. To minimize fratricide risk, JTAC and Ground Unit marking will only occur if Aircraft enters from designated terminal IP. Plan for 10DME approach. Right wheel CAS pattern. F/A-18C Double Ugly with LITENING Left wheel CAS pattern.
3. Follow the Helmand River WEEDS CHERUBS3 SLOW (<300kts) or ANGELS 12 over Targets.
4. Use Camp Bastion as BULLSEYE for Mission 1, 5, and 7. FOBs as reference landmarks for bearing, distance, and triangulation.
5. SAUNTER enroute to Mission 1 location and back from Mission 7 location and you will not have to Rejoin TEXACO 1-1.
6. Use the target Altitude, A/G weapons range, and GPS coordinates or Laser Code information to configure your weapon. Select the appropriate payload to minimize collateral damage.

Waypoints:
IP BANKS: 41 R NP 59223 70854
IP TOWEL: 41 R PR 05480 05432
IP ADDER: 41 S PS 24606 91783

Target Folder:
MISSION 1: LLP: N 32°24'30.37"   E 64°27'43.37" Elev: 3828  IP BANKS
MISSION 2: LLP: N 31°26'05.98"   E 64°19'56.96" Elev: 2543
MISSION 3: LLP: N 30°33'00.09"   E 63°47'03.62" Elev: 2394
MISSION 4  LLP: N 31°23'33.32"   E 64°19'20.33"  Elev: 2449
MISSION 5: LLP: N 32°24'30.37"   E 64°27'43.37"  Elev: 4037
MISSION 6: LLP: N 31°40'22.56"   E 64°18'27.94" Elev: 2625  IP TOWEL
MISSION 7:  LLP: N 33°10'41.95"   E 64°20'28.51" Elev: 7353  IP ADDER