January 16th, 2205 - The first Kafrican tanks began lining up on the border with Chikushinal. Led by a dogmatic lunatic, the Kafrican Army was acting on its own, defying the legitimate government's orders to halt. Drimp was going to try to take Chikushinal back from the Zokesians, and all hell was about to break loose.
In the command center of Naval Air Station Fournloke, Vice Admiral John Hershen went over the final touches on the operation. A pre-emptive retaliatory strike to decapitate Kafrican warfighting and prevent invasion of Chikushinal. It was unknown if the Air Force had also defected with Drimp but John "Mad Sahren" Hershen was taking no chances. In 30 minutes, operations would commence.
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Operation Red Rocket began in the dawn hours, with KZ-20J AWACS and EF-4 Skyshields took up stations over Task Force 91, as Z-41s and Z-81s of VFQ-103 "Jolly Rogers" and VFA-32 "Bombcats" roard into the morning sky. B-52s from NAS Fournloke split into groups of 5 and began tracking east and west, covered by Z-41s of VFQ-6 "Vipers".
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First Blood went to the 20 Z-81 Boggers attacking Diosca International Airport. Encountering no hostile aircraft, the Z-41s flew topcover as the Boggers bored in, unleashing AGM-65 ER standoff precision weapons, eliminating anti-air defenses and damaging the airbase, though not enough to render it inoperative.
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The capture of Diosca International was performed by the 21st Airborne, inserting Special forces onto the island and securing the airbase for Zokesian use.
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The 10 B-52s lined up on their targets. Below them, vast swaths of Kafrican cities, and directly in front, large factory complexes. These factories would be vital to a continued war effort and the strike today would cripple Drimp's ability to wage continued war should he fail. The B-52s released 50 Mk84 2000lb bombs on the targets, leaving a bombed out ruin nearly half a mile long over the targets. The firestorm consumed everything in its path below.
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In the west, Stahlsieg aircraft hit hard the Kafrican units along the western border. Z-80s, ZH-66 DAP attack helos ripped into the tanks. In the east, the Zokesian Marine Corps struck at Kafrican tanks, their Z-40 Harriers performing low altitude precision bombing runs on heavily defended targets, taking horrific losses. The Zokesian Marine Corps lost 10 Harriers and 20 ZAH-1s at the cost of 50-60 enemy tanks. One Z-40 pilot, 1st LT Carmen Nadon, took heavy fire and resulted in the loss of the engine of his Harrier. Instead of ditching, 1st LT Nadon flew her crippled Z-40 into the flak again, dropping the rest of her ordinance and destroying two enemy tanks before bailing out. Recovered by friendly forces but badly burned, 1st LT Carmen Nadon was awarded the Ellanic Cross, the nation's highest award for Valor in combat.
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By the end of the Operation, Red Rocket had accounted for nearly 60 enemy ground units, 2 factories, and the capture of Diosca and her vital airport.
TOTAL LOSSES:
Kafrica:
40/40 M1A1
6/6 M1A2
12/12 M1A1 AAA
ZOKESIA:
10/10 Z-40
20/20 ZAH-1
SS:
5/30 ZH-66 DAP
5/30 Z-80
Zokesian Prices:
$848k
Kafrica Prices:
$196k
