Repel

Briefing

Recently established allied camps on South Island have come under threat from enemy air power. These are slow prop-driven planes armed only with ground attack rockets. Bring the enemy down and minimize casualties on the ground.

Watch out for the enemy gunboats, just off the far coast, armed with heat-seeking missiles.

This mission becomes easier once you have won the skill to turn your aircraft. The ability to turn is an award which may be won in this mission.

Guide

The objective in this mission is to defend the allied (friendly) camps on the ground by destroying the enemy planes which are assaulting them, so don't waste time bombing the camps, they are on your side.

The enemy planes are armed only with ground attack weapons so they cannot harm you, unless you collide with them.

This mission is very difficult if you haven't won the radar from the Soften mission.

When you first play this mission you won't have the skill to turn, and so only have a single pass over the island.

Take-off

Destroying the enemy aircraft

Fly over the island fairly slowly with wire-guided air-to-air missiles selected. Follow behind any enemy aircraft that you see and fire on them when you can.

There are three camps on the ground, a large one on each coast and a smaller one inbetween. Because the larger camps are spread out, it is likely that the planes will deviate from your flightpath when they are flying over them and it will be difficult to get a lock with your missiles. It is therefore much easier to destroy the planes when they are flying between the camps rather than when they are over them.

A small flotilla of gunboats is lying in wait on the far side of the island. These are armed with heat-seeking ground-to-air missiles. Be careful not to come in range of them as you pursue enemy aircraft. It is difficult to out-run the missiles but you can use flares if you have won the 'Flare dispenser', or turn so they cannot see your hot jet if you have won a turn skill. Unless you have already been badly damaged, these are unlikely to do enough damage to destroy your Harrier if you just fly fast over the gunboats to get to your carrier. You may try to bomb them as you fly over, doing so does not form part of your objectives but if you sink them it will stop them launching more missiles.

Landing

Objectives and awards

If you have managed to land safely or eject if necessary, the next mission, 'Pursuit', is unlocked for you to play. To fulfill this objective by ejecting, you must have won the 'Ejection Seat' and only eject if your Harrier is fatally damaged or runs out of fuel. You will have lost control of the Harrier, a warning siren will sound, and the word 'EJECT!!!' will flash in your information window. Execute the eject key-code (press slower ('B' key) four times rapidly) before your Harrier hits the ground. Your pilot must reach the ground without colliding with aircraft or getting hit by shrapnel. It is not sufficient to eject while you still have control of your Harrier.

Because you don't have the turn skill at first, you only get a single pass over the island. You are then unlikely to hit more than one enemy aircraft, unless you are lucky, or skillful, or both. Hitting one aircraft will give you one award and the best option is probably to select the inline turn as your first award. Once you have the inline turn skill you can turn to give chase and greatly improve your kill count.

But watch out for your fuel levels, and save enough to get to your carrier. Note that you cannot land on the carrier that you took-off from, you must go to the carrier at the far end of your flightpath.

The 'Targetting head-up display' is useful in this mission, it shows where nearby aircraft are and how easy they are to target (ie how far they are from your flightpath). The 'Flare dispenser' is also useful, for eliminating pursuing heat-seeking missiles.